Christmas down south!

South as in Louisiana! Nathan's parents moved there this past year and we drove down to spend the holidays with them, Kristy,Scott, Shayna, Ben and Edlin. We missed Kacie Chris and Jordan but maybe next time we will be down there with them. It's about an 15 hour drive down and we left early in the morning Christmas eve, which happens to be Nathan's birthday. It rained the whole way down...the whole way down! There were a few times Nathan had to slow down because there was the risk of hydroplane from all the water on the roads, besides that the ride was fun and the boys were great, we were set with snacks, games, and movies to keep them busy and Justin didn't even cry one peep for the entire trip. He is such a good boy!Downtown New Orleans!! Clay was picked (by my push of hand) to be part of an music act on the streets of New Orleans. I thought he would have so much fun because lately he has been pretending to play guitar and be a rock star but I should have remembered that Clay and his personality is not a look at me, see what I am doing kind, but he was a good sport about it all, only admitting two hours later that it was "OK" and "Kind of fun ".

This guy was hilarious!! He was completely silver and making funny poses and moving at just the right time to spook people. There must have been a big group of them spread out throughout the streets because the golden guy was good too. The boys were mesmerized and got to say "Hi" to him. At Uncle Scott is enjoying his Cajun corn on the cob! I really loved the look of the Spanish railings all decorated with holiday decor. A Big thanks to Diana and Steve for their generosity and such a good time. Steve recently had surgery on his foot and was in crutches but still took us downtown and showed us the great flee market where I found a new hat, wallet, and watch! Nate thinks flee markets are filled with a bunch of junk, but I had a blast. It's like treaure hunting, and thanks to him I found some treasures!!

Diana took the girls to visit the DESTERHAN PLANTATION. I enjoyed our tour guide who was dressed to kill (literally) in the Union civil war uniform. The covered porch was amazing and I learned alot on the old southern days and am astonished on the things that were constructed by hand and made so beautifully. The grounds had huge 200 year old trees that were would be excellent swinging trees.

Everyone couldn't get enough of the beautiful pool, equipped with a diving board and all. It also had a jacuzzi connected to it. Steve was great and had it all heated for us and after a good dinner it was great to get in the hot tub and soak for awhile, and gear up for some mad catch phrase games that lasted until 1 and 2 in the morning.

These boats were huge and Hayden was sure it was not going to fit under the bridge. A good perspective lesson for him as he watched it go under with no problems.

Diana took us the Storyland Park where the kids had alot of fun going around figuring out what story belong to each display. Their favorite was the dragon Slide that was really fast, which is way it was their favorite.

Fireworks are really big in Louisiana and Diana and Steve had their own that we were able to do in the driveway. Fireworks are always fun I have a blast every time we have them.

So much more that we saw and had fun with. Good to be with family, The boys had so much fun with their cousin Shayna. Many thanks again to the Cottrell's for having us and making our Christmas in Louisiana so great. We love you tons and can't wait to see you again.