Four Christmases...

We are incredibly happy and very lucky for both of our families to live in the same town.  It makes holidays and even weekend visits so much easier and we're able to see everybody so much more often.  This leads to multiple holiday gatherings though, and like every other year, we had four Christmases.  It started on Friday night and went all the way through Sunday.  It was packed and exhausting, but we loved being able to spend time and make memories with our loved ones (and eat some really good food--love Louisiana Christmases).  Plus, all the hype wore poor Arabella out and she slept so well that weekend!  Score for us!

Friday: Frank's house

We were missing Clayton because he's still in boot camp.  He joined the Air Force in November--we missed him, but we're proud of him!

Menu: Steak, crab/shrimp etoufee, baked potatoes, shrimp creole

Angie, Clint, (Benny!), Lindsey, Blaine, Hunter, Sydney, BA, and Kaitlyn

Hunter, Arabella, and Uncle Bilo

Saturday: My parents

Michelle came down and we were able to spend all day together as a family.  It was great!  Mom and Dad had bought a Kinect earlier that week, so we had a blast playing on it all afternoon.  Kailyn was sick so she struggled a little bit, but it was still overall a great day. We also did matching PJ's this year which was super fun (and so much more comfortable)!

Menu: ham, cheesy potatoes, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, green beans, sweet peas, crawfish fettucini

The boys goofing off as The Grinch

The girls minus Kailyn--the sleepy town train called her aboard

My stud and my Santa baby :)

The five kiddos

The whole fam--so so happy we got such a good picture!

Gettin' sassy in our snowflake jammies

Love them

Mimi and Papa with the grandbabies

My gift to Hunter: two Elton Louviere (famous local artist) prints and a book of his work.  This way, no matter where life and ExxonMobil takes us, we can always be reminded of home.

Hunter's gift to me:  Apple TV.  We're officially making the switch into the world of Mac.  And this way, we can stream Bella's music to the surround sound!

 Sunday morning:  Ellie's house

We headed over that morning for breakfast and stayed through lunch.  We were able to visit and end the day with a game of Phase 10--good times!

Menu: Chicken and sausage gumbo, homemade potato salad

MawMaw and Bella--Ellie got her her Christmas dress this year

Four generations:  Pop (Ellie's dad), Ellie (Hunter's mom), Hunter, and Arabella

MawMaw Nona (Ellie's mom) and Arabella, singing and rocking away

Sunday afternoon: Grandmaw's

All of Hunter's extended family gets together every year.

Menu: Shrimp/crab/oyster gumbo, potato salad

PawPaw Newby and his grandsons

Arabella with Aunt Lindsey and Uncle B--and Benny!

PawPaw made it over after work and was able to get in some Arabella snuggles

Monday afternoon we headed to Pineville for a few days with the Sassers. It had been incredibly too long since we had gotten to visit--so glad we were able to make this one work out!  

Made it there Monday night in time to watch the Saints game with them and watch Drew beat the record!

Ready to cheer on our boys!  Who Dat?!

Snuggled up with Kyle and her tunes :)  Giving him a little practice for his little man's arrival in a couple of months

We're so blessed with such great family and friends.  I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours!  *Here's to making memories*

love, angie