A Merry Christmas {Rewind}

Gifts from Mom and Dad were tucked neatly under the tree, leaving room for Santa's goodies.  Santa never wraps his gifts.  He just doesn't have time.  ;)

The house smelled of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that were set out with a cool glass of {rice} milk, complete with notes to be read by Santa. 

You never know.  Santa could be lactose intolerant, you know.  ha.

The morning was filled with much anticipation, as expected.  Thankfully, Gracie didn't wake at 4 a.m. this year.  ha.



This is the -OH My! It's my dream Lego set!!- look.  Exciting, yes? ;)  Nator was equally excited.  To her, that meant that she surely had a big Lego set under the tree, too.



Equally, if not more, exciting was the big reveal of their American Girl dolls. It was so cute to watch them try to calculate the sizes of the boxes under the tree. "Do you think our dolls could fit in this box?" Not even close. They were hopeful. ha.  I'm thankful hubby thought to bring those out after all the other gifts had been open.  Their gasps and expressions were priceless!



After a quick clean-up, we loaded up the car and headed toward Louisiana. A road-trip is not my favorite way to spend Christmas day, but we managed to squeeze the usual 5 hr trip into 4.5. ;)

On our way, Jasmine catches up on her Z's between the girls watching their movie... Well, it's almost like hubs and I are on a date. {Mostly} Uninterrupted conversation.

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, a late lunch feast was ready to eat.

Sweet potato casserole is technically a dessert.

Yumm-y-feel-sorry-for-my-waistline-delicious.



Then there were gifts to open.  Always fun.



A lot of individual family pix to take.

 

A lot.

Mama may... or may not have forgotten an important piece to the tripod to take a nice group shot with the ol' Nikon.  Ooops!

It's living the moments that count, right?  You know... like pinching a certain person's kaboose to 'help' them smile big.  hehee...



Christmas music to be played.  Nator practiced diligently on this piano book for Christmas at Granny's. She was so excited.



The day after Christmas, it was time to head down the bayou.  I know... I guess Granny technically lives down the bayou, too... But to get to my Mom and Step-Dad's house, you literally follow the bayou.  ha.  We met my brother and sis-n-law there, as well.



I love black and white pix.

My Step-Dad has not been doing well, so it was nice to have everyone under the same roof this Christmas, even if for a couple hours.

My brother and niece... They're cute, yes?  ;)  For a late lunch, we visited with them more at a great lil' pizza place, equipped with games for the little ones.  Gotta love kid-friendly restaurants!

Sunday evening, we spent more time with Granny and the fam.

Monday, hubs and I went on a lunch date, while the girls had some Granny time.

Shopping.  It wasn't a success, but Chili's.  Mmmm... I think this is where my love of the avocado {bean} burger began.  They know how to make it at that location.  Just sayin'.

After all that excitement, it was time to hit the road Monday night.

Back home.

To Texas.





With all my gifts in tow.

Family.

A very Merry Christmas, indeed.

{if my pix are lookin' off-centered, they are.  having blogger issues again.  boo.}