We're Baaack

We've been on a Christmas vacation! And posting, while fun, is a little like work. It takes thought, time, and is prone to Facebook distraction. That should explain why we haven't done it in a while.

The past two weeks found us in New Orleans, Memphis, and Poplar Bluff, MO. More specifically, it found us eating junk food, sitting on our butts, and shopping at J Crew. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, I'm hoping they tell our story.

We started in New Orleans. This was Christmas morning. Bizzy is the only one that looks good that early, so we'll leave it at that. Sufficed to say everyone was happy - Santa brought his A game.

Here's Mossy reading her present - "Emails About Mossy: A Back Surgery Diary."








The cousins aren't as young as I remember. My Christmas memories involve wrapping paper everywhere, lots of noise, and little kids shouting out what they received. This Christmas was more quiet (except for the fake noises coming from the new iPhones at the kids table) and included word games!

Majeau Christmas, however, was exactly like I remember. It included Pepere falling asleep amid chaos and the girl cousins talking about boys. Ryan was a new addition to this conversation, but didn't have much to add.

We spent New Year's Eve at my cousin Tommy's wedding, which I was very excited about. NYE always feels forced and involves standing in a line while freezing. This year we enjoyed being warm, free drinks, and an uncrowded dance floor (which Liam enjoyed - wish I had captured it better). Judging by the pictures, it looks like we hijacked the wedding party backdrop for quite some time. Hopefully the bride knew the Majeau's tendency to take over BEFORE she married in.














During the break, we got to see two new things - my parents' (almost finished) kitchen and Sarah's baby! Both were awesome. The kitchen inspired lots of cooking. Bill got Ryan to help with some homemade pasta... they made about 5 pounds of it.













I enjoyed holding Sarah's baby a little too much, but not enough to want one of my own, even though Ryan suspected otherwise. Jacob and I just really connected... here we are both raising the roof.














We got to spend some time with Ryan's family in Poplar Bluff. They live out in the country and I'm in love with their dogs. They're total characters... here's Ginger watching traffic, one-eyed-Darby, and the white dog Freckles (who is deaf and perpetually happy).


Back at the Kelley's house in Memphis, there were Christmas cookies. This is an integral part of the holidays for Ryan, so his mom made about 12 batches. Every time I turned around there were more in the oven, and more in my tummy.













Our Memphis friends showed up for an open night of dinner and trivia. The table split into a girls and boys side - so effective for catching up. We didn't have to talk about football and they didn't have to talk about who was pregnant!












The trip included a first... Ryan's 1st NFL game! The timing was perfect because for the next two days he was sick and passed out.













We've been back since Sunday night, and I haven't exactly gotten into the swing of things. I don't think my body has either. I wasn't hungry at all yesterday (but managed to eat candy), and this morning (it's only 10:30) I've already polished off a bowl of pasta. Lovely.

It was a great trip... I miss being home, and this picture just about sums it up. On the couch, sharing blankets, enjoying ourselves. Doesn't get better. I hope you guys enjoyed your break as much as we did.