SANTA

If you haven't had the opportunity to visit the Bass Pro Shop during Christmas you are definitely missing out!!!  They have the BEST set-up!  The kids were able to go on a Carousel ride, visit with Santa, play with remote-control cars, shoot guns, and much more.  Luke was so excited to see Santa...in fact after we had visited with him and wandered through the store he took off back towards the jolly fellow!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Here at MaMa's house it's looking like Christmas!  Over the years MaMa has acquired MANY decorations, and while she has given away quite a bit she still has a TON!  It took 2 days to put it all up!  The kids were able to help some...

New Orleans Zoo

So this rotation is AWESOME!  Justin had a 4 day weekend AGAIN!  Love it!  We decided to try out the New Orleans Zoo on Saturday.  It wouldn't have been that bad except for we totally underestimated the drive.  Mika cried almost the entire way there!  Needless to say everyone was a little grumpy at the zoo.  It had been overcast most of the morning, but it decided to sprinkle while we were there.  No big deal - well that is until they CLOSED the merry-go-round which created a massive meltdown from Taija.  There was a fun little train ride that we enjoyed before the meltdown.  The drive home went much better than the one there thankfully!  Next time I think we will stick with adventures a bit closer to home!

SNORING

While we have been here in Louisiana Taija and Luke LOVE to climb up on the big chair with MaMa and 'snore' with her.  It is quite funny to hear them making snoring sounds...SILLY kids!

Mississippi River Levy

On Friday we went to the levy as a family.  Pa and Justin have taken the older two there a few times, but this was Mika's first time.  Justin thought it would be fun for Taija and Luke to ride their bikes...they had a BLAST!  The kids love to fill up this bucket with rocks and haul it down to the water to throw them in - doesn't take much to entertain them!

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  The kids were able to watch part of the Thanksgiving Day Parade on television to start the day off.  I have fond memories of my childhood of watching this very same parade with my family each year.  Given their short attention span this didn't last too long.  We had a pretty easy morning as we didn't have to prepare any food...we were so kindly invited over to Justin's Uncle Tim and Aunt Marshall's home for a Thanksgiving Feast.  Since we are in Louisiana (the South) the dishes were a bit different than we are used to - there was of course a turkey, but all of the sides were new to me, but still delicious.  There was a cornbread stuffing casserole, a carrot casserole, cranberry relish, and a very tasty pecan something (not sure exactly what was in it, but it was my favorite).  Uncle Tim and Miss Marshall's home is absolutely stunning.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by family and loved ones.  We missed all of our family in Utah, but feel blessed to have been able to spend this holiday with MaMa and the Gunn Family.  We have so much to be grateful for!

Taija wasn't feeling the best, so she spent most of the evening on her make-shift bed.

Alligator Swamp

For those of you familiar with the show Swamp People, we had the opportunity to visit the Kliebert Family Alligator Farm.  It was a unique experience to say the least.  We went on a tractor-pulled hayride, pet several different types of lizards, saw thousands of turtles, and of course alligators.  The kids were even able to sit on the back of a 10 foot alligator!

 Oh and SNAPPY the turtle made a surprise visit!

 They had their faces painted - Taija got a turtle...Luke didn't sit still long enough for them to finish his alligator!

 Random donkey!

Baton Rouge Zoo

We are LOVING Justin's rotation here in Louisiana!  He doesn't have to work any weekends and so we have many adventures planned!  First up was the Baton Rouge Zoo!  Funny story - we were at the window ready to pay and I remembered that with my membership to the Miami Zoo we get discounts to some of the other major zoos, so I showed them my card and asked, and next thing you know we got in for FREE!  Yeah!