I suggested we make it a surprise for Mark & Diane which meant we'd have to keep it from Jamison & Hayden too since they're a little loose lipped when it comes to Grammy. Unfortunately, they weren't the ones we had a problem with. We spent 2 months dodging burns from Diane like:
"Do you think you guys will ever come visit us?"
"What do I have to do to get Kiel to come visit us?"
"Free lodging and Grammy & Papa will take care of Jase while you guys relax"
"We supply the booze!"
"Can you just send Jase with Shilo & the girls?"
and my personal favorite "The dang boy forgets I gave him life!"
I will admit, it was TORTURE talking to her. My stomach would do flips every time I thought about her reaction. I was slightly excited the morning we left and literally had to keep reminding myself to slow down and focus on what I was doing in order not to forget anything.
Day 1 - Saturday, June 14th
At 11:30ish, we all loaded up and headed for Midway. Sidenote: Bloomington airport really needs to hook up with Southwest.
After hitting a small amount of traffic (for Chicago I mean) we made it to the airport parking lot at about 1:30. We got lucky and parked right next to a bus stop just as a shuttle was driving up to it. The driver waited for all of us to get out, unload our bags, unhook & bag Jase's car seat and he even helped us load everything. Nice guy! Jase was a little nervous on the shuttle ride, holding onto Aunt Shilo for dear life lol
And of course there was a long line to get our boarding passes so we waited...
Luckily, we breezed through security and had plenty of time (but not too much) to let Jase walk around a little before they called family boarding on our flight.
This kid is a super traveler. It was about an hour passed his usual afternoon nap time so he fell asleep moments after take off and I didn't even realize it. Big thanks to Aunt Shilo for loaning us Jamison so we could have a little extra elbow room :)
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| 325468767 games of tic-tac-toe |
We landed at NOLA 15 min early.
"I can smell the hot outside. My feet are already sticking to my flip flops" - Jamison
But some over eager grandparents were already waiting for us at baggage claim. Shilo headed down with the girls while we hit the restroom to change Jase and give them a minute to distract Mark & Diane.
Their reactions were PRICELESS! (please excuse my nervous/excited laugh). video
I swear Diane looked directly at me without even noticing me and in the video you can hear her pointing out Mark to Shilo (who kept asking, "where's dad?" to get Diane to look over at him) completely oblivious to Kiel standing next to him holding Jase. Over the course of the weekend, Diane's above comments were replaced with, "I can't believe you guys came!" and "I've never actually been speechless before!" #surprisegrammyandpapa #success
After picking up our rental car, we headed downtown New Orleans for dinner. Shame on me for not taking pictures of the beads hanging from the stop lights on Bourbon Street, the ass crack on the guy at the bus stop that apparently had a little too much fun earlier in the evening, the buses full of kids rapping and twerking and the more beautiful sights to be seen in downtown New Orleans at night. Next time, I'd like to make it a point to go downtown during the day so I can enjoy the parks and architecture instead of the butts and crazy drivers ;)
We headed to Grammy & Papa's in Geismar for some much needed sleep...we were exhausted.
Day 2 - Sunday, June 15th
Picture overload below.
Their home is on the Diversion Canal which you
Happy Father's Day, Daddy :) We love you so much!
The set up they have was perfect. No one on either side of their lot so it felt like we were all alone out there listening to some entertaining stories, swimming and watching boats go up and down the canal. The 90 degree weather and humidity made it a perfect day for the pool!
No fear (video)
My poor child caked in sunscreen with the hat, rash guard, and swim shoes #gingerprobzzz
Model Haydie
And the highlight of the day, the boat ride...
He really gave it a good try...
I learned that the canal is lined with Cypress Trees because they can soak up, 150+ gallons of water a day and since the water table is so high there they help with the flooding. Unfortunately, the trees stain the water so it has that murky, swampy tint. There are bees here that don't sting, but drill holes in Mr. Paul's deck. And the Dragonflies were EVERYWHERE!
We pretty much crashed upon arriving at the house and getting cleaned up. Glad to report no one melted.
Day 3 - Monday, June 16th
Another day of sleeping in til about 8...I'm getting used to this.
"Bwaffle!!"
Mark & Kiel took all the kids to Bass Pro (Kiel received a F in picture taking today) so I went with Diane & Shilo to do some shopping. We hit Mall of Louisiana, had lunch at CPK, walked in and out of a few small shops and then headed to the big Tanger Outlets. It started raining on our way...the strangest rain I've ever experienced. It was like we were driving through individual rain clouds. It would rain or rather pour for a few hundred feet and then nothing. A few hundred feet later it was pouring again and then nothing. We're not in Illinois Toto. I ducked into the bathroom when we got there and just as I sat down, the power went out. Nothing like peeing in the dark! #gottalovecellphones The shops closed up so we called it a wrap and headed back to the house for dinner and some more relaxing.
Chasing Chameleons
So many moving pieces it's hard to capture a good one of everyone :-/
The "Gate Keeper"
We plan on putting up 2 posts and a gate. Entertainment for days.
Day 4 - Tuesday, June 17th
The ladies are staying with Grammy & Papa for 3 weeks, but Aunt Shilo's flight left today so Diane took her to the airport before anyone got up. They will be in Vegas for part of the time, but I hope it flies by for her cause I know she was already a little sad leaving the girls :(
Mark & Kiel took the boat out fishing so us ladies & Jase went back to Mr. Paul & Miss Diane's to swim after Jase's morning nap (kid proved yesterday it's a necessity).
And for our last night we got cleaned up to have some real Louisiana food...crawfish, catfish, red beans and rice and of course I had a cheeseburger haha I did get to taste everything though :)
Day 5 - Wednesday, June 18th
Our flight left at 9:35am so we had to leave about 6:30...I did not miss waking up to an alarm.
FYI - When planning a vacation to go visit family, the arrival becomes so anticipated you forget to think about how hard it will be to say goodbye.
I wasn't really sure who to feel worse for when we said our goodbyes in the driveway. Grammy or Jase.Seriously...it was like he knew we wouldn't be right back. He did NOT want to leave his Grammy...as sad as it was, it kind of melted my heart a little to see his attachment to her :) But he did look like this for a good portion of the drive the airport.
We had such a great time and I honestly wasn't ready to leave for more reasons than not wanting to go back to work. It's hard to live far away from family, but now we know we have a great vacation spot waiting for us whenever we want. Thanks Grammy and Papa for the great weekend! We love you!!!!!!
Unlike our arrival at Midway, we breezed through the boarding pass line and security at NOLA so we had a good hour wait til our flight boarded.
Lots of time for selfies...
We could not have planned the flight times better. Since Jase was up earlier, he was exhausted by the time we took off and was asleep within 30 min of take off. He slept for 2 hours only waking up for the last 20 min of the flight.
As promised, it was a short stop in Milwaukee and we were back up in the air for the 20 min flight to Midway.
Instead of getting in to Chicago at 11:55am, we got in around 2pm so naturally we deserved Portillos. Jase approved!
Jase's 2nd plane ride in the books! I can't wait to travel more with him...assuming he stays awesome.
-Nicole
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