Visiting Louisiana Fall 2013

We took a WAY overdue girls' trip to Louisiana in October and it was so awesome.  My mom and I drove the girls down to Farmerville to meet my mom's mom, who is affectionately called Nan, Nanny, and Caroline's favorite, "Grandma Nanny".  Hahaha!  The drive down was a quick one and pretty uneventful.  We left early on a Thursday morning and drove about 8 hours including stops.  We got there early enough to visit with family and stop by our favorite bakery, Allbritton's.  It is THE must-stop place for us when we go home to visit and if you've never had their petite fours you are MISSING OUT.  We had Johnny's Pizza for dinner and settled in to our little cabin on Lake D'arbonne.  It was an amazing weekend that went by much too fast.  

 The views are AMAZING.

 Nanny and Ellie snuggling

 Nanny and her three girls having leftover pizza for a lunch picnic on the porch!

After lunch on Friday, we got up and headed into town to run some errands.  We got some flowers to make an arrangement on Aunt Cindy's grave.  When Olivia was a few months old I brought her here and I know I have the pictures somewhere, but I couldn't find them for this blog post.  She was only a few months old, but it was a very precious time to me.

Such a big, wise girl!  She was so thoughtful and sweet at that time.

On Saturday, my sister Brooke brought her three babies over and we got tons of pictures of all six kids together.  They are hilarious!  It was such an amazing blessing to see these kids and all of their different personalities.  I wish that we lived closer so that we could see more of them!  I have committed to making a trip happen at least once a year so these little cousins can enjoy their time together.  

Us girls and our babies!!! :)

We went out onto the dock (SCARY!!!) with all six kids and this was the best picture out of a million. LOL!  It's the memories that count, right?!

We took the kids inside for some cake and decided to let them all blow out candles since we aren't ever together on birthdays!  This wasn't planned, but it was definitely a neat memory.  They were pretty excited!  And if you'll notice, Caroline changed out of her matching dress because she jumped in the lake.  Yeah, she's my kid alright!  

After cake, we went outside for some play time.  Out of all the pictures from our trip to Louisiana, these are my absolute favorite.  The kids were just running and playing in the sun and I'm so glad I snapped these.  These are the ones to remember.  Cousins just being cousins!!!

It was an amazing weekend and one that I was very hesitant to leave behind.  Saying goodbye to my sister and her kiddos was so hard, and then having to say another goodbye the next morning to Nanny was even harder.  We had been meaning to get someone to take a photo of all six of us girls all weekend but kept forgetting.  Sunday morning before Nan left, I figured out the auto timer on my camera (after a whole year of ownership you'd think I'd know that!) and we got a picture of everyone!  :)  

Four Generations

This photo captured something I will never forget.  My three girls really got to know their great-grandma and they bonded with her over the weekend.  I hope we get the chance to do it again soon.

This is why it always makes my heart ache to leave Louisiana!  

-Maegan