We had a wonderful Spring Break visiting family & friends back in the US! We packed a lot of fun into the two weeks & left with our hearts (bellies & suitcases) full. We visited Cincinnati, Chicago & New Orleans and had 10 different flight segments to our trip, and the girls were travel troopers.
We started our adventure with two fun filled days in Cincinnati. We connected with some of our best friends, the girls got to have a sleepover with Sara, & we happened to be in town for the DeLacy's annual St. Patrick's Day party ... perfect timing!
Our next stop was Chicago (sadly Randall had to go to Boston for work), to visit the Schlegels! We had such a great time in the Windy City, and the girls loved every minute they got to spend with Maddie & Moose!
It was wonderful to spend time with great friends, to get to stay in their beautiful new home & explore their great neighborhood right on Lake Michigan. As we were driving to the airport, Maddie got tears in her eyes and said, "this is the worst part." I agree. Saying goodbye is never fun, but I love friendships like this where we can just pick up where we left off, no matter how much time has passed. And the fact that our daughters have this same relationship is pretty darn special.
Then we were off to New Orleans, to visit GiGi and PopPop! We were welcomed with delicious "New Orleans Beans" (red beans & rice) made with love by PopPop & got right into the New Orleans spirit!
Randall flew into New Orleans the next morning & the girls were so excited to get to work with PopPop in his wood shed. They remembered a story that Randall told them about how PopPop built him a pair of stilts when he was a little boy, and it didn't take much convincing to get PopPop to built a pair for each of them. Such fun!
That evening Omi K joined us in New Orleans! Before we went to pick her up at the airport, Kenzie insisted on changing her outfit. She put on a scarf because "Omi will probably be wearing a scarf." Sure enough, she was, and I could not get enough of these 3 scarf wearing beauties!
We spent the next day down in the French Quarter. Enjoying great food, beautiful weather, amazing people watching and best of all each others' company.
It was so good to spend quality time with Gail. We are so proud of how well she is doing following her stroke in February & I'm pretty sure that time with her grandkids is the best medicine she can get.
That evening we went back to the airport to welcome Inken, Andrew, Grady & Emmeline to New Orleans! My heart was so full - having so many of my very favorite people in the same place at one time - it felt like it might burst.
We spent another fun day down in the French Quarter.
The kids were very excited to go on a horse & carriage ride. While our tour guide left something to be desired (he basically recited the name of every bar & restaurant we passed), at least I captured this adorable photo of these cute cousins :)
That evening the 3 grandparents volunteered to watch the 4 cousins, so that the 4 parents could enjoy a double date. A fun night on the town ... a delicious meal & The Rebirth Brass Band ... out past midnight ;)
The kids woke up excited on Easter morning, claiming they had heard the Easter Bunny tap dancing in the kitchen. After a whirlwind easter egg hunt we got ready for brunch ... you know, cause we hadn't eaten enough on this trip.
And then after brunch (and a nap) we were lucky enough to be invited to a Crawfish boil ... because a trip to New Orleans is not really complete without a crawfish boil & you know we hadn't eaten in a couple of hours. Thanks David & Erin for including us in the amazing feast & party!
The next morning brought another time to have to say goodbye. But before we did that we took a trip to City Park so the cousins could climb the Live Oak trees and we could all enjoy some beignets (another must for any trip to New Orleans).
Such a memorable visit to New Orleans. So thankful to Gail & Gene for inviting my family to join the weekend of fun & to my mom, sister & family for making the trip from California to meet us there. Love our family!
Then we were back to Cincinnati for the last leg of our trip. We enjoyed time in some of our favorite parks (the trees were in full bloom & gorgeous), and with some of our favorite people!
And while our flight back to Geneva was a "disaster" (to quote Kenzie. Flight cancelled for mechanical problems after spending 2 hours on the plane & another 6 hours in the airport. Then delayed an additional 6 hours the next morning, resulting in a 37 hour journey vs. the expected 13) the trip as a whole was more than worthwhile. It was good for our souls to reconnect with family & friends. Only wish there had been more time so that we could have had the chance to see everyone.
While we had a wonderful trip, it also felt good to return home to Geneva. I think we have finally all recovered from the jet lag & are looking forward to enjoying Spring in Geneva!
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