38 & Four: christmas round-up

hope y'all had a wonderful christmas spent with family and friends.

we sure did.

we spent the last 8 days on a sort of holiday trek through the south, visiting friends and family we don't get to see often. it was a bit touch and go - we took 4 flights in the span of a week - and maybe a little overwhelming at times for madison, but well worth the opportunity for loved ones to see (and finally meet) her.

first stop: dallas

since my family has completely moved away from the dallas/ft. worth area, our primary agenda was to attend the saints @ cowboys game. of course it also gave us the opportunity to catch up with good friends, but as a bonus, madison got the chance to hang out with her nana and papa peter.
(it was a fortuitous turn of events when i was looking for a sitter for the game and then found out my mom would be traveling through dallas the same weekend. she kindly agreed to stay the night just to babysit for us. thanks again, mom!)

second stop: new orleans

since we were planning to visit dallas and atlanta on this trip, we figured a stop in new orleans just made sense. it allowed us to spend christmas with chris' mom but also gave a few of chris' close friends the opportunity to meet madison. plus, i'm never one to turn down the amazing food that awaits me there.

last stop: atlanta

our third, and final, stop was to my dad's in atlanta.
i always enjoy going there because it's a city i wouldn't mind settling in, mainly due to the affordably spacious housing and the guarantee of having four seasons - both things i can't get in socal.
in the three days we were there, we got to hang out with more family, including a 2-month old new addition to my cousin's, eat lots of home-cooked food, play with new toys, and throw a little party in celebration of my nephew turning 10.