Dreamy Vacation? Not Sure Yet . . .

You know how sometimes you have a miserable time somewhere but then some time passes and you see photos and you think, 'That wasn't so bad. . . ' ?

Well, that's starting to happen with our road trip to Louisiana.

Months ago, my mom gave me The Happiness Project and I Loved It, especially the chapter on kids.  

And yet, this trip was an example of me completely forgetting everything I read and going into stress-ball-survivor-mode.

I had worried about the drive there but the car ride turned out to the easiest part of the trip and it was Not easy.

It's been a month and now when I look at this photos I think, 'Look how happy everyone looks!' and mostly, 'I need to lighten up.'

Remember how on the way over we stopped at McDonalds for an hour with my parents and the kids had fun eating and climbing all over Poppy?

Then we arrived at my perfect In-Laws bucolic home in West Monroe  and we played badminton and volleyball and ate  ice cream. . . That should be heaven, right?

(And why I thought I could pull off an all-white dress on a trip with the kids is ridiculous - and not just because Lil' Dude had an accident on my lap.)

My In-Laws street is the prettiest road in all of WM, LA.  Why wasn't I awed by that beauty and just insanely happy?

(Look at this these two Californian grandpa's and BFFs.)

The kids loved seeing the Bayou (which looks so different from the first time we visited) and so did my parents.  

We even created a 100 foot long Slip'N'Slide.  100 feet!  If that didn't make me love the trip than I don't know what would.  

And there were so many lovely moments like CC catching fireflies and the girls building towers of blocks and a freaking pinata!  A PINATA!  That's all I usually want to do in life - parties with pinatas!

And on our last night we even launched a paper lantern!  Someone needs to seriously punch me - why was I so miserable?

Maybe this is why:

Vacations with 4 little ones isn't a vacation for the parent.

Being a Step-parent is the hardest thing I've ever done. 

Constantly being 'On' and trying to keep an eye out for 4 little ones, making sure they're safe, fed, not hurting another kid or themselves is the most tiring and unrewarding thing I've ever done.  

And having someone pooh in your lap doesn't help either.

Lesson Learned:  When you're miserable take lots of photos, it'll help you forget how you actually felt and trick you into thinking it was a relaxing, grand ol' time.


But you know what?  


I wouldn't change a thing.

These little ones just make my heart melt.

My Dream In-Laws in LA

One of my favorite things to do is visit my In-Laws.  It's true- they're so funny and from the first time I met them they treated me like family.  In November they moved from Meridian, MS to West Monroe, LA so we road-tripped out to see them and check out their new home.

I know very little about Duck Dynasty, 

but apparently it takes place there.

 I usually get teased by my whole In-Law family about my wardrobe and what I chose to wear when, but I think I finally got it.  It was balmy and sprinkling on and off and my lightweight Free People dress (love those sales on sale) and my Melissa oxfords (best rain shoes ever) fit all situations I found myself in.

It proved to be the perfect outfit for checking out one of my new favorite lakes, the Black Bayou.  

 As you can see, we could Not contain ourselves.  

My brother-in-law also drove up which means even more fun.

   

 Can you tell it was windy?

Actually we had tornadoes that night - my first ever!

Magic Man was about to make it rain.

 As was the the sky.  

Magic Man accuses me of having too many 'favorites' or '#1's' but the lake was my first Bayou and I did truly love it.

And I love these guys.

We also checked out the mall, which Magic Man and I had once visited (well, we slept in the parking lot during a road trip).   

Do you miss Walter White too?

We ate non-stop (mostly healthy stuff like Mom's homemade bread  and Five Guys' grilled cheese) and watched The Christmas Story (Do You Like Santa? . . .  I Like the Wizard of Oz) while the tornado tore up part of the town.  

There was a frozen custard place I wanted to visit but we ran out of time.  It's fine, we'll be back to see our family and also so I can visit my most favorite lake ever of all time.