Christmas Eve, continued
After Chalmette Battlefield & Cemetery, we drove over to Westwego for a bayou tour. I booked online with Ultimate Swamp Adventures. We took a swamp boat tour, meaning it's a bigger boat and needs deeper water. The airboats only have capacity for 6 passengers, which rules us out, and riders must be at least 48" tall, which also rules us out. Both Shad's parents and my mom gave us checks for Christmas with the instructions to let it go to an activity on our trip. I think we said this boat tour was from Nana and Bumpa. The Florida one was from Grandma.
Okay, now here's some definitions: a swamp is still water; a canal is a manmade channel of moving water; a bayou is a natural channel of moving water. We were so confused until that was explained to us. Florida and Louisiana talk about all three.
Tommy, Katie, and Dancy happily picked a couple of adults to talk to the whole time. Thora and Samson were pushing past naps (and Thora had a cold), so they were less enthusiastic.
Katie asked him if he plays football because he looks like a football player. That melted his heart and was the best compliment he'd ever received because he DID used to be a football player! They also discussed movies. Captain Jack Sparrow was mentioned and the guy said Katie and Dancy probably didn't know who that is. They happily responded that they DO know who that is because they've seen Pirates of the Caribbean. I explained that we consider film education to be a subject in our homeschool. He asked if we're from California. I said no, just realize that it gives our kids that edge in being able to converse with adults and understand references that are everywhere...and we can only watch kid movies so much.
Ahhhhhh, the cypress trees! I needed this picture yesterday. They have such good energy! It's filling me up now just looking at it while I type. Yay, cypress!
I can't remember all the birds. Not even gonna try.
More cypress.
The cypress trees have walking roots that stretch up out of the water for aeration. So all the short little white bits at the base of the trees are roots.
Gator
Here you'll see the brown spot in the leaves below the bird's head. That's the alligator's head. The gator is dormant, so there's no danger of death for the bird, thus it can be as nonchalant as it wants to be walking by this predator.
There's a baby gator in here. Points if you can see it.
"Goin' Down the Bayou!"
Because...Princess and the Frog. Samson wasn't in the mood to sing anymore once I turned on the camera.
I don't remember what this is. Just more stuff on the bayou.
Ms. Tabitha
Our girls and their friends. Dancy didn't want to smile, so Katie took care of it.
All of us!
Right next to Ultimate Swamp Adventures is an outdoor fresh seafood market.
It actually took a lot of effort to find somewhere open for dinner that night. Then I realized that Chinese was our best option. They don't celebrate Christmas. I was right--they were the only place still open! We grabbed our food and retreated to our hotel for dinner, rest, and cuddles. Our Christmas Eve tradition is to watch a new Christmas movie and have hot chocolate. We got the hot chocolate from the breakfast bar and turned on the TV. A Christmas Story was on 24/7. I don't even know how many times our kids watched that during our hotel stay, but they never seemed to tire of it!
Nothing warms this girl's heart like cuddles and hot chocolate.
All the kid laughter!
This needs no words. I just adore him.
Thora was also very tired and somehow started off on the floor. She woke right when Shad took the picture. Then he moved her into bed.
The streets were quiet that night. Guess there's no late night party buses on Christmas Eve.
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