We spent an exciting Christmas in the South with the Dannenberg side of the family! We had so much fun for the eight days we were able to visit. Our trip began with a very bumpy landing into the New Orleans airport, there was so much turbulence people thought we were going to die and were screaming at the top of their lungs everytime the plane darted or dropped during the last half hour of flying. We could see a bad storm with lots of lightening and thunder but didn't realize until after we landed that New Orleans received 7.5 inches of rain in less than 10 hours that day! That's more rain than Arizona gets in a year! We spent the first few days at Dan's parents house in Baton Rouge, and got to see Susan and our nephew Paul. Emmy and Paul had so much fun playing together, it was cute to see them take to each other so well. Emmy started walking more and more because she saw Paul running everywhere and wanted to keep up!
We had a truly southern style holiday. For three days we were in Onalaska, Texas - town on Lake Livingston which was beautiful, and very cold. Once we started hearing stories about the lake, I was really glad it was so cold --- the alligators, snakes, and other dangerous things hibernate when the temperature is cold.
Emmy had so much fun staying on the lake. There were a few dogs around that she laughed at all the time. As you can see, she loved looking out the windows of Dakin and Gary's lakehouse, who wouldn't with such a nice view. On Christmas Eve we had a meal fit for any southerner - Gumbo and a dish called Shrimp and Butter Beans. Delicious! Christmas Day was even better, real Cajun stuffed chicken cooked in a "Cajun Microwave" (really cook outdoor cooking contraption - see picture below), Boudin (Cajun Sausage containing meat and stuff, but traditionally was a blood sausage), grilled alligator, sweet potatoes, LSU cheese, pumpkin cheesecake, and Chess Pie ( I hope I spelled that right). Delicious! Couldn't have asked for better hospitality.
After our stay in Onalaska we headed back to Baton Rouge and had the chance to visit Mike the tiger - LSU mascot. He is in his own zoo like setting on LSU campus all the time. The kids loved seeing him, despite the pouring rain.
What a great way to spend our Christmas, we had the best time! 
4 comments:
I loved being together! I had the best time! I don't think I've laughed that much since last Thanksgiving. Paul especially loved seeing Emmy. Buddy has taken to him nicely with all the food he drops.
LOL I love your pics of the cajun microwave and the sausages....sometimes I forget that the south has such unique culture that we need pics to explain it to others....
We had a great time at Christmas, too, hope you'll give us a holler if you're going to be in the DC area.
Love, Cathi and the rest of the Wixsons
What a fun nontraditional Christmas. Glad you guys had a good time.
I still can't believe the story about the plane ride there. I'm surprised you guys weren't scared, actually maybe I'm not. You are way tougher than I am. Thanks for inviting me & Ty over today. It was fun. We should do little things like that more often. Thanks for being an awesome sister & always being there for me. It doesn't matter that I don't have any friends because I have a sister like you! Love you lots.
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