3 Holidays, 3 States

2017!! Say WHAAAT? Somehow it's the New Year and that is just crazy to me. 2016 was filled with tons of new things and I'm pretty pumped that I was able to cross off a lot of my goals. I jotted some down at the beginning of the year and kept them posted near my bed for inspiration. Excited to say that I crossed off 2 centuries, traveled to another country, and became a Grit instructor! So excited to set more goals for 2017 and try new things!

2017 wouldn't have gotten here without the holidays, which were obviously amazing. We spent Thanksgiving in Texas, Christmas in Maryland, and New Years in NOLA! So many family and friends and love and laughter.

I loved spending Christmas with the family, especially these 5. It was even more exciting this year as we get to officially welcome Jen to the family. YAY!

Time with the whole gang is another fave. Finally got together to take a family photo with most of the clan. 

It's always a bummer when Christmas ends, so we coped the right way by heading to New Orleans. We drove on over (pup included!) and partied it up in the Big Easy. We stayed in a cozy Airbnb near the Quarter and did all of the touristy things. Went to Bourbon Street, got beignets, did a ghost tour, rode the ferry, and obviously had a few hurricanes! 

We braved the cold drizzly weather and sailed the Mississippi on the Natchez steamboat.

A ghost tour was mandatory and I've gotta admit it was pretty creepy. This was Madame Lalaurie's mansion and the infamous attic that's in all the stories about her. Our tour guide said that we were welcome to go up and touch the house, despite hearing horror stories of what happened to other people who touched it. Apparently taking a picture was enough because the next day I got sick, then Sam got sick, and one night while we were sitting in the living room our front door opened all by itself. Now I'm not saying a ghost followed us back... but you can put two and two together. 

There was clearly no Times Square ball in NOLA, but instead they drop a fleur de lis from the top of a building at midnight. We even got a fun firework show afterwards! 

Since we did bring Shiner, we made sure she had a good time, too. We walked her down Bourbon and even got her some beads. She was not a fan of the horse and carriages going by at first, but she grew to love them. 

We made it back to Dallas safely (minus the ghost), and are back into the swing of things. Hence why it took so long to finally post this! But here's to an amazing year- so excited to see what's to come, including somebody's graduation!!! Cheers! 

Love, 

Kendra