Christmas Break Part 2 and MawMaw's Visit

So Tuesday we got home from Hattiesburg around 12. We ordered a pizza and decided to have a low key rest of the day. It was fun having Mawmaw around and I think good for her to rest and be around the kids. That afternoon she and Austin went to the grocery store. I was glad for that time alone. With being such a busy week and all the entertaining we did I was glad just for a little break. I ended up falling asleep on the couch. When I got up they were back. We spent the afternoon unloading groceries and doing some things around the house. It pretty much off and on rained all afternoon so we weren't able to work on the kid's playground like we had originally hoped. 
We did get out late that afternoon though and take a walk which was nice. I think we all enjoyed that. We then came in and had grilled chicken sandwiches and sweet potato fries. Again I think it was good for his mom to be able to have some family meal times with us. 
Wednesday Austin was off and we wanted to take the kids and his mom to do something fun. We ended up deciding on the Zoo. We thought it was going to rain that day but ended up being nice out. It was nice to get the kids outside in fresh air and let them run around. It was also a warm day. Its pretty much been warm since last week sometime. It honestly felt like a day in early October. It felt nice at first...we were all in t-shirts and jeans. The kids mostly looked forward to climbing on the tree and doing monkey hill. We spent a good bit of time in those two areas. I don't feel like we saw many animals though. That's ok though. We did get to tour most of the swamp area. We mostly just enjoyed getting out in the fresh air. We left around lunch time b/c it was starting to get hot and crowded. We ended up coming back to the Westbank and eating Chinese for lunch. His mom has been wanting to eat that for awhile since Austin's dad never would go! That afternoon we mostly just rested and hung out. We had sandwiches for dinner and went for another long walk. I think she enjoyed the family time and walking at night. 
Thursday Austin had to return to work. It was forecasted to be a rainy day so we had told the kids we would bring them to the movies. I figured that would be a fun and simple thing to do with Mawmaw. We had a semi laid back morning around the house. I made blueberry muffins then we got ready for the movies. We went to see Moana. It was really cute! i think the kids had a good time. I think it was also good for Mawmaw. I think this trip will allow her to go home with a fresh perspective on things. We didn't do much other then the movie. By the time we got home we made lunch and then just hung around. She took a long nap and we mostly just rested. Austin got in that night and we had a spaghetti dinner. We did play outside some with the kids and she volunteered to clean up the kitchen. 
Friday Austin left early that morning to meet his sister in Picayune with his mom. We enjoyed her visit but I have to say I was ready to get things back to normal. This Christmas break has been great but I have missed having just time with the kids and I at home. Austin was off the entire time pretty much and then we had company. Since it was our first free day and it was a pretty day we had arranged a playdate at the park with some friends. It was so good to get the kids outside. I always feel like this time of year they get cooped up so much. I mean we did do the Zoo on Wednesday and we went to a park before Christmas but with the shorter days and yucky weather they haven't had a whole lot of outside time. Meeting friends there was also an extra bonus! It was so refreshing to just let the kids run and play with no agenda. I think they enjoyed it too b/c for 3 hours we didn't hear a peep really out of any of them. I enjoyed the mom time. I really haven't been able to schedule any "friend" time since Christmas vacay. I have truly missed it. I love family and being around them but there's something so sweet about people you choose to do life with. It was a refresher we all needed. After I took the kids to lunch at Chickfila. Again something so sweet and fun! We came home and just hung out after. Nothing special...its been nice to just chill and have them home. I think they have enjoyed a slower pace as well. I truly feel like we are being able to rest and slow down. Austin worked later that night. We had movie night with gumbo to eat. We ended up watching "Pete's Dragon" it was so good!