Family Trip to Louisiana

Every summer in late July or early August my family heads to Louisiana for a weekend away at Coushatta in Kinder. This includes my mom and stepdad, Beverly and Fred, my sister Alli and her family and my two stepbrothers and their family. I think the first time my mom planned this family adventure was when the girls were about to turn two or maybe it was the summer before they were three. All I remember was that it wasn't all that relaxing trying to keep track of triplets in an open environment like that. We are ALL about containment and control when it comes to new situations. We know now and have for a while that they outnumber us and anything can happen! While in LA, we stay in the chalets at Red Shoes RV Resorts & Chalets and reserve five chalets side-by-side so that we all have our own space but can meandor back and forth between chalets to visit or find the snacks, cold beer or margaritas. :)


This year we were pretty sure we wouldn't be attending with the rest of the family. My mom suggested that they not go at all since we might not attend but that didn't sit all too well with me. I didn't want them all at home thinking about the trip they were missing since there wasn't anything that could be done and I know my mom really enjoys this weekend away. However, I didn't call to confirm our reservation or plan anything in advance. My family knew that chances were we wouldn't be able to go and that Lena would be recovering. My sister offered to take Kira and Naia with her family but that seemed like such a tough decision to make since Lena was already missing out on so much. I wasn't sure I could bear to see the disappointment in her eyes as her sisters talked about the trip that she wasn't a part of. I mean, one-on-one time is hard to come by in this family and appreciated by Kira, Lena and Naia but I don't even think a weekend full of mom and dad's attention would make up for missing this trip that the girls were highly anticipating.


As you know, Lena had brain surgery on July 20th and was released from the hospital on July 25th barely eating and not walking all too well. Miraculously by early the next week, Lena seemed in great spirits and was eating, walking and playing almost as if the surgery had never happened. So... we decided to go. The rest of the family headed down on Wednesday night or early Thursday but we didn't leave until Friday morning. Britt had already missed so many days of work while at the doctor appointments and hospital that we didn't want to use anymore.


Last year I hit a jackpot during this family weekend away. I hit a line of Pharoah's on a quarter slot machine and thought it was amazing. $12,500. Yep, that's quite a haul. Britt and I smiled from ear to ear all the way home. This year, we smiled 24/7 because we were able to attend at all. The girls got up early each day, stayed up late each night, swam all day, played with their cousins and had a wonderful time. There were a multitude of changes from that first trip to this one. Although still nervous about all those things moms and dads get nervous about, the girls were fairly independent and entertained. This gave us a chance to sit back, relax and have a few cold beers ourselves.


It was such a wonderful weekend. We didn't come back with money in our pockets but we came back with three happily exhausted, well fed, swimmed out almost 6 year-old daughters. :) This was our first adventure back together as a family and turned out to be more than we could have expected. Our "new normal" has begun...



Next up... How did anal retentive Holland deal with the fact that she did not have the girls' birthday party that would take place in August entirely planned by the end of June??? I'll let you know about my complete breakdown and recovery soon. :)