Celebrating New Year's in New Orleans

Happy New Year!

How did you celebrate? We spent the holiday in New Orleans with Matt and Beau at their beautiful home (and yes, that picture is from a bayou tour we did while we were there; hoping to do a post about our fun few days in New Orleans later this week). They finished renovating it this year and after only seeing it in pictures for over two years, it was so fun to see it in real life and experience first hand all the hard work they’ve put into it.

When we got there, they had all of our rooms set up for us just so. The kids were in the back bedroom in the bunk room they built, complete with a small TV and a Nintendo Switch. In our room, they had a few little welcome gift baskets filled with things like local chocolates and various face creams and soaps. How sweet is that? If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that Matt and Beau are quite possibly the best hosts ever. They think of pretty much everything to make your stay absolutely perfect.

The night of the 31st was spent with their friends, most of whom we met a month before at their wedding in Tennessee, so it was so good to see them again so soon. They made a ton of yummy food and lit a bunch of candles while we all sipped on wine and listened to all the kids play together.

I can’t think of a NYE in recent memory that was filled with this much fun and laughter. It was all so exciting to experience it with the kids in a city they’ve never been to before. I can’t tell you how much I love the fact that our kids are getting the chance to travel as much as they have been the last year because I didn’t get the opportunity to travel until my late twenties, so the fact that they’re getting started this early is so wonderful to me.

We did sparklers and gas bombs and pop rocks in the backyard towards the end of the night, with all the kids loving the smoke bombs the most. I thought it was so sweet that all the adults gave an hour or so to the kids (ours plus two others) and made it all about them having fun for a bit. How did we get blessed with friends as good as these?

When it was almost midnight, we all made our way down the street to the top of the levy (with thousands of other people) to watch the fireworks over the water. By that point, we were all exhausted, but when else would we have this opportunity? It was beautiful and a perfect way to close out the night (and the year).

It felt so refreshing and fun to close out 2022 in a different city, ringing in the new year with our family and friends. I can speak for the both of us when I say we feel so blessed to be living this life and are so looking forward to 2023. I hope it’s filled with new adventures and lots of traveling.

No matter what it brings, we’re all along for the ride either way.