celebrations.

this year we spent christmas and new years in texas with the hatchs. we always have so much fun all the time that we end up forgetting to stop and take a picture or two. here are some favorites we did manage to get along the way:

favorite hatch tradition: blowing up gingerbread houses on new years eve. 

(i definitely scored the best family you could marry into) 

this year's theme--blowing up ranger school...mountain phase. 

NOLA.

after several months of continuous army trainings, a weekend trip to new orleans was just what we needed. we stayed in a renovated inn hotel that had all the historical charms of the french quarter.

and the location could not have been any better. we were steps from jackson square, a popular hotspot of the french quarter, filled with historical architecture, musicians, and artists. 

we were two blocks from the famous bourbon street, which reminded us of an old time, and perhaps the original vegas strip.

we were also one block from the glorious cafe du monde, which has beignets to die for. we went there three times over the weekend, seriously could not get enough. 

overall the amazing food was our favorite part of new orleans. words cannot describe the delicious goodness we enjoyed during our stay.

we tried a little bit of everything new orleans is known for, and classics of grilled oysters (ACME oyster house) and red beans & rice (the Gumbo shop) were our favorites of the weekend. these were so good i  tried to get austin to go back to those restaurants twice during out stay. we also tried some gumbo, crawfish, and gator po-boys that were fabulous.

we fell in love with new orleans. in a town that truly never sleeps, we enjoyed the continued hustle and bustle of unique sights, sounds, and tastes. and we will definitely be visiting again sometime in the future. 

a snapshot of some holiday cheer from nola.