I'm not sure why I get these crazy ideas...such as my latest of "hey kids, let's drive 14 hours by ourselves to visit family". But, I got the idea and opened my mouth about it and at that point, there is no taking it back. And truly, our kids are pretty great car travellers and I just lay down all the strict standards I have about limited television and let them watch movies and videos as much as their hearts desire. So, off we went. For the first two days, I apparently was still in shock that I was undertaking this trip so there are no pictures. Bummer since it is the time we got to spend with the cousins. It's so cute how excited they all get to hang out together. We had such a great time in the hubby and I's home town with his family. They are always such gracious host/hostess and my sister in law made me one of my fav recipes so that puts her in a special place in my heart. And my mother in law hanging out with my kids while I went on a long run one morning....awww....cannot get much better than that! On the day we left, we were able to celebrate Great-Grandma P's birthday. We took her out to lunch and then drove her home. When we arrived, her sweet friends were there waiting to surprise her with a party on the back deck. I loved seeing her with her friends and the home made ice cream and apple crisp was AMAZING. The boys enjoyed helping(?) the neighbor guy out with his rock project and G1 stayed on the porch with the ladies chatting. She is really growing up.
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| Happy Birthday Great Grandma!! |
Then we headed off to the big city and another set of grandparents. For us not seeing our family as often as we would like, our kids have great relationships with all their grandparents. I love it. Oh, I haven't mentioned the weather was all I could have hoped for---extremely warm but not humid. Just what this girl needed after coming from my cold climate. Grandma & Grandpa D always treat us to a lot of great food and good company and fun activities. My mom is the queen of finding/trying/cooking foods W can eat. Thanks for all the help Mom---W is a happy boy with the waffles and brownies you found for him. We saw a lot of family, hung out at the park, and had a great day at the zoo.
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| Fun times with Grandma D |
We headed to the village next--that is what it officially is---a village. How cute is that? I love small towns. I love two aisles in the grocery store. And it is kind of cool when you know half the people who drive down the street even though you haven't lived in the town since you were 4 years old. We got to visit my grandparents and I think they enjoyed seeing the kids with all their energy.
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The wheel chair ramp providing
HOURS of fun for the boys &
their scooters |
And we went even more country when we went out to the farm I spent 1/2 my time growing up at...I really love being on the farm. The day was perfect weather wise. The warm sun, the prairie grasses blowing, birds chirping....gee, wonder where my girl gets her love for all things prairie?? A bit disappointed I couldn't find any barn cats....I used to have a killer meow that would bring cats running for miles. Guess I'm loosing my touch.
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Trip to the farm is not complete
without a ride on some large
piece of equipment |
It was too bad Grandma V had to work but Grandpa kept us busy riding tractors, plowing the field, and rides on the ATV. They were all thrilled to just sit on the tractor seat too. And W found an awesome wagon he could pull around and haul stuff so he was a happy guy. And we still got to visit Grandma V in the afternoons and evenings. She always has fun things planned for the kids---the highlight this time was when we went swimming. With three kids and three adults, the kiddos were in heaven as they each had someones full attention the entire time at the pool. Then off for late night ice cream to celebrate Grandpa V's birthday the next day. Since we were headed off, we were celebrating a day early.
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G2 is a big John Deere fan...or as the boys call it...
John the Deere |
We had SUCH an AMAZING time and the kids and I made so many great memories of time spent with family. It's a long drive but I'm so glad we were able to make it happen. Thanks to everyone for all the generosity and help that made our trip go so smoothly!!!
