We spent all of last week at my parent's house in Ohio. It was quite the long trip, but it was definitely worth it. Staying the whole week was so nice so we didn't feel like we were rushed at all while we were there. We split the trip up on the way there and stayed the night in a hotel. I tried to pick one with a pool, but unfortunately I picked a lemon, and the pool was broken (and the hotel was not nice!) The kids were very bummed because they were looking forward to swimming. Fortunately, my dad cooled down the hot tub when we got to their house so the kids could "swim." :)
My mom and dad were troopers sitting outside in the cold watching the kids swim!
Kylah spent a lot of time playing with my mom's nativity set. She got it all set up just like she wanted it. :)
Checkers was played a few times. Joey and Michael had a great time together playing games, playing the Wii and wrestling.
Plenty of movies were watched (and Uncle Aaron makes a great seat!)
Norah and Luca were so cute together. I think we found them brushing their teeth a million times!
One of the highlights was seeing baby Olivia. This was the first time my kids have met her, and they were enamored. Kylah loves babies, and it's so cute to see her with them!
This hat was very popular throughout the week. I don't think it survived...
Kylah got very attached to this stuffed kitty that was actually my grandma's. Luckily for her, my mom let her take it home with her! She was one happy little girl.
Tony and Gina brought their puppy Husker. He was such a good dog, and the kids loved him. We can't wait to meet Tony and Gina's baby girl coming in March!!
Since Norah is a big girl now, she doesn't need a pack 'n play anymore. She got to sleep on the big girl (air mattress) bed with Kylah. They were so cute all cuddled up together.
My mom had a ton of activities planned for the kids. Here they are making gingerbread people. They also made ornaments and flubber. So fun!
Joey enjoyed his baby cousin Olivia too!
Pap is always good at riling up the kiddos and wrestling!
Norah loved Olivia too. This was the day before Norah got a cold, so after that day she wasn't allowed to be so close to Olivia. Unfortunately, she shared her cold with Olivia, so now Olivia is fighting a cold at 2 months old. :(
Luca is at such a cute age right now. Here he is "crossing" his eyes for us.
I can't even count how much hot chocolate the kids went through while we were there. Gramma had plenty of marshmallows and candy canes to put in the hot chocolate and let them have it whenever they wanted!
Norah found a good spot to watch some TV. (Do you notice the Santa in the background? That was my grandparents' and was around when I was little. We all love it!)
We spent a lot of time playing games, especially Settlers of Catan and Pitch. So fun!
We actually got dressed up and headed to the Christmas Eve service at my parents' church.
A group of us went carolling to the neighbors' house after the service. It's a fun tradition, and the neighbors really seem to like it.
We put some ornaments on the tree. The littles were trying to sneak ornaments out of Gramma's box, so I told them to put up their hands. They both did this right away. So cute.
Cute little family (and will be even cuter in March!)
Aaron and Esther (and, yes, she did just have a baby 2 months ago....) :)
My dad dressed up as Santa again on Christmas Eve. Since the older kids definitely know it's him, he told them that Santa told him he had to dress up to get the bag of presents that Santa left in the backyard for them that night (they each got a new pair of jammies). Santa read the Christmas story.
Norah didn't quite know what to think. She was very scared of Santa, and then did ok when my dad showed her it was him, but then would get scared again when he would put the beard back on.
Cousin picture on the stairs. It's the best we could do. Half of them are crossing their eyes....
The row of stockings keeps growing...
Sweet girl and her daddy on Christmas morning.
- I love watching the kids' big eyes when they see the pile of presents. Papa hands them out one at a time.
Joey still has the best reactions. Here is his reaction after opening his new Razor Spark scooter.
Papa enjoyed his new Cubs blanket from the grandkids.
The three older kids spent quite a bit of time making band bracelets.
Christmas dinner was delicious: prime rib, horseradish smashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, cheesy potatoes, corn, salad and fresh rolls. My dad outdid himself!!
After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, ate cupcakes and played our family tradition of Bingo.
I spent a lot of time holding this little sweetie.
The last few nights we played Pictionary. The first night we let Joey stay up and play with us adults. He loved it, and he was actually really good!
The next night was our last night there so we let all three of our kids play with us for a bit. (Norah was the designated eraser). Kylah drew this picture; can you guess what it is??......it's a pirate ship!
Pap read stories to the big boys every night (and to Joey even the nights after Michael left). They loved it!
Kylah loved playing with my mom's old barbies.
So fun!
We had such a nice and relaxing week. I think I wore comfy clothes most of the time there, which means I did a lot of relaxing! :)
Our trip home was good (Norah is a rock star in the car now! We thought that day would never come!!) We dropped the kids off with Joe's parents on the way home, so now we are enjoying a quiet few days on our own. It's pretty nice!
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