I love the Rain(s)
Our visit with my brother and his family was as wonderful as I expected! I laughed until I cried because frankly Bryan is about the funniest person alive. I swear that everything is funnier when he's around. The kids instantly took to all of them. E and C were inseparable from the start. It has been about 5 years since the kids have seen them so they were very young the last time and not very social with each other.
We did some fun things while they were here too. One day the local zoo was free so I took them and we walked around in the freezing cold! Another day we took the kids to Peoria with the intent of going to the Prairie Park but it was raining and cold so we opted for the mall to shop and have lunch. One of the challenges while they were here is that Trina is eating a vegan diet. Well the Midwest is not known for it's vegan choices so it was hard for her to find places to eat out. We did however make a few really great things at home that were tasty and I'll definitely try again!
On Saturday we took the kids to the Caterpillar Museum and visitor's center. The kids, especially L, loved this. He got to climb on all kinds of tractors and equipment and was in 3 year old heaven! After we drove tractors we went to Bass Pro Shop for lunch...I'm sure Trina would like to forget that experience, having her's and Bryan's name called over the intercom because E was lost. Sad thing was no one knew. We each thought the other group had him. Poor guy. He became an instant celebrity at Bass Pro and had all the employees saying hello and clapping for him. It was funny...after the fact. As a side note we did lose L at Panera one day at lunch. It was time to leave and as we were getting coats on he ran off and out to the parking lot. I figure losing only 2 kids the whole trip is pretty good odds!
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It was so great to have E here. I don't get to be an aunt very often (never really) and wasn't sure how good I'd be at it, but he's such a great kid it was EASY! He would sometimes just come up and give me a hug or snuggle me on the couch. He reminded me a lot of C and maybe that's why we got along so easily.
On Friday evening we were able to have our family pictures taken with a friend of mine who is a photographer. They turned out beautiful despite the fact that it was barely 30 degrees and everyone was freezing. Trina finally put her foot down and went to the car with E, but I was hardcore and insisted on getting a pic of my kids all together. K insisted that we have a fun pic if she was going to have to leave the warmth of the car. So we ended up with this one.
Here are few more for your viewing pleasure:
I think for as cold as it was and as fast as we went they are perfect.
I was very sad when they left. I have to find a way to visit them more often and vise versa every 3-5 years is too long. I cried, C bawled like a baby, and Bryan gave me the best hug I've ever gotten at the airport! Love him and Trina and Evan.
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We did some fun things while they were here too. One day the local zoo was free so I took them and we walked around in the freezing cold! Another day we took the kids to Peoria with the intent of going to the Prairie Park but it was raining and cold so we opted for the mall to shop and have lunch. One of the challenges while they were here is that Trina is eating a vegan diet. Well the Midwest is not known for it's vegan choices so it was hard for her to find places to eat out. We did however make a few really great things at home that were tasty and I'll definitely try again!
On Saturday we took the kids to the Caterpillar Museum and visitor's center. The kids, especially L, loved this. He got to climb on all kinds of tractors and equipment and was in 3 year old heaven! After we drove tractors we went to Bass Pro Shop for lunch...I'm sure Trina would like to forget that experience, having her's and Bryan's name called over the intercom because E was lost. Sad thing was no one knew. We each thought the other group had him. Poor guy. He became an instant celebrity at Bass Pro and had all the employees saying hello and clapping for him. It was funny...after the fact. As a side note we did lose L at Panera one day at lunch. It was time to leave and as we were getting coats on he ran off and out to the parking lot. I figure losing only 2 kids the whole trip is pretty good odds!
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It was so great to have E here. I don't get to be an aunt very often (never really) and wasn't sure how good I'd be at it, but he's such a great kid it was EASY! He would sometimes just come up and give me a hug or snuggle me on the couch. He reminded me a lot of C and maybe that's why we got along so easily.
On Friday evening we were able to have our family pictures taken with a friend of mine who is a photographer. They turned out beautiful despite the fact that it was barely 30 degrees and everyone was freezing. Trina finally put her foot down and went to the car with E, but I was hardcore and insisted on getting a pic of my kids all together. K insisted that we have a fun pic if she was going to have to leave the warmth of the car. So we ended up with this one.
Here are few more for your viewing pleasure:
I think for as cold as it was and as fast as we went they are perfect.
I was very sad when they left. I have to find a way to visit them more often and vise versa every 3-5 years is too long. I cried, C bawled like a baby, and Bryan gave me the best hug I've ever gotten at the airport! Love him and Trina and Evan.
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