Grandparent's Day

Today was Grandparent's Day at Alex's school.  Alex invited Pop and Nana to join him.  They got to have donuts, juice, and coffee together and then the grandparents were invited to the classroom to see where all the magic happens.  Mrs. Rhine, the biggest blessing for Alex, had a little project for the grandparents and kids to do together.  It was a poem about growing older and how important grandparents are.  Then they all traced their hands inside each other.  Alex's was in the the middle, Nana's around his, and Pop's around hers.  It was just precious!  Alex is so lucky to have grandparents that live here locally to join in fun activities like this!

Sleepover

Since returning from Chicago, the kids have wanted to sleep in the same bed again.  They said it was like a sleepover.  So tonight was the night!  We have always had pizza and movies on Friday nights when Brad is at work.  It's just something fun the kids and I do together.  Sometimes we make our own, sometimes we buy it.  Tonight we made our own and watched Despicable Me 2.  We also pulled out the hide-a-bed from the couch so they could lie down and watch the movie.  Then, of course, they wanted to sleep on it.  Even Aubrey tried to have a sleepover!

Once we read our bedtime stories and brushed teeth, it was lights out.  They weren't too sure at first.  The strange shadows and different sounds kept them from going right to sleep.  Alex finally conked out and Abby came to tell me she needed her songs.  So I got her music box from her room and put it on the endtable.  That did the trick!  It was so sweet to see them asleep in the living room.  I'm sure it'll be the first of many "sleepovers" with them in the living room.  

Thoughtful

Alex had basketball practice tonight and I just wasn't feeling up to going.  I was exhausted and Aubrey had been fussy and just off for most of the day.  Brad offered to take him to practice and to take Abby, too, so that I could relax and focus on just Aubrey.  Soon after they left, Brad called.  He said that they were looking at the most beautiful sunset and Alex said that they needed to call me so I could look outside and see how pretty it was.  He said he wanted me to see something beautiful to make me smile. I went outside and it was just gorgeous.  God really painted the sky pretty tonight!

Syrup

While we were in Chicago last month, we met my mom's Uncle Bill from Wisconsin.  He has a lot of maple trees and has started tapping them for syrup.  He has created his own label and he bottles and sells quite a bit of syrup!  He brought several bottles with him and passed them out to us while we were there.  I couldn't wait to get home and try it.  Pancakes are quite the Saturday morning tradition at our house so we cooked our pancakes and got to use Uncle Bill's pure maple syrup.  Oh em gee.  It is the one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted.  It only lasted for 2 breakfasts at our house!  I really hope we can get some more!  

Christmas Jammies

My kids are the kids that don't care what the temperature is outside, they will wear winter PJ's in the heat of the summer.  I mean the fleecy, footed kind.  They just don't care!  So I didn't debate buying them extra PJ's at Christmas time.  I just know they will wear them until they are too small, no matter the weather.  

I really had a hard time getting a cute picture of all of them together.  I wanted to get a shot where everyone had their eyes open, where you could actually see the front of their shirts, and I wanted a shot without this strange scary grin they've been giving the camera lately.  

Alex chose Santa, Abby chose a gingerbread baby, and I chose a reindeer for Aubrey.  My sweeties. 

Stanhope Family Pictures

Mike, Trish, Paige, and Walker came to town (from West Virginia) this year for Christmas.  One of the days they were here we had family pictures taken.  Here a couple of the snaps I got that turned out cute but the real treasures are here.  Go take a look!  They are very special pictures to have with Jimmy and both his sons, daughters, and grandchildren.

Chicago Trip

My Uncle Tom turned 60 this past weekend and my Aunt Jan threw a (surprise) party for him. He knew about some of the events of the weekend, but the surprise part was all the out of town guests coming to help celebrate. UT and AJ mean so much to me so it was important for me to go. Unfortunately Brad wasn't able to join us because he was out of vacation after our Disney cruise earlier this year and then he took vacation when Aubrey was born. So the 3 kids, mom, and I hopped a plane and flew to Chicago. The plane ride was easy and Alex and Abby thought it was so fun to fly again!  Sweet Aubrey was awesome and didn't fuss at all on the plane.

We flew into O'Hare.  I haven't been there in about 10 years and had forgotten how wild it is!  Last time I was alone and it didn't seem so stressful.  This time getting luggage for 5 people with 3 kids and 3 car seats was a bit of a challenge.  Thankfully, my cousin Clark was there to help us out and made it so easy!  AJ picked the kids and me up and showed us the way to the hotel while my mom and Clark got the rental car.  As soon as we got to the hotel, my brother showed up in the lobby so he was recruited to help the kids and me upstairs with all of our luggage.  Then it ended up being a party in our room!  My grandparents, other cousin, brother, sister in law, niece and nephews all came to hang out for a bit.  I'm happy we had a suite with two rooms so the kids could go destroy play in the other room while the adults got to chat.  

That night we just got settled, took the kids to the pool, went to the happy hour and snacks downstairs, had dinner and crashed.  The kids slept in the "living room" on the hide-a-bed.  It was so cute to see them sleep in the same bed!  

 The next morning was one of the surprises for UT.  Papa and Grandma and Grant and Vikki and Jack have been at UT and AJ's house since before Christmas so AJ suggested that instead of cooking breakfast again, they all head over to the hotel for breakfast.  It wasn't real out of the ordinary, but part of me thinks that he knew something was going on.  So as they arrived we were looking down on them from outside our room.  After we knew they'd been seated, part of the out of towners started showing up to surprise him.  Not only were all of the Okies there, but friends from several other states, too.  Everyone just kind of trickled in one group at a time.  Finally it was our turn to walk in and say hello.  He was so happy!

Then everyone just hung out and had breakfast, drank coffee and chatted.  One of the funniest pictures (to me) below is the girls hanging on my brother's feet.  And of course Alex took a picture with Vikki, because he loves her.  :) 

Then of course there was more swimming, a grocery store run, a failed attempt at a nap for Abby, and getting ready for dinner that night.  The dinner was at a really neat place called Cooper's Hawk.  It is a restaurant and winery.  There were wine barrels in our private room filled with wine!  It was such a cool place and the food was delicious.  

After dinner we went back to UT and AJ's house for coffee and the gift AJ had for UT.  I am just in awe over what she had done for him.  She has a friend who is an artist.  They discussed the many parts of Tom's life and created an oil painting symbolizing the values he holds and the life he has created.  It is just breath taking and would require an entirely different post to explain, which I will do someday.  

The next day we had breakfast and decided to take a drive to the house Mom grew up in.  She and the big kids got out for a picture! 

Then we went back, changed clothes and headed back to UT and AJ's for another party.  There were about 80 people at this party.  The food was delicious and there was a couple that played music and sang songs.  Toasts were made and all the kids were so well behaved!  I was so proud of all of them for behaving so well at a grown-up party!

The next morning we had to let the kids swim once more and then we headed over to say one last goodbye.  UT made the kids a snack and we wish we could have stayed longer!    

When we got to the airport, we got the precheck, so we thought it'd be easier.  It really wasn't.  We still ended up having to take off our jackets and boots, and Alex had to take off his belt, so I'm not really sure it was any faster.  Then we found out our plane had been delayed.  It was fine, though.  The kids really are great travelers and didn't fuss at all.  

We had such a wonderful time on our mini vacation to Chicago! We only wish Brad could have gone with us and that we could have stayed longer!