Well, we had a week of visiting with relatives and I think everyone survived. There are reports of a sick grandma out there, but thankfully all we gave her was a cold :) Matthew seems to be starting a cold and Anna is either reviving hers or starting a new one, but we're okay. We may have even skirted exposure to the stomach flu....we hope. All in all, it was a good trip.
We left on Monday evening to avoid some snowstorms here and ice storms there in Illinois. We had a good trip down with the kids, stopping at a Wendy's for supper (although we ate on the road.) We pulled into Normal around 8pm and the kids played for awhile before going to bed. The next day, Rob and I were sent out on a date. We didn't protest too much :) We went to Ming's Buffet, a large Chinese restaurant (for the non-Chinese food eaters it has TONS of options.) Rob loves Chinese food and I loved the opportunity to eat my fill. I'm such a slow eater that whenever we go to buffets I'm still on round one when everyone else wants to leave. It was nice to take my time. We went to a world food store afterwards and found lots of fun little extras we hadn't seen since the San Jose days. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to see them again. Then we headed to the mall. There was an ice storm going on so we wanted to stay in one spot for awhile. We tooled around the mall, made fun of teenagers (they were EVERYWHERE!!), and Rob got some popcorn. I wanted some mint melt-a-ways from Fannie Mae but I can't justify spending $23 a pound. Yikes! We also looked at Hobby Lobby for a bit before heading back.
On Wednesday we went to visit Rob's grandparents and had a very nice time with them. Rob's mom and dad played "keep the kids occupied" so we could actually talk with his grandparents. It was a great visit and then we all went home for lunch and naps. Me included, this time :) That evening we headed to Pontiac to spend Christmas Eve with my parents. Mom made my favorite meatloaf with the fixin's. We had a great time there and then went back to get three wired kids into bed for the night.
Christmas Day was pretty low-key for us in the morning and afternoon. Rob and I delivered some repaired glasses to his other grandma and stayed to chat with her and Aunt Ruth. And have coffee...mmm....coffee.... Again, it was nice to chat without the distraction of kids around. We went back for lunch and then spent a nice afternoon together before the big Litwiller Christmas event. Rob's brothers and wives and adorable nephew were all over as well as his grandma. We had a wonderful dinner (hooray for hamloaf!!) and then Rob read the Christmas story. The boys had a little program prepared and performed beautifully. No shy ones here! Then we all trooped downstairs to open gifts. The kids had fun ripping open presents and are still enjoying them. (Andy and Melissa--we have one whole year to find the "perfect" gift for Jamie to thank you for those lovely clapping whale things you gave the boys--heh, heh) I can't tell if the boys have a favorite gift b/c they keep bouncing from one thing to the next. Ben has finally figured out his My First LeapPad, so that's good.
Friday I went out for coffee with my mommy to Krispy Kreme. Besides a wonderful time with Mom, the highlight would be watching the conveyor belt get stuck while the workers frantically tried to fix it. I was hoping for an "I Love Lucy" kind of moment, but no such luck. When I got back, Rob, his dad, and I took the boys to the Make-A-Mess fun center and let them run off a bunch of energy. We all went to Chevy's for supper that night and had a good time....with the kids. We kind of got surrounded by the children but that was alright b/c I sometimes feel like I lose touch with the kids when we travel. I want them to have time just with their grandparents but it's nice to know they love me, too :)
Saturday we left for the Fulkerson Christmas Extravaganza amid a flurry of last-minute packing. I had a toothache the night before and couldn't pack, so I had to do it all that morning. We were still the first ones there (ha, ha, Mandy! Take Howard next time!). It was so fun to finally meet my new nephews. Ezra is like a male version of Anna--so happy and bubbly! And chubby... Caleb is a little sweetie as well and sat well with me for a bit. Of course, all of my adorable nieces were there as well. Kara and Kate get prettier everytime I see them, little Callie is just a dolly, and Little Mak is loads of fun. Matthew enjoyed his cousins but Ben got very overwhelmed with all of the people. We tried to make him stay put for present opening, but had to let him go. He played with some familiar toys and popped in to open his presents. Anna was a sweetie and enjoyed finding every little bit of wrapping paper she could. We had a nice lasagna supper and enjoyed our time spent reconnecting with my siblings.
We spent the night there and then traveled back Sunday morning. We arrived home at about 2pm with only one stop to find a dropped toy (didn't want the battery to die!) and one stop for lunch at a Burger King. (Oh, and Starbucks! Thank you, Rob!) We're all pretty tired, but it was a good trip. We couldn't get into our driveway when we got home so Rob spent a fair amount of time shoveling. I found a few undone chores to occupy myself...as well as unpacking. Phew!
Thanks to our parents for letting us crash at your houses and for taking good care of us. We love you guys so much!!
3 comments:
Just reading about your Christmas exhausted me! Wow! You did a lot! I'm so bad about going into details on my blog lately. I'm just trying to get a lot of pictures up on Facebook.
So what is that Make-a-Mess Fun center? Sounds like a blast!
You know, it seems like a lot when I read it, but it didn't at the time. It was actually less stuff than we usually pack into a visit. There was a lot of relaxing time that wasn't mentioned.
The Make-A-Mess Fun center is a place in Normal that has lots of stuff for kids to do. It has a big play thing (like McDonalds) with a ball pit (!!!), a dress-up area, karioke machine (the boys sang Christmas carols), air hockey games, video games, a big inflatible obstacle course, and all kinds of other stuff. It's in a big open room so parents can sit in a central location and see what the kids are up to at all times. They even have times you can drop off your kids and the workers watch them. The boys just love it.
Sounds a little like "The Magic Castle" that we have about 10 min. from here near the Bellbrook area. They also have a mini-golf course and a regular one. Some other outside water games etc. I couldn't really tell, since the only time we've been there so far is in the winter for the inside stuff, and I couldn't really tell what all was going on with the outside.
Post a Comment