On Sunday we took a spur-of-the-moment trip down to Illinois. When you have three kids, planning a trip three days prior to leaving is "spur-of-the-moment." :) The Custom Shoppe closed down for a little over a week, so Rob had an eleven day weekend. Rob's aunt and uncle from Florida are visiting and his brother from Missouri were there, so we figured it was a good time to visit. We left after the morning service on Sunday and came back Wednesday morning.
After passing back nursery kids, we went home and everyone changed at warp speed, we packed up last-minute items, and then we all grabbed our bag lunches and headed out the door. The boys thought it was neat that they had their own little lunch, packed full of goodies I rarely give them. Ben ate through everything in the bag BUT the sandwich and was a little sneaky about stashing it by his booster seat so he could claim he ate it. That little stunt lost him a treat at the rest stop. Matthew savored his lunch and made it last pretty long, then ate his treat in front of little brother.
We spent Sunday evening with my parents and had a great time. The weather was nice, so the kids played in the backyard while Grandma grilled supper. Rob and the boys played some soccer while Anna played in the swing and tottered around after balls. The next day, we had breakfast and then played at the park. We headed off to Normal next to visit with Rob's family. We had a good time that day visiting with his parents, grandma (GG), great-aunt, aunt and uncle, and his brothers and their families. We kept the boys outside alot and they had a good time in GG's enormous backyard. I started teaching Matthew how to climb a tree. GG has a great climing tree that is perfect for a beginner. I'm sure it won't be long before he's scaling up the trees like a monkey. Since that's what I did as a little girl, I'm mighty tempted to join him! The higher, the better!
We went back to my parents' for the evening, bathed the filthy children, and attempted to get them to go to sleep. I didn't sleep much that night, which led to two days of headaches. My mom, who is an optician, gave the boys a brief exam at the optical place where she works and we discovered that Ben does need a full exam. I thought his vision was poor and I'm glad my mommy-instincts were right. We'll be getting him to the eye doctor pretty soon. I had him try on some frames and he looked pretty cute in them.
We headed back to Normal for the day (after stopping at McDonald's for life-giving liquid...I mean coffee....) and had a good time again with the relatives. (Okay, pause here...I am reminded of a great children's book called Bubba and Beau Meet the Relatives. If you've never read it, pick it up next time you're at the library. It's a hoot!) Rob's Missouri brother was in misery (sorry Dan, had to do it!) so we didn't see him, but everyone else was there. Rob and his dad showed the boys how to play pool and even Anna liked watching the balls move around. After lunch we took the boys to the Normal Children's Museum and they had a blast. Anna was napping and it was nice to be more one-on-one with the boys. Matthew and I even sat at a computer and played a game.
We went back for the afternoon and after supper visited Rob's grandparents, who are my most avid blog readers :) Then we headed back to Pontiac for the night. All of the kids were asleep when we got there, but Anna and Ben woke up for a bit and had a bath. Matthew, on the other hand, had to be carried upstairs sound asleep. He was most upset in the morning when he was still in his clothes :)
We left for home after breakfast on Wednesday and had a rough ride. I had a massive headache and the boys, who had been VERY good the whole trip, decided to let loose and be loud in the car. Thankfully, they took turns sleeping or the ride would have seemed twice as long. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch (seriously, fast food prices are just as expensive or more so than some sit-down places, so why not get better food for the same price?) We arrived home just in time for me to nap, the kids to run around, and Rob to prepare for the Wed. night kids program. Phew!
It was a good trip and I'll be posting pictures on Facebook. Right now, all three kids are napping and I think I will follow suit!
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