Whirlwind Weekend!

Last Thursday night began our long-but-short family weekend trip.

Thursday night the three of us hopped a plane from Baltimore to Saint Louis in the late evening hours. Much to our surprise, 3 1/2 year old Ellie was still awake and excited at 9:30 at night. She was mostly excited to finally meet her new cousin Abby. She was very pleased to see that we came along too. I think....

Friday morning we had a relaxed theme. A little shopping and a lot of playing with three little girls preceeded a nice time with Sarahlynn's mom and mom's friends. Really nice to have met them, they seem like they could get into a lot of fun and a lot of trouble all at the same time!

Friday afternoon we loaded up the van for the drive up to Iowa. Four adults, one toddler and two infants in the minivan. It was fun, but I think I watched WAY too much Finding Nemo! By the time we got back on Sunday, I was confident that I could go to a drawing board and map out the story for you, scene by scene.

Saturday in Iowa we went to a memorial service for Anny's grandfather. It was nice, though I must admit that I missed a lot of it. Abby was fussy, and it was much more important to me that she be fully there. I think/hope that she apreciated it. On our way back to the house we picked up a couple of copies of Harry Potter so that folks would not completely miss the train.

In the evening we enjoyed time just hanging out with family. That's the reason to make the Christmas in July trip every year. Kids playing, adults catching up. Just plain fun times!

Sunday afternoon we made a diversion stop to take a family picture with all of the grandchildren in Anny's immediate family side. All three girls were awake and alert through the whole thing! We could not have asked for a better time there, either. When we were done there, we loaded back up and headed for Saint Louis again.

Monday we caught a mid-morning flight home. By the time we landed and made it home, we were all pretty beat. After a quick dinner with Nadia and SuperUncle, we called it an early night.

We'll go back next year. There is even discussion about a spring break trip to Wyoming. That will have to be more than a quick weekend......

I love time with family!