Family Weekend Getaway - Photo Heavy

I had thought to make this two posts but why drag it out. One post, many photos. Enjoy. Or don't.

There's a family tradition that has been going on for years but because we lived on the other side of the country, we were never able to participate. There's a handful of our family (and when I say handful, I mean 30-40 of our giant family) that heads out every fall to a secluded cabin in the middle of PA. It's quite a trek up a mountain, over a river, through the woods, to grandmother's house we go you get the point... it's out there.

The drive up was fairly uneventful. Thank God for my good little travelers.

He's clearly thrilled to be stuck in the car for 7 hours. Clearly.

Upon arrival, it was slightly reminiscent of the movies where everyone scatters in a million directions. Somehow all families managed to arrive within the same one hour time so chaos was abundant. The cabin, oh the cabin! Two stories, giant dining table, three living areas, three bathrooms, and fourteen bedrooms! Add in no cell service and NO internet and we had nothing but four days of family fun!

Indoor shuffleboard!

Alena was in heaven having other GIRLS to play with.

 There were many late nights (let's face it, every night was late) spent talking and playing games. And we managed to do two large puzzles.

Even managed a couple naps.

It was much more relaxing than I thought it would be and I enjoyed it immensely. Looking around at our group laughing and playing, I thought, "THIS is what it is about and why we moved home." We were sad to leave and be there without Gabe, but are already looking forward to next year.

A Short Visit

We recently took a trip to Michigan to spend a few days with the in-laws. Our first stop was to my father-in-law for a day. As soon as I got out of work on Monday, I picked up the kids and off we went. I thank my lucky stars every time we take a trip because the kids are such good travelers. But how backwards is this first pic? I was sure Noah would fall asleep right away but instead, he stayed up most of the trip and Alena and Christian got a 2 hour nap!

 The following day, after breakfast and cleaning up, my FIL treated us to some fun at a mini golf/arcade joint. To the shock of us all, we each got a hole in one! After finishing up with mini golf, we headed inside to use up the 100 tokens my FIL had gotten for us to play games.

Watching grandpa shave.

We could not get him off this thing.

That evening, we said goodbye to my FIL and headed to my MIL's house. She was already in bed when we arrived so we got on our pj's and hopped into bed.

The next several days were spent enjoying our visit. The kids spent much of the time outside with my MIL's chickens and jumping on the trampoline.

Grandma teaching the girls to bake bread.

Boarding with his uncle.

 Being that Alena is always around boys (with 2 brothers and my sister's 3 boys), she was in heaven hanging out with my SIL's kids (they have 4 girls!). I got these cute pics of Alena and her cousin close in age doing a puzzle book together and sharing secrets. :)

All in all, a good visit. The kids are excited about the fact that we can now see everyone more than once a year. That means more cousin time!

Vegas Baby!

I'm sorry the blog has been so slow this month. I've been spending more time away from the computer which has resulted in less posting.

Anyway... In the six years we've lived in Arizona, I have tried many times to convince Gabe to go to Vegas without success. Well, he got a business trip there and I jumped at the chance to go! He had to fly with his coworkers there and I drove the kids and myself (much cheaper) (still need to write a post on driving with kids) (what's with all the parenthesis?).

We didn't get to see and do everything we wanted but we still had a good time. Working around Gabe's work schedule, we managed to visit the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef, see the Bellagio Fountain show, swim in the hotel pool, visit the Coke museum and M&M World, enjoy games and a show at Circus Circus, and visit the Fremont Street Experience.

I'll spare you a long monologue and just let you enjoy the pics.

Giant wall of M&Ms? Yes, please!

Fremont Street Experience Light Show