This is a LO-O-O-ONG overdue post that is very LO-O-O-ONG. In April, we took a road trip to my sister's house in KY for a week of vacation and for Easter. We had such a great time! It was very hard to leave, but we were glad that we weren't all tired of each other by the end of the 6 days. :)
The very first night, we ended up all sleeping on the floor of the basement together for the last half of the night because the tornado sirens went off. We carried all the kids down first after waking them from deep sleep. Then, between sirens, Matt and Jon ran up two flights of stairs to get blankets and pillows and flash lights and water. They even hauled the air mattress that Matt and I were sleeping on. After getting all settled, around 3 am, we hear a hisssssssssssing and realize that our air mattress has a hole in it! Once again, we get up and rearrange ourselves and finally get a little sleep before the kids are up in the morning.
Most evenings, we herded the kids to bed and the adults (and Josh) played games. Since my sister's and my birthdays had just occurred, Matt had a spectacular idea of getting a cake for us to celebrate. He decided we needed a double-doozy cookie cake from Great American Cookie Company. I think the kids got one piece each the whole week and we adults (he-hem... Matt) ate the rest. It was super delicious! And a great way to end each day!
We introduced Joshua to his boy cousins; Jude and Brennan were very sweet with him...
Tough stuff
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We played at a park that had an awesome dog park and a community vegetable garden where you could plant your own section and tend it and reap from it. Very cool! And because it rains A LOT there, the gardens do very well. Everything was so beautiful, lush and green! Of course, the cool weather was a plus also!
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My BIL, Jon, was able to be off for most of our time there, so we took advantage and drove to a forest to hike. We didn't do much hiking but it was still fun and the kids were still worn out.
Jon gets these ideas in his head; i think he and his boys are half animal...
Jude: "My turn, Dad?"
Can you spot the monkey in the tree?
Not sure what they're doing...
"Crouching tiger"
My Sista, Sally and her husband, Jon and boys, Jude & Brennan. I just love 'em so much! Sally is an inspiration to me as a wife, mom, friend, sister, person in general!! It says a lot that I look up to her since she is my youngest sister!
Sal & Brennan
... & Jude
This boy cracks me up! He's posing! Ha!
Goofy kids!
...more tough stuff
There's 4 years between us, almost to the day. I loved growing up with her. It's fun because there is just about the same difference in years between us as there is between Chloe and Josh. I remember trying to make her laugh as a baby; I remember just adoring her! She was a real life baby to play with! :) Now, she is one of my best friends.
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Like I said, it rains A LOT in KY. We spent one morning at an indoor inflatable play-land. It's hard to get good pictures of people moving so there are aren't many.
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Easter...
This is the best picture of the four of them.
Hannah is imitating Sally, who was trying to get everyone to look up. :)
Sweet brothers :)
Sweet Sisters :)
Jude & Brennan: "Are you sure this is going to work??"
Josh: "AHHHHHHHHH!"
I think Josh loves getting his picture taken as much as I do. I thought about doing this very thing in the family pictures we had to take.
The older boys were willing to give it a try and it mostly worked!
Easter egg hunting inside because of the rain...
Doing Resurrection Eggs with the kids.
I was very proud of them for not tearing into their eggs right away.
Except for Hannah... I think she opened and ate about 6 eggs before I realized what she was doing quietly over there. :)
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Thank you, Estes family, for having us in your home for so long, for giving up beds and bathrooms and for involving us in your lives for a week! We all love all of you!
