The kids watching breakfast prep
Mmmm..fresh bacon! It was delicious!
Quite the crew: Nora, Max, and Grace
After our late breakfast, we went to Meadowland Market, the store that Rustin and Sharon help run. It was fun to see it, since we'd heard about it. And, of course, we bought some stuff. :) Once we got back to their house, Rustin brought down the Wii and we let Grace and Max play it before they took their naps. It was pretty funny to watch, albeit frustrating when Max couldn't do it but wouldn't accept any help. Oh, 2 year olds.
Not sure who was batting and who was pitching. We started Max out on pitching, though, since all you have to do is move the remote forward.
Max and Grace concentrated pretty hard on the game, as you can tell...
...while Nora found a cozy spot and just hung out. Did I mention this was just before nap time? :)
I was pretty impressed, actually. This was basically the first time Nora had met Rustin, and she's usually not so comfortable with people she doesn't know well.
While the kids all slept, Greg and Rustin played Monopoly against each other on the Wii and Sharon and I watched for a while. There is a mode you can play that is different than the original version. Instead of using money, you trade properties. It's hard to explain, but it was faster than the original game and much more fun to watch (and play)! Eventually, the boys decided that we needed to get two more remotes so that us girls could play, too. After they got back from the store, it was time to start working on supper. Rustin grilled ribs that he had rubbed with a mixture of salt and brown sugar in the afternoon, while Sharon made some baked potatoes. Oh, my, was that ever some good food. And I don't even like ribs!
Greg snapped some pictures before supper of the two buds, Grace and Max.
For being a 3 year old and a 2.5 year old, they played together pretty well! Of course, the common cause of strife was wanting to play with the same toy, but they really had fun together.
They are definitely two of the most...spirited....children I know. :)
After supper, we gave the kids all baths so we wouldn't have to deal with it Sunday morning. Of course, everybody wanted in at once!
I love Grace's expression. We did take some pictures with Eden in there, too.
Sunday we went to church at Morris North, which is currently held at a research lab (I think that's what it is). It felt like our kids were the only ones acting up, but that seems to be at any church we visit. We really loved the people there and the small church feel. We were warmly welcomed and it was nice to actually meet most of the people at church! After church we visited Russ and Beth Koehl at their house...she's more on the spot than I am and had a picture of us posted to her blog that same day. :) So you can look at her blog for the picture. After packing up our stuff at Rustin and Sharon's (except for my timer, Sharon! It's on the bed that Max slept in since I used it for his quiet time on Saturday.) we went to Doug and Amber's, where we were eating supper and spending Sunday night. She had invited some couples over: Andrew and Kara Wulf, Brent and Susie Wulf, and Taylor and Tanya Gramm. It was a great evening, but I was shot by the end of the night when Greg and I actually had time to talk to Doug and Amber. I'm afraid I slept through half (maybe a bit more) of the conversation, but it did last until 1:15 am, so I have a little bit of an excuse! :)
Monday morning, Amber made a great breakfast and Doug and Archie took Greg and Max on a tour of the farm. Here was Max's highlight:
He got to hold a baby pig! Here is the rest of the story...
...it pooped on him! Don't worry, he didn't smell in the van on the way home.
He loved those baby pigs.
No, Max. You may not have one to take home.
I think Archie had a good time showing Max around. :)
Doug and Amber have a business called Wurst Machers, and they have a truck with a smoker in it that they take around to fairs, events, etc., selling sausages and sandwiches. Greg, being his father's son, took interest in the smoker, so here it is:
We set off around 10:30 from Doug and Amber's to go down to Freeport, where Greg had tax school on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday's drive felt longer than Friday's, mostly because I was driving the end of it and apparently the quickest way to Freeport involves many windy country roads that I had to navigate in the dark...just waiting for a deer to jump out at me. But, we made it. Greg took Max swimming after we got Pizza Hut delivered to our room, while I put Nora to bed.
Tuesday, Greg went to tax school, so it was just me and the kids at the hotel. (Greg had the van.) Nora ended up sleeping all morning, literally, and as for Max, all I can say is thank goodness for Playhouse Disney. Here is what he did:
Max with his Tigger, sippy cup, and cup of ice
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...and Handy Manny...and Agent Oso...etc. I'm rather glad for morning programming, as it kept Max from waking Nora!
Greg came back and picked us up for lunch, and then after lunch I put both kids down for naps. I don't remember what I did, probably read my book or used the laptop to catch up on blogs and e-mail. It was quiet, I remember that. :)
Here is a little tour of our home for two days:
Max on me and Greg's bed
View of the other half of the suite, with Nora's pack n play on the right (behind the table) and Max's bed on the floor on the left (in front of the couch), that pile of blue blankets.
Wednesday morning I spent packing up, since we had to check out. Greg picked us up for lunch and we loaded up the van with our stuff. After a quick bite to eat, the kids and I dropped Greg off at tax school (held at the local community college), and I drove around for 20 minutes waiting for Max and Nora to fall asleep. (Mostly Nora...Max was out 5 min. after we left the college). With that achieved, I found a JCPenney parking lot to camp out in and for 2.5 hours, I finished my book and addressed all of my Christmas cards, just in time for Nora to wake up. :) We shopped for about 45 min., picked up Greg, and then all of us headed home.
Things worked out better than I expected with the hotel and kids and everything, but it's probably no surprise that it feels very good to be home. :D
***A note on the title: If you Google map a trip that goes from Tremont to Latty, OH to Tremont to Athens, AL to Tremont to Morris, MN to Freeport, IL to Tremont...it's about 3000 miles. To put that in perspective, we could have almost driven to Juneau, Alaska. Or from Boston, MA to San Diego, CA! Good thing we split it up into 3 weekends. :D
3 comments:
This makes me tired just reading it! BUT, oh how I LOVE SPIRITED kids. :)
Some cute pics but ugh, all the driving. Love, Mom B.
That's a lot of miles, Mary....and lots of smiles too! Glad you had good trips.
Ruth
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