We went to Kansas City to see Elizabeth and Kent. We had lunch and decorated for Christmas.
They had just gotten home from visiting Nonny and Papa, so we were thankful to be able to squeeze in some time with them.
Mom spoiled us with all her cooking and made several batches of zwiebach.
We spent the afternoon looking through old pictures and watching old home videos. Uncle Sam had a video of my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party and I had completely blocked out that I wore my Grandma's wedding dress for it! As an adult, I can't believe she let me do that!
Pictures of pictures is never the best, but these were some of my favorites we found.
Colin and Beau really bonded this trip. There's something about Colin's face that dogs really want to lick:)
Fresh peppernuts and games is the perfect way to end a trip.
We went to Newton for the day. There's something very therapeutic about driving through the Kansas plains. We went to my Aunt Karen's for a big Thanksgiving reunion. I was afraid my kids have forgotten what a real farm is, so I made them walk around in the freezing cold to explore.
I believe this is the first time Eli's ever touched a horse.
Food preparations were going on in the kitchen
and everyone else was out in the shed. My Uncle Sam greeted us and shared the family tree he had made. He also had old family videos playing, which was really fun to watch.
It was so great catching up with family and meeting new-to-me additions.
We watched the parade in the morning, while the food was cooking. Seeing Huntriz preform live for the first time was a highlight. Then, the kids had a coloring contest .
When the turkey was done, my dad let the kids eat the crispy skin first.
My Aunt Brenda even joined us for the day.
After our meal, some played baseball
and some played Life. And Maggie knitted all afternoon...she's really good!
Alison and Katherine worked on a puzzle and we watched Miracle on 34st St. Three puzzles were completed in just a few days!
We had peanut butter pie and peanut butter stuff for dessert . The love of peanut butter is just in the genes.
Wednesday, the kids and I went to Kansas City to see Lydia and her family. We had brunch, the kids played like they were little kids and not teens and then we got boba. For some reason, Kansas has the best boba.
They played Uno and Courtney and Eli talked about learning Japanese. Courtney even brought the flashcards she made.
Mom made spaetzles and gravy for dinner and then the kids played Up Jenkins.
We did some prep for Thanksgiving that night. Alison helped me make great Aunt Irene's peanut butter pie.
She asked if we could make it again, so I feel like I've won at life.
Unfortunately Ben is still stuck in the Philippines and wasn't able to join us on our trip to Kansas. We missed him greatly, but it was also a good distraction to have full days with friends and family.
We flew in late Monday; our flight was delayed some but we were thankful that it was just delayed and not cancelled (they have been canceling flights due to the government shutdown). We got a late night dinner at Chick-fil-A and then settled into Grandma and Grandpa's for the week.
Tuesday, I got my haircut by still-the-absolute-best Cara and it was so great catching up. Eli commented how rare it is to still be friends with people you grew up with and I think that's my absolute favorite thing about growing up in Lawrence. Even after all these years, I still run into people I knew as a kid and they remember me and want to stop and talk.
Dad jumped into driving instructor. He took Eli out twice a day and gave him a driving quiz.
Learning to drive in Lawrence is the best. The quiet roads, slower speed limits and grandpa's smaller car create just the right learning experience. My dad even started teaching Colin! He said he was a natural :)
That afternoon, I took Alison, Maggie and Rose downtown to do a little shopping. We had the best time wondering around.
And ended our time at Silas and Maddie's, Rose's favorite.
Back home, we helped mom make verinky for dinner.
And everyone else played football.
Dinner was a huge treat for us. It's a lot of work to make these traditional meals and they taste even better when you have the ingredients from Hillsboro.
At the end of the night, the kids asked grandpa to play 'Colored Eggs', a game he invented when they were really little. It was pretty hilarious watching them play as teens.
