Sometimes we just have to be silly

I have no photos of the grandsons acting goofy but the girls are definitely into it!  Here are a few funny photos of my little comediennes.  Ally....

Emery and a dinosaur...

Elle...

Ally and Gigi...

Emery...

 Elle and Gigi...

and even Sarah gets into the act.  I love my funny girls!

Whirlwind Texas Trip, Part IV

After a delayed flight out of Abilene, I spent one more night and most of a day in Dallas with Sarah's family before heading home to Alaska.  Monday was busy, as Sarah had an appointment and then Elle was scheduled to get her cast off later in the day so I stayed at the house with my sweet boy, Beck. 

We were a little worried about how Elle would do with the cast removal since Sarah had been warned that they used some sort of saw and that it would be noisy.  She was told to prepare Elle for this so we had a little talk about the "cast removing tool" that would be used and how it might be pretty loud.  Sarah texted me from the doctor's office saying Elle did great but the doc decided the arm was not quite where he wanted it to be so he was having another cast put on for 10 more days.

 New cast--pink this time!

 Another cast?  No big deal!

 Sarah and her sweeties

 

 Gigi and one of her best girls

Miles is a busy guy but I caught a quick glimpse of him as I was out the door to the airport and he was taking the kids to Elle's soccer practice.

It's always hard to say goodbye to  my girls, guys, and precious grandkids.  I know I am the most biased person around when it comes to my family but I could not ask for better.  My girls are all kind and caring people, great moms, and lots of fun.  I am not sure how I lucked out and got the three best sons-in-law in the world, but I did.  :)  And these grandkids make life all the sweeter.  I could not be more grateful.  I love y'all and can't wait till the next visit!

Whirlwind Texas Trip, Part III

I left Amarillo and flew to Abilene, which necessitated a plane change in Dallas.  The joke in West Texas is that "even on your way to hell, you have to go through DFW."  Such a pain that there are no direct flights.  I was excited to see Susan, Corey and kids upon arrival!  It was dinner time and we'd made arrangements to meet up with some friends so we headed straight for a new place called Abi Haus in downtown Abilene.  Our friend Kyle is the chef there and we got to visit with him briefly, though I failed to get a photo!  We enjoyed our dinner and visiting with Sherri, Karen, and Jim. 

Thursday and Friday I took the kids to school while their parents went to work.  Susan and Corey just bought their first house in Clyde and I'm thrilled for them that they have their own place!  It's really nice and roomy with a big back yard and a trampoline....what more do you need?!

 Yes, the kids talked me into jumping on the trampoline.  I am not excited about the accentuated belly flab showing in this photo but I did want to prove that all the cool grannies get out there and participate despite bladder issues and having to run to the house almost immediately.  :)  We laughed and laughed and had a big ole time.

Our little Ally turned 6 while I was in town so I got to celebrate with her.  She came home from school wearing a crown from her teacher and carrying certificates naming her Student of the Month--so it was quite a day for our girl!

 That night we went out to dinner for Ally's bday and then took the kids to Prime Time to play.  In keeping with my cool status, I also rode the bumper cars, which brought on another fit of laughter for all.  I had no idea what I was doing.

 Corey and Aidan

 My cute girls

 We opened presents at home

Aidan will turn 10 at the end of the month (how is that possible?) so Susan and I took the kids to Gatti's for lunch the next day and celebrated his bday early with pizza and more games.

Aidan loves Lego projects and picked out another big one for his gift.  Usually he and Grandpa Rich work on these together and spend hours making various intricate vehicles but Aidan is getting good enough at it to make this one on his own. Good thing, since Gigi is inept and Grandpa was not along for this trip!

 Usually when I go to Abilene, I've stayed with my friend Karen or in a hotel because Susan and Corey didn't have much space.  This time was great fun because we got to hang out at home, cook meals, relax till bedtime, and spend time together in the morning. 

 Corey, Susan, Aidan and Ally

 Aidan also had a music program at school so I went to hear him and the other 3rd graders at 2 PM and then back again that night with his family. They did such a great job! I was really impressed with how well they sang together, harmonizing, and singing different parts.  Excellent, 3rd graders!  One of the things I miss about being so far away is that I don't get to attend their programs, games, and activities.  If I lived in town with any of them, you  know I would always be there!

My last day I said goodbye to Ally, who was going to Brady to spend Spring Break with Corey's grandmother.  We then went out to the track to watch Aidan ride his bike for a couple of hours before I got back on the plane and returned to Dallas for one more night.

 He's getting way too grown up!

Another leg of the journey complete! I missed some of my good friends this time--the trip was so short and it just ended up being unworkable.  Note to self: plan a longer trip next time!

Whirlwind Texas Trip, Part II

I had a quick flight to Amarillo, with an Unalaska style landing--very windy and bumpy!  Bonnie and the kids were there to meet me and I was thrilled to see them, as you might expect!  Emery had dance class that night and here she is, all ready to go.  Unfortunately, parents are not allowed to watch so Bonnie and I took the opportunity to run some errands while Emery was in class.  The teacher told Bonnie that Emery likes the tap dancing part but does not like ballet. She will sit on the floor and refuse to participate!  Bonnie tried to bribe her this night and told her she could have a sucker if she participated.  When we picked her up, Bonnie asked her teacher if she'd done ballet or not--no, she didn't want to.  We later asked Emery why she didn't want to dance during the ballet part of class. She replied that it was hard and she just didn't want to try.  LOL At least she is honest!

We had a full, busy day on Saturday, with a baby shower and two birthday parties to attend.  I was excited to get to go with Bonnie to this baby shower because it was for a friend of my girls who danced with them for many years in Abilene and ended up in Amarillo, too. Rebecca is a teacher at the same high school as Bonnie and David--small world, huh?  I was thrilled to see her mom and grandmother at the shower--Rebecca's mom Susan and I were "dance moms" together and kindred spirits in many ways.  It was serendipitous that we were both in town at the same time!  Emery wanted to "help" Rebecca; she was in the big middle of everything and Rebecca was very sweet to indulge her.  We made it to the first birthday party late and then everyone was exhausted so we skipped the second one. Whew! I forgot how busy it is when you have little ones!

My niece Bryana and her family live in Amarillo now and they have a new baby, Daisy.  Bryana's parents, my ex brother in law Bryan and his wife Lisa, as well as Bryana's sister Emily and her two daughters, came to visit while I was in town, so I was excited to get to see them, too.  Here are Bryana, Emily with Daisy, and Bonnie with Luke.  We pretty much took over the TV room at their hotel to hang out and have dinner.  It was great fun to catch up with everyone.

 Bryana's husband Seth and my son in law David

Emery with her second cousins Madison and Kailey (Emily's daughters).  They were so sweet with Emery and she had lots of fun with them. 

 Bryana's two sweeties, Lilly and Daisy

 Lisa and her newest granddaughter.  We raised our six daughters together and now it seems very strange to have so many grandchildren between us!  She is way ahead of me with #9 on the way.

Another day we took the kids and met Lisa and her girls and grandkids at the park where we fed the ducks and let the little ones play.

Bryana, me, Lisa, Madison, Emily and baby Daisy in the stroller.

On Monday, Bonnie and David went back to their teaching jobs and I got to stay with Emery and Luke for the morning. Bonnie is just working half days this year so we had barely had breakfast, washed up, put clothes on and played a little bit and Mommy was home.  Luke had not seen me since his birth, so no matter how much I want to act like he has some memory of that, I have to admit he did not know me at all.  He was not a big Gigi fan as long as his mama was around so I was a little concerned that he would be upset when he woke up in the morning and I was there instead of Bonnie. But he got up with a smile on his face and was happy the whole time we were together. Yay!

After Bonnie got home from work, we took the kids to the Discovery Center to see a dinosaur exhibit. Emery is very much into dinosaurs at the moment so she had a ball.  She has a bunch of toy dinosaurs at home and would put them into her doll house or have tea parties with them.  :)

 Luke is a really sweet and happy boy!  Here we are hanging out in the bathroom while sister has her bath.

 Getting ready for bed

Another morning of babysitting--Emery drawing and Luke playing with toys.

It was another very quick trip, packed with fun with the kids and Bonnie and David.  I have friends in Amarillo and didn't even have a chance to call. Next time I definitely need to stay longer with each of my girls!