Family fun in Ohio

On Friday, 11/25 Mimi and I opted not to go shopping and in the afternoon, after Pap got home from work and the girls woke up from naps, we went to a park! A little chilly, but beautiful and kids had a great time! Aside from Lydia getting 'clocked' in the head by a swing (and not a normal swing, a huge plastic swing with a big kid in it) we all had a great time. :) No pictures of the black eye either... I'm a terrible mom - really slacking on taking pictures to document things like that! But none the less... here are some pictures from the trip!

Lydia 'negotiating' again... with her best subject! She was trying to get him up there to slide down with her :)

My beautiful Lindsay Rae... now if only I could get her to smile like this 'on-cue'!

That evening before the sun went down (happens at 6 in Ohio, lucky people!) We took a few shots of Donnie, Ashley, Elle & Carson for family photos. Mom & Dad have the perfect setting for pictures... and for riding four-wheelers, and campfires, and fishing... the list goes on and on!

Really enjoyed taking the pictures... as I always do :) but I was really happy with how they turned out... getting more and more comfortable with my new editing program all the time.

Love this little ham!

This was my personal favorite...

REALLY fun playing around with this picture :)

True display of Elle & Carson :)

LOVE this picture of my favorite brother & sister-in-law (good thing I only have one of each! ;)

and super special picture of Donnie, Dad & Carson... I know, I know... I was lucky to catch him at a weak moment :) he actually smiled when I asked him too ;)



That night in the bubble bath... as Lauren called it, "a little bit of heaven!" :) Was something they talked about all the way to Ohio.

And then on Saturday we went bowling! The kids had a blast, and so did the adults :) Here is Donnie being 'pro' bowler :) Lauren asked me, "why does Donnie have his own shoes & bowling ball?"  Good question Lauren... b/c Uncle Donnie likes to be the 'coolest' at all sports!! :)) Just teasing Don ;)



Here is the whole clan :) Lindsay Bowen even drove down to see me & the whole family!



We did not get there early enough to have a lane with the bumper pads, but the nice guy helping us out gave the kids this 'device' to use that kept their ball remotely straight :) they loved it and it really worked!

Lindsay in action...



waiting to see where the ball is going to go...

 and it rolled in the gutter... bummer!

 better luck next time Linds! :)

Lydia did surprisingly well :) she didnt' even try to run down the bowling isle :)

Like our matching shirts? :) Mimi bought them for us that day shopping... I thought they were VERY fitting :))

Such a wonderful visit... we made it back in 9-hrs thanks to L3 & 4 falling asleep at the same time right before lunch, and then again after lunch, and sleeping longer than 45-minutes!  So safe & sound we found Iowa... 3-hrs of unpacking later we were ready to read the girls a book before bed. Lauren & Lindsay picked it out together and asked Chris & I both to sit on the couch for it. It was the book that Mimi & Pap had recorded for them the previous Christmas. "B/c Mimi & Pap are not here to read us the book, we can listen to this one," they said. So we listened to mom & dad read the book, and when it was over, Lauren started crying. I asked her why she was crying and she said, "B/c I miss Mimi & Pap." Then Lindsay started crying... and then we were ALL sitting on the couch crying. Quite the site we were I'm sure :) but it was true... we had such a wonderful visit... and we do miss Mimi & Pap, and our whole Ohio family very much, everyday. Love you all, and thanks again for the wonderful time.