Memorial Weekend Surprise Family Visit!

I love planning surprises!  We really surprised our kids over Memorial Weekend!  Brandon's parents and his sister and her family came up for the weekend.  It was such a very special time for all of us.  We took LOTS of pictures.  This post is sort of a photo overload.  I am sorry... sort of!  We have pictures of many treasured memories and I am thankful for the photos we have!

Our sweet T often tends to bully other kids, esp if the kids are in our house playing with her toys.  We were beyond amazed by the way God answered our prayers.  T didn't hurt cousin A a single time.  They were so sweet together.  It was such a joy to watch them laugh and play.  They are only a couple of months apart and are interested in all the same things.

Friday:

We were getting ready for a Life Group meeting at our house.  A few of the people has already arrived when their van pulled up.  We told the kids to come and see who had arrived!  The were SHOCKED!!!!

T: Look!  Look who is here!!!!!

M: Is it really true? 

M: I am so happy to see you Grandma Judy! 

T: My cousins are here too!!!!

M: Don't put me down Grandpa Tom!

We quickly put the grandparents to work.  They helped watch the life group kids during the meeting.  After life group the girls enjoyed using Brandon as a carnival ride.  The boys enjoyed playing with a racetrack that A brought.

After some time playing we decided that M and Big A would go with Tom and Judy to the hotel for the night.  They were very excited to be at the hotel.  The girls were very excited to be at our house together.  They all had fun!

Brandon and I enjoyed late night talking and catching up wit his sister Adrienne and brother in law Chris.  It was so much fun to catch up without kids around.  We could actually complete conversations!

No words... only squeals and giggles of delight. *Note the dress up clothes!

T and A:  We are upside down!  

M: I sure am glad you brought this race car track!

M: I am getting pretty tired, but this is really fun. 

Saturday:

The morning began at the pool for the hotel crew.  They really enjoyed playing and splashing!  The girls at home were in full dress up mode again.  They were so happily playing together.  It was darling to hear them talk and see them play.

M: Come and chase us Grandpa Tom!

M: Doesn't the water feel nice Grandma Judy? 

M: Thanks for keeping me safe!

M: Hey we are both smiling!  A: Maybe if she takes another I will be silly!

A: I am making a silly face.  M: Hey, I want to make a silly face!

M: Mouth open is really so much better! 

Loving Grandpa Tom Horsey Rides!

T: Let's Dance with each udder! 

T and A:  We love to be fancy!  *A is wearing heels in this one which is why she looks so tall. 

Once the hotel crew arrived at our house we began prepping for a bike trip.  Brandon, Tom, and Adrienne took all four kids on a long bike ride.  They all had fun and got a good work out as well.  They stopped on a special overpass bridge to wave at Semi-trucks.  They also spent a long time playing at a park in a neighboring community. Chris, Judy and I stayed back and got food ready for a lunch picnic and a grill out that night.

Ready to ride! 

T:  Let's see if we can get him to honk! 

M: I see more Semi's coming.  Let's get their attention. 

T and A: We love to run.  We love life! 

M: Come on up A you can do it.  A: I am almost there! 

M and A:  We are the Kings of the park! 

Hmmm T in underwear... fancy that.  She loves to strip off layers of clothes whenever the mood strikes her. 

Such sweetness!

Taking a little break. 

Now he is ready for more fun! 

Once we knew the bikers were nearing home, we purchased the final things for the picnic and met them at a lovely park on the Lake.  The weather was chilly (50's I think) that day, but the sky was clear.  The kids didn't eat too much, but they did enjoy chasing seagulls and watching boats.  We all enjoyed the lovely local views!

Ready to eat - minus Tom!

Ready to eat - minus Brandon and several people rotations. 

The kids getting ready to chase seagulls. 

Success!  The seagull were in the air, but the photo was a bit blurry. 

Another round of seagull chasing.  

One more round!  Lovely Day! 

We love living here!

Sort of looks Chris and A are standing against a back drop here. 

A and T: We sure love being upside down!

M: You can't catch me Grandpa Tom!

You might think it looks sweet how they are holding hands... it is a safety issue.  There are no guardrails and the drop off is HUGE!   Check out all the people at the lighthouse!

T: I can't cuddle Grandma Judy.  I need to run! 

After we got back there was a little bit of playing in the house and then more playing in the backyard.    T didn't take a nap so we could maximize all of the day!

M: Playing with A is so much fun!

A, A, and T:  Higher!!!

Hit it A!

Hit it M!

Hit it T!!

A: Why are you sitting down Uncle Brandon? 

The beach was beckoning so all the kids and a few adults headed to the Lake... just to play at the beach.  Well, you can image how tempting it is to play in the water.  Very cold and very wet and very happy kids came home. 

LOVE THIS ONE!!!!

Love this one too!  I just can't decide which is better!

T: Don't worry.  We will just put our toes in the water!

T: Come on A, just a little splash!

T and A: OK, we will just put our toes and bottoms in the water!  

Suddenly all four were in the water.  T: I didn't need my coat or my skirt.  They were in the way. 

T: Well, I guess I got more than my toes wet.  How come this happens every time we go to the beach? 

After everyone got warm and dry we ate some tasty grilled food and had early bedtimes.  M decided to sleep at our house that night.  

Sunday:

Early Sunday morning I zipped over to the hotel to drop off M so he could spend this morning time with Grandpa Tom.  The boys ended up getting to ride of a luggage cart thing so they were pretty thrilled about that. 

M: Can you believe it?  I get to ride on the luggage cart!

M: Oh Boy!  Now we are on a luggage cart ON an elevator.  It is only 8:00 am and my day has already been awesome! 

We were all ready for church early.  Part of the reason things went so quickly was the matching girls. T often takes a long time to decide on a dress, but once I showed her a dress that looked a lot like A's she was game to put it on.  Both girls wanted to have the same hair style as well.  The boys matched quite well too.  It was fun to get several shots with all the kids and the grands!

So sweet!

T: That A is so funny!

Perfect!!!!!

M: I sure am glad that A is my cousin!

A and T: We're cousins... identical cousin...

Grandma Judy and her favorite Princesses! 

We enjoyed all being together at church and then had fun after church as well.  Pastor David brought in a big bean bag chair (it might be called a love sac) for a sermon illustration.  The kids LOVED doing lots of jumping on it.

T: Walk Daddy!

M: Sure I will smile for the camera! 

A rare happy squeeze!

Mother and son snuggle part one!

Mother and son snuggle part two!

A rare photo without kids. 

We decided to get take out from a new chicken wing place for lunch.  It was a hit with my kids!  While taking the orders, the girls were right in the middle of things being cute as usual!

Wish these two could play together more often.  They were SO CUTE!

After lunch T went down for a nap.  She can sort of go one day without a nap, but not two in a row.  She went to sleep very willingly.  Playing with cousins is hard work.  While T slept I did some dinner prep and the whole crew hung out in the front family room.  First there were many rounds of Twister. The kids were hilarious with this game.  Big A seemed to find the hardest ways possible to stand each round.  The grown ups were all laughing almost to tears.  Throughout the playing most of the parents got out there for a round or two.  Our bodies don't move as well as our children's.   After Twister the boys attempted to play various other adult games.  M also tired his hand at a fancy camera!

A boy: A girl, you are sort of in the way!  M: A boy, this stance is really working for me. 

A: I feel like I am slipping.  M: I am ready for the next one. 

This is a sweet shot of the boys, a special shot of Brandon and A and an AWESOME photo of Tom and Judy.  That is what delighting in your grandsons looks like friends!!!

A just really really enjoyed getting knotted up.  M went for the more direct route.  

I was requested that A girl spin.  It was a win for special time with Brandon. 

More delighting!

Talented kids!

Brandon and Adrienne did a round with A girl joining in from time to time. 

I took a turn too!  Three at a time is a challenge!

M: OK mom, could you just more an inch to the right?  I think the lighting would be better. 

M: Should we draw this?  A: Sure.  M: What does it say?  A:  I don't know. 

While the last minute dinner prep was happening T had some cozy time with Aunt Adrienne reading an Elephant book.  The kids also did some play and wrestling in the front room.

Focused reading! 

Enjoying each other by parallel playing!

Enjoying each other by wrestling. 

Why not add a few stuffed animals to the mix, just for fun! 

After dinner the whole crew headed out for the long journey home.  They didn't arrive home until the middle of the night.  They chose this so they could be home for Memorial Day to catch up on things before work/school on Tuesday.  It was a very short visit in many ways, but we packed in the memories as well as we could in a short time.  I will always treasure this visit in my heart as the miracle of T's gentle hands is such a HUGE deal!