We're back! For all of those who were praying for safe and sane travels, thank you. Everything went amazingly well. We even survived going through security at the airport.
We left Friday morning at 10:30. As you can see, the car is not nearly as full as it was for our trip to North Carolina at the end of May.
We met Grandpa, Aunt Rita, and Uncle Shawn at the airport. Going through security was hectic with 2 kids and 2 babies, but we survived. I knew the carseats had to come off the stroller, the stroller had to be folded, and everything had to go through the scanner, but I hadn't visualized who was going to be holding the babies while I was doing all of this. Grandpa to the rescue! Rita and Shawn entertained Riley and Colter while we waited to board the plane.
Riley sat with Grandpa. Obviously they were both tired!
Colter sat with me.
They did really well on the flight. Riley fussed a little, but it was no big deal. (Easy for me to say since I wasn't holding her!)
After getting our bags, we met Joyce outside. By the time we got to her house, Pat and Greg had arrived with the guest of honor: Great-Grandpa! Colter was pretty impressed to meet somebody 90 years older than him.
Riley was happy to have yet another person to snuggle with.
Riley and Colter got to get to know most of the Ohio relatives. Aunt Rita was there to entertain them when they weren't being passed around.
She hung out with them in the hammock.
She helped Riley practice sitting up.
Great-Grandpa enjoyed spending time with the next to the youngest members of his family.
He was even up to holding both babies at once!
We may be looking at four different places, but this picture means the world to me.
On the last night of our visit, I heard the story of how Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma met. Thank goodness they did, otherwise this four generation group wouldn't exist!
Rita and Shawn adore our cousin Bethany. She'll be going to graduate school on a full ride (plus stipend!) next month. We are all really proud of her.
As many of us know, Colter is sometimes too busy looking around the room to stop and "talk." Joyce got his attention, though.
Doesn't Jeff look like a natural holding Riley?
We spent a ton of time on the back porch. It's a replica of the porch Great-Grandpa built when they lived in the woods. This swing used to hang at "The Patch." It doesn't look like we're doing much besides talking and relaxing, but we got a good number of laughs on this swing. It had just been retied and would shift downward ever so slightly as the knots tightened. Greg blamed it on us girls. We just couldn't stop watching the knot and laughing.
Colter greeted Peggie, Bob and Bethany as soon as they arrived for the birthday party on Sunday.
Doesn't the birthday boy look great?
He got a little help blowing out his candles.
Riley and Colter enjoyed partying on the hammock.
Colter spent time chewing on Riley's dress. I guess he saw her doing this and didn't want to be left out.
We got a group picture of Great-Grandpa and some of his grandchildren.
Lesson: the more cameras taking the picture, the less likely people will be looking at the right one.
Monday was our last full day in Ohio. Joyce and Grandma took us swimming at the rec center. This was Riley and Colter's first time at the pool. Riley was looking pretty cute in her Hula Honey swimsuit! Rita of course was right there to help.
We're ready to get in the water.
This pool was awesome. There were tons of slides, fountains, and a lazy river - all inside! Rita and Shawn were in heaven.
The twins did really well. I was afraid the water might be too cold, but they didn't seem to mind.
They spent most of their time sucking on their fists and looking around at all the other kids.
Grandma and Grandpa couldn't believe how big the twins have gotten. I guess Matt and I weren't this round when we were babies.
On Tuesday, we met Grandma, Aunt Rita, and Uncle Shawn at the airport to fly back to Charlotte. We were sad to leave, but ready to be home with Dad and Governor.
This trip was really special to me. It had been two years since I'd seen Great-Grandpa and most of the rest of these Ohio relatives. I am so grateful Riley and Colter got to see make the trip. I didn't get pictures of everyone on my camera. Thank goodness for digital photos and email!
We left Friday morning at 10:30. As you can see, the car is not nearly as full as it was for our trip to North Carolina at the end of May.
We got to the Charlotte airport at around 3pm. This was pretty good considering we stopped so Riley and Colter could eat at 1:30pm. I am so grateful we have a minivan. I was able to park away from the rest of the folks at the rest stop and use the back of the van like our own little room. The babies loved being able to stretch out on a blanket, too. The DOT website lists the location of all their rest stops. I had made a list of the northbound and southbound stops in South Carolina, so it wasn't too bad to guage when we needed to stop.
We met Grandpa, Aunt Rita, and Uncle Shawn at the airport. Going through security was hectic with 2 kids and 2 babies, but we survived. I knew the carseats had to come off the stroller, the stroller had to be folded, and everything had to go through the scanner, but I hadn't visualized who was going to be holding the babies while I was doing all of this. Grandpa to the rescue! Rita and Shawn entertained Riley and Colter while we waited to board the plane.Riley sat with Grandpa. Obviously they were both tired!
Colter sat with me.
They did really well on the flight. Riley fussed a little, but it was no big deal. (Easy for me to say since I wasn't holding her!)
After getting our bags, we met Joyce outside. By the time we got to her house, Pat and Greg had arrived with the guest of honor: Great-Grandpa! Colter was pretty impressed to meet somebody 90 years older than him.Riley was happy to have yet another person to snuggle with. Riley and Colter got to get to know most of the Ohio relatives. Aunt Rita was there to entertain them when they weren't being passed around.
She hung out with them in the hammock.
She helped Riley practice sitting up.
Great-Grandpa enjoyed spending time with the next to the youngest members of his family.
He was even up to holding both babies at once!
We may be looking at four different places, but this picture means the world to me.
On the last night of our visit, I heard the story of how Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma met. Thank goodness they did, otherwise this four generation group wouldn't exist!
Rita and Shawn adore our cousin Bethany. She'll be going to graduate school on a full ride (plus stipend!) next month. We are all really proud of her.
As many of us know, Colter is sometimes too busy looking around the room to stop and "talk." Joyce got his attention, though.
Doesn't Jeff look like a natural holding Riley?
We spent a ton of time on the back porch. It's a replica of the porch Great-Grandpa built when they lived in the woods. This swing used to hang at "The Patch." It doesn't look like we're doing much besides talking and relaxing, but we got a good number of laughs on this swing. It had just been retied and would shift downward ever so slightly as the knots tightened. Greg blamed it on us girls. We just couldn't stop watching the knot and laughing.
Colter greeted Peggie, Bob and Bethany as soon as they arrived for the birthday party on Sunday.
Doesn't the birthday boy look great?
He got a little help blowing out his candles.
Riley and Colter enjoyed partying on the hammock. Colter spent time chewing on Riley's dress. I guess he saw her doing this and didn't want to be left out.
We got a group picture of Great-Grandpa and some of his grandchildren.
Lesson: the more cameras taking the picture, the less likely people will be looking at the right one.
Monday was our last full day in Ohio. Joyce and Grandma took us swimming at the rec center. This was Riley and Colter's first time at the pool. Riley was looking pretty cute in her Hula Honey swimsuit! Rita of course was right there to help. We're ready to get in the water. This pool was awesome. There were tons of slides, fountains, and a lazy river - all inside! Rita and Shawn were in heaven.The twins did really well. I was afraid the water might be too cold, but they didn't seem to mind.
They spent most of their time sucking on their fists and looking around at all the other kids.
Grandma and Grandpa couldn't believe how big the twins have gotten. I guess Matt and I weren't this round when we were babies.
On Tuesday, we met Grandma, Aunt Rita, and Uncle Shawn at the airport to fly back to Charlotte. We were sad to leave, but ready to be home with Dad and Governor.
This trip was really special to me. It had been two years since I'd seen Great-Grandpa and most of the rest of these Ohio relatives. I am so grateful Riley and Colter got to see make the trip. I didn't get pictures of everyone on my camera. Thank goodness for digital photos and email!
Already a dog lover!
2 comments:
How fun! I'm SO glad you had an awesome trip. It looks like so much fun. I can't wait until all the kiddos are ready for a Landon/Whitlark adventure!! You and I will have to protect all the kiddos from the marmots (or whatever that thing was)!
What a fun trip!
Welcome home, Baby Alan!
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