Time with our Grandmas

We got to go and spend Thanksgiving weekend with our grandmas and grandpa and other fun relatives. Since my grandpa passed away my parents have moved in with my grandma. Now it is not only my grandma's house, it is also my kids' grandma's house. I enjoy sharing my memories with them and watching them enjoy the same things I did as a child. We drove in at 2 or so in the morning on Friday. Nathaniel and I put the boys to bed and my mom put my girls to bed with Chad's family downstairs by the ping pong table (not under it though. That is a childhood memory for all of us grandchildren.) My girls were so chatty that my mom ended up sleeping the night on the floor by them to keep them settled down. What a lady! I didn't even know that happened until the next morning when my dad was looking for her. I love my mom! Having Chad's family there was such a blast, and a blessing. He is hilarious, his wife is a saint that every women aspires to be like, and his kids are so good and so fun to be around. They were so helpful. I was worried about how hard it would be at grandma's to keep my kids out of trouble, but with Chad's kids to help it was so nice. I was actually able to relax and laugh and have a REALLY GREAT vacation! My cousin Olivia and her husband Dave were there as well. I LOVED spending time with her. I don't get to do it very often at all. We spent a lot of time together as kids and I absolutely love her. Our personalities and sense of humor are quite similar.
Nathan instantly took to Emily and was her shadow from then on. Here he is taking a turn on Camille and Emily's vibrating machine. He thought it looked fun so Tricia let him and my other kids have a go at it.

Camille and Eliza

The Nathans. My nephew kept thinking I was scolding him all weekend since they have the same name...well, shortened name for my little guy. "Nathan sit down. Nathan come here. Nathan be careful down these stairs." You get the idea.

Kate and Camille or Camillia as Kate called her. When my kids were done playing with the equipment then Emily and Camille did their treatments. They have Cystic Fibrosis. One of the things they have to do is a breathing treatment. It is this thing you put in your mouth and steam /smoke stuff comes out the end. Kate was watching my niece do that part of the treatment and said, "Can I smoke that after you?" I guess we know how Kate's going to hold up with peer pressure.

Nate and Eliza watching a movie on his ipod. So cute. Like I said, Chad's kids were soooo helpful and fun.

Nathan enjoying a game I played as a kid. Chad would put a ball in the hole and Nathan would crouch down on the floor to see it rolling under the table to the front.

Emily with her shadow. Kids just love her. Tanner doesn't really go to people well, but Emily wasn't going to accept that. She made sure she and Tanner were friends by the time the weekend was over. Love her! There is something about Emily that you just have to love. She is a ray of sunshine and so sweet. Always has been.

Dave, Livy, Tanner, Em, and Nathan. I think Dave is a great guy. Livy did really well for herself. His sense of humor was right up my alley.

Tanner and Great-Grandma. My grandma is so amazing. I admire her so much. She is and always has been such a positive lady. It's no wonder my mom turned out so great.

Tanner and Grandma. This was their first time meeting. This was a big reason I wanted to get up there. The boy needed to know his grandmas.

We went to go to the cemetery where my grandpa, Aunt Ruth, Cousin Samuel and my brother Trent are buried. Nathaniel has never been to Washington with me so I wanted to show him as much as I could. We didn't even make a dent in my list. We'll have to go again. I didn't even get a chance to see any of my childhood friends. I sure love you guys!

Still not loving the cold.

My mom bought all kinds of cute things in preparation of us coming. She bought little toys, puzzles, these antlers, and crafts for the kids. She was so cute with the kids. Very involved, helpful, and cute.

We gave Tanner a turn and Nathan was sad we took them from him.

Eliza was so wiped out one day that she climbed up on my grandma's lap and almost fell asleep. She has done this only one other time. My heart melted to see my daughter snuggle with my sweet grandma that way.

Four generations. I have wanted a picture like this for almost ten years. Eliza was a little tired so we took another one with Kate.

Eliza with her craft. She put as many eyeballs on as she could.

Mom crafting it up with the kids.

Camille's creations. She made a family.

You can see Tanner took right to Chad. So funny! Chad loves to play with the little babies and Tanner wasn't having it. He arched his back and kept his hands as far away as he could. Maybe someday they'll be buddies.

Time with grandpa. We didn't get much since Dad had to make an unscheduled trip to Billings. I will take any amount of time I can get though. What a great man.

Kate in the cubby I used to hide in as a kid...and a teenager...and again the year before I got married. I love the memories in this house.

Is my grandma stylin' in those pajama pants or what? I wonder if she will pass them down to me someday. I love them. She is such a classy lady.

My mom and dad do this birthday money grab thing when you go visit. Since they can't be there for everyone's birthdays they have this basked of coins (mostly silver) and have you reach in and grab as much as you can in one hand and that is you birthday money. Nathan was a cheatbag and he grabbed two handfuls. Mom let it slide. Maybe she shouldn't have, he got almost as much as Liza.

Kate looks a little concerned. Maybe we should have practiced with her first to get her hands nice and ready.

Eliza holding up her spoils...he scored over 5 bucks!

We were going to head home on Sunday but the roads and the fog were bad so we stayed an extra day. It was very nice. And on the way home the roads were great so I think we made the right decision. The pass was a little snowy, but very pretty.

I hope we can do that again VERY soon. I had a fabulous time!