For Thanksgiving in 2014, our family and my brother's family, decided to head North to visit my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Don in Ohio. We were very fortunate to realize that our trip went right through Tennessee where Austin's Grandparents live. We broke up the 14 hour trip and stopped for the night at their house. Penny was so good to us, she fed us all dinner that night and then made a delicious breakfast for us in the morning. On the way back to Texas she specifically made us another one of her famous apple pies, even though it was after Thanksgiving. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Wade! We love you both and hope to make this trip again soon.
Here is a picture of my Uncle Don and his family who we visited in Ohio. They live on a farm and we had a such a good time visiting, playing, riding horses, playing with puppies, playing games, watching movies, visiting an Amish town and bakery, eating fresh bacon from their back yard, corralling two pigs into their trailer, having a giant Nerf gun fight with PVC pipes, playing DDR, and of course eating lots of turkey and pie. It truly was a blast and way worth the long drive.
Puppies! My Aunt and Uncle breed and board dogs. My Aunt and her boys built this shelter all by themselves. They have golden retrievers and poodles, and at the time they had a liter of golden retrievers about to be sold, and a liter of 7 day old golden doodles. We got to help bath the golden retrievers. It was quite the event bathing them but the kids loved it.
Look! This is why dogs are a man's best friend. Once they are able to move around they just want to be near you. Look at those little noses! The puppies were trying so hard to get to us. So CUTE! The picture with Emeri and the 7 day old golden doodle is actually one of the puppies Austin is trying to convince me to get. Look at her, she doesn't even have her eyes open yet. Ohhh...No No No....no puppies right now, are you kidding me? We have four children five years and under, we don't need a puppy. Oh but she is precious. -wink-
I should not have held her. Melting heart as we speak. Austin is in heaven right now.
The boys were pretty much there as well.
Emeri is riding this giant horse that my Aunt had kept from when her girls were little. It was just the right size for her. The other picture is of the kids being pushed by my cousin Joshua on the patio swing. It doesn't look cold but it was freezing! I couldn't believe how cold it got. Kids didn't mind though, there was just too much to do and see.
Horse rides! My Aunt Wendy and Uncle Don own two horses that our kids got to ride. It was so cold that I didn't want to be out there for more then a second after taking these pictures let alone for a ride of my own. But of course the kids still wanted too. I was happy for them, how often do they get to ride a horse? Well last time was about 2 years ago so I couldn't say no.
Andrew lasted the longest on the horse because he had gloves on his hands. That smile is what I try to get out of him daily. Whatever I must do is always worth it.
Here is sweet Emeri playing DDR with Daddy. She was so cute trying to copy what he was doing and pretending she knew how to play.
Sweet Oakley always falls down my lap after I am done feeding her. It is routine now, she arches her back and tries to see what is behind her by looking upside down. She can't wait to be big! Mom can.
My cousins Lindsey and Caitlyn were so much fun for our kids. They played with our kids all day, helped them during meal times, played DDR with them, and loved to make the kids laugh. Here the girls are spinning Emeri around and around until she couldn't walk because she was so dizzy. It was so funny to watch Emeri run into things and walk sideways all over the room.
The girls even helped me out with Oakley. Thank you two girls! You were so much fun to be with and such a great help as well.
Caitlyn and Lindsey showed our kids how to make edible mustaches. The boys went crazy for it, Andrew thought it was the funniest thing EVER. My cousins are going to be such great mothers.
They even adjusted the activity for our little Emeri. Instead of a whip cream mustache she got her nails painted with it! YUM!! The picture with Isaac and Caitlyn playing DDR is so cute. Isaac is so determined, look at that tongue of concentration.
So this is a picture of the group pretending to be pirates to help my cousin Micah feel better about his patch. The day before the guys ambushed him in the basement with a Nerf fight. Apparently Micah is always the one ambushing in their family, so when we where there everyone asked if Jon and Austin could help get Micah back before his departure for his mission. Well, I guess they got him a little too good because someone shot him in the eye and made his pupil bleed. Aunt Wendy took him in and luckily the doctor said he could still leave on time but had to have check ups while in the MTC. He left the Monday after Thanksgiving. We sure left a memorable experience for him. HAHA
