Double the Grandparents is Double the Fun!

We were blessed with visits from both grandparents in March. They came for Sophie's baptism, but were also able to spend lots of time with the kids and be here to have a group birthday celebration for them! The kids were so spoiled all week, not just with presents, but with all the time and energy their grandparents always give them when they come. And with three grandparents here all at the same time, it meant each kid could have one-on-one attention almost whenever they wanted it!

Grandmari arrived on Tuesday and was here to see the kids do two swim lessons, watch Davey at track practice, host Letter Group with me, and help decorate two of our bathrooms! She also was a huge help with our never ending loads of dishes and laundry. Every time she comes I get more projects taken care of in one week than I normally do in a year. 

The Howes, including Liz, arrived Friday evening just in time for a delicious steak fajita dinner. We are always so grateful for their visits and the time off work they take to come see us and the kids. While they were here we enjoyed lots of games, long walks, and good food. Grandma was also kind enough to take Sophie's pile of worn out pants while she was here to transform into shorts, which worked out perfectly because warmer weather is on the way. 

Sophie on her baptism with the Lamberts and the Howes - we really missed you Paco!!

Sophie in a grandma sandwich at Tokyo, the hibachi restaurant we ate lunch at following her baptism. Sophie loves her grandmas and was so happy to have them both here for her special day!

Playing a new game called Ready, Set, Sloth! with grandma and Liz

Papa helped Davey build his new Mario lego sets

Davey gets very sad whenever it's time to say goodbye and had a good cry about people leaving, even though it wouldn't happen until the next day. Luckily grandma and Liz had brought some Dilly Bars from DQ to cheer everyone up again!

While Grandmari was here she did lots of puzzles and read countless books with the kids

The book about the shark who couldn't smile was a favorite

It's good my mom likes shopping because in just a few days we made trips to Kohls, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ross, Target and JC Penney to find stuff to redecorate the kids and guest bathrooms. We only made changes to towels, rugs, and a couple decor items, but they both look so much better!!

We did a southwest/cactus theme in the kids bathroom. It was fun, but not too cute, good for both boys and girls, and it matched the black & white tile floors.

All four kids towels were hanging on one hook on the back of the door and always falling off onto the ground. We found this cute metal towel bar for just $6 at Hobby Lobby!

We also got a framed cactus print, a metal gecko, and some new decorative towels to replace the old purple and yellow ones. 

I let Sophie stay home on Monday morning so she could have some extra time with grandparents before they had to leave. Poor Davey was getting weepy again, but pulled it together enough to take a picture with Grandmari before driving her to the airport.

Christmas Day in Dallas

We were in Dallas for Christmas this year visiting Grandma and Grandpa Howe. This marks our 14th consecutive Christmas that we have traveled, and while it gets a little more chaotic to pack up our family with each passing year, we love being able to spend the holidays with family!!

This year we left Amarillo a week before Christmas and came home the day after New Year's. We had a lot of fun with cousins and friends during our stay (separate post), but the highlight of our trip was definitely Christmas day. The kids are at such fun ages right now, and look forward to this day so much and it was so fun to see their excitement as dreams came true. 

All dressed up for Christmas Sunday

I always regret that we never remember to take a picture of the kids with their grandparents after visiting, but this time we did!!

And one of Charlie because he was just too cute in his Christmas sweater

Davey faithfully watched this Santa tracker for a few hours. He was so excited even though it said Santa was still 9 hours away from Texas

We didn't have a Christmas plate for Santa's cookies so Sophie made one herself

All ready with their stocking and Christmas pajamas!

Santa came and brought way too much stuff. I guess they were extra good this year.

The kids were in a downstairs bedroom right off the family room, while the rest of us were sleeping upstairs. I thought they might be tempted to sneak out and peek, so I put up a reminder barrier on the door. It did no good, haha. Davey broke right through and I found the both out looking at presents at 5:30 am. After chasing them back into their rooms, I heard Davey behind the door chanting "I got a Batman! I got a Batman!"

Davey and his Remote Control Batmobile

Sophie with her new camera and jump rope

Charlie with a choo choo track

I bought this Hotwheels "pinewood derby" track back in spring for Davey during a sale at Target because I thought he would love it and he did!

More choo choos for Charlie

Passed out after a busy Christmas

Memorial Day with Grandpa & Grandma Howe

We were so glad that Grandpa and Grandma Howe could come visit us for Memorial Day weekend! The forecast was terrible - daily severe storms - but luckily we caught just enough breaks in the weather to do some fun things. On Friday they met us at Braums for an end-of-kindergarten treat, on Saturday we went hiking in Palo Duro Canyon and then saw Aladdin, on Sunday we went to church, did a puzzle and played games, and then on Monday we said good bye. Luckily we will be seeing them again in just a couple weeks when we drive down to Dallas. Thanks for coming to visit!

We had the perfect weather for hiking in the canyon - overcast skies with temps in the high 60s. It looked like it was about to rain any minute and did sprinkle for just a few seconds, but the big storms held off until that afternoon. 

All the rain has made everything so green! There were wildflowers blooming all a long the trail.

Lots of flowers meant lots of butterflies, which Sophie loved

 

We hiked a portion of the Kiowa trail, which follows the river - perfect for throwing rocks!

After the Kiowa trail we made one more stop to check out the "Big Cave"

After hiking we hurried home, changed out of our dusty clothes and ran over to the theater to see the new Aladdin movie. We were surprised to find Jasmine and Aladdin there in person to welcome us!

We love the reclining chairs and seat heaters at Cinergy. Grandma did not need her seat heather though, because Charlie fell asleep almost immediately and spent the entire two hours napping on her lap. 

Working on a sea turtle puzzle that grandma brought. It made us excited for our beach trip in just a couple months!

Davey led Papa away to his room to play with him any chance he could get

Went went on a walk around McDonald Lake to help grandma get some of her steps in before driving back to Dallas. Davey was able to do the entire loop (.8 miles) on his scooter. I also brought an old hamburger bun for the kids to feed to the ducks. 

It rained hard Sunday night and water level in the lake had come up several feet (it's a run off storage pond). It was crazy how sunny and clear the skies were after the monsoon the night before. 

Sophie's tiny bouquet of Texas wildflowers she gathered on our walk

The kids in their red, white and blue for Memorial Day. We ate lunch at Red Robin before the grandparents had to hit the road