4th of July

We made it up to PA for the 4th of July weekend! We rented a cabin where Sara and Murph have their camper, then hosted a family gathering since we had air conditioning. It was nice to spend time with Sara and Murph and see family for a little bit! With Crystal and Ryan's son, Logan, and Dan and Shelby's boys:Willow loves toddlers!

We found a good shady spot to watch the parade:

Patti was pretty sure she needed to walk in the creek:

Campground BINGO:

When you never have any BINGO luck, you use your markers for other entertainment:

Willow and I went over to Crystal and Ryan's house to hang out then watch the town's fireworks show. They put on a great show!

Merry Christmas!

The kids opened their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. They loved their reindeer pajamas that even had tails! Owen loves his so much that we have to tell him NOT to wear them in the summer!!

I love candle light services!

Tilly and Whiskers got stockings this year!

The cats got this treat ball and Whiskers is food-motivated enough to figure it out! 

He wouldn't dare shoot his dad....right??

We played a few holiday challenge games that we'd seen online. They were fun!

The kids still enjoy making candy trains!

We headed up to PA for a few days to see family. The kids enjoyed the gym at the hotel a few times! 

Owen is such a gym rookie that he didn't notice the plastic wrapping around the water cup.

These are not recommended footwear for the treadmill!

Owen has even done the elliptical when we got home from the trip! Tilly was happy to encourage him on from her favorite place on the glider!

He still loves Legos! It doesn't take long once he tears open that first box!

PA Christmas

We enjoyed a few days in PA to see family for Christmas. The kids love the pool at the hotel. Chris was working on different stroke types with Owen. 

They also tried some new tricks! I'm not sure how much longer this will be feasible! 

Being teased by his great uncles is Owen's "least favorite" (aka favorite) part of seeing PA family!

A friend of the family had baby goats so we went over for a visit. They were just as adorable as we'd anticipated!

Hotel room shenanigans:

Chris likes to scare the kids during movies...especially Owen!

Crystal and Logan came over to the hotel pool to hang out, which is always nice!

The roads coming into town were snow covered but we never saw any snow fall. Thankfully they were clear when we drove home!

Time for a car wash!

PA Christmas

We made a quick trip up to PA to see family for the holidays. Don and Karen hosted the family for dinner and the kids loved that they were still able to throw wrapping paper and run around crazy with Uncle Jan!

It snowed while we were there! Unfortunately it was gone the next morning so even though we packed snow clothes, we didn't use them. 

The next day Logan and Crystal came over to the hotel pool to hang out for a bit. Chris and the kids burnt off a little energy :)

Getting some air time still at 9 years old!! Good job dad!

It was a vacation, so of course Willow lost a tooth...

Since we had access to a hotel bed and a pool, we recreated this video from the Bucket List Family. 

Gramma taught Willow how to play Solitaire. I'd also taught the kids how to play "I Doubt It"...a childhood favorite. 

A rare car nap on the drive home:

Uncaptured was our trip to see Scott and Mariah, as well as Meara who was home from college. We enjoyed catching up, a wonderful lunch, and a few games together. It's always good to see them!