Vacation Friday through Monday

The "staycation" is being touted as some new idea with the economy, but all my life little day trips have been the norm. This summer the kids and I decided to go and see some new places, though we still did it on a pretty amazing budget, staying with friends and family. Here is our vacation in photos, and yes I realize that a few of the photo shoots of Cora are more pictures than the average person would want to see, but grandmas and grandpas love it!

We began by going to visit my friend Trish and her family in Anderson, IN. It was so fun to see her again. Trish is the maker of Jacob's nigh-nigh blanket and I enjoyed seeing her latest projects. I think she has at least 15 quilts going at once. All the colors and textures really appeal to me. Cora is becoming mobile and her youngest is 7 (no more baby proofing for her) so I spent a considerable amount of time chasing while Aaron and Than played video games. I think they played at least 90% of the time we were there. This was heaven for Aaron, since I refuse to buy a gaming system and when he plays on his computer the time is limited.
Jacob and Micheal, the seven year old, had a continuous game of dress up and bad guys going on and there was always a nerf bullet flying through the air. He would come down in the best outfits. I chased him down for this picture. Trish took it all in stride and cooked up some yummy meals amidst the chaos.

We went swimming in their backyard pool and it was so cold. The cool water didn't stop the kids from having fun, though I was bummed that Cora couldn't go in. I didn't think freezing water should be her first pool experience.

We went to church in their tiny ward. I was keenly aware of the noise my family of four kids was making. And of course the talks were on reverence!

Here is Than holding Cora. I'm not sure that he was 100% confident holding this chubby little thing, but he did like her.

I wish I could have taken more pictures. McKinlee is growing so much and was such a doll with Catherine. They painted nails and went up to her room to listen to music and read. Two interests the they both share.

On Monday morning we headed out. We listened to Harry Potter in the van. If any of you have not heard the CD recordings of the book, you need to go to the library and check them out. They are GREAT. Jim Dale does the reading and the characters really come to life in an amazing way. The kids were good in the car, at least that is what I remember a month and a half after the fact. Joe's bookkeeper got them a big bag of games and treats for the ride. She loves kids and is so good to our kids. They go visit her most mornings and like to tell her about everything!

After driving for 4 hours we were ready for some fun. We headed to the splash park. It has a water side and a park side and the kids ran wild between the two. It was like trying to keep my eye on three hummingbirds at once. They had a great time. It started to rain, but the were wet anyway, so it was fun.

Catherine took to playing mommy to Alison right away. I think she enjoyed the fact that Ali can walk. Alison is two months older than Cora, but between her long hair and slender face and the upright mobility thing, she seems much older. She also does something quite curious. She actually eats the food that is put in front of her. She doesn't throw it, smash it, or scream at it. One day she had some bits of broccoli. I picked up a piece and put it on Cora's tray to see if she would eat it. Cora promptly threw it on the floor. Ali thought this was a good solution to the broccoli problem and she would put one piece at a time on Cora's tray and Cora would do the dirty work of tossing it over board. Monica put a quick stop to the conspiracy and Ali had to eat her veggies.

Little buns are so cute.

Sometimes you have to give in to 10 year old humor.

Did I mention, the storm front made it a little bit cool and Jacob liked to stand under the waterwheel that dumped out on his head.

This is his reaction. He is laughing not screaming in this shot.

Little Ali was fun to chase with the camera. I think Andrew, her brother must have been too fast.

After the splash park we headed to Monica and Jeff's home for some pizza and chilling out. It was a fun day.