When the Aunts and Uncles Come to Town

Before we even left for our vacation, we had a fun weekend with all of my family coming into town to see us.  Because we all live apart from one another, we don't get these weekends very often when we're all in one place, especially in Minnesota.  Travis and I love having everyone here, although it's always a little bittersweet that we just don't have enough room for everyone to stay with us comfortably.  Someday, I hope...

The kids were THRILLED to wake up on Saturday morning to see Aunt Stacie and Uncle Jesse in their jammies.  They wasted no time at all to make themselves comfortable in their laps and arms! 

Carter's favorite book

 Lovin those snuggles with her favorite South Carolina residents :)

In all of 20 minutes, Travis and I were old news!

Later in the day, Aunt Jennie and Uncle Dave came to town too!

We waited for my parents to arrive then did a little shopping and eating out together.

Reunited and it feels so good!!

We went to one of our favorite restaurants and ate outside on their patio in *perfect* weather!!  God really blessed us from beginning to end with amazing weather.  Sunny, hot days and cool nights.  Just how I prefer summer to be!

This little guy was eating up all the extra attention.  This was one of our first times together when Carter has really been able to recognize everyone and understand what is happening.  That is a mixed bag of blessings, ha ha!!

We stopped by Travis' fave fro-yo spot...

Stacie and I felt the need to photograph our bowls of goodness!

We capped off our first night together at a park by one of our many beautiful lakes.

Carter played at the park with his aunts and uncles...

....while Ava stayed on the dock with Daddy and my Dad, watching some people catch fish.

We had lots of errands to run before we left town and Carter felt he really should be the one to drive us all around :) We've totally reached the "driving" stage with him.  It's his favorite thing to do whenever we go somewhere and if we don't let him get a few minutes behind the wheel (without the keys and while it's in park) he has a massive meltdown.  And when I say massive, I mean epic.  Screaming, shouting "no" and taking swings at us.  You know, lots of fun!  So, as we work through that stage, we usually give him 5 minutes to pretend and it's working for all of us :)  

Ava sure loves her Grammy and Grampy!! 

Just for the record's sake,  I prefer to do all the driving, while my children are safely buckled in their seats.  Too bad that's not what they prefer!!

 We got to spend Sunday at Church with everyone, but since we didn't take any pictures that day, these are all I have.  The tooth-brushing twins :)

They're getting pretty good at all of those daily routines and they had quite an audience to show off their skills to! 

I think the best part of going on vacation is the arrival of family and all the prep work that goes into it.  The anticipation of the week ahead and all the fun you'll have is one of the best feelings ever.  It's like the week before Christmas!  I love having my family at my house and I wish I had the opportunity to host them more.  Considering all the heartache we were feeling over my Grandpa, this time together was a gift.  And it was only just beginning...