Wednesday, August 6, 2014

10-Year Anniversary Road Trip: Kids Are Off to Grandmas!


While we were having fun exploring Chicago, LittleBear and LadyBear were having their own adventures at Grandma's house with her, as well as Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic.  They made some wonderful memories and solidified their relationships so much so that I don't think they even really missed us.  I knew LittleBear would be fine, it was LadyBear I wasn't so sure about.  She has a tendency to stick to me in new situations and up until this trip had been rather clingy.  I hoped and prayed that she would be fine, but wasn't sure how it would go until we took the plunge and sent them off.  It was honestly a best case scenario for everyone involved, I think.


We enjoyed our time together, but did miss our little ones.  They are amazing kids and were definitely in our minds while we were gone (from "Ben would LOVE this train!" to "Livvy would for sure try to climb on that statue," etc., they were with us each and every day).



Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic drove up the day before we left to come get them for us so we wouldn't have to add three extra hours to our drive (and believe me, after leaving at 5am and pulling into our hotel parking lot at 10:30pm, we were SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO  extra thankful for that!).  We got to send them off with new-to-them backpacks filled with books and toys that they hadn't seen that would hopefully appease them during a three hour road trip without us and with new drivers.  The drive went well and both were happy to be at Grandma's house.


The next day they went to Aunt Sue and Uncle Vic's house where there is a big pool with a splash pad (for the development).  The pool was a huge hit!!!!  I hear my two bear cubs also showed off their amazing eating skills and cleaned out the Cici's pizza buffet for lunch.   They also played at Grandma's house, which they always enjoy.


The day after that, they went to story time at the library, which I think took most of the morning.  After lunch and rest time, they had fun in Grandma's back yard inflatable pool and "painted" her garage for her (how thoughtful of them!).



 Then came "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-Fil-A!!  I always try to take advantage of this fun event with them and was excited to see they got to do it this year too :)


 
I hear that a certain wonderful uncle of ours also treated the kids to cookies from the Cookie Company at the mall and a ride on a small motorcycle ride, which elicited a "WOW!" from LadyBear (her usual response to something really good in her eyes).  After some fun time at the mall, they went back to Grandma's for rest time.  Then it was time for playdough and more fun games at Grandma's.



The next day was full of time with Grandma and her toys along with a donut breakfast, which both kids still remember fondly to this day. ("Mommy, can we have donuts today like we did at Grandma's?  They were so yummy!")



On Sunday, they went with Grandma to her church, which went great and then headed for a special lunch to Wendy's.  After that it was rest time.  But...after rest time it was time for a dance party!!!!!  I think this was LadyBear's second favorite thing the whole week because she still requests that we do the Hokey Pokey (aka "Hokey"), Ring Around the Rosie (aka "Rosey") and Chicken Dance here at home.  There was lots of music and lots of dancing from what I understand.  Good times, indeed.


The last day was the grand finale of their trip.  They went to this place called "Monkey Bizness," which LadyBear still talks about daily.


It's basically a warehouse type building full of inflatable bounce-house type structures, which they had an absolute blast with.  And lest you think LadyBear didn't get to do too much because she is little, she took on each and every obstacle the "bigger kids did" with LadyBear-esque determination and spirit and loved every minute of it.


I honestly think this girl would rock the world in gymnastics...she is very strong and well-balanced!



 So much fun was had by my two bear cubs!!!  They love their Grandma and "A. Sue" and Unc. Vic"  and we are so thankful they had this time together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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