A Fun Weekend, but No Pictures

Dave and Jes and their family were out for the weekend and we had a great time, but I was so busy having fun I forgot to get out my camera and snap pictures. Darn! So I'll just have to improvise. It was really frigid -- with a high below freezing but Matthew (2) still wanted to run around without his coat. Mean old Gramma told him if he took off his coat again I was taking him inside, a fate worse than death: in the house and with Gramma to boot. Yikes! The kids raked up a big pile of leaves and jumped in them, also jumped in the leaves in our little creek which fortunately was dry. No matter how cold it is they love to be outside playing on our little playground with a trampoline, swings, teeter-totter, and jungle gym.

Rachel is my crafty girl. So after cups of hot chocolate with marshmallows to take the freeze off we pulled out a piece of foam board and drew a Christmas tree on it. Then we cut up old Christmas cards to make a giant Advent calendar with a different picture for every day until Christmas eve. The last two were the star of Bethlehem and a beautiful Nativity scene. That was fun.

Jamie and Jonathan came over with Marianna and the two little pooches which the kids love. The four young adults played euchre, Jes made a big pan of nachos and we all just sat around and visited.

For dinner we had an indoor picnic with hotdogs and s'mores cooked in the fireplace and all the summer goodies that go with it: potato salad, baked beans, potato chips - shoot, I forgot the deviled eggs. After dinner we had a short movie and popcorn. Then finished the day with a decade of the rosary - Zack leading. (Matthew likes to lead but he was already in bed.)

Rachel came down a few minutes after going up to bed to ask if she could go with me and Larry to the early Mass. I take Communion to the nursing home and the folks there love to see the kids so I was delighted she wanted to come. They did fuss over her and then we took our big girl to Cracker Barrell for breakfast. Talk about a sugar overload. She had chocolate chip pancakes with syrup and whipped cream and hot chocolate to go with it. Larry and I had their new skillet breakfasts which were great. Then it was home and lots of game playing before they left in the late afternoon.

Can't wait for the next visit.