Watching Our Children Grown: Vacation

This week Samantha and I are on vacation. We flew to my parents on Tuesday. Everyone has been asking how the flight went and she did very well. The shuttle down to Atlanta was a different story (stop and go traffic, early morning, etc. but not unbearable). She was a great little girl on the flight and I am proud of her. Luckily I requested an aisle seat which made it very easy to stand in the aisle and play. I had also bought several new toys and stickers to keep her occupied.

Grandma B met us at the airport and from there we made the quick trip over to Ikea. It was fun to walk through their store again and we identified a bed we will get Samantha when she grows out of her crib. From there we made a WalMart stop and then headed out to the farm.

Papa was here to meet us and we were thankful we were "home". I am reminded again how much I love the quiet of the country and all of the open areas!

Wednesday was spent catching up and relaxing around the house and Thursday Samantha got to spend some quality time with the grandparents as mom got her hair done.

Friday was the beginning of a very busy weekend. Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenney, Ellie and Dane joined us early Friday afternoon. After lunch we headed to a nearby county fair. There were LOTS of cows, pigs, sheep, bunnies, etc. The kids really enjoyed all of the animals and Samantha got the pet several of them. From there we went to the cheese house and got some fresh cheese for the weekend including cheese curds. If you've never had cheese curds that squeak when you bit into them you're missing something!

In the evening Papa built a bonfire and we roasted corn on the fire and had hot dogs. Samantha loved the corn and finished off a couple of moms ears. The kids didn't stay nearby long but wanted to wander all over the farm.

Sabbath we went to church followed by a potluck lunch at a park. In the afternoon the kids slept. I stayed home and napped myself while the others did other things. That evening we had another bonfire at a friends place followed by fireworks. Needless to say, we didn't stay for the fireworks. The lack of sleep and the loud noises weren't a good combination for Samantha so we came home. It sure wasn't long before she was asleep.

Sunday we had family come for brunch. It was so good to see them as it isn't very often that we do. We appreciated that they made the little jaunts to join us for a brunch. Early afternoon Uncle Paul, Aunt Jenney and their family had to go back home and the house was quiet. I think Samantha was looking for her cousins.

Tonight Papa and Grandma took us to Dairy Queen. Samantha has really taken to feeding herself and she enjoyed eating part of mom's sundae. She kept on saying "yummmm".

While here Samantha has enjoyed sliding with Papa outside, blowing bubbles with Grandma, chasing and giving hugs to Ellie and copying Dane as they sat in their high chairs.

We are sad that dad couldn't come with us on this trip, he really would have enjoyed his time here and a break but we are really looking forward to seeing him on Wednesday when we get back home!

Corn on the cob at the park...