Indiana :: Day 3

Day three brought lots of fun in the sun at Tim's house!  Lynne + Ben have a pool + a huge yard with fun outdoor toys.  Not going to lie, my kids also think Tim's toys are pretty awesome--especially Micah.  Trains, trucks, and cars--ya, he's one happy boy.  And can I just say Timothy did an *amazing* job sharing his home + toys + room with us all week?!  So impressed, Tim.

Pizza + pool fun!  We were also joined by Lynne's good friend, Emily, and her two cuties, Teagan + Charlette.
So ladylike.

Timothy!

Ivory in the frigid water with Gom Gom.  It was warm outside...not so in the water.

Korban even allowed some other people to hold him...for a short time. Carter + Micah enjoying Tim's slide + castle.
One of the perks of Daddy not joining us on this trip (basically the only perk) is that Micah actually wanted to spend time with Mommy.  Hooray for Mommy + Micah time!  Especially since Ivory hardly even knew I existed that week. 
The surprising thing is with all those little ones you'd imagine there would be a lot more of this: 

But really the crying was kept to a minimum.  They were too busy to cry much.

Korban began to allow Pa to keep him a little more each day.  This was nice when Mom wanted to actually eat with two free hands!
Teagan, Emily's cutie, joined right in the fun.  I fell in love with his blonde curls + precious little face.  This picture doesn't capture even a fraction of his cuteness. So Belle's dress was in dire need of repair.  Aunt PP volunteered her mom's superior sewing skills.  But, Ivory was very concerned about Belle being nakey while her dress was in repair.  Well, Aunt PP solved that with a quick project runway "make it work" moment whipping up this dress with scissors + a small scrap of fabric in mere minutes.  Impressive, Aunt PP.  Here's Audrey showing off Aunt PP's handiwork.  That night Mommy + Micah enjoyed some good snuggle time while watching his all time favorite movie Cars.   Micah patting the seat next to him, "Mommy sit?  Mommy sit.  Snuggle!"  How can I resist?!
Silly pictures for daddy!  We sure missed daddy.

Indiana :: Day 2

On our first full day in Indiana we went back to the Ross home (we stayed at Lynne, Ben + Timothy's house each night). 

I absolutely loved watching Micah + Larissa interact.  With their blonde hair, blue eyes, same height + developmental level they looked like they could be twins!  They're only a few weeks apart in age.  So, so cute together.  In these pictures they're chasing a toad together--and mimicking each other's every move.  Love it. 
Aunt PP is one awesome aunt.  The kids love her!  She is going to make one amazing mom.
Sweet Shiloh, Princess Larissa + Micah Man Shiloh showing mommy (Maggie) her toad.  Shiloh was the only one brave enough to actually hold it.    If Ivory was to be seen you can be certain Ivory was with her.  Ivory was like Audrey's shadow...or the other way around.  Ivory pretty much wore poor Audrey out during our stay.  She was awfully sweet to my little girl.  Audrey the kid magnet.  Seriously, I've never seen a teenager attract kids like this girl does. Meal times were exciting trying to wrangle seven kids three and under as well as however many adults were present (between eight - eleven adults any given meal).  The Ross' are amazing, though, and did it all with relative ease--or at least the appearnce of ease. Kid table!  This trip definitely revealed my kids serious need of table manner training...yes, they were the ones encouraging the other kids to blow bubbles in their drinks, play with their food, and have laughing/play screaming contests.  (hiding my face in shame...as I also try not to laugh) Micah loved all the cats on the farm. Mrs. Ross' rock fountain was an immediate and drenching hit.  Grandparent lovin' was in great abundance. And if the kids got tired outside they could come indoors for more fun with Gom Gom's (Mrs. Ross) plethura of toys. Then came the blow up pool.  So small.  So simple.  They LOVED it.  And for once they were all in one place.   
Which gave all tired adults a chance to sit.  For at least a few minutes.
Just in case you need to not only see the fun but *hear* it:
"Micah don't drink the water..."


Classic Pam.

Korban mostly observed all the fun, periodically he'd join it...but only if it wasn't too far from Mommy.  He's definitely a major mommy's boy right now.  He's pretty much addicted.  And you know, for the most part I'm totally okay with that.  I've learned how quickly little boys grow up and want only daddy.  Which is good.  At least I tell myself it is.  And I know it is.  But, it's nice when that little boy still wants Mommy snuggles.  Love my sweet boys.

Indiana :: Day 1

In the midst of my permanent roll of stewwardess to all my children's needs I stayed entertained by catching up on my Real Simple magazines (birthday gift from my dear sister), decorating magazines, and the last two books of the Hunger Games series.  Such a challening, heart wrenching, and though provoking read. The kids slept some on our second day 7 hour drive.  Well, the boys did.  We told Ivory we wouldn't be there until she woke from her short nap.  Next thing I know I look back and she's "sleeping." A few minutes later she "wakes up" and asks, "Are we there yet?"  This is about an hour into the trip.  This girl kills me. 



The second day of driving was suprisingly smooth as well.  That was the Lord answering prayers, so I really shouldn't be surprised, simply grateful.

As soon as we arrived in Indiana the kids jumped out, made themselves at home and got right to playing.
Korban loved stretching out for a good long nap + Ivory + Micah loved stretching out there leges in some good running.  We were excited to be greeted by Timothy, Lynne, Mr. + Mrs. Ross, and Aunt PP.  I love walking through their home.  I'm always amazed by the unique artwork throughout their entire home.  Check out this table Mrs. Ross made from an old door.  And her stain glass clock!  Love it. The oldest daughter, Maggie, is such an incredible artist.  Love the colors and details in this painting.  My kids immediately took the farm life.
The kids enjoyed playing with Chevy, the new lab puppy They enjoyed helping Mrs. Ross move the horses. And they enjoyed looking at fish in the watering trough.  There was lots of fun to be had in the playhouse + a special tea party on deck once Audrey arrived.  Ivory could hardly wait to see Audrey.  She has talked about Audrey every since meeting her two years ago at 23 months of age.  Yes, her memory is killer.  Scary for her mom + dad!  Grandma + Pa were eating up all the grandkid goodness. And the kids didn't mind the attention one bit. Of course the day doubled in fun when Aunt Debi arrived with Carter + Larissa!  June is Debi's biggest photography month so it was crazy timing for her to come down, but I'm so glad she made the trip to come see all of us. I hadn't seen my niece and nephew since February of 2011.  How they've grown!! Lynne is such a wonderful mom.  So glad to spend time with her and so appreciate all she did with my kiddos. Beautiful blue-eyed Larissa. 
The grandparents just got even happier!
Story time, puzzles, cars, oh my! 
Needless to say, it wasn't hard getting the kids to sleep that night.  Love seeing my two oldest sleeping so sweetly next to one another--heart melt.

Don't you just adore the quilt Korban is sleeping on?!  My oldest sister, Sherri, made it.  I am so in love with it.  We use it all the time!!

A Stop in Tennessee

Two weeks ago we headed off on an adventure with Grandma + Pa to visit our lifelong friends in Indiana.  We woke early early and headed out in Grandma + Pa's vehicle.  The kids started off the ride hopeful, excited, and happy.
I perfected the art of lulling Korban to sleep in the car while on this trip.
They all nodded off after a few hours.
And then awoke happy.  We read lots of books, watched lots of movies on the table, and played a lot of games on the LeapPad + iPhone.  Thank the Lord for electronics!  The kids really did *amazing* making it the best long car ride I've EVER had with them.  We got 8 hours of driving under our belt the first day with very minimal crying.  We stopped in Tennessee to visit with my good friend, Danielle.  Ivory was very excited to see Danielle again and we walked all around Danielle's house picking flowers + exploring.  Micah found Danielle's to be especially exciting since you could see a train pass every few hours.

Pa treated us to a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  Again, the kids good behavior far exceeded my expectations.  A sit down meal after such a long car ride could have been potentially disastrous--but they were fabulous. 

It definitely helped that next door was a tractor supply store.  Micah was in tractor heaven. Danielle is an extremely gracious hostess and put all 6 of us up in her adorable home.  She gave up her bedroom so our family could sleep comfortably.  So grateful for her friendship--and so glad to catch her in town before she took off for another overseas trip.  Danielle travels the world with her current position at Bryan College.
  We all slept great and felt refreshed after a yummy breakfast of eggs, fresh fruit, crescent rolls with homemade jam + french pressed coffee. I was one tired momma in the car for the second leg of our trip, but it was totally worth the lack of sleep to catch up with such a dear friend I see too infrequently.
We press onward to Indiana!