Grandma and Grandpa's House

Scott had to go back home on Tues. Dec. 29, so he dropped the kids and I off at Kevin and Dawna's house. Grandma and Grandpa were there and took us to their house, but not before the cousins got to play. There was a lot of dress-up going on.

At Grandpa's house, the kids were drawn to the garden, again. And Grandpa obliged their desires with a garden fort. Grandpa (and grandchildren) got some good old fashioned exercise. Grandpa got some good use out of his shovel. The kids loved to slide down the sides of the fort. They also ran up and down the sides. Dirt? - what's not to love about it!

By the last day, Grandpa had built four forts that all connected - forming an island in the middle.

The second day at the Grandparents' house, we went on a little trip. First, I wanted to see the new windmill farm. Dad said that they have 100 of them up now. You can see them from miles away. They are about 340 ft tall. Evidently some people are not too excited about the change in their skylines, but I thought they were pretty cool. They seemed like something out of a science fiction novel. They are almost graceful to watch.

Then we went out to Rockport's beach. They have several play structures and a beach. The weather was suppose to be sunny and mild. Unfortunately the sea fog wasn't budging. So the kids played in the sand for about an hour and we headed to Dairy Queen.

After a DQ treat,

We set off to Corpus to a play ground right on the ocean front. Basically, it's just a big maze shaped like a castle. The kids really enjoyed this. I really enjoyed walking out on the pier.

The last day of our visit to Texas, we visited Great-grandma Haug. It was very nice to see her.

We had a great trip, but the kids were ready to see Daddy and get back home.

The Next 3 Days

The day after Christmas, I went up to Arkansas with Kevin and his family. It was a 12 hour drive with 3 children under the age of 5! Surprisingly the kids did a fantastic job. We were lucky not to run into any ice on the roads. I went to Grandma Grote's memorial service on Sunday, Dec. 27. I got to visit lots of relatives that I haven't seen in a long time - some over 10 years! It was nice to catch up with them. Then on Monday, we and my parents drove back to Texas.

Scott stayed with the kids at Oma and Opa's house. They found plenty to do.

Payton and Ian helped Oma feed her puppies.

They went to a cool park in Katy, Tx. Evidently it was huge and the kids had a great time. Cousin Kennedy met them there and they were very excited to play with her.

In the video, Payton says, 'I want to play with Kennedy!' and then Ian shouts, 'No! I want to play with Kennedy!'

Timeout.

Of course, there's always something to jump off of. Kennedy and Ian enjoyed this sport.

I would have felt a little sorry for Scott taking care of the kids all by himself, except that he did get to play golf with his dad - twice. Thanks Oma and Aunt Kate for taking care of the kids.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was spent at Oma and Opa's house. Santa had brought one present each for the kids. Payton was a little disappointed - she didn't realize that Oma and Opa's presents were at Aunt Kate's house to be opened later that day. She kept lamenting that she only got one present (poor girl).

Opa made us Pannekoek (pan-ne-kook) - a traditional Dutch pancake - kind of like crepes. Ian loved it. He ate a whole one with strawberry jam all by himself.

One of Payton's gifts was some Toober&Zots. The are funky foam covered construction toys that sound like they are out a Dr. Seuss book. Payton wanted me to make a guitar for her.

Later in the morning, Opa and Payton were inspecting outside and found one of the icicle decorations had fallen off the house. It was solid with ice - thank God no one was under that when it fell.

After noon, we went over to Aunt Kate and Uncle Jessie's house for a late lunch. It was Kate first turkey. She did a great job. (Don't worry Kate, I didn't mention the forgotten gravy or cranberry sauce ;)

Payton, Ian and Kennedy had a grand time running all around the house.

We're Back

We have been on a little vacation for the holidays to Texas. So over the next several posts, I'll be catching up.


Christmas eve we went over to Kevin and Dawna's house. My parents were there. It was great to see my nieces and nephew. They are growing up so quickly. The cousins went right to playing.



We opened some presents and had our traditional chicken Kiev dinner.




These spinning light balls were a favorite, especially with Daddy. They helped the kids go to sleep at Oma's and Opa's house.

We went to Christmas eve service at Kevin's church.