A little bit of Pennsylvania

We recently got back from a super great week in Pennsylvania to visit Jacob's sister and her family. The road trip was the first of many adventures, and I must say I was proud of our little travelers. They did great on the 11+ hour drive. I think the DVD player, GPS, and mini van had a little something to do with it as well as their sweet laid-back personalities! We arrived to snow that evening, which made it all the more real to be in the north.

We had such a good time that week...seeing their lives in PA...their church, their quaint little town, their friends,their school. I had good quality time with my sweet SIL - we had a girl date - coffee and shopping at Kohl's until almost midnight - call us crazy - while the boys stayed home and perfecting their tennis game on Wii. We ventured into Philly one day to see Independence Hall, the LOVE sign and Reading Terminal. We went to the botanical gardens that had a fabulous light show set up for Christmas. We even had a double date night and left all five children at home - so nice to have a dinner without wiping hands and refilling milk!

It was so nice to spend quality, relaxed time together. It was also great to see Charles and his cousins play together - made me excited to think of all the years ahead with all the grandchildren. It was so fun cooking, napping, and just spending time together before the madness of the holidays. We could not have asked for a better vacation week - thank you Erin and Chris for letting us visit!

The cousins sans Frances playing at Botanical Gardens light show

Yummy, huge, mexican (?) cookie!

What Frances did during most of our travels - sleep

Charles aka Ben Franklin pushing big cousin "V" in stroller

My SIL, BIL and sweet nieces

Poor Buddy

Isn't this such a sad picture? A few days ago, we were getting ready for Christmas pictures in front of the tree (and I won't mention how many other photos we had already taken), and Charles takes a topple in the chair onto the tree. The second he looked up, he had this black bruise from the chair. I am thankful nothing was broken or his eye was not damaged. And I am thankful this has been the worst injury in his first two fiesty years of life! He cried for a few minutes when it happened, but didn't even speak about it yesterday. We went to Wal-Mart yesterday and got a few looks, but oh well, what can you do? I can't hide him for the next week or two or explain to everyone that he does not need to go to DFACS. At least we got the Christmas picture before the topple! Stay tuned for pics from our fabulous PA trip!

First Dentist Visit

Of course I have to document everything including Charles' first visit to the dentist. He did great, and no cavities!