I thought it would never happen

MY SISTER CAME TO VISIT!!! Practically 5 months ago, Dan sent me a link to cheap-o tickets flying from Milwaukee to Baltimore. It was practically a miracle that my sister considered actually coming and a true miracle when her and her family actually arrived here last Saturday! They haven't taken a real vacation for several years now and most definitely not on a plane! There was a lot more to consider travelling with Claire (who is special needs), but Katherine and Jon handled it all like pros and arrived in Baltimore last Saturday. Claire is definitely unpredictable, but she did awesome for the plane ride here and the car ride down to Virginia (she didn't do as good on the way back home). We didn't do too many "really cool" things, but we did have a fun time. It was fun just to hang out and let Carson and Bryn play with their cousins, Gwen and Claire. Here's the lowdown on their trip, as stated by Katherine in a recent email:

1. lynette and i sang a duet at church on sunday. we have a cool arrangement of "a poor wayfaring man of grief" that everyone really liked. it's always fun singing with my sis!

2. we took the kids to a cool "bounce house".... there were 3 huge bounce toys that kids and adults could enjoy, and in the middle a sitting room with couches for the moms where they'd bring by drinks (not those kinds of drinks silly!). i went on them all a few times----the slide was fun (i can only imagine how tall it feels for kids), the obstacle course was a workout, and the bouncing hut made me need the bathroom! gwen of course had a blast!

3. for the first time since we've had kids, jon and i got an overnight date "sans" kids! lynette and dan took on the beast (and claire, too! hahaha.... just kidding!) while jon and i got to the DC temple, Outback steakhouse in maryland (we don't ever get to that restaurant cuz our only dates here are when claire's at therapy and outback isn't open for lunch), and then stayed at a hotel close to lynette's house. in the morning we went to target and Wegmans!

4. Wegmans gets it's own line, folks! the Wegmans where lynette lives are way nicer than the ones we had growing up in rochester (though maybe those have been updated---i haven't been back for a while). we had dinner and lunch at wegmans, and i got their awesome animal crackers and mint M&Ms! yumm! jon agreed that wegmans is quite the grocery store, even though we're pretty sure a girl there gave brynlee the "bark" (whooping cough).

5. lynette sewed the girls cute matching skirts with matching hair bows.... and sewed claire "burpday" (birthday) burp clothes.... and gave me some pointers on sewing and material and ribbons. and we went to joanne's for dollar patterns. fun stuff! I've got a few more burp clothes to finish, then I'll email pix of those things.

6. for FHE, lynette found a cute idea to make turkeys out of oreos and candy corn and stuff. the kids loved it, and everyone loved eating it!

7. we took the kids to a mall that had a "Polar Express" exhibit (and weird stuffed animal safari too!). gwen loved the fake snow---and kept saying "it's made out of styrofoam mom" they all saw Santa too. gwen wants mint M&Ms and peanut M&Ms (and she later told me she wants her own tape, so she doesn't have to "borrow" mine for her art projects!)

we also watched movies and hung out. the kids were loving jokes and talking about B.O.B. the blob from "monsters vs. aliens".... so we made a bob the blob cookie with a big eyeball on it and they loved it. gwen got along great with carson and brynlee for the most time, with just a few "sharing" issues. one time i almost fainted when i thought i saw claire playing with a toy---what really happened was dan moved claire over and put brynlee where claire was and so i saw brynlee playing with a toy when i glanced over..... holy miracle for a mili-second!


It was sooo fun having Katherine and her family here...I wish they lived closer!! Thanks for coming guys!!!

Cox Farms

I've heard nothing but good things about Cox Farms and well...they're ALL TRUE!!! We went yesterday for a preschool field trip and it was AWESOME!!! Check out all the fun we had!

Halloween!

We had a great time on Halloween night this year!! It seemed as though Halloween was building up for the last TWO months and finally it arrived! The kiddos were sooo excited! They didn't even make it around the block before they were tired and their buckets were full of candy! Here are a few pictures of our cute candy corn and dragon...man, I love those kids!

I also dressed up for a girl's night Halloween party on Friday night.
Check out what I was!

should I??

Tonight we went to a party at one of Dan's old co-workers houses. While we were there, I needed to go potty (there is a point to this). Of course, both kiddos wanted to go to the potty with me too...hey why not? I'm use to going potty with two little kids hanging out with me, right? Once I was done...Carson needed to go. So, he went. Once he was done, Brynlee wanted to go. So, she went. Yep...you read that right....Brynlee went pee-pee on the potty for the FIRST time tonight...what a big girl!!! She was so proud of herself and kept saying "I diddit". She has been pretending to go potty for a couple months now, but this is the first time anything actually happened. So, I guess you could say she is interested. Do I really want to start potty training her now? She's just a couple months younger than Carson was when I started him....but I'm not sure I'm ready to potty train...it's such a pain! Although, maybe she'll be easier. I don't know! Should I try?

Sometimes I'm a Cool Mom...

...and make worm infested hot dogs to eat for lunch!! YUM!!

Utah

I had a great trip to Utah, even considering the circumstances. The only problem was that the trip was too short...from Friday morning to Sunday night. The traveling was a breeze and I couldn't help but enjoy my alone time :) As soon as I got my rental car I went straight to my favorite quilt shop and got a bite to eat at Cafe Rio. I know, I was going for a funeral, right? But, I promised Dan that I would take a little alone time too since I've been wishing for it lately. After that I went to my grandma Simmons house where my parents were staying. My mom and I were able to go fun a few errands and also hit a few fabric stores. It was fun to be with my mom and talk with her. I think it was a nice break for her from all the funeral planning. That evening was the viewing and it went very well. My grandma was a SUPER social person, so there were quite a few people at both the viewing and the funeral. My grandma looked beautiful, just like I remember her. She always had her "face on" and her hair done and fingernails done. She was always well put together. The next day, Saturday was the funeral and it was perfect. Everything about it was just lovely. The speakers were amazing and paid a beautiful tribute to her. The overall theme of her life was that she LOVED music and would always be singing and that she was a super social and kind woman who loved everyone, especially her family. She had many great accomplishments and a witty sense of humor. While at the funeral, I realized that I have a lot in common with my grandma, but that there are many things that she had that I wish I did...or characteristics she had that I wish I had. Remembering her and what a kind, loving, and fun lady she was really made me want to be a better person...be more like her. She was raised in the depression and her father left her family, yet she was always optimistic and happy. I am determined to be more like her. Happy, patient, caring, outgoing, giving, self-less...she truly was an amazing woman! My mom said that the best way to honor someone is to try to be a better person...and that's what I'm going to do. So, after the funeral services, we went to the graveside service, which was short and sweet. After that we went to a luncheon at the chapel and then to my uncle's house. We were able to sit around and reminisce of the good old times. It was soo fun to see cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in years. The next day I had to leave to go back home. I loved being there and was so glad I was able to go. It was nice to be there for my mom and spend some time with her. My grandma will truly be missed....we love you grandma Hatch!!!

And if you don't believe me that she was ALWAYS singing...here are two videos of her when we visited in July.

Grandma Hatch

My grandma Hatch died this morning. She was an AMAZING woman! I have tons of fun memories of her and also my grandpa Hatch, who died a few years ago. If I could be even half the woman she was, then I would be doing great!!! She had a heart of gold and a witty sense of humor. She loved to sing and loved to entertain company. She also LOVED her family and always loved to tell everyone about them and their accomplishments. I love you grandma Hatch...you will be missed!!! I'm excited that it actually works out that I'll be able to go out to UT for the funeral. I'll only be there from friday till sunday, but i'm glad I can go. Here are some pictures of us with grandma a few months ago in July when we were in UT.