finally!

Ah, its great to be back home again. My husband, my own bed, my own computer, back to making every meal, cleaning every meal, watching the kids alone all day, cold wet weather, no leaves on the trees, dirty snow leavings in the shady places...wait a minute. I want to go back. Just want to take my husband, bed and computer with me next time.

The kids and I just returned from a visit to my parents' house in Oklahoma. It was a nice, 11 day vacation for us all and we had a ball! Aside from nasty colds that spread from my mom, to my dad, to me, to Adam (skipping Laura at least!), everything was wonderful. The weather was mostly warm. Days in the 50s 60s and 70s. There were also days in the 30s with snow, but on those days, it was -3 in Minnesota, so I didn't complain. My parents have so much room to run outside that Laura was in heaven. I was constantly amazed at how brave she was there. She would run freely down the hill, fall and get back up. Scratch, bump, bruise, pinch, it didn't matter. When those things happen here, she usually falls apart, but she was so excited to be outside and in the "forest" that she didn't care at all. She kept remarking about how amazing it was to go outside without a coat on, and I had to agree, it was wonderful. I am hoping that when it warms up here, she will be as excited about our backyard as she was about their "forest" but I'm guessing it won't have quite the same appeal. We enjoyed the birds, the neighborhood cat, mom's flowers, the bear statues, and the huge swimming pool of leaves in my mom's garden. We even ate a few meals outside. Laura enjoyed the fresh supply of toys, but mostly just wanted to play outside all the time. Adam really enjoyed all the extra attention he could get too, since the extra adults around meant that someone was always free to play with him. Sleep was a little dicey towards the end when were sick, but for the most part, everyone slept in their own beds nicely.

A few trips to the school's playground. Laura played with 2 other girls. It was fun to see her interact and hold her own.
Dad took us to the archery range. We mostly just played around with the soccer ball or hiked on the trails. We had a nice picnic, but it was a little chilly. I tried to pull Dad's bow and wasn't strong enough, even on the lowest setting! Very humiliating, especially since Kim was able to do it the month before. 
Snuggles
Lots of crafts.

standoff
We both look like we've had a bit too much fresh air.
Being brave with the sweet kitty.
Yee haw




Love this picture
big, beautiful flakes that didn't stick.


Happy Birthday to me!


Jim's folks and aunt and uncle were able to visit also. That was so great for us. Laura had a blast and Adam didn't have to travel!