kansas

We drove two days to Kansas and I must say, the kids did remarkably well in the car! I was even able to read a good portion of my book. But that was mostly due to aunt K and her amazing abilities to help my kids laugh. She was awesome!

And let me tell you, it felt so good to be with the L-family again. It brought back all sorts of tender memories of living so close to them in OH. Oh how I miss those days ...

We enjoyed a little music/art in the park activity one morning.

Another morning we took the kidlets on a cute little train ride. I love J-boy's face in the back. What a character!

My sister K got her wisdom teeth pulled while there (it's nice having a dentist in the family!) - so here's looking at you, chipmunk cheeks!! 

These two women are phenomenal. Oh I hope to be like them someday.

After the train ride we had a nice stroll over and under an old unused bridge. 

Does J-boy go anywhere without some kind of weapon? Talk about being prepared! 

K-lady in training to be just like her momma. 

Baby-A and Grandpa B. I love the look of adoration in her eyes. 

Love, love, love being with these good people.

Not the most flattering picture of me personally - but we've got almost the whole bunch in the this picture! We visited their small city zoo, and it was so beautiful!! 

And I can't believe how big all these kids are grown since the last time we were all at the Columbus, OH Zoo together. Oh the memories!

Grandpa B helped my sister design and build a darling little bench swing for their backyard, and it was a huge hit! 

Other fun included collecting eggs from their chickens, dance parties in the kitchen (lovin' on One Direction!), playing at their pool a lot, making delicious artisan bread, seeing the movie Brave in the theaters, and celebrating my brother-in-law's birthday. It was wonderful! 

I love getting extended time together as family. When it feels like the goodness of everyday life together, instead of just a temporary get together. Being so far apart from one another makes it tricky to feel like we are apart of our every day lives, and sometimes we're not. But I love how our family can flip that switch immediately and be in full swing together the moment we see one another. It's interesting to me that this was my first time being in my sister's house - but it felt just like home to me. And I can say that for everyone on both sides of our family. We sure are blessed to love and be loved by such amazing people.