Family Get~Together

Adam picked Andrea up in Maple Grove Friday night. She got a ride down from Duluth for spring break. The girls and I met them at the house and then took off for dinner at McDonald's, or as Lillian calls it, "Donald's".

We finished packing and I baked some bars and made some chex mix for the weekend.

Saturday morning we got up and ready to head to Albert Lea for the family get together. We stopped by Linda's house before going to the hotel and Juan was there making fajita's, or "cow", as Alexa calls it. We enjoyed a delicious sampling of 'cow' and then went to the hotel to set up.

We had a party room for us all the enjoy as well as our own individual rooms to sleep. We got the tables and decorations up and the family trickled in, adding food to the buffet tables. We had a feast, to say the least. Delicious! The girls were ecstatic to see Brady and Riley. They have gotten so big since we last saw them a year and a half ago. But, they are still just as cute and lots of fun. Alexa and Riley spent hours playing hide and seek and chasing each other around the hotel. Lillian just wanted to stay by Mommy, she took it all in and smiled and said Hi to everyone from my lap. She was overly tired, not feeling the greatest and probably very overwhelmed with all the people and commotion all at the same time.

The big news of the weekend was that Adam's cousin Amanda and her husband John from Rochester are expecting their first baby in September. We couldn't be happier for them. And the stroller I've had on Craig's list for a month that nobody has inquired about, will be carrying Baby Wackerly this fall. I couldn't be happier knowing it's going to someone that I know and love. Congratulations Amanda and John!

We took the girls swimming in the big pool. They are both half fish, I swear. They would have stayed in there all day and all night, if we let them. Alexa played her cousins and Lillian liked to jump in the water. She only wanted Daddy to catch her. I think she felt safer jumping into his big strong arms. It was great swimming and having fun with the girls in the water. Lillian was really kicking her feet and paddling her arms, wanting to learn to swim like her big sister. Alexa had her life jacket on and swam around the whole pool.

All the swimming really tired them out. I took the girls up to our room and they fell sound asleep. Alexa had one more dip in the pool Sunday before we left. She just couldn't get enough. She is already looking forward to swimming lessons this summer.

It was such a great time, seeing Adam's family again. It's been such a long time. We're hoping to start the camping tradition with everyone next spring/summer.

Since we left Chip at home, we took off right away on Sunday. Tori watched him for us while we were away. He loves her and she did such a great job, making sure he was fed and watered and took him for walks. The weather was absolutely gorgeous when we got home. The sun was shining and all the kids were outside riding their bikes. Alexa quick changed clothes and was on a bike ride with her friends before we even had the car unloaded. We sat in the front yard and visited with the neighbors, the kids played, Adam grilled. It was perfect! It's what we waited all winter for.

Lillian fell asleep in my arms at the dinner table and was out for the night. Alexa curled up on the couch and watched Disney Channel. We were all in bed by 9.

** We forgot to bring our camera to the family get together :( So, I'm relying on the cousins and Andrea to send me pics to upload. Hopefully they'll pull through. :)