Escape

Sometimes you just have to make an escape. That's what the girls and I did for a few days this last week. Matt has been away for 8 days (yes, I count. He's finally coming home tonight), and I knew that we would need to do something to break up the routine if for no other reason than to save my sanity during his extended absence. We loaded up the car, carefully scouted weather reports (seriously, who has to worry about ice/snow in mid-April?!?), and found the perfect window to hit the road and head South. We had a great time at Grammy and Grandad's in Des Moines, and were lucky to also get some time in with Aunt Meggie, Uncle D, Jack, Baby Bryce, Aunt Mal, and our cousin Lindsay (who Jillian calls "Lizzy"). Lots of memories were made....

In Story City, IA for a pit stop in the McDonald's bathroom. The girls were enamored with the hand dryer. Check out Jillian's ensemble. She embraces all patterns, and wears them all together. She also requested french fries to help "get us through" the rest of the drive. Good call, Jiji.

Adrienne loved the easy access to a plethora of shoes by the front door. Here she is wearing Grammy's and holding mine.

The Sandman (aka Grandad) working some nap magic on Adrienne. Thanks, Dad!

Grammy has plenty of treasures to try on

You know it's going to be a great day when you start your morning staring at this happy guy.

Mom wanted a pic of all the grandkids since they were together, so we took them for a quick photo shoot Friday morning. This was the best option of all 4. There were 6 adults to wrangle these kids, and it still was mass chaos. It was after this experience that Aunt Meggie and I promptly ran away for lunch and an afternoon of shopping alone. We repeated lunch and shopping on Saturday with Aunt Mal and "Lizzy". Oh how glorious some kid-free girl time is.

Jack and Adrienne in-a-tub. It was during this bath that Adrienne clearly noticed their anatomical differences. I'll leave it at that.

We let the 3 "big kids" stay up "late" to greet Aunt Mal and Lindsay. Aunt Mal looks pretty happy to have a lap full of love.

The wine ended up being terrible, but it was worth every penny to have the label on the bottle. Two tired Moms definitely deserve a time out!

I love the sweetness here. Adrienne is in love with Bryce.

Aunt Meggie came with a "cool craft". She and Jillian made crayons!

Adrienne likes to "cheers"! My mom made some homemade bloody mary mix off of a recipe she found recently in my Grammy's stuff. This was funny to us because Grams didn't really drink, and certainly didn't serve alcohol in her home. I think she was just trying to keep a good thing to herself, they were delicious!

Adrienne spent a lot of time in Bryce's car seat..."I Baby Byce"

The three bigs setting up some food for the birds and squirrels

After bath beauty shop with the aunties

Can you believe it?!?

Jillian with straight hair! This totally fascinated her, and she wondered if it would still be "perfect" when she woke up the next day. I told her that her hair was always perfect, but that sometimes it's just fun to try something different. We love your curls the most, Ji!

Yes. This is a grown man actually sleeping with a red hat on.

Nail salon with Aunt Mal

Checking out the neighbor's new puppies. Adrienne kept shouting "Kitty!"

Morning coloring with "Gammy". Adrienne is pretty fascinated with my mom. On this morning she kept hugging her and saying "I love Gammy". Mom also trained her to say that she is "Gammy's Dolly" and that she is "pesh-us" (precious). Sweet. Sweet. Sweet.

Adrienne's new trick: toe walking. This is something we work on correcting with Jillian....I guess her little sister picked up on it. Girls, get off your toes! Unless in ballet shoes, of course.