Weekend Wrap Up...a few days late

This post is a bit late as Dave and I were on vacation for a few days in Florida following a work trip. While we were gone, the kids spent the time at my sister Becky's house. They were well entertained the entire time because Becky has three kids. Her oldest one is basically a Mommy to C & R

We flew to Miami, Florida on Thursday afternoon so we dropped the kids off at my sisters that morning. Neither of the kids seemed to mind when we left her house, which made me kind of sad. But it was probably better because I wasn't worrying how much they were crying and such after we had left. Thursday afternoon, the kids took it easy but my niece had an orthodontist appointment so my brave sister took all five kids to this appointment. Thankfully, they were all good while in the waiting room for an hour.

R-man getting a ride with a Tonka truck. 

As the evening approached, little-C was missing her Mommy and Daddy. Probably Daddy the most since he is the one who usually tucks her in at night while singing ABCs and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Luckily my nephew was generous to let her sleep in his bed, which made things a bit easier.

Friday was cold so the kids took it easy and spent most of the day indoors with my nephew who is five - the older two were in school. Seriously, it felt almost like late fall weather as the kids had sweatshirts on because it was only in the upper 30's.

Saturday was a fairly relaxing day for them as well. My sister was working at the Nebraska Medical Center so my brother-n-law, Jeff, was managing the kids. My niece had dance and my nephews had baseball and t-ball practice so it was interesting for him to transport all five kids around to these events. My parents came down to visit that evening and he asked my Mom how she did it with six children because he was wore out. I often wonder how she did it with six of us too! My Mom asked Little-C where her Mommy and Daddy were and she responded, "at work." Whew, at least she thought we were at work instead of crying that we were on vacation.

Cousins (Katelyn, R-man, Little-C, Derek, Jake and Baby-B)

On Sunday, my other sister, Linda, came down to help out with the kids since Jeff and Becky had to work. She had her hands full because her five month old son came with her. Thankfully, my niece is such a big help! She is basically like a built in Mom! Gosh, sometimes I wished she lived closer. With the weather warming up a bit, they were able to go to the park and enjoy the outdoors.

Little-C enjoying the slides at the park. 

Katelyn 12 1/2 , Jake 10, Derek 5 and Little-C 2 1/2

Cousins and best friends for the time we were away! 

Monday was finally showing potential of it being back to normal temperatures so they ventured to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. As my sister pulled into the parking lot she saw several school buses. Oh great, the surrounding schools had a field trip to the zoo as well, which made it extremely crowded in certain areas. They all had fun, especially R-man, he loved the fish as you can tell from the photos below!

Enjoying the Zoo! 

Loving the aquariums. 

Loving spending time with her cousin D! 

A little adventure! 

Tuesday morning, we flew home and Dave and I couldn't get our luggage quick enough! We quickly jumped out of the car after arriving at my sister's house and wondered, who the kids would come running up to first. Well, not R-man because he can't run but you get the point. Little-C was excited and went to Dave first, but I got the longer hug! R-man wasn't sure what to think and kept looking back and forth at Dave and I. I was hoping for a big slobbery kiss as he usually gives us when he is excited but we got nothing.

We were excited to see them both but as a parent it's important to have time away from your kids and for your kids to have time away from you. It's like the old saying, distance makes the heart grow fonder. There are days when my kids frustrate me but time away from them makes me love those moments even more!