Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving Kick-Off with the Conners!

 We had planned to stop in Indianapolis to stay with Katie and Nick for two nights on our way to Evanston, but my wonderful husband worked crazy hard during the week so we could leave earlier in the day and have more time together.  Katie's dad passed away right before Halloween after battling cancer for quite a while.  We couldn't make the logistics work to get to visit them any earlier, and I couldn't get there fast enough!  Instead of getting in close to the middle of the night, we got to Indy around 9, and were able to visit and unwind before going to bed.  It was SOOO good to see them!  The boys did really well in the car!  Graham started the trip off with a crazy long nap, then we stopped for a delicious McDonald's lunch before continuing on.  After our dinner stop, Graham fell asleep and Jackson wasn't too far behind him.  You can't see Pax in the hatch in the above picture, but he was there and did really well on the drive too!
As always when we visit Katie and Nick, it was super cold!  Not sure what it is about us that brings a super cold front to Indy...  We had plans to head to Monkey Joe's for the morning, and that was a huge hit!!!  Jackson played on EVERYTHING without hesitation!  I loved watching him run around and climb--he has always been super cautious around these inflatables.  There was even a toddler area for Graham!  He loved it! 
 Paige and Jackson peeking out from the pirate ship.
 You can't see his face, but there was a soft slide in the toddler area that Graham could pretty much climb up and slide down all by himself.  His face as he slid down each time was priceless!
 These three :)
 Sliding down one of the big slides
 Graham peeking in
After playing, we stopped at Qdoba for lunch before heading home for naps!
 After a delicious dinner Katie and Nick cooked, Josh and Nick took the three big kids to do a little geocaching.  We had shown them a quick one in the parking lot at lunch, so they went in search of the one closest to the Conners' house.  Success!

That guys put the big kids to bed, and Katie and I went out for some girl time.  It was just what we needed :)  We did some shopping and then stopped to get some dessert and do even more catching up.
On Sunday morning we celebrated and early Christmas together!  Poor Graham misses out on lots of fun due to his still necessary morning nap.  But, he got to open his present later! 
 These three were the only ones cooperating in the beginning for our traditional kid picture!
Not too bad for five kiddos!

After our photo session we headed to Culvers for lunch (and another geocache) before we had to pack up the car and head to Evanston.  We were super excited to see Mimi and Bampa, but the time always goes too fast with these friends :(  Katie, Nick, Paige, Lexi and Caleb--thanks for an awesome start to our Thanksgiving break!!!

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