Family Time

Still missing a few who couldn't make it but here is most of the crew

My family planned to get together last weekend for a while and I had to choose over seeing all of my family now for a short amount of time or seeing most of them plus seeing my sister's newborn baby for a longer amount of time. I didn't have any vacation time yet because of just starting a new job and so flights were expensive to just go for the weekend. A lot of money for not a lot of time. So I chose to wait for when I could go for a couple more days for less money and see my newborn nephew. But that decision ate at me and ate at me every day. My family kept sending group texts and it just made me miss them even more. I looked at flights frequently and debated about just going but the longer I waited the more expensive the flights got. Then I resorted to how doable it was to drive the 21 hours roundtrip in one weekend. It wasn't really the smart decision but the closer it got the more I just needed to see my family. The transition to Chicago has been really hard for me, partly because this is my third move in three years, but also because the environment at work has been really stressful. So when it came down to it, I decided at 9pm the night before that I was going to get up at 4:30 in the morning and drive to Pittsburgh to drive the rest of the way with Leighann and her family.

I got up the next morning as planned and could have left earlier but just kept thinking to myself, is this crazy that I'm about to jump in the car for 10.5 hrs to barely see my family to just jump in the car and do it all over again? I kept asking Adam the same question (this is before 5 in morning, people) but he nicely said he wasn't going to make the decision for me. He helped me carry out my stuff to the car, being the great husband that he is, and then said, "If I don't hear you come back inside in the next 5 minutes, I'll know you've made the decision to go." haha I sat in the car for a couple minutes and then decided, I'm already packed and ready to go, I might as well get on the road. Best decision ever.

Seeing my family was exactly what I needed. I needed the comfort of a familiar place and people who love and support me. People who love Jesus so much that it just pours out of them in conversation and actions. It was so refreshing not to have to small talk with people but to be able to catch up and have deep conversations as well. I also got to have some fun times with my nieces and nephews. It's hard not to be able to be with them more because I truly want to know each and every one of them ( all 14 of them going on 16 by the end of the year). And because I don't get to be with my family a ton, I wanted to document the whole weekend. So here are some of the good ones.

My baby brother is all grown up and sold his motorcycle while I was there. I was so proud of him because him and Jess didn't really want to sell it but with having a little boy already and a little girl on the way, it just made a lot of sense.

I'm glad I got to come home because I got to see Chrissy pregnant. The last time I saw her, she wasn't even showing. I'm really glad I got to see her in person before she has the baby.

Mom's yard is perfect for entertaining our big family.

We played lots of corn hole, courtesy of John who built these set of boards. Isn't Liam just the cutest thing, ever?

Lots of underpuppies (aka underdoggies for Ryan) on the tire swing, Jack plum tuckered out from playing with all the kids, and our biggest kid, Henry, letting John swing him around on the merry-go-round to see if he could hold on. He, in fact, did hold on but then felt sick for an hour after.  Things just don't get easier when you get older. haha

water slides, hoses, and water balloon fights filled the majority of the kids time and they loved it!

and we got to enjoy the weather and each other's company

are we really questioning why I had to see my family? So much fun when we get together
Left to right: Katie, Amy, me, John, Leighann, Johanna, Chrissy and mom being held by us all ;)

Seeing Johanna, aka the baby whisperer, in action

and even some toddler appreciation for his awesome parents

Neil's son even braved the chaos of all of us to spend some time with his kids at the house. His kids had a blast with all the other kids and Sean got some quality time with his dad.

I had the kids trained by the end of the weekend to let me take their pictures in between pushes on the swing, trampoline jumps, or waterside runs. Muriel said at one point that she would let me take a picture of her if I would push her on the swing haha I decided to push her on the swing without the picture haha

Me and Pipey-Pipe hanging out #sorryforherimmodesty

Even though the recovery time of traveling that much in a short amount of time was brutal, I was so glad I went. It was exactly what I needed.

Sista Weekend

This past weekend, I flew to PA to visit all my siblings plus our only girl cousin on our dad's side. It was so fun!

Ryan said he really wanted to see Adam (so cute!) who didn't come on this trip with me (cue the pouting lip from the sweet boy)

Thankfully for me, I decided to get to the airport 3 hours early to avoid rush hour. My flight had actually been cancelled because of wind but they would let me get on a flight that was supposed to leave in 15 minutes because it hadn't started boarding. I rushed through security and to my gate and made it on the plane being the third to the last person on the flight. I made it safely to Pittsburgh and spent the night with the Marquiss. (the next day there were crazy winds in Chicago so I don't even know if the morning flight they had automatically put me on after my flight was cancelled would have flown).

Friday, Leighann, sweet baby Piper, and I had a relaxing morning getting the kids off to school and packing up the car. We then went downtown to get some tacos and gluten free biscotti. Yum! Friday was all about getting there. We knew we had plenty of time so we didn't mind making little stops, in fact we encouraged it.

We got to stay in a cabin that my sister's, Chrissy, friends own. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to prove that to you. It was so fun to get there and see all my sisters. The weekend was very relaxing.

Bonni- our only girl cousin on my dad's side. She is hilarious!

We each took care of one meal and just talked, made crafts, played games, took naps, ate. a. lot., and just enjoyed everyone's company.

We didn't have a short supply of bananas or eggs. Some would say we had too many.

Just want to remind you that we were only there for the weekend.

 There was only one baby there the whole time and then when my brother, John, and his wife, Jess, came they brought their sweet almost one year old Liam. He is adorable and has started walking since I saw him at Thanksgiving. It was weird not having all the nieces and nephews there but it was nice too.

sweet little piper who is almost 3 months old

this little guy is almost a year old. Seriously look at him.

I can't get enough of him

I'm so glad that Jess and John came up for a little. I miss them!

Love Jess, she is awesome!

just one more...

One of Amy's projects of the weekend was to fix her coat… This is Amy working on her project haha

We decided to bring small gifts for everyone to make it fun. Part of Leighann's gift was these cute bags. They were really handy when everyone started giving out their gifts.

We also decided to swap recipes since most of us have allergies and have gotten sick of what we make. I decided to make my gift, my recipe cards. (But I wasn't sure if I would get them done so I also bought these yummy allergy-free candy that comes in 4 different flavors. So good!)

Did I mention that we didn't have cell service or internet access? Well who needs that when everyone acted out their favorite you tube videos.

 Leighann acting out Bon Qui Qui

 Everyone watching haha

finishing out the weekend by being silly. Sorry Jess and Bonni, that we didn't take this picture while you were here!

Thanksgiving

We had my dad's side of the family Thanksgiving on Thursday and honestly, I was so busy cooking, eating, napping, talking, watching my fantasy football players dominate and playing cards that I didn't take one single picture. Geez. We had a really good time. It was so good to see my dad, uncle, and grandma ;)

From my grandma's, we headed to Leighann's to spend the night and get the party started. The next day was pretty chill because our meal wasn't till 2 and we had so many people to help cook. It was nice (probably because Chrissy and Leighann did a lot of the work). Normally, we just have thanksgiving  at my mom's and most of my siblings live close so they just go home. Since we all traveled to Leighann's, it meant that everyone stayed all day Friday and a half of Saturday. It was fun.

I got to see Jack (John wants to change his name) and Jess a lot. I loved it.

 So many kids and smiles! Everyone made it but Johanna's family (sad face).

 Liam is so cute. He slept among everyone in the living room. On another note, we had over 20 people staying at Leighann's that night (and that was just part of my immediate family). It was crazy and fun.

 Uncle Adam teaching the kiddos piano. They were all so engaged. It was really cute.

Our family has developed a lot allergies/intolerances within the last few years so we had a whole section of the meal devoted to those that were gluten, dairy, soy, oat, and coconut free. Some of the kids have to avoid some of those things as well so when all the kids are running around asking for food, you have to make sure they can have it. Muriel is 3 and was grabbing something in the kitchen when I asked, "Can you have that?" To which she replied, "I not gluten free." Haha maybe we talk about our food issues too much.

Katie and Bobby getting their first family photos taken. They've been married for almost 6 years so I think it was about time.

Katie turned 30 the day before Thanksgiving so we got to celebrate together. She will be graduating with her Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2 weeks. Yay her! So proud!

We were the only ones who stayed Saturday night, so we got to see Frozen and get dinner with Leighann's family. I loved the movie and it was fun to get some more quality time in.

After a long weekend, we started home. Poor Adam had to drive while Jack and I tried to keep our eyes open. We didn't do a very good job.

Whew, 2200 miles later. We saw a lot of my family and even stopped in to see his parents, sister, and her new boyfriend. Success!

Happy Friday!

Chill day

After sleeping in and getting our fix of Once Upon a Time fulfilled, we made some breakfast with my mom (she had taken off work-- yippee!)

Poor Jack didn't believe we weren't going to give him any of our food because we ate it all.

I then got to take the 3rd Annual photos of Johanna's family. (3rd, right?) These kiddos are growing up so much! I can't believe it. They are so funny and sweet. It was pretty chilly but they all had really good attitudes and ideas. Loved it.

This was my favorite picture.

 I started off writing on the chalkboard but then the kids each took a turn writing whatever they wanted. It was funny.

 I love everyone's expression in this one.

 Autumn

 Alysa

 Buddy and Abby

 She was cracking me up all day.

 Lexi was not afraid of the cold. I think I have the most pictures of her because she was willing to run around everywhere with me.

 "I like cookies to eat in the winter over the fire" - Buddy

Jack and I finished up the night trying to get a good picture to send Katie on her birthday. Then Chrissy and I headed to my Grandma's (about 1.5 hours away) so that we could cook in the morning. We were going to have Thanksgiving at Chrissy's house but my grandma isn't allowed to drive anymore so we brought the party to her. So glad we did.

NYC Day 2

Our second day was shortened because we were nervous about the snow storm and wanted to beat the traffic but we still got to see some more touristy things.

Time Square. It was fun to be upon the action

M&M World. Adam's favorite store that we stopped at. That boy loves M&Ms.

There was a whole wall of chocolate. Different flavors, colors, you name it. So fun!

 FAO Schwarz- We stopped at the huge toy store because I knew there was this huge piano in it. We tried to play "Heart and Soul" but it's hard to balance and hear the sound with all the little kids running up and down the keyboard. Adam did get to play "Mary had a little lamb" and got some cheers from the crowd. It was fun.

Central Park. We just walked a little bit into it because it's so huge! How awesome is it that there is something that big within the city?

We tried a lot of the street vendor's food. It was fun ;) 

That's about it folks. A very good trip. Glad we did it.

P.S. My sister, Leighann, is having a c-section today. I'm so excited to see my new niece (via pictures) and hear her name (we've all been guessing the name and giving funny suggestions). We tried so hard to get her to go into labor this weekend while we were all there. We massaged her a lot, offered to go on walks, and she jokingly did a couple stretches but alas the doctor's had the final say this time (her amniotic fluid is too low to let her go till her due date next week- or some kind of fluid is low- don't ask me, I haven't ever been pregnant before).