"Over the river & through the woods ...

to Grandmother's house we go!"



Two weekends before Christmas, we headed up to Amarillo to visit with Mike's parents. Gracie and I might not have made the best company because we were both bringing along a cold with us. I think we managed not to get anyone sick, though & we had a good time in spite of feeling icky.

See, here we are:


We really wanted to be able to go up to Amarillo that weekend because all of Mike's siblings would be in town at the same time which is a rare thing these days.

There was lots to do, even when we weren't visiting with Mike's siblings. The girls love to play with the toys at Grandma's and Grandpa's, especially the ones that come from the basement (and yes, I mean basement, I'm not just confused and using that word for the garage!) That's usually Clara's first question within 10 minutes of arriving at their house - "Can we go to the basement and get a toy?" Mike takes the girls down (and I think JM might even have gotten carried down there a few times this trip) several times over the course of a visit and they get to each pick a toy to take up each time (meanwhile returning the one they had previously chosen). Of course, Grandma and Grandpa also have a closet full of toys in the living room, so there is no shortage of things to do.

Apparently, being silly was one of the things to do:




Another was to play with Grandma's cats at the window:

as you can see, even JM got to enjoy this!

And to continue a Christmas tradition, Mike (and the girls) worked on those gingerbread men that he makes every year:


We went visiting to Susie & Dave's house, where Sarah and the little guy entertained us with piano concerts and Gracie and Clara got to play Webkinz with Katie (they were so excited about that!)




And here's a good picture of MaryJo and Dick who were staying with Susie and Dave (and who get early Happy 10th Anniversary wishes!)


The girls live in "fear" of Uncle Dick. They always talk about how he likes to eat toes (which he tells them all the time). Hmmmm... there might be some proof here:



On our last night in Amarillo, Scott made it home from San Antonio and we had an early birthday celebration for Virginia.


The girls were so excited to see Scott, but not excited when they found it we were leaving in the morning and wouldn't get to spend more time with him. They really enjoyed their trip to San Antonio earlier this year.


JMS and JMS


Katie loves to hold a baby (or toddler). JM was so content with her - who knows how long he would have sat with her if Clara hadn't gotten mad and wanted a turn!

Happy Birthday, Ma/Grandma/Virginia!!