Weekend Visitors

We were so excited to have David and Jan (aka, Grandpops and Grandma Jan) come down from Chicago to visit last weekend!  We always have a great time with them, so we couldn't wait for them to arrive.  The girls were besides themselves when we told them they were coming; they couldn't wait!  They treated the four of us to dinner at Veni, Vidi, Vici on Friday night which was both a great time to catch up and delicious.  This was also Mia's first time to go to an "adult" place for dinner; she did very well, especially considering we were there almost two hours enjoying our time together.  This is where Ryan and Lily go for Daddy Daughter's dates, so she handled it very well.  What a great evening!  Here's a picture of the girls outside by the big sign.

On Saturday, David and Jan met Ryan and the girls at the zoo while I went to work.  It was a beautiful day, and they all enjoyed the time outside.  I think the girls enjoyed showing off all the animals, and I know they enjoyed playing on the playground for a little while.  As they were walking out, Grandpops and Grandma Jan kindly offered to stop in the gift shop and purchase a little something to remember the day.  The girls were thrilled!  They each picked out a little wind-up toy (Mia choose a ladybug while Lily went with a butterfly), and they have had all sorts of fun with those.  They also picked out a stuffed animal.  Mia picked a beautiful rainbow tree frog, and Lily picked an otter.  She has fallen for the otter.  "Olly" is with her everywhere now.  She sleeps with her, brings her in the car, plays with her and generally loves on her.  She has already said that next week when she is servant of the day, she is going to bring Olly because the share topic is bringing whatever they want to talk about.  She can't wait.  Thank you both for these gifts that the girls are loving!

After the zoo, it was time for lunch and then head back for a nap; I'm pretty sure Grandpops squeezed one in at the hotel too!  Saturday evening, David and Jan, my mom and dad and the Henderson family came over to have dinner and visit.  It was a great time.  The four grandparents loved watching the kids eat and play together, the four kids were happy to be with their friends and the four parents were glad the kids had playmates so we could enjoy some adult conversation!  We went super simple with chili and cornbread (plus an appetizer from the Hendersons and a dessert from Grandma Jan - thank you!), but it was yummy.  Best of all though was the time spent being with one another.  This was a fantastic evening.

After dinner, it was bedtime, so the Hendersons headed on home, and we snapped this picture of the girls with David and Jan and my parents.  What a great way to end a fun weekend with special visitors!  We certainly hope they will come back again very soon!