Weekending it

We had a really fun and relaxing weekend with Poppa in town. This was the first visit, EVER, that Ivy engaged with Poppa and wasn't petrified of him half that time. It was so sweet to see them starting to build their relationship.

On Saturday we took Poppa to Northlandz...also known in our house as "the biggest layout ever and all." They have new owners and there were some upgrades since the last time we visited. 

 

 

They added several of these low peek-a-boo windows which made it so much easier for littles to take in the display.

When we were about 3/4 of the way through the display we let the kids stop and play with these little cars. 

While they were playing we heard a huge noise and Mandy immediately commented that maybe someone fell through the layout. It was a joke but then we heard someone screaming to call 911. It took us awhile to figure out what had happened but it was actually a car accident in the parking lot in front of the building. Someone had been speeding on the highway, drove off the road, hit a car in the parking lot and went airborne slamming into the business sign and knocking it over before landing on another car. We kept the kids inside to shield them from the scene but it was a mess. Several people were hurt but fortunately everyone survived. Four cars in the parking lot were totaled and the driver's car was totaled as well. Our car was spared by literally a foot. The car parked directly next to ours was totaled. We were so fortunate.

Dan and Poppa enjoyed watching the final four games, the kids got a couple of new toys, and we just enjoyed the good company.

We missed Marmee. She would have loved the burgers we had on Saturday, liked the movie we rented Friday night, enjoyed hearing Kip read, and loved to see Ivy's personality come out. I'm certain her spirit was with us.