Christmas in Kansas Recap

We had a semi-planned but fast-tracked house project that started last week plus digging out of work emails from holiday time off has got me behind here. I'll catch-up this week starting with our Christmas recap. 

We had an amazing time in Kansas with a great balance of driving/visiting and just hanging out. The kids love the destination but they don't always love the travel time so I think this visit we did a better job of making sure they had plenty of time to just play. 

Our travel day is always stressful but as the kids get older it does get a little bit easier. They both did great, all things considered, and Grandma greeted us at the airport with big hugs.

We stopped at Fritz's which is that fun lunch spot we went to this past summer where a model train delivers your meal.

The kids slept on the long drive to Grandma's house and were refreshed when we arrived. The house was fully decked-out for Christmas with five fun trees, including a snowman tree and an upside down tree!! 

And Baby greeted us with excited kisses. Ivy was really worried about being around the dog but fortunately she warmed up quickly and had no problems or scared moments throughout our stay.

We also played around with Grandma's cool retro wall telephone!

 

On Christmas Eve we got festive.

Then we drove to Aunt Judy and Aunt Kandi's house and spent the day with extended family. The kids had a blast playing with some of their second cousins and opening presents.

 Ivy's gifts included a make-up kit

And the kids got lots of fun toys from super generous aunts, uncle, and cousins. Of course there was amazing food and the most comfortable and homey feeling all around. I love it there.

That night, back at Grandmas, we made some cookies for Santa and treats for the reindeer and Santa Mouse. 

One of the things I love about staying at Grandma's house is we all sleep in the same room and each kid has their own little airbed. I actually love the snug fit and we all slept really well the whole time. 

(I forgot to snag a picture of Ivy's unicorn blow-up bed - she loves it)

Merry Christmas before coming downstairs to see if Santa came.

He DID! And Grandma too!!

The kids opened their presents from Santa first. They each got a pair of shoes. Kip really wanted Lego shoes and Ivy got light-up unicorn shoes. Kip also got the Lego airplane he asked for and Ivy got a bag full of unicorn things including a unicorn onesie which she lived in for the rest of the trip.

After Santa gifts we had pancakes for breakfast while we waited for Uncle Sam and Aunt Lauren and  cousins to arrive. 

Then it was present time! Every single one of us got spoiled by Grandma! Thank you Grandma!!

 

The kids had a great time playing together and we enjoyed their visit. 

We spent the afternoon back at Aunt Judy and Aunt Kandi's house, just the small group of us, for more presents (!!) and playing.

The day after Christmas we had the whole day to just hang out and play while I tried my best to fit everything we got into our suitcases (it didn't work, one box shipped, on resent, and we still had one suitcase overweight).

The next morning we said our goodbyes and headed to the airport. 

Bye Baby Doll!

It really was a great trip. What I'm most grateful for is that travel went smoothly and everyone stayed healthy. And that's NO SMALL FEAT. Huge, really. We had two full days of travel that involved many hours in the car, navigating the airports, and flights. We were seeing a lot of family and I'm always worried the kids will spread their germs. I wish it didn't cause me so much stress but the pandemic really messed with my psyche. High stakes. And I always feel like I'm holding my breath until we get to the destination. There were moments of drama from the kids (Ivy especially) but overall everyone was happy. We all had a great time pending it with family. 

Until next time, Kansas...we love you!