A Little Taste of Columbus

On January 25. 2013, Alex was able to take the day off. He would be moving the next morning and starting his new job on Monday so he took Friday off to get ready and to help with packing.

But, first, we wanted to start with a bit of time in Columbus showing off the crazy town we have lived near since May.

We started with lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings. Charlotte was herself to say the least.

Katie is a big fan so we knew she would be able to find something to eat while we were there.

We ran a few errands then we headed to Gigi's Cupcakes and to Sweet Frogs for Cupcakes and playtime.

Sawyer couldn't wait to pick out his own cupcake. Unfortunate for this little bean, there were no rice cereal cupcakes made that day.

Katie wants to make her very own cupcake shop in Carrollton. She was LOVING this.

 We ran over to Sweet Frogs and hung out outside so we could let Charlotte play. Before she could play, she needed to have a bite of one of the mini cupcakes. She wouldn't play until she did.

Since Sawyer wasn't allowed to eat cupcakes, he stuck to eating his stroller. Naturally.

Once she got her snack in her system, it was time to rock it out.

Oh, more snack. (These are out of order.)

Oh My!

Aunt Bare and her little gems.

All smiles.

Love this one.. and love them both in blue!

Mary kicked two small kids out of that chair so she could play on it.

 The coolest kids on the playground.

Tire swing time!!! Charlotte loved it.

He is such a good sitter!!!

Hey buddy!!! :) 

Katie loved this place. Such a happy little corner of the earth.

We chose not to take Grandma and Katie to the ghetto. We showed them the better parts of Columbus. It was a great start to our day but it was time to head home for packing times. We could have stayed out and played allllll day long.

Our Visit from Gigi and Papa

Mom and Dad stayed in Georgia with us for a few days. There plan was to arrive down here on Tuesday December 25 and head back early in the morning on Saturday December 29. 

The morning after Christmas we got a phone call that a friend of mine from grade school and high school had passed away. He and I were very close at a few different points in our lives. He was amazing. After talking to Mom, Dad, and Alex, we decided that the kids and I should drive back to Illinois with Mom and Dad so that I could go to the funeral. That is one thing that I have learned from my Mom and Dad. Family and friendship are extremely important. A drive is just a drive. Miles are just miles. Events like funerals are things that you just do not miss.

Once our plans were figured out, we spent time playing with the kids' new toys from "Hoho", organizing the house, catching up on laundry, and ran a few errands in Columbus.

Look at that face :) I love this picture of her...and her outfit.

Sawyer was loving his new toy.

Papa can't do a thing on his I-pad or ours without Charlotte sitting right there.

She is pretty quick with those fingers.

Love this little guy. Working on our tummy time. He is taking a break here.

We took down our Christmas tree and put away all of our Christmas decorations. Mom is a maniac with a vacuum.

Charlotte even helped put the Christmas stuff away. I think she looks so much like me when I was little (and even now) in this picture. 

On Friday December 29, we left for Illinois around 5:30 pm. We piled the kids into the car and headed right back to where we had come from just 4 days prior. Our poor children...they will probably end up with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from all of this. We stopped in Chattanooga and I took over driving so that Dad could sleep. The weather had been less than desirable. It rained quite a bit in the Atlanta suburbs and at one point a big SUV drifted into our lane and almost caused us to flip our car. Scary. But I took over in Chattanooga, TN and drove until we got into Illinois. 

Once we got into Illinois (like we had literally crossed the Ohio River into Illinois) it started snowing like CRAZY. I had been waiting for it start. We had been checking Weather.com and waiting for it start. Dad had finally JUST fallen asleep when I had to wake him up drive. I talked to Mr. Paul and Kate (they are my two dates while I am on the road) for hours. I talked the entire time I drove...which was like 4 hours. I don't know what I would do without Mr. Paul and Kate on my long drives. I love having Mr. Paul who stays up late and Kate who lives in California.  So, Dad took over and drove for about an hour. The snow was pretty bad but Dad was just flying passed people. He meant business!

I took back over driving in Mt. Vernon, IL and drove the rest of the way to Grandma Ann's house. We got to her house around 4 am and took the kids right to bed. Charlotte slept with me and Sawyer slept with mom. I am so thankful for Aunt Kathy and Ryan who came out to Grandma's that morning to watch the kids while we slept. Aunt Kathy showed up the exact minute that Charlotte woke up. I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

We made amazing time....even with snow. I was happy I was able to drive a lot of the drive and let Mom and Dad relax. So thankful to have parents like mine... that did not even question me wanting to come back to Illinois for this funeral and visitation.

Aunt Kathy Is Back!!!

Aunt Kathy came back to visit!! We were so excited :) We love when Airtran or Southwest have specials going on because Aunt Kathy takes the opportunity to book a flight (or 2) to come see us! 

Her flight got in really early (she usually takes the 7 am flight out of St. Louis which gets her into Atlanta at 9:30). We were at the airport ready and waiting! Charlotte was SO EXCITED when Aunt Kathy came up the escalator. She was ecstatic. It's funny bc sometimes she can't believe it's really that person with us. It's like she is shocked. That's how she was with Aunt Kathy.

We got loaded up into the Tahoe and headed home. Aunt Kathy sat in back with the crazies just in case a meltdown happened...which it did. 

We got home and Charlotte had to get her clothes changed due to a food mishap. So she is rocking a really fabulous ensemble in these pictures.

SHE IS REALLY HERE!

Charlotte was SO EXCITED to show Aunt Kathy her big girl bed!

This cracks me up.

Oh yaya (that's what she calls her paci)

Aunt Kathy ALWAYS brings presents for the kids. She got Charlotte a little package of Minnie Mouse accessories. These FABULOUS glasses came in the packet.

This picture is priceless. Aunt Kathy will DO ANYTHING for a child... anything. But looking is just something that comes easy for her on a normal day.

GOOD MORNING!!! Everyone was so happy when they woke up and Aunt Kathy was still here!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS.

We ran into town Thursday the 29th. We ran errands and went to the grocery store for a weeks worth of food. It was a fabulous day and as always, the kids and I both loved Aunt Kathy being there to help us. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Jason's Deli as well. AMAZING.

Charlotte loves bath time when we have guests. It's someone knew to play with her. She also loves straws, water and bubbles. Aunt Kathy thought of a way to combine ALL of her favorites. She puts water in the cup and secretly adds baby bath without Charlotte seeing her do it. The she blows through the straw to make a bunch of bubbles. Charlotte was AMAZED. She thought it was the BEST trick!

 In this picture, Charlotte is looking at Aunt Kat like she is THE COOLEST person in the world.

Blowing and blowing and blowing

And at the end of the night...let's just look like a bum... she is so tired in this picture.

We are so happy Aunt Kathy came all of the way down here to spend a week with us (well, six days.) We are also loving the fact that she came during "The Holidays" so she could experience our first Christmas in Georgia with us. So excited to see what this week holds for us!

A Whole Day with Grandma and Grandpa Jackson

Tuesdays are Alex's day off so it was great that his family planned to come on a day he could spend the entire day with them. Before they left on that Monday evening, they asked what time he would be up. I said, "Whenever the kids get up." They were surprised that he didn't get to sleep in :) The joy of Alex is that he does not want to sleep in. He gets so little time with the kids as it is, he likes to get up and help with them. Besides, Charlotte doesn't let anyone sleep while she is awake. She is NOT a fan of that...especially her daddy.

So, we got up and had some family time. Sawyer got a bath to start his day. He LOVES it.

While I was giving Sawyer a bath, I let Charlotte give her baby doll a bath... with daddy's help.

We are trying to teach her what peeing is. Here is her baby doll peeing.

We had breakfast and got ready for the day. Alex and Charlotte took a nap together and Sawyer took a nap with me. Around 11:30 as I was getting out of the shower, the family showed up. Luckily Charlotte kept sleeping even though there were other people in the house. We all finished getting ready and Charlotte finished her nap and we were off to spend a few hours in Columbus.

We went to Momma Goldburg's Deli in downtown...a  staple of this area. It was delicious as always. 

Sawyer slept through it all... thankfully...

After our fabulous lunch, we all went down to the riverwalk to look at the amazingness that is the Chattahoochee  River.

Amelia brought her camera too :) 

The girl loves her water

I told Ronnie this could be his new profile picture on Facebook.

Charlotte and Grandma Jackson watching the ducks and water.

Someone decided he was hungry!! He woke up to eat and say "hey"

Charlotte is such a big helper. Poor Sawyer had no idea she was the one driving the bus.

Grandpa and Grandma Jackson

Ronnie was being the funny guy and acting like he was going to get Mimi wet :) So funny :)

Love this picture of Mimi watching the ducks

Charlotte wouldn't get her picture with Aunt Amelia even though they were buds all day the day before so daddy had to get in the pictures too.

After walking along the riverwalk (it was HOT out) we went to the yogurt place (and I went to the cupcake shop since I can't eat dairy right now).

Next to the yogurt place is a cute little area for kids to play. Charlotte LOVES it.

So does Grandpa Jackson.

As we were leaving our delicious snack shops, we passed the Main Street Toy Shop. Outside were very real looking dogs. Charlotte fell in love.

And she was able to convince her grandpa that he should buy her the dog. That smile probably made it all worth it. 

And while we looked at all of the fabulous toys, Grandpa, Grandma, Sawyer and Mimi hung out outside. 

It was a great day. We went our separate ways after this for while. We went to the store to grab food for dinner and headed home to start cooking while they all headed back to the hotel for some rest.