We're Back...

We spent the holidays in Springfield, MO with Evan's parents and siblings. It was so nice to be with family and be on vacation! As usual my favorite thing about being on vacation is having Evan around 24/7. Not only is it nice to have an extra set of hands to change diapers, wipe noses, give baths, etc., but it's just nice to have him around. I'm a better person when he's by my side. I'm sure of it. :-)

I also saw my cousin (mom's side of the family) Nicole who I haven't seen in years. It was SO FUN to see her and her husband Dave. She lives in Tulsa, OK but her husband's family is from Springfield so they were there for Christmas. It made me miss my mom (what doesn't make me miss her?!?). I wanted to call her and tell her I had spent the morning with Nicole. She would have been happy.

Anyway, here are a few more pics from our trip to Missouri...

Santa gave Grandma and Grandpa Thacker this GREAT house/tent/tunnel thing for their grandkids to play in. It was a big hit with the grand kids and made for some cute pictures too.

Evan's family lived in Rogers, AR for seven years when Evan was younger. I think he was in the 8th grade when they left Arkansas and moved to Seattle. Anyway, Evan wanted to take a day trip to Rogers (only 2 hours south of Springfield) to visit their old stomping grounds and I happily obliged. Evan's sister, Shelley and her family joined us for the trip. It was a good day. Here are some pics to prove it. :-)

Evan and Shelley in front of the house they used to live in.

Our family on the banks of Lake Atlanta, a lake Evan's family used to take Sunday walks around.

This Evan in front of the church building they attended when he was younger. He said it is double the size it was when they lived there. Same location, just bigger.

We had a GREAT time hanging out and playing games with Evan's family. The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with their cousins, especially Sam.

Here are all the cousins together...so cute!

We visited the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield. It was awesome. I wish I had some better pictures of all the different animals and things they had to look at, but I don't...I do have a few pictures of Sam and the girls (Kenzie and Katie Grace) looking at the wild boars.

We played lots of games. Sequence was a favorite for the adults and the kids!

Just a cute picture of Lauren in the bath tub.

We made cookies and decorated them. The kids had a great time.

Cute picture of Sam with his cousin, Kenzie.

The kiddos exploring the yard...

We spent the afternoon/evening at Silver Dollar City, an amusement part near Branson, MO. They had a few rides to ride, even in the cold. This is us on the train. Sam thought the train was pretty cool.

Loving Sam's outfit. It kept him especially warm. :-)

Well, it was a GREAT vacation. Now that we're back in the swing of things here at home I find myself wishing we were still there. Gratefully, there's always another vacation sometime down the road.