My parents drove to visit us last Sunday and survived lots of snow on I-70 plus a multitude of vehicles reluctant to drive more than 35 mph. After an exhausting day of travel, they were greeted enthusiastically at the door by Charis and Tobin, who had managed to keep themselves awake, and of course Ted and me. Everyone else quickly crashed, but I enjoyed a few hours' visit with Mom and Dad all to myself. I knew I'd have to share them later, LOL.
Monday was a family day, so Ted was off work. It was a GREAT time of hanging out (kids in their pajamas, grown-ups in their comfy clothes), playing games, eating good food, and visiting. Of course Grandma and Grandpa brought presents, so we opened those and played with new stuff. :-)
Tuesday was Mom and Dad's 37th anniversary. I made a special breakfast for them, and then since Ted was at work the rest of us piled in the Suburban and drove to Ikea. It was Mom and Dad's first time to the store, so we thought it would be fun to show them around. (Plus I wanted to get more chairs to go with our dining set since we had received some Christmas money!) Well, everyone else in Ohio apparently thought it was the perfect day to shop at Ikea also. Sigh. One thing I've learned about myself in the last decade is that I do NOT like being in crowds of people, particularly when I have to push a cart or a stroller or keep track of anyone else besides myself. I feel very closed in and claustrophobic. So, though Ikea is one of the few places in the world where I actually enjoy shopping, our outing on Tuesday wasn't the most enjoyable for me. Still, we did get Swedish meatballs, so that outweighed the cons quite a bit, LOL. Kids ate for free, which probably explained in no small way the vast crowds, not to mention post-holiday shoppers were out and about spending gift cards like there was no tomorrow. Go, people! Stimulate the economy! Just don't stop right in front of my stroller!!
Our shopping spree ended on a somewhat disappointing note as we learned the Lingonberry ice cream was unavailable. Bummer. Ah, well, we got our 4 dining chairs to complete our set (one dozen chairs, all of which can fit around our Ikea table!) and came home to find Ted already in the house. Woohoo! Short work day!
After breakfast the next morning, Mom and Dad had to head home to 'Sconsin. It was a short visit, but a very good one. I so enjoyed being able to relax and visit with them when the kiddos were in bed. I don't think we did as much of that when we were at their place over Thanksgiving--I think our lack of sleep there caused us to crash pretty much whenever the kids did! But we had fun reminiscing and laughing together. I'm so thankful we live closer to them than we have for the last 5 years so that we can get together more often.
To see more photos of our time together, go here.
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