spring break in words...

Ok, so as you know, Linds & Ari were here...for part of Spring Break. Sadly, they couldn't stay all week. We ran around Columbus on Monday - savoring donuts, and the thrift mall, as well as Chick-Fil-A. Linds even has some pictures to go with it, I brought my camera with me and left it in my purse all day. You can see the pics on her blog, click here. It was so wonderful to have them come visit! The boys enjoyed multiple board games and walks with them. I think Ari might have some great pictures somewhere too... I'll let you know if I ever see them! I even found out some of the things that I thought might be slightly alarming in regards to my health (or mental state) might just run in the family. For example, Lindsay says her memory is horrible. She has no childhood memories, or maybe very few.... That made my fading memory seem so normal. Also, her hands swell when she walks. How did I not know this about her already? Maybe we talked about it before and we both forgot! And finally, one night she said, "I just want you to know I'm having chest pains, so if anything happens you can tell someone..." Ok, truthfully those might not be her EXACT words, but I can't help it because I've said something similar so many times that I can't be sure which are my words and which are hers. It was great to know I'm not crazy - but she did say Marvin does this more often than she does... is that true, Marv? I like to think it runs in our family.

Linds & Ari had to leave Monday evening though. So after they left, and a few tears were shed, the boys and I packed our bags for the beach. I had gotten word earlier in the weekend via Aunt Pam on FB that one of the two family condos was going to be empty all week. How could we pass that up? Brad strongly encouraged me to take the boys and go, so we did! It was great spending time with Great Grandpa Lewis, Aunt Lori, Uncle Joe and Chance. I did remember to take my camera out of my bag a few days at the beach... here's a photo collage (no worries, there will be a beach post with pics all to itself)
The way the condo timeshare works, our condo check-out time was 10 am Saturday. I thought we should take advantage of being so close to David & Casey and head up that way. It was an easy drive from the beach, less than 2 hours and we were there!

It was so wonderful to get see David & Casey's home. Of course, Aunt Casey had some goodies waiting for the boys' arrival! We had a great time just hanging out and chatting. Our visits in MI are always so full with running here & there that we hardly ever get a chance to just sit and chat. I even discovered that David thinks Casey is as forgetful as Brad thinks I am. And both Casey and I admitted that they might be right. It was fantastic to discover that my memory problems are so normal! Plus I got to feel my little nephew moving around in Casey's darling-little-baby-bump-of-a-belly! It was especially sweet when I sat down with Casey and put my hand on her tummy and said a little prayer for their growing family - that little guy was wriggling around the entire time it seemed! I loved it, and I'll treasure that memory for a long, long time! The boys had such fun with Samson, and the raised-bed garden. Walker "snuggled" up with Uncle David when we watched The Next Karate Kid...I use the term snuggle quite loosely because Walker really just dug his elbows and knees into every possible part of David's body as he tried not to fall asleep! We are planning on getting together with them again soon... this time with Brad.

I really appreciated that Brad was willing to let us go for the trip. Of course, he was greatly missed, but we made the best of it. I think the boys really enjoyed it, and its such a gift to get to see extended family.