Before leaving Midway, we had to make two quick stops to our favorite photo spots:
And then it was off to Daddy's cousin Jacie's house just north of the city for our Thanksgiving feast! The last time we had all seen each other was at Uncle Andrew and Aunt Beth's wedding over a year ago, and it was just so much fun to see all the kids reunite and resume their play. They had fun playing tether ball...
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| Liam and Joseph Rasmussen |
... and playing baseball...
... and watching the neighbor playing on her roof! (gasp! Don't get any ideas, kid!). Liam and Grace were like peas and carrots that day.
I just love this picture of Antonia. She sure is growing up!
The guys had fun tossing the football around. "We are..." Hang on a minute, incoming pass...
"Ok, now. We are #1!!! GO IRISH!!"
With all the playing going on outside, someone had to be inside preparing the feast, right? Keep up the good work, team!
Before dinner, Papa offered a really sweet story and a beautiful toast to the new bride and groom, Aunt Surabhi and Uncle Jake:
Here here! And not a dry eye in the house.
After an awesome dinner, Toni the Magician fascinated her little audience with her fork-through-the-hand trick. The expressions (and sincere concern) on Liam and Gracie's faces were priceless!
On Friday morning, all the little ones convened at our hotel pool for a full morning of swimming.
Afterwards, we said good-bye to the Rasmussen gang and traveled to Grandma and Papa's house. The boys were so thrilled to see the giant boxes of trains waiting for them right inside the front door!
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| Aunt Beth and Joergen setting up the track |
Liam and Joergen could not get enough of the Power Wheel on the porch. I think they would have just ridden off into the sunset had we opened the sliding door!
Liam and Owen also had fun playing together-- it had been a long time, but they seemed to pick right up where they left off.
Back home at Grandma and Papa's house, the boys got to open an incredibly special gift from Grandma:
How awesome are these quilts?! They were handmade from a bunch of Daddy's t-shirts over the years and are no doubt something our boys will treasure.
On Friday night, we joined in the Derry family tradition and watched Christmas Vacation. Now the holidays may commence!
Bright and early on Saturday morning, we took advantage of our family all being together and had some family photos taken by a friend of Grandma's at the Milford Grade School gym. It was the perfect location with lots of space for running and lots of basketballs for bouncing! The photos turned out great and perfectly captured the fun we had that morning.
It didn't take long for the Derry boys to start up a game of basketball, nor did it take long for them to shed their sweaters. Aidan was the only one who stayed decent, but apparently he was not invited to this photo. Not cool, Uncle Jake! :)
I couldn't help but take advantage of this photo op. We are so happy for this very happy couple!
After our photo shoot, we hauled out the holly and decked the halls at Grandma and Papa's house. Liam was excited to see an ornament with a photo of him as a baby being held by Toni and Aidan, which he proudly showed all to see.
One of the many things that Liam loves about hanging out with his older cousins is that they always have the scoop on the best apps. One of his faves this time around was definitely Talking Tom Cat, which provided seemingly endless amusement for pretty much everyone.
And speaking of apps... does anyone know where I can get an iPad? Kindle? Anyone?
Saturday afternoon marked the official Derry-German football game, and our little gridiron gang was all bundled up and ready for action! They swear the game ended in a tie...
Joergen stayed behind for a big ol' nap, and had fun riding around in the wagon with Toni later that afternoon.
It's a good thing Joer took that big nap, because he needed to be well-rested for the BIG game... Notre Dame vs. USC! This group was ready. And excited. And nervous.
By the way, my favorite part of the pic above is Joergen. I told him to come sit by me and smile, and... well... he tried!
Go Irish!
Everyone was so into this rather intense game that even the kids followed suit. This video cracks me up-- Aunt Beth had yelled "C'mon! Stick it!", and our little parrot Joergen echoed back, "Stick it!"
The boys went to bed at halftime, when Liam wearily told me, "We won, Mommy. That was a really long game." And somehow... somehow they managed to sleep through our very loud, emotional celebration when the
Irish
Beat
USC
!
12-0 season!!! The Irish are going to the National Championship in Miami!!! And so are we!!!
After a night of celebrating, we woke up Sunday, said a sad goodbye to Grandma, Papa, Aunt Surabhi, and Uncle Jake, and headed off to visit the Ronna family in Pekin before spending the night with Uncle Andrew, Aunt Beth, Toni, and Aidan in Dunlap.
In Pekin, we enjoyed another Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt Vicki, Uncle Dick, and their family, and then headed outside for a Christmas parade! It went right past Aunt Vicki and Uncle Dick's house, and we all lined up to watch (and collect massive amounts of candy...).
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| Uncle Dick, Nikki, Eli, Aunt Vicki, and many more right down the line! |
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| Aunt Vicki, Bentley (he's "safe"!), and Liam, with Afton, Jonathon, and Taiten in the background. |
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| Oh my goodness! It's SANTA!! |
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After a fun afternoon, we were thankful for some quiet quality time with the Uncle Andrew, Aunt Beth, Toni, and Aidan as we wound down from an action-packed weekend. The boys just loved their pool table!
It was the perfect end to an amazing trip. We just can't thank everyone enough for being so accommodating and thoughtful throughout the visit. We felt so taken care of as we navigated our first major holiday with egg and dairy restrictions, which are truly not easy to avoid at Thanksgiving! We miss our Illinois family so much and can't wait to see everyone again as we celebrate Grandma's retirement in May!
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