As we pulled into the driveway at the end of our trip home from Macon, Gigi, Papa, Ken, Grace, and Amelia pulled in behind us. Christmas #3 had officially begun! They helped us unload our van, and then the kids played, and everyone got caught up while I ran to the grocery for a few last minute things needed for our meals on Sunday. Because Chris and Jill were coming in town and staying with us on Sunday, Ken planned to stay at Gigi and Papa’s with the girls. My kids, of course, wouldn’t hear of it, and so the girls stayed with us, to all the children’s delight. That meant they had more time to play together on Sunday morning before church:
After church, we came home for chili and then waited for the rest of the family to join us for presents. We were so sad to hear that Chris, Jill, and the cousins wouldn’t be coming because Chris and Hudson were both sick. They were dearly missed, along with Victoria.
It was lovely to have Gramma over, though, as well as Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty. Once they arrived, the cousins exchanged gifts and gave Gramma her Christmas and birthday gifts.
All the kids got small souvenirs from my trip to Hawaii in their “stockings,” and then Anna received a book from Paris, and Luke got cars from London, thanks to Aunt Victoria’s travels. It felt like a very…geographical?…Christmas. My kids got a kick out of getting presents from other countries!
My niece, Grace, is a budding author, so we gave her a writing-themed Christmas gift with a notepad, cute pens, writing book, and Story Cubes. She lost no time getting to work.
Of course, the most popular gifts always seem to be the cheapest, and the girls were all completely enamored with these little $2 rainbow scratch pads they received in their stockings. I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of them!
Everyone stayed until about 8:30 that night, and by then it was time for the kids to start winding down for bed. They were in bed by 9:30 or 10:00, getting some much-needed sleep before their last day together.
After a lazy Monday morning, complete with late breakfast, we decided to head to the science center:
We were definitely thankful for the members-only line, as the regular line reached almost to the door!
Anna adores her older cousins!
On the second floor, we were able to look over the first floor and see the “low gravity simulation” activity. Honestly, it looks cooler than it is, and it seems that most of the kids that do it are underwhelmed. In fact, Luke didn’t even have an interest in doing it this time, since he’d done it once or twice before. But Grace and Amelia wanted to try it out…and Anna has been dying to do it for months…years, really. She’s barely tall enough, but hasn’t weighed enough so far. I was worried that she still didn’t weigh enough, and tried to temper her expectations accordingly. She assured me that she wouldn’t be disappointed if she didn’t weigh enough, but the way she was jumping up and down with excitement while standing in line had me anticipating the worst if she wasn’t able to do it.
However, they didn’t even weigh her!
Like I said, most kids are not that impressed with the “simulation,” so I didn’t know what Anna would think of it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she completely loved it. When she got off, I asked her, “Was it all you hoped and dreamed it would be?” She gave me a huge smile, and said, “YES!”
Grace and Amelia liked it, too, but their reaction, was more typical. When I asked them if it was all they hoped and dreamed it would be, Grace gave me a very good-natured smile and admitted, “No.”
By then, Luke was starving, and we had barely explored the museum. We tried to wrangle the girls up to the Body section, but they soon got distracted by a completely random camping exhibit:
We had to pry them away and herd them upstairs:).
The body exhibit was lots of fun:
Once again, spurred on by Luke (and the need to get the others to the airport in a timely manner), we eventually herded the kids up to the top of the playground—another necessity if you visit the science center:
You have a great view of the city from the top.
After playing a little while up there, it was time to go to lunch. We took one more group shot on the way out:
This is Luke’s, “I’m-starving-let’s-go” look. I finally just took a picture with the girls because he wasn’t feeling it at all.
At our first pizza restaurant, I had the kids take a selfie with me:
I love them! It’s especially fun to see my nieces (and nephews!) as they get older and develop distinct personalities. It’s cool to really get to know them.
Unfortunately, even though the restaurant advertised on their website that they had gluten-free pizza, they, in fact, did not have gluten-free pizza. Thus, we had to relocate to Mellow Mushroom. We survived this interminable delay by taking quizzes on our phones of “Which Harry Potter Character Are You?” It passed the time nicely. If I remember correctly, Amelia was Harry Potter, Grace was Hagrid, Anna was Dumbledore, and Luke was Hermione!! What random results! Then, they each took it again, trying to get specific people. It was really hit or miss.
The pizza at Mellow Mushroom was delicious and made everything better. While we ate, we told silly jokes and riddles and really had a great time. Then, sadly, it was time to take Ken and the girls to the airport:
I often have to remind my kids to hug people goodbye, and so I figured that since we were just making a quick curbside drop-off, they would say their goodbyes from inside the car. Instead, they hopped out spontaneously and wrapped their cousins in big bear hugs. When I yelled, “Cousin hug!” they immediately acquiesced.
Then we got back in the car and Anna cried most of the way home.
Later on Facebook, Jill told me that Tatum had cried for half and hour when she heard they wouldn’t be coming on Sunday. It’s so sad to see your kids so heartbroken, but at the same time, it makes me grateful that they have such tight bonds with their cousins. I really do hope that they will remain close throughout their lives!
