Weekend Trip to Visit Great Grandma

I embarked on my first solo long road trip with the kids last weekend to visit my grandma since Jimmy was working.  I picked the kids up from Adventure Club about 2:45 and we were on the road!

We usually stay in a hotel about 25 minutes from her house.  That makes for a long drive so I chose a spot in Sioux City, Iowa.  Our first leg was 4.5-5 hours, which meant just one stop was enough.  We checked in and the kids immediately put their suits on for the pool.

We had it to ourselves so I was able to call Jimmy and chat.

It's hard to see in this photo, but there were train tracks just outside the window.  Parker loved watching it go by.

We grabbed our continental breakfast before making the final 2.5 hour drive to Grandmas.  The lobby and breakfast area had two story ceilings with lots of ceiling fans, so Parker made sure to do plenty of inspections.

After lunch, we opened Christmas presents.

Esme got a set of 8 mini food squishmallows and Parker got a giant pop-it sensory mat that I didn't get a picture of.  Both of them got a few other small things and some cash.

I brought Esme's bingo cards thinking it would be fun game that all of us could play.  I picked up some small candy prizes for the winners.

Even thought these trips are quick and short, I love getting to catch up with grandma and Larry.

One perk of staying in Sioux City, was being able to take a slight detour to Wayne, NE for a stop at Runza.  This is the closest to our drive and it's either on the back half of a long, late drive or we are passing by before it's open on the way home.

The kids went for swim #2 after getting back.

We finished our time in Iowa with breakfast and one more dip in the pool.  It was nice not to feel like we needed to get going since it was a shorter drive home.

The drive home was pretty uneventful.  We did have to slow down once for a group of passing deer.

We picked up Dominos in Mankato for lunch and grabbed dessert at Dairy Queen in St. Peter.

I am much more confident about doing this again in the future if needed.

Tough Start to 2023

It really hasn't been as bad as I made that title sound.  Esme started the year with breakfast on the couch.

Parker had been showing signs of not feeling well off and on for many days, but didn't have a fever or throw up.  He finally started to tell us his ear hurt, so we decided to take him in to the doctor.  Sure enough he had an ear infection.  It's been almost 8 years since his last one.  Back then, we just did one antibiotic shot since he won't take oral medication.  This time it was 3 rounds of two shots each.  He got the first two Sunday, then I took him in Monday and Tuesday for the last ones.  

He definitely knew what was going down and kept an eye out for people coming in.  We had such kind nursing staff that helped o hold him down.  The third day he still fought it, but did much better.  They gave him in his legs and he pulled his pants down and climbed on the table on his own.  I was so proud of him.

More sledding!

Esme has been asking to play bingo, so I asked for cards in my local Buy Nothing Group.  I laminated them for each reuse and we were playing!

Even Parker joined us for a couple games.

Wednesday was a doozy of a morning.  We got more snow than expected, but I still tried to get the kids to school after digging Jimmy out at 4:45am.  I made it there (digging myself out once), but got really stuck about 50' from home.  I cleared as much of the road as I could, but couldn't move from this spot.  I eventually called a neighbor that came to help, but I was only able to move a few feet.  The plow then came by and threw salt under the tire tracks and I made it to the garage.  Then I realized I dropped my phone somewhere.  Thank goodness for Apple watch and the ability to ping it.  The plow had cleared the street and it was in a snow bank.  Whew, I was exhausted.  This was the first time we've gotten stuck in the van and in this neighborhood.  We've had large snowfalls, but not when we've needed to get places.

December Hodgepodge

It's been a busy month in a bunch of other ways too, here's the rest of what we've been up to.

Parker had a family night at his school.  There were 4 or 5 different rooms with activities around music, building, and more.  I didn't get many pictures because we were having so much fun.  They also provided a light meal from a local Nigerian caterer.  I really enyoyed the rice and chicken, and Jimmy ate the plantains.  The kids weren't interested in trying.

We got some free dinosaur chicken nuggets a cuple weeks back and Parker has been asking for them ever since.  He even grabbed the box out of the freezer at Hy-Vee.

December is always a month of potlucks!  The first was a gathering at our friend Jamarcus' home.  His mom was in town for a visit (and he was proposing to his girlfriend the next day.) Speaking of the next day, Esme got another haircut from Ms. Corrie.  We've been taking her in every 8 months or so, when it gets long enough to be a pain to brush after baths.

The next catered/potlucked meal was that night at Jamarcus and Pauli's surprise engagement party.  I was honored to be included.  The best part is that Pauli herself made a pan of banana bread for the party that she thought was going elsewhere.

Parker has his 11 year well child appointment this month.  This was a big one since he got 4 immunizations!

Esme attended a friend's beach theme birthday party. Nachos, games, cupcakes, doesn't get any better.

Winter break is already pretty long for our district, but it came early with 2 snow days this year.  We did out best to stay busy and occupied with the extra time at home.

We finally got out of the house a couple days later.  We didn't need anything at Menards, but it's a fun place for the kids to explore.

Possibly my proudest moment of the month was finally tackling this black and white puzzle.  I've had it nearly 3 years, started it a few times and gave up just as many times.  I was determined to finish no matter how long it took.  

I made Esme some card holders from pool noodles so she can play Seven without showing all of her cards.  As mentioned in the Christmas post, she's been loving the bowl and lid my dad made her.  It's currently storing Bluey characters.

We've gone sledding a couple more times over break.

Finally, to cap off the year, Jimmy and I saw Avatar: The Way of the Water.  You know a movie is good when it's 3 hours, but doesn't feel like 3 hours.  It was a great mix of action and story development.

We finished the evening with buffalo chicken dip and charcuterie.  We made it to the 11pm NYC ball drop and I made it to midnight.  Bring it on 2023!