Hello Again

Hello again. It's been a whirlwind winter vacation from school. Please excuse the glut of photos, but I really can't write it all down in words.

The kids broke out the yarn and created a "spy course" to play in. Red is laser, black is some sort of hot lava stuff that freezes you in place. They spent a considerable amount of time creating it, 2 minutes playing in it, and 2 minutes cleaning it up.

Christmas Eve with the other set of Illinois Evanses. The festivities this year included dinner, a live action re-enactment of Luke 2 (with the spontaneous addition of a little drummer dog), and a hilarious set of minute-to-win-it contests. The kids really got into it. So much fun.

Christmas morning was short, cuz we had to get on the road to Houston. The kids endured the 2-day drive fairly well, thanks to some absolutely critical Christmas gifts from their favorite Aunt Erin. Here's a picture of Robert after he fell asleep mid-cut on his craft project.

Alice read almost the whole way to Houston. She clearly resented having her photo taken. She seems to feel that way a lot, recently. And she's no longer cool with getting up in front of people. Or meeting new people. Or being the center of attention in a mixed group of friends and strangers. She says it's embarrassing. Ack! My star performer has gone! Now she's even horrified to give a small talk in front of her church class. What happened?! She's the same crazy, energetic, and loud performer she's always been, but now that side of her is reserved exclusively for close friends and family (we got another round of "The Annoying Kids Show" for New Years Eve). I don't like how she's becoming more like me this way ;)

Selfie interrupted by James' candy cane.

I got to sit between this handsome man and his little brother all four days in the car.

After a long, grueling day in the car, we stopped at the Days Inn in Graceland. It was...um...scary. And dirty. The above friendly reminders came with our key card. Bobby encountered a man peeing in the parking lot who later requested the use of his phone. Bobby declined. We didn't even stay long enough to get a picture of the guitar-shaped pool.

When his joyous bag of candy from Erin ran out, James found his water bottle to be a refreshing new entertainment.

Finally in Houston at my mom's house! Cousins rock. Really, really rock.

Seriously, cousins are the BEST.

Matthew discovered a new facial expression. It goes with a piggy noise, too. Crazy cute kid.

James somehow managed to get his finger stuck in my dad's ladder. A little spray of Pam got him out.

Robert lost his first tooth! It was sooooooo wiggly/floppy, that I worried he might swallow it in the night. Fortunately, he just woke up the next morning, opened his mouth, and it plopped out onto his blanket. The new tooth had already broken through the gums behind the baby tooth. Robert's teeth are considerably closer together than Alice or James' are. It already looks kinda crowded in there. Erk.

Welcoming in 2016! We played games, ate tons of treats, and watched way too many episodes of America's Funniest Home Videos. Alice laughed SO hard. At midnight, we went outside to blow horns and shoot confetti poppers. Robert is clutching a shirt full of gathered streamers to his chest.

If I ever travel with young kids in the car again, I must remember to bring balloons. Lots of balloons. This boy played with one balloon for 30 minutes. I kid you not.

We also had plenty of audio books to stimulate young minds. "Alice in Wonderland" wasn't very popular. "Soup" was alright, but kinda mature for this group. "James and the Giant Peach" was spot-on for Alice and Robert (I started them on Chapter 9 where James discovers a hole in the peach...skip all that nasty Sponge and Spiker business). 

Froot Loop necklaces entertained them a good hour.

Finally home again! The babe developed this funky bout of diarrhea that doesn't bother him in the slightest except it burns his bum all red. We've been keeping him mostly naked so we can detect dirty diapers quickly and clean him up immediately.

Within seconds of returning home, we were pulling into our driveway, and Alice asked if she could go across the street to play with the neighbor. Seriously?! She just spent 7 hours in the company of 5 other people and she needs MORE?! Alice is still an extrovert. Clearly.