Traveling to DC part 2

While we were in DC it was fun seeing the sights and tourist areas but I also love just having time to hang out.  When I only see my sister and the kids only see their cousins once a year it seems more important to just spend time together than see tons of sights.  With that being said it is very hard to contain my kid’s energy in doors all day not to mention adding her three in as well.  We had to have some fun plans for the days we weren’t actively sightseeing.

I think the things my kids remember the most are Aunt Jackie’s chickens.  At the farm where she gets her farm share from they have a chick raising program.  For a small fee you can take four chicks home to raise and watch grow.  You can either keep them or bring them back when they get bigger.  My sister was very excited to have these four baby chicks at her house for a few weeks.  The kids got to learn how to handle them and care for them.  We also got to watch them grow each day.  It was amazing.  Every morning they looked a little bigger and had a few more feathers.

My sweet James and his little chick extra crispy.

Lilly, Livy and Sunflower

 The kids would all sit in a half circle on the kitchen floor and we would let them out to run around on the floor.  At first the boys were a little timid but by the end of the week they were confident in their ability to pick them up safely.  Lilly still didn’t want to hold them; she just wanted to sit by her cousins while they held them.  She would try to sit next to whoever had sunflower (her favorite chicken) on their lap.

Joe and Dominic

One eyed Willy picked a nice perch on Nick's head

Chicken herding circle

They got to join in with one of Olivia’s favorite activities, roller skating.  Ours have never been before and boy is it and adventure to handle four kids who have never been on roller skates before. Did I mention I haven’t skated since about middle school?  I was not exactly a graceful skater myself.  They had these little walkers for learners to use which was great.  They still fell quite a bit and when they got tired each time they fell was enough to bring on the tears but overall I think they had a great time.  We might even try to go to the Skateland by us.

Lilly and her Aunt Jackie, they were buddies!

Good thing we had some help from their big cousins.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of the other bloggers from Hellobee.  I have blogged with her for almost a year and a half now it was great to meet in person.  She told us about a great park for the kids and a fun restaurant with burgers and custard.  (I had to be informed that “custard” is a frozen treat and not pudding, I was trying to figure out why a restaurant would specialize in burgers and pudding)  Our boys and her son had a great time playing and goofing around at lunch.

Climbing wall at the Park

Even the grown ups got some play time in

On your marks get set go....

We were lucky enough to celebrate Easter with my sister and her family.  So of course we had to have some fun Easter activities.  We did the usually egg dyeing, Easter egg hunt and Easter baskets.  We also hid a secret bonus prize, a giant chocolate bunny for the kids to split.  While they were hunting for eggs Nick opened the closet and said “nope, no eggs in here just a giant chocolate bunny.” Then closed the closet thinking it wasn’t something he was supposed to find.  We set up the bunny in the middle of the table and let the kids have at it.  It was a bit like watching 7 rabid dogs fighting over their next meal so after everyone got their first bite we torn off big hunks for each kid.

Making Easter eggs

She found her basket!

Egg hunt!!!

Attacking the giant chocolate bunny

I just want one piece mom!

My sister and I had the whole day planned out.  We were going to go to the 4:00pm service at their church and then come home and have dinner.  We got 11 of us dressed and ready to go to church and took a few family pictures in front of her house.  We piled everyone into the car and as we approached the church I heard my sister say “Uh oh.” As we looked around the parking lot and so absolutely no cars she realized that she had the times wrong.  We had missed the services and had to head back home.

Quick Easter picture before heading out to church

We decided we would go back home and do a little bit of our own Sunday school so the kids felt could hear the Easter story.  My sister had a set of resurrection eggs (12 eggs filled with little things that represent the story) that we used and my nephews read the story to the younger kids.  We printed out some coloring sheets with scenes from the Easter story for each of the kids to color.  It was a bit of a holiday fail on our part but we still had a fun day.

Our own little Sunday school at home.

There were times when we decided to just hang out at home too.  My sister has a great grassy area right in front of her town home so it was nice to just let the kids run around.  We found some badminton sets and rubber band airplanes in the dollar section at target that the kids loved playing with.  

I think watching the big boys play was the funniest part

Joe loved it!

Let them fly boys!

When it came time to say good bye I had to try to hold back the tears a bit.  I love my sister and our time together.  I love watching our kids play together and seeing their relationships grow.  As we were driving to the airport Nick told me “I am glad to be going home to see Jake and Raya (our dogs) but I am sad that we can’t play with our cousins anymore.”   I always feel sad when we have to leave and I immediately start looking forward to the next time we get to see each other.  Guess it’s time to start hoping for a Christmas visit!!

Big cousin Nathan read our boys their bedtime story,  I can't express how much I love seeing them have a relationship!