Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Once again, the day Dad and I left Ohio, we woke up to more snow.  I'm really beginning to think I'm cursed.  We wanted to get on the road at a decent time so I could get home in time to run to the church to see Andrew before Nathan's bedtime.  Andrew is the Cub Master and was putting on the pinewood derby.

Since we wanted to get on the road early, of course Kaili and Nathan decided to sleep in.  Nathan didn't get up till after 8am and I had to bribe Kaili to get out of bed after 8am also.  She's usually bounding down the stairs by that time.

Once we got to the highway, it was smooth sailing and we got home quickly and safely. Thank you Dad for going with me!  Thank you Nathan for being so good in the car! Thank you Dan and Tiff for being such great hosts! We had a great time!

I've included some pics and videos from the rest of our trip.  I'm going to miss Kaili- the pirate, the princess, the little mom.  I'm going to miss Averi- even though she's getting chemo, she's a ray of sunshine.  I'm going to miss Tiff- even though she has "double lives", I learned how to be a better mom just by observing her.  I'm going to miss Dan- even though I cannot beat the guy in Carcasone.  I want a rematch at the reunion!

Kaili twirling for Nathan

 Kaili modeling her Bell dress

 Ok, the story with this pic... I am a horrible mom.  I didn't buckle Nathan into his highchair and he fell forward out of his chair.  When I came to rescue him from his fall, blood was running out of his nose and he must have bit his lip because there was blood in his mouth and his lip was swollen.  After about 20 minutes of crying, I finally got him to smile.  Poor kid.  It will be a miracle if he makes it to his first birthday.

 Kail was wearing this dress which made her look like a mermaid and she wouldn't let me take a picture.  This is the best I could get. She was giggling as she ran away.

Before we left Ohio, Dad and I took Kaili an Nathan to Chuck E. Cheese.  Sooooo much fun.  Nathan was very afraid of Chuck E.  Can you blame him?

 One of our last wagon rides to Averi's room in the hospital

 While the girls made jewelery, Grandpa took Nathan for a ride around the hospital.  Since Nathan can't crawl around the hospital floors, we had to do what we could to keep him entertained.

Tiffany and Kaili making jewelry at the hospital

Kaili gets her craftiness from her mom.  Tiffany makes such pretty things for her girls.