After Christmas, we drove down to Maryland to visit Phil's side of the family. God was so good and gave us beautiful sunny days in the mid fifties (except for one rainy day, but I'll take it!) The kids had TONS of cousin time and I got lots of time with my bestie (Phil's brother's wife). Here she is building legos at the children's museum where we brought the younger set while the big kids went bowling:
Isn't she so cute? A homeschooling mom of eight which obviously makes her better than me ;)
The sign says "No painting on the wall please!" which was a little...late??
So my seven kids + her eight kids + nine more nieces and nephews made for quite the playgroup! Here are some of them decorating Christmas tree ice cream cones:
Playing lots of soccer (and basketball and football and frisbee and tag and hide-and-seek and ghosts in the graveyard):
Lots of card games like SkyJo and board games like Chameleon and Balderdash and Scattergories were played with much ruckus. I even participated in quite a few games, though learning new things is hard at my age:
Phil and I went for runs almost every day, completing our 8 week running plan which made me feel like a total winner:
The highlight of the trip for Phil, Andrew and Eamon was attending the Commanders game on New Year's Day. I bought these tickets back in September for their birthdays and who could have predicted such a warm and sunny day?!?!
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| View from their seats, section 301 |
It was also Fan Appreciation Day (what luck!) and they got some free swag like sunglasses and hog noses and they got there a few hours early to watch the players warm up. If only the Commanders had won, it would have been the perfect day ;)
We had a smooth ride back to Massachusetts and unpacked, grocery shopped and tried to relax a bit before it was back to school and work today. The break was such a wonderful way to end 2022 and here's hoping that 2023 will be a great year for everyone. Happy New Year!
The meme about the card games had me dying. Someone got UNO in their stocking so we've been playing and even though I played as a kid I've forgotten all the rules. I spent most of the game confused! What a dork!! So glad you had great weather for your trip to Maryland! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, why is it so hard to learn the rules to a game at our age?!?!?!
DeleteWe are big balderdash fans over here. How great that your BIL chose a woman who'd become your best friend. She is cute, but I'd say it's a tie and that you are both awesome. There's nothing quite like great weather and fun cousins to share it with. We expected the cousins to rush down to the basement to hang out on Christmas, but they mostly stayed in the family room and kitchen. This was a nice perk for my parents who so enjoyed watching all of them play head's up together and interact with each other and the aunts and uncles and grandparents too. Great job with the running goal. You look great!
ReplyDeleteWe have reached that stage where our older kids hang out with the adults and I AM HERE FOR IT! They are so fun! I can only imagine how it feels to be a grandparent and see the family gather and interact that way, they must be so proud :)
DeleteThese pictures are so cute! Sounds like a fun trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was!
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