the rest of our spring break… :)

My aunt and uncle and grandma with the boys :)

Family is irreplaceable.  I think we all know that.  I wasn't lucky enough to grow up in close proximity to my extended family.  Neither are my kids, and sometimes it makes me sad.  I wish we could all gather more often than we do.  Because when we do, great things happen, great intergenerational things.

One thing the boys were excited about doing with GiGi was asking her historical questions, since she was alive during many of the events that they'd learned about in school this year.  We all sat around one night and listened to her stories about World War II, the Great Depression, and the Cold War, how she and my grandpa married in Boston while his ship (the Nevada, I think) was docked during the middle of WWII, and how she traveled by herself on a crowded train from Indiana to Boston to get to her own wedding, alone.  Train tickets were rationed so her own family couldn't attend her wedding, only some of the other officers from my grandfather's ship were able to attend.  She says she remembers eating "ketchup sandwiches" during the Great Depression.  Her husband (my grandfather) designed nuclear fallout shelters during the Cold War.  It's amazing to think about how she's seen the world change over the years.

One good thing about GiGi it that she's always up for just about anything, like Monopoly.  The last time GiGi saw Joseph, he was only 2, and here they are… bonding over a board game.

Mother/Daughter bonding.  Don't let my mom's smile fool you.  She's a fierce competitor.

Asher serving up some tea to those sitting on the porch.

Uncle Conrad seriously won over the hearts of my boys, especially this one.  And Aunt Barbara won over my heart because she pretty much did every dish while she was here ;)

Love that our city has a train that's fun for all ages.

Samuel and the ladies :)  He's 10… their combined ages are 228!

Again, up to trying just about anything :)

Thanks for coming to visit, for blessing us, loving on the boys, and putting up with all of our chaos and noise.

Chicken & Noodles

My grandma came to visit us over Spring Break this March.  I hope that when I'm 94, I'm still up for a Spring Break trip.  I also hope that by the time I'm 94, I'll have a signature meal… that meal that I'm known for, that my kids and grandkids and great-grandkids (Lord willing) beg me to make.

GiGi's signature meal is chicken and noodles.  It's an all-day affair.  You have to make the noodles, cut them in thin strips, allow them to dry.  You also have to boil and pick a couple of fryer chickens.  All of the kids were excited to help and learn.

Nathan is enthusiastic about EVERYTHING, so, of course, he loved the noodle rolling as well.

I heart this one :)

The finished product served over mashed potatoes.  Yum.

Thanks, GiGi, for your gift of chicken and noodles.

Instagram Memory Book

We just got our 2014 Instagram book in the mail a couple of weeks ago.  The kids couldn't wait to get their hands on it.  They LOVE to flip through these.  People who come over often look at them.  

I don't spend a crazy amount of time organizing the pages.  I would never get it done if I did.  I do format the front and back cover.

And I format the first page.  This was one of our "outtakes" from a Christmas photo shoot.

Other than that, EVERY page looks just like this.  Nine pictures on a page in chronological order.  

That's all, nothing else.  So doable.