we waited 2 long years for this!

It's been 17 months since I've seen my parents in person (at Grandpa's funeral), and two years since they've seen Kevin and the kids!!  They came in the summer of 2019, went to Kimberly's for Christmas, and were supposed to come back in Spring 2020.  Then Covid hit and all our plans were thwarted :(  We were so eager for the vaccine so that they could safely travel to Texas for Brooke's baptism, and our wish became a reality!  

To say that we were excited would be a huge understatement!  We intended on picking them up at the curb so that Dad didn't have to walk as far, but when Colby needed an emergency bathroom stop, we parked and walked in.  I saw my parents right away, and the kids ran right over to surprise them. 

The parking lot was SO packed, but by some miracle, the only spot I could find was right near the elevator and at the exact baggage carousel that Mom and Dad were at.  Talk about divine intervention :)

First item on Brookie's agenda: playing Barbies with Nay Nay.  Then my mom surprised her with a few more of my grandma's collector barbies and Brooke was in heaven. 

These dolls are beautiful!!  My favorite is the Victorian one in the deep purple velvet dress.

Somehow the Hermione wig made an appearance and the kids and I were cracking up...

We ended the day with swimming, dinner, and cartoons.  Brooke was freezing by the end, but I loved hearing them laugh like crazy with my mom.  She really is so much fun!

Sunday pictures are everyone's favorite, hahaha!

I love this picture so much!  I adore my mom and I love seeing Brooke adore her as well. 

The handsome boys, who I also adore...

Afternoon chess with Papa.  He was so patient as he repeatedly explained each piece's allowed movements throughout the game.  And just like any good Papa would, he allowed Colby to win. 

More Barbie time, this time including a "train" with Barbies on every stair.  And my dear mom sat there on the hard tile for ages after setting up a "doctor's office."  

Monday was SO dark and rainy, but perfect for playing games indoors. My dad has never enjoyed games, so to see him play game after game with my kids was pretty special.  My personal favorite was charades, haha.  We're still laughing about Nay Nay's hawk sandwich. 

The sun eventually came out, so we spent some time outside riding bikes, scooters, and doing a bit of face (and body) painting. 

Hawaiian Falls day...  

Colby was super brave and rode the torpedo body slide, which was also a first for me. I was so incredibly proud of him for doing something so brave because I was super nervous to try it.  It's a tube slide that you stand in, the bottom drops out, and you drop straight down before leveling out at the bottom.  Needless to say, it's a major wedgie-maker. 

Movie night, tickles, and snuggles...

Afternoon pool time...

The kids loved having Nay Nay and Papa thrash them around on their boogie boards while they tried to stay afloat...

Doing tricks until my shoulder were SORE...

Finally made something (Abu's Monkey Bread) from Brookie's princess cookbook.  She put a sticky note on every page before Nay Nay and Papa got here, so we were definitely behind schedule. 

Aunt Kimmie sent Brooke a set of Color Street nails for her baptism, and since I've never done them before, Nay Nay did the honors...

I posted about her baptism and birthday in another post, so I won't post pictures here as well :)

Just another day at the pool.  Lots of fun before the unexpected thunder started!

Us girls wanted to go shopping, so Colby announced that him and Papa would watch Pirates of the Caribbean together.  And when you have pirate attire, it only makes sense to rock it during showtime.

Kevin took a day off work to spend some time with my parents before they left the next day.  He had Youth Conference the weekend they arrived, was busy with work, and hadn't really had a great chance to connect with them besides the birthday party and baptism. 

The kids were pumped to have him at the pool with them.  It's always more fun with Daddy around :)

It was a beautiful day at the pool!  The water is getting pretty warm, but at least that makes it easier to get in and play with the kids. 

Our time together went by WAY too quickly, but the fact that we'll see them again next month eased the pain of dropping them off.  Colby informed me the next morning that it wasn't as fun without Nay Nay and Papa at our house and I had to agree.  

Miss them already!!