Together Again

After a very painful month where we did not see Jacob at all, we were finally able to spend some time with him this past week.  It was a very emotional reunion for the entire family.  Mike was beaming but on the edge of tears all evening.  Katie and Jake kept hugging each other.  I was a total watering pot, of course.  Jake kept saying over and over how much he had missed us and loved us.  He said he loved us so much, we didn’t even know how much it was, LOL.  We packed the most fun possible into the last ten days with him.  Some pics are already in the preceding link; a few more to be added this evening (so check back!).

Last weekend we spent Saturday at home, spending some quality time alone with the kids.  Sunday went to visit with Stephanie (not me, another Steph! :) ) and her family.  We had a wonderful dinner with them and the kids all got to play together.  Jacob was especially glad to see Dustin; he and Steph’s son have bonded like Gorilla Glue and really missed each over this past month.  Mike (of course) worked on some computer / networking problems for Steph.

 

This past Friday, we had a living room pizza & movie picnic (we watched “The Incredibles” ), and Jamie joined us for that.  I made popcorn balls that everyone enjoyed.  I followed the suggestions in the comments and added 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the syrup.

Mike’s parents and nieces came to visit this Saturday and Sunday.  The kids had a wonderful time playing together, and it was very nice to get to visit with Mike’s folks.  Mike’s parents treated everyone to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (yummy! Muchas Gracias!) Saturday night.  On Sunday, the big hit of the morning was the Wii Fit.  The kids all had tons of fun running, balancing, and in general, exercising without knowing it :)  Now that’s the kind of video game we have no problem with the kids getting addicted to!

After they left Sunday, and Jake and Katie woke up from their naps, we worked on a pottery project together, but that is a lot more difficult than it looks on the box! LOL.  But we had a lot of fun making a huge mess anyway.  I think the kids don’t yet have the necessary motor control (I barely do!), so probably I’ll need to make them a pot, then let them paint and decorate it after it dries.