Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down 2012 #31 & 32

Up:

• After two months of being in Alabama, we are home!!! It was a long trip home, but we took plenty of time to visit family along the way. We stopped in Nacogdoches, TX to see my sister, Carey, and her family. The kids had a blast playing together. Our next stop was The Woodlands, TX where Mike's parents and sister live. We had such a good time playing and swimming! Then we headed up to Levelland to visit my parents and my Aunt Marva who came in from out of town. Our last visit was in Vega, TX where we stopped to see my cousin Kristy, Aunt Mariellen, and Uncle Jerry. We stayed at Mike's Aunt Mara's house in Denver, but unfortunately they were out of town. I feel like we made the most of our journey home and took plenty of breaks to keep the kids sane!
• This past two months we have had a blast in Alabama and it's amazing how little you need to live with. It's so easy to get caught up in wanting the latest this or that, but honestly those are not necessities. Now that we are home I've been going on a big cleaning out binge. I thought I had just done that prior to leaving when we had our garage sale, but I don't think I really purged like I  could have. 

Down:

• No trip would be complete without someone getting sick. Our last day in The Woodlands Jackson came down with a pretty high fever and basically just laid on the couch all day. We thought it was probably just a little virus. The next day we drove to Levelland. On one of our stops I finally got out the flash light and looked in Jackson's throat. Oh my gosh, it was awful, like 2 cauliflowers back there. My poor baby. We immediately took him to the ER in Lubbock (no it wasn't an emergency, but Tricare will not cover anything else without prior authorization). The doctor said it was Tonsilitis and gave him and antibiotic. Now JP is good as new!
• The Olympics are so incredibly awesome! Unfortunately we've been on the road for the first half and can't stay up super late watching when we have kiddos that get up at 5am. Women's gymnastics is my favorite and I feel like I've just been able to see highlights here and there, not the whole thing. Hopefully this week will be more conducive for watching the rest of the events.

Sorry to overload with pics, but we've covered a lot of ground these last two weeks and I'd hate to leave anything out!

Carey and Katherine cleaning out the closet to pass down a bunch of cute clothes to Kennedy!

Kennedy enjoying Katherine's play kitchen.

Peyton showing Kennedy how it's done!

Everyone's cooking now!

Enjoying some baseball outside.

Katherine using her pink bat!

Peyton showing off!

Uncle Lindy ducking so Jackson doesn't hit him instead of the ball!

Bowling in The Woodlands.

Pinkie helping the kids bowl.

Aunt Laura, Pa, and Reagan picking out a ball.

Uncle Mark with Big Boy Grant!

Kennedy loves her Daddy!

Aunt Laura with Grantness!

Jackson trying to find one that's just right!

Feeding the fish down at the waterway.

Admiring the huge catfish that came to feast!

Super blurry, but I was feeding Kennedy and trying to take the pic at the same time. Pinkie and Jackson on the Carousel at The Woodlands Mall.

Kennedy absolutely loved Molly Dog!

Disney Store!

Mike and Pa went golfing with Uncle Kirk and had a blast even though it was super hot!

Aunt Marva with Kennedy!

Mmmmm Jello!

Uncle Jerry and Kennedy playing with his cowboy hat!

Aunt Mariellen showing Jackson a vintage toy!

LaMar's Donuts in Denver. I have never seen/tasted such yummy donuts!

My Snicker's Long John. The lady at the counter asked if I wanted it filled with anything - is this heaven?! Unfortunately it was way too rich and I couldn't finish it.

Jackson decided to join Kennedy in the Pack-n-play!

Mike wanted to make a detour to Promontory, Utah to see the Golden Spike - the site that made the railroad go from coast to coast! It was pretty neat to see and they have replicas of the old steam trains that were used back in the day.

The actual site of the spike.

Favorite Thing:

As you know, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to organization. Container Store is seriously one of the best stores for us organizational freaks! While in The Woodlands Mike's Mom, Sister, and I all went to scope out things we couldn't live without. I'd been wanting these totes that are airtight and water proof for a while to do this idea I saw on Pinterest for the kids. I could spend hours in that store. A big thanks to Mike and Pa for watching all the kiddos so we could browse without distractions.