I was looking forward to time with the boys and I wanted to meet the girls that lived with Michael and Jennifer. The girls had all left for family visits and would start coming back on Monday.
I have so many new things to tell that I almost don't where to start. This was my first visit to their new home and WOW!!! The house is huge and Jennifer has decorated it beautifully!!
The kitchen has two large refrigerators, two ovens, a giant icemaker, and a drinking fountain! When I first saw the icemaker, I thought it was a trash compactor because it's about that size.
This is a picture of the kitchen with some Jennifer's family when they came over Christmas day. I see Bennett's birthday balloon is still holding it's own near the ceiling.
Bennett looks very much like his mommy :)
Talking Larry was a big hit with both boys just as it was with Rachel's boys. I think of the four boys, Ethan and Jasper got the most joy from it. I didn't have my big camera handy but I took a couple of photos with my phone.
Jasper's favorite thing to do was the "lightning" button.
I had a great day with the boys on Saturday. They are both so affectionate and I received many hugs. One of their favorite toys is a large train set with about 5-6 battery powered engines. Michael helps them build a huge track and then the action begins. We all had a station at the bridge or several of the switches to make sure none of the engines collide. It was a lot of fun.
Saturday evening we went to Jennifer's grandmother's house to celebrate with her dad's side of the family. I had already met his brother and sister and Jennifer's cousins. We had a great chili and tamale dinner and dessert potluck. I had a really nice time and they surprised me with gifts from Mike and Ellen and two other "Driggers". Since I wasn't exactly sure who to thank for the other two gifts, I said, "since everyone here is a Driggers, and these two gifts are from "The Driggers", thank you very much". It was so sweet of them and the gifts were so thoughtful.
Sunday morning was Christmas and we went to Jennifer's parents house for breakfast. Stockings are first and the boys went right for them. Michael's stocking had the cutest little finger lights! The were fairly bright and each one fastened using velcro to his fingers.
I was again taken by surprise to find a gift filled stocking with my name on it! The boys handed out all of the gifts and then everyone took turns opening presents.
Michael had replaced the counter top on the island in their kitchen for Jennifer's Christmas present. He decided to wrap up a piece of the same piece of wood he had used for the counter for her to open on Christmas morning.
Bennett got an "Angry Bird" which he really liked.
Jasper wears daddy new hat and gets a ride.
After presents we went to church and then back to the cottage. The boys went down for their naps and not long after, Jennifer's moms side of the family came over to celebrate. They all brought food, gifts, and a good time. We exchanged gifts, played table games, ate, then went outside for kickball until dark. I would say that a good time was had by all.
This room is one of the cottage living room areas. It has a table set up for the potluck that day. It is much larger than this picture shows.
This is another living room area which is also much larger than it looks in the picture.
This is a double table that looks like a very long table. It's an open area with a counter space that separates it from the kitchen.
Jasper is delivering a gift to his great-grandparents.
Bennett is listening intently to something that his Uncle Joe is telling him.
Shortly after dark, everyone left except Mike and Ellen. They stayed and we played poker. I learned a new game called Gut. It's my new favorite poker game.
The next day, Dan arrived in the early afternoon. The boys were both excited to see him. I had gone with Michael to pick up Cheyenne at the bus station after her family visit. Some of the girls are dropped off by their guardian and some are not. We had fun with the boys for several hours and then we went out to eat at a place called Ghengis Grill. It was great food and a fun place to eat. The four of us played poker that night and introduced Dan to the game, Gut.
The next morning we met Michael and the boys for breakfast and then went back to the cottage. Two more girls came back from their family visits that day. The three girls we met are very sweet and I am very glad I got to meet them. This was our last day with the boys. As on previous days, we played with the trains a lot. We both got lots of hugs. :) When it was their bedtime, we said our good-byes.
We spent our evening playing poker again. I think Dan likes the new poker game as much as I do.
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