Missouri Visit

A few weeks ago we packed everyone up and headed to Missouri for the week. As always it was packed full of family time and was so much fun. Everyone loved meeting Bailey and seeing how much Ainsley has grown. It was extra special this visit because Ainsley is able to remember who everyone is and it's so fun to see her get excited about seeing people again. And she was so so excited to fly this time. She loves riding in the airplane!! :)

My older brother Matthew wasn't able to be home :( but it was so sweet to see my two younger brothers, James and Brian, love on Ainsley. And to see Ainsley love on them right back. She was constantly asking "where the other-James go?" or "where the other-Brian?" because she kind of thought they should be a dual package. It was pretty cute. Plus all the uncle attention to both Ainsley and Bailey helped make the week so much more relaxing for this tired momma. Thanks brothers!!



While home we got to spend a few special mornings with my grandma and grandpa. They were so tolerant of Ainsley rearranging all the collectible figurines throughout their house, so naturally she had a blast.



Then one afternoon, George and my mom watched the kiddos so that my brothers and I could go back over to the grandparent's house and play a game of cards. It makes me teary-eyed just thinking about all the hands of rummy we used to play with them during afternoons in the summer. There would always be lots of snacks and my grandma would almost always win. In fact, the first time George met them and told them that he would take care of me forever (and asked my parents if he could propose) was also the same visit that my grandma stomped him in rummy and wasn't shy about telling him how poorly he was playing! Ha!! All that to say, it meant the world to me to have a kid-free afternoon to sit down with them, deal out those worn cards, and guess who was holding the ones we needed. :) Below is the generational picture with Bailey, my dad, his parents, and me.


Keith and Laura, my aunt and uncle, and my cousin, Christopher, were sweet enough to come over for the day to meet Bailey and hang out. Not sure Christopher, a junior at MU, was ready for all the kiddo-craziness but he was a good sport. :) Here's Laura loving on Bailey after he woke up from his nap.


We also had a special visit from my aunt Alice and Tina. They both got some good snuggles from Bailey and some playtime with Ainsley. Alice made Ainsley's week by bringing her a new VeggieTales dvd (which was kind of a lifesaver since we forgot her other one at home and only had to explain ourselves about 10 times a day when Ainsley asked for it). Ainsley was literally jumping up and down with excitement!! :)


Here are some other random pics from the trip. Ainsley cooking yummy scones with my mom and James. Her favorite part was tasting the sugar topping.


My dad with Bailey in his one-of-a-kind Flat Branch onesie made especially for him.


Ainsley and the meow-meows. Sigh. She spent hours talking about and "taking care" of my parent's cats each day and probably said the words 'meow-meow' 100,000 times in the few short days we were visiting. Just ask James. Still, it was sweet how much she was consumed by them and their activities. Each morning my mom and her would go outside and feed them and then collect tomatoes to nibble on before they made their morning smoothie. She still asks about them now that we're home but no, she's not getting one at our house any time soon.


Uncle Brian carrying Bailey while we visited a local farm...


Ahhh.... such a good visit! There are a million more pictures I could post but I'll spare you all. Now we just need to figure out how to get all these people closer so that we can see them (and dump our kids off on them) more often. :) Love you all!!!