The last leg of our summer travels took us to Jefferson City, Missouri, to visit some of Amy's relatives. Most especially we were eager to have the boys meet their Great-Grandma Walquist. Great-Grandma, even at 90, still has not lost her touch with little ones! She laughed when Jaden took her shoe from under the couch and thanked him when he brought it right back.
Great-Grandma even joined in on the teasing by stealing Cody's shoe and placing it on her toe. Cody came over right away to retrieve it and then giggled at Great-Grandma's funny faces. What a fun lady she is!
Amy enjoyed showing her grandma pictures of the boys. Great-Grandma proudly has pictures of her 3 sons, her 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren displayed all over her home.
We thank God for Great-Grandma's good health, positive spirits, spunky personality, and her firm faith in the Lord. What a wonderful role-model for our boys!
Great-Grandma showed so much love to our boys and even commented at the end of our visit that Jaden and Cody had "stolen her heart." What a treat it was for our family to see and visit with her.
Another joy was seeing Amy's Uncle Ross & Aunt Jill, along with their four children. Their oldest, Macy, has a natural knack with kids and was such a great helper with entertaining our boys. Jaden loved playing with the flag outside Great-Grandma's home. We were impressed to hear that Great-Grandma had decorated all on her own.
Thanks, Macy, for being so willing to hold, guide, and play with our boys. We can tell they loved you right away!
Cody loved Kieron's funny personality. He was great at coming up with fun games and making silly faces that made the boys giggle.
Rowan's gentle spirit was one that Jaden loved right off the bat. He, too, had creative ideas for entertainment. Jaden loved it when Rowan captured him with his feet...
...and when he pretended to drop him into the bushes!
This game made Jaden giggle and giggle!
Even Rilee jumped in on some twin-wrestling. We especially appreciated Rilee's willingness to give up her bedroom during our stay at her family's home. This air mattress is where Rilee had to sleep instead. What a gracious cousin!
We loved how Amy's cousins were so willing to get right down on the floor to play with Jaden and Cody. The boys loved playing ball with them, clapping for them,
and even playing bubbles outside.
We were loving the mild Missouri weather.
Any time spent outside is a highlight in our boys' day!
We also loved meeting the Walquist family dog. Jaden, in particular, seems to LOVE animals. Every time he sees a dog, he will laugh and flap his arms, running right up to his new furry friend.
Cody, too, is always eager to "pet" a new dog. We're still working on the gentleness factor!
Thankfully, their dog was loving and accepting of toddlers.
Staying on the Walquist family farm was a treat in itself! Ross and his family raise a whole slew of chickens, so we had a chance to visit our own personal petting zoo. :)
Jaden listened carefully to the instructions from Uncle Ross.
Neither twin had any qualms about petting the chickens.
Ross even has a couple of young turkeys. These animals were a bit more wiggly, but they were fun to touch, too.
After getting warmed up to their new feathered friends, Cody and Jaden liked being able to see all of them up close.
Then, we explored the hen house to see the older chickens and the roosters.
Both boys jumped at the chance to chase after some of the chickens on their own.
Talk about fun in the chicken roost!
We were impressed with how effortlessly Amy's cousins were able to capture the chickens for our boys to touch.
Our boys loved every minute of their farm experience!
One of Jeff City's biggest hot spots (at least for our family!) is an ice cream parlor called Central Dairy. Grandma treated all of us to some yummy ice cream.
(I know this pic is nearly identical to the one above, but I LOVE Great-Grandma's playful expression with Cody.)
Our family of 4 shared a humongous banana split (including 6 scoops of ice cream!).
Cody and Jaden were excited that they got a share of the treat.
Don't you love how wide they open their mouths?
Have we mentioned that our boys are BIG fans of ice cream? :)
Thank you so much, Great-Grandma and the Walquists for your generous hospitality! It was a blessing to be with you.
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| Kieron, Rowan, Ross, Jason & Jaden, Macy, Rilee, Jill Amy & Cody, Great-Grandma Walquist |
After a week and a half away, it was finally time to start the great journey back home. During one of our walking breaks outside of the car, we noticed that all 3 boys had on matching outfits. Aren't they precious? :)
On our way back, Uncle Jon & Aunt Chelsea allowed us to use their home in Lincoln as a stop-over. We were only there for a brief overnight, but we still made time for homemade frozen yogurt (yummy!), several hands of Euchre, and (our boys' favorite) quality time with Ace.
Jaden and Cody loved following Ace around and patting him on the head, on the ear, on the back... We're thankful that Ace is a loving dog-- he endured some not-so-gentle pats and tugs! Chelsea and Jon are training him well. Thanks for letting us stay with you, Nebraska Schleichers! We were thankful to enjoy some HEALTHY time at your home this time. :)
The car ride felt a bit longer on the way home. Of course, we were missing Grandma, our additional traveling companion, and we no longer had the anticipation of family gatherings ahead. Since our mountains of toys, books, and snacks didn't look so new anymore, either, we just decided to stop more frequently for walking breaks. Here we are at some random rest area in western Nebraska.
These breaks were energizing for our little guys, and Mommy and Daddy appreciated the smiles & giggles.
Overall, we were very pleased with how well the boys traveled, and we were thankful for our safety and good health throughout our journey. Praise the Lord! Hooray for a successful summer road trip! :)
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