December 27th brought our return to the Northeast.
The girls were super excited to fly over New York City en route to EWR.
Our first stop was to visit my childhood best friend and next door neighbor,
who was in town for just a few final hours once we arrived.
My girls got the chance to meet her sweet little son, Bryce,
and open some presents with him.
Having my children meet the child of a life-long friend
seems like a pretty great way to start out our visit home.
Ashley was also able to join us for the reunion!
The next stop was Nanny and Grandpa Mike's house -
which was our home base for the next few days.
We spent our time baking cookies, wrapping presents, having tea parties
and watching"The Sound of Music"
The girls were very excited to wake up the following morning for Christmas #2
Wendy, Carl and the kids joined us mid-day,
and Lexi didn't leave her cousin Cece's side for 7 hours or so!
Look who's the proud owner of Kit, one of the American Girl Dolls who
"looks just like me, with my short hair"
These are the most fun piggie banks around.
The girls have already started saving for their next trip to Disney
"Oh boy!" trains!
Ryleigh now has her very own set of Thomas and friends.
She spent hours driving them around their track
Who doesn't love Lulu?
Santa may have brought Lexi a Rainbow Loom,
but it was Courtney who taught us all how to use it.
We are now drowning in bracelets and the mini rubber bands.
Two of our very favorite gals
No trip home is complete without a spin around the block
in Grandpa's old Land Cruiser.
The kids have a ball driving, honking the horn and waving to neighbors
These four are growing up so fast.
Nothing makes their parents happier than seeing their close bond,
despite the many years and miles between them!
Matt and Courtney have so much going on between school and all their activities,
but they always drop everything to entertain their young cousins,
and they do it without hesitation.
What wonderful role models for our little ladies.
The LaRose ladies
The kids table
Our next stop was Grandpa Tom's.
We had a great time celebrating Christmas with the Hamilton side of the family.
Cousin Emma may not know Lexi's name,
she has taken to calling her "Big Ryleigh",
but she sure seemed to love playing with her.
Grandpa with his girls
He has deemed Ryleigh a real sweetheart and told us,
"She is a true fun time", and we certainly agree.
Proud uncle - first time holding baby Scarlett
The next door neighbors came over for a visit as well
And, we were so thankful to welcome Grandma Connie for a few hours
She has had a difficult year health-wise,
but you'd never know it from her smile and spunk.
We missed seeing Terry and Don.
Sadly, our travel schedules didn't align this year,
but we send our love to them both!
Ryleigh was extremely interested in the baby.
Wherever Scarlett was, Ry was never far behind.
It was really a delight to see her sweet and doting nature…
and can we talk about how cute those pig tails are?!
The following day brought us back to Fairfield, CT
to visit our old next door neighbors and then our closest friends.
Here, the girls are with John and Sue.
They were so happy to be back in Sue's kitchen, hunting for treats,
playing with Coco the dog and bringing chaos and cheer to their home.
From there, we ventured over to the Emmott family's new home in town.
Lexi and Ella had a wonderful reunion,
and it was great to see the younger siblings in on the action this time around.
We had a lovely, though much-too-short dinner with them
and Eric/Adrienne.
Great to see that we can always pick right back up with this bunch,
and that we can always count on a really fun time.
We certainly miss them dearly in Dallas.
We pulled back into Sparta around midnight,
and put two very sleepy girls to bed.
The next morning, we welcomed my high school friend, Lauren over.
She and I snuck out for a quick lunch in the Plaza.
It was great getting the chance to catch up in person,
and to hear about her new adventures and plans for the year.
Next up from our whirlwind trip…New Year's Eve and the long journey home.
1 comment:
Wow, what a whirlwind of a trip! Bravo to you guys,
Carl and I never would have been able to pull off what you did when our kids were that age!! We are all SO grateful that we were able to celebrate the holidays with your Family, best present ever!!
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