Nothing as Planned

We were planning on going down state this past weekend, but pretty much, nothing went as planned. To start off with, we had to leave later than expected, since Connor came down with croup during the night. Luckily his pediatrician gave him a dose of steroids that prevented the scary nasty cough from returning to the extreme.

On the way down, we had to stop at a McDonald's for a stretch (and first play in the germ infested playland), fish sandwich, and change. Due to running so late, there was no time to stop at Craig's parents house to freshen up before going to Uncle George's wake (another unplanned event). The stop would have been a disaster if Aunt Kari wasn't with us. Believe me, it is a challenge to get 6 people ready for a wake in a McDonald's bathroom!

A few pictures from the boy's first experience at a McDonald's playland.

Uncle George's wake was really nice. Aunt Dorothy looked so beautiful and strong. It was awesome to see how well she is doing. There were a lot of family members at the wake, so the boys enjoyed all the attention and freedom to crawl wherever their little hearts desired.

We didn't want to take the boys to the funeral, so luckily Aunt Marsha, Jackie, and Becca agreed to watch them for a few hours. We were told that they were originally disappointed that they would be there during nap time, as they were looking forward to lots of playing with our little people. After 45 minutes, however, the three babysitters were more than ready to put Liam, Aidan, and Connor down for their naps. Believe me, I understand :-).

The funeral was probably the most inspiring, positive funerals I have ever been to. Uncle George was a special man and will be missed, but he truly is in a better place. And Aunt Dorothy (his wife of 68 years!) is full of life and will now be able to enjoy herself. We're expecting some visits from her in the near future!!!

Sarah's 1st birthday party was moved to the following day. She was quite the happy birthday girl, dancing in her high chair as we all sang to her. Too precious!!!

Joey, Ellie, and Anna helping Steve blow out his candles (the poor guy is now sharing his birthday with his youngest daughter). I'm pretty sure that Steve will be having 'Princess Parties' for many years to come... Smile Birthday Girl!!!
After the party, it was time to head home. It started out, not as planned... only 1/4 of our back seat pasangers sleeping. And as luck would have it, it was the only one we weren't concerned about!

Much better!!! Thank you Aunt Kari for setting such a good example :-).