Amazing...

I just returned home from visiting relatives (my mom's side) in St. Louis and thought I'd share my reflections on some of the amazing people in our lives.

1. My Grandparents - My gradma was born in 1915 and my grandpa in 1916. They married in 1941 and they still live in the home they bought when my mom was a baby. Amazing. While we were there my grandma made Josh 3 pair of shorts from some pants that were too long, fixed the straps on two of Annie's sundresses, hemmed a pair of jeans for me and altered a dress for me. Amazing. The morning we were leaving Max snuck outside. My grandpa was the only one who noticed. I wonder how long it would have been until we realized that he wasn't playing with "someone else" in the other room.

2. My Family - I enjoyed visiting with all of the relatives but was amazed by how many aunts and cousins went out of their way to make things easy for us when we arrived. They worked together to get my grandparents' house ready for a week long visit of little people. There were car seats, high chairs (2 plus a booster!), cribs, an air mattress, toys, games, art supplies and more waiting for us. It was amazing how easy it was for 7 people to just "show up" and share 2 bedrooms!

3. My Parents - I could not have gone on this trip without my parents. Literally - the airlines wouldn't let me bring 2 lap children. But seriously, they help me so much I can't even tell you how amazing they are. They even cut their trip short because I couldn't stay any longer. They wanted to stay for 2 weeks but 8 days was really all we could do...My dad even offered to drive us home to Reno the next day and then fly back to San Jose so I wouldn't have to make the trip alone. But he didn't have to - see #4.

4. My Kids - The kids did awesome on the trip. Josh and Annie helped with the boys. Everyone slept where they were told, ate what was served, remembered their manners, cleaned up toys so my grandparents wouldn't fall over anything. They were amazing. And my proudest Mommy Moment - as we were leaving the security check point in the St. Louis airport (Can you imagine what it takes to get through security with 2 kids, 2 babies, 2 car seats, a stroller & 5 carry-on bags?) and a pregnant lady came up and said, "Your kids are so well behaved you give me hope!" Boy, did she make my day. (And boy, was I glad she wasn't on our flight from Austin to San Jose later that day!) And the drive home to Reno the next day was amazing. Not one kid cried, whined or complained the whole way home - not even a baby! We didn't even stop for lunch until Truckee!!!

5. My Parents' Neighbors - My parents' next door neighbors took us to the airport and picked us when we got back. It took both of them to do it because we wouldn't all fit in one vehicle! While we were gone she took my van and had it washed and vacuumed - what an amazing surprise! And later I solved another mystery - the family next door to them noticed a scratch on my bumper when my van was parked in my parents' driveway. Their son came over and buffed it out for me - thanks Jake!

6. My Husband - We missed him so much while we were gone. I'm sorry he couldn't come with us this time but I am so grateful that he understands how important it is to me that our kids know my grandparents and make memories at their house. He went to visit them without me once before and went water skiing with my uncle and cousins. I suspect he'll be the next one from our family to make a trip out there. He's simply amazing.