a kansas city christmas ...

On the Wednesday before Christmas, the kids and I headed to Kansas City to see family.  The kids are such great travelers now.  Colton has always been a very good traveler (minus that one meltdown heading to the Philippines).  Last summer, Koki had an amazing trip back to MN from Oregon, and ever since, she has really traveled well.  I wasn't nervous about traveling alone at all.  They did a great job, as usual, and we had no hiccups traveling to KC.  All of our planes were on-time, and the flights went so smoothly.  We landed in KC after lunch, and Grandpa & Grandma Reynolds picked us up from the airport.  Colton and Khloe were very excited to go to see the puppies (a.k.a. two 12 year-old dogs).

Headed to KC from Tampa ... just me and the kids (Billy will arrive a couple of days later).

Koki was pretty tired after our long day of traveling.  She just wanted to lay on the floor.  I put the kids to bed a little early that night.

So exhausted from a day of traveling ...

The next day, it was in the 50s!  So, my Dad and I took the kids for a long walk around the neighborhood.  Koki LOVED the leaves!  They were everywhere.  She wanted to walk through them ... not on the sidewalk, just right through the leaves.  At one point, both kids stopped to throw them up in the air.  You can tell we don't get a lot of leaves in FL!

On a walk with Grandpa Reynolds.

She LOVES walking through the leaves. 

And she LOVES throwing them! 

Two cuties loving the leaves all over the ground ... before the snow comes to cover them up!

On Thursday, we were supposed to get some icy, sleeting weather, but my Dad and I braved it to have brunch with my sister and my niece, Madison.  After a nice meal with them, we headed to get some ingredients for the pies I was planning on making over the next couple of days.  I made 4 pies total.  Two of them were for our Christmas party with my Dad's side of the family (his sister and her kids).  I made my Grandma Reynolds' pecan pie and dutch apple pie.  The other two were made for Christmas day ... pumpkin, of course, and a blueberry crumble pie (that I had never made before).  The blueberry was such a hit that I am making that for Billy's birthday this weekend!  

Billy's flight came in on Friday night.  I was worried he would be really delayed, because they had him flying through Baltimore to get to KC.  I don't know why they do that!  The snow across the country wasn't scheduled until Saturday night, but you never know what kind of weather will hold up an airplane.  Turned out that Billy's flight was delayed here in FL ... and he only had a few minutes to catch his connection in Baltimore.  But thankfully, the pilot caught some time in the air, and he made his connection.  He arrived in KC only a few minutes past his original on-time arrival.  My Dad and I drove to pick him up at nearly midnight, and it was pretty lucky that we arrived just as he walked outside ... because by Friday night, the weather had dropped from being in the upper 50s to about 19 degrees!  And Billy ... being a good Floridian, and not used to wearing a coat, had left his coat in his closet in Tampa!  

The next day, we went to church and then my sister and her family came over to my Dad's for lunch.  It was nice visiting with family.  That night, our promised snow storm came in, and the kids were so excited!  It's hard to tell by my picture, but it was pretty snowy.  I love it, because visiting friends and family this time of year in northern states ... that's my only chance to see snow each year (except for our ski trip in March ... but I can't go this year due to the imminent arrival of Baby #3).  

Sweet girl on Sabbath ... she had fun at Sabbath School!

SNOW!

On Sunday, we bundled up the kids, and they headed out into the snow!  They had a snowball fight with each other and Daddy.  Then Daddy taught them how to make snow angels.  Neither of them wanted to come inside, but we had to get going to Aunt Dana's house for our Christmas party with my Dad's side of the family.

Ready to head out to play in the snow! 

They were very excited!

Snow fun!

Handing me some snow.

Throwing snowballs with Daddy!

Koki gets in on the snowball fight! 

It's so nice to have a chance to get together with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins on my Dad's side of the family.  I don't often get to visit with them, so it's nice to watch the Chiefs game together then do a white elephant gift opening.  Aunt Gina & Uncle Kenny always get the kids something (like they used to do for us when my sister and I were little ... and not-so-little).  Khloe was really excited to get her gift, and Colton has always wanted what they got for him.  I never bought him one, but he plays with them every time we are at the store.

Ready to open her gift from Aunt Gina & Uncle Kenny.

She loves it!  It's a ladybug activity and music toy.

Colton opening his gift from Aunt Gina & Uncle Kenny.

He is excited!  We look at these a lot in the store, but this is his first noise blaring monster truck! 

Playing with her new toy.

Koki really likes Aunt Gina!  She usually needs quite a bit of time to warm up to people.  But she always seems to gravitate to Aunt Gina.  She did that at Dad's 60th birthday last year, too.  Koki is a novelty.  She doesn't like people who pay too much attention to her.  She tends to love on and prefer those who act like she's not there.  If you want to hug and snuggle her, odds are she won't give you the time of day.  She has always been that way ... but she sat her little buns down on the fireplace right next to Aunt Gina.  She snuggled right up to her ... that's hard for those who want her to do that for them ... and I just tell them: "IGNORE HER!"  That's hard to do, too, when you don't get to see the kids very often!

Koki really likes Aunt Gina.  She went to sit next to her all by herself.

We had a great time even though the Chiefs lost.  I got a Panera gift card and a travel mug.  Billy got two movie tickets!  We were pretty happy with our gifts.  

Some of my Dad's side of the family. 

On Monday, we went to the mall to enjoy the Christmas spirit, and to get out of the house for a little bit.  The kids wanted to ride the carousel, and we went in to all of the kid stores (Disney Store, Lego Store, American Girl, Build-A-Bear).  After we spent a few hours shopping, we went to Fazoli's to meet some of my family from my Mom's side.  We had lunch with two of my favorite cousins, Kristie and Kim.  I saw Kristie and her kids this summer, but I haven't seen Kim in a while. It was really great to chat with them and to hang out.  All but one of Kristie's kids came along, too!  I'm about to die, because Brennan will be 19 on January 13!!!!  He is such a big guy, too.  Kristie has such sweet and fun kids ... I hope my kids grow to be good like they are.  Kim and Russell were doing well, too.  I learned all about their dogs and cats ... and we just enjoyed each other's company.  It made for a fun afternoon!

Enjoying the mall ... had to ride the carousel! 

Koki picked the Panda Bear ... as per usual.

I love this girl of mine!

That night, the kids had fun playing with Grandma & Grandpa.  We watched a video, and the kids had a bath.  I couldn't believe how long Koki's hair is getting!  When I was washing it, I was shocked that it goes well below her shoulders.  With her tight, curly locks, you don't always realize just how long it is getting.

Grandpa shoots her up to the sky!

And she loves it!

Sis had fun "swimming" in the bath! 

Isn't her hair long?  You would never know.

After the kids went to bed, we played games with my Dad and Rose and then Billy and I headed to a movie. We saw "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".  It was good!  And it was nice to be out at a movie!

Billy picked movie tickets for his white elephant gift on Sunday with Dad's extended family.  Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma R for babysitting!

On Christmas Eve, I made two pies (for the next day), and we relaxed around the house.  We headed to my sister's house in the evening for Christmas Eve and gift opening.  The food was delicious, and we had a good time hanging out together.  We played part of King of Crowns (the game I learned from my Grandma Lillian), but it got cut short so that the kids could get home to bed.  The kids enjoyed opening all of their gifts, and my kids LOVED what they got!  There was a lot of joy that night.  At our white elephant opening, Billy got a Barnes & Noble gift card and a Target gift card, and I got a Pottery Barn recipe holder and a cookbook.  We were both pretty happy with our gifts!

Uncle Billy (Dad) reading by the fire to Colton and Maddie on Christmas Eve.

Dana's beautiful Christmas tree.

A nice spread of food.

Cute veggie tree my sister made.

And a fruit tree, as well. 

My Dolly on Christmas Eve! 

Aunt Dana with Koki.

My three loves in life ... a great husband, the sweetest son, and my darling baby girl. 

A Christmas Eve photo of my family.

Koki with her cousin, Madison.

Tots and Toots.

Cousins ... minus Zion.  We sure missed him! 

Grandpa and Grandma Reynolds with Cole.

Cheesy face with Daddy ... ready to open presents.

Opening stockings. 

This gift we got for Madison ... the horse walks all by itself and stops and bows.  Pretty cool!  I'm glad she liked it.   

Colton got this plane from Grandpa and Grandma R.

Koki opens a ballerina Barbie from Grandpa and Grandma R. 

I think she likes it! 

She has to stop fake laughing when I want her to smile ... she just looks silly.  She loves her new little people Princess carts.

Colton got more planes!  He loves it!

A Merida Princess Barbie from Aunt Dana and Uncle Dan!

A Disney Planes airport play set from Aunt Dana and Uncle Dan!  And a photo bomb by Grandpa Reynolds! 

CARS!!!! Just what he asked for.

He was SO excited to get this movie!  Disney's Planes from Grandpa and Grandma R.

An Aircraft Carrier for his new planes!

Dana opens a gift for the new baby from us!  He will look very handsome at church.

Some gear to deck the baby out in when he or she is born from Grandpa and Grandma R! 

Cole and Madison play Wii together.

Billy and the kids enjoy some Mario Kart.

Hiding from Grandpa on Christmas Eve.

The next day was Christmas!  And we had a lot of great food!  Rose's family came over to have dinner with us, and it was so nice seeing them.  Uncle Butch (whose name my kids LOVE to say over and over again ... it goes something like ... "Uncle Butchy!") and his kids, Kayla and Corey, came to spend the day with us.  I was happy to see them!  They are great kids!  We played Catch Phrase after dinner, and it was a ton of fun!  I always enjoy game time ... especially with a lot of people.

Merry Christmas!

Some pies I made for Christmas dinner ... Blueberry Crumble and Pumpkin!

Uncle Butch giving Colton the monster tickles.

Me and my sister on Christmas Day.

The day after Christmas, some of my Midland besties and I got together at the mall to meet each other's kids and to hang out to chat.  The mall play place is a great place to do that! I was so happy to see Daisy and Daniela and their families.  It was a very fun visit ... and of course, we had to ride the carousel again!

Back to the mall after Christmas to see some of Mommy's school friends and their families. 

 Of course, Koki had to ride the carousel again!

Cheeses! 

After our visit and lunch with my old friends, Billy and I headed to Best Buy ... where I promptly left my keys in the car!  Luckily, my very dear and most favorite people had my back!  Steph, Mark, Mike, and Melissa Murrill were on their way to the mall ... and they turned around, met my Dad to get the extra car key, and met us at Best Buy.  What amazing friends!  I am lucky!  They all came in and we chatted for a while around some on-sale flat screens ... and it was so refreshing!  I was happy we got to see them ... even if only for a little while.  Those folks are like family to me, and I love them all very much!

On Friday, we made the short drive out to my old neighborhood in Western Shawnee to see my Uncle Denny and Aunt Dottie.  I haven't seen them in several years, so it was really nice visiting with them.  Aunt Dottie had met Colton, but she had never met Khloe ... and Uncle Denny hadn't met either of my kids.  It was really fun chatting with them and having them meet and talk with my children.  They were my neighbors for most of my life ... so I enjoyed connecting with them over the holidays!

Visited with my Uncle Denny and Aunt Dottie on Friday after Christmas.

On Sabbath, we got another chance to see our cousins from Billy's side of the family.  His cousin, Amber, married a guy from KC who I went to school with at Midland, Russell Keller.  They attend New Haven SDA church (my old home church), so we got to visit with them both Sabbaths that we were in KC.  Colton LOVES Maecy!  He often speaks of her, and their fun in the chicken coop at Uncle Gordon's farm in SD.  We, also, saw Daisy and her family, again.  Colton was in Sabbath School with her kids.  It was great to hang out a little bit more!

The kids got to see their cousins, Maecy and Nolan, at church on Sabbath.

Seeing our friends, Ian and Gavin, at church.

After church, we enjoyed my favorite meal ... enchiladas from Don Chilitos!  I absolutely love this place, and I was happy to enjoy some of my favorite Mexican food before we headed back to Tampa.

Enjoyed a delicious meal after church at Don Chilitos!  My favorite!

That afternoon, my sister took some pregnancy pictures of me at Sar-Ko-Par Park in Lenexa.  It was pretty warm for a December day ... in the lower 50s, so it turned out pretty well.  I'm looking forward to seeing what the pictures turn out like.  It was a fun way to hang out and say 'goodbye' to my sister.

Me and my big sister!

Enjoyed my time in KC with my family.

We headed to the airport on Sunday morning around 9:15 a.m. ... we had such a great time visiting with my family, and I know Billy enjoyed a long break from work.  Our flights home were very quick and uneventful.  We got to Tampa around 4 p.m., and it was nice to be home earlier in the evening.  I'm sad the holidays are over ... as my favorite time of year starts in October and ends about now ... but we enjoyed them ... as fast as they went ... and we look forward to the coming excitement in February!  This baby better wait until February 7 ... because I have a lot to do!