Christmas in Peoria

We had a wonderful Christmas in Peoria! We left Teaneck on Monday morning (later than we wanted to, of course... it is SOOO hard to pack up 3 kids!! Practically have to take the entire house!) and arrived in Peoria Tuesday early evening. It was a loooong 20ish hours in the car, but the kiddos did remarkably well all things considered. It was great to be back in our room where we lived this summer and do all the things we get to do when staying at Grandma and Grandpa's, like playing with cousins and aunts and uncles and great-grandmas non-stop. The days went by far too quickly, as all vacations do, and though we wished that we could have stayed longer we cherished the time we got to spend with our loved ones who are just too far away now.

Here is precious Pax, or Paki as Justice calls him. What a handsome guy, right?

The boys loved watching Winnie the Pooh- I've never heard our boys laugh like they do during this movie!

Wren, the queen of Christmas, wearing her beautiful Christmas dress from Aunt Marnie and Uncle Chris

This was Wren on the way out... thoroughly exhausted by all of the fun

Precious Violet raiding Grandma's hallway closet

Justice got reacquainted with "cookies," or peppermint patties, which he discovered this summer at Grandma's house.

Wren displays another bit of Christmas finery

Wren had the pleasure of spending time with both of her great-grandmas. I failed to get a pic of her with Great-Grandma Fisher, but it was wonderful that she got to see these special ladies who have played such a huge role in my life.

Look at these two! Wren and Benji, Carrie's little boy, only 10 days apart! How cool is it to have a cousin that close in age?? It was so much fun to watch them together. This was their first meeting, but judging from the fact that they're already holding hands, it appears that they will be great friends. We're so grateful for cousin friends for our kids!

Wren and Benji endure the dreaded tummy time together! It's easier to put up with if you can do it with another baby!

We had a wonderful visit and are already looking forward to the next time we load up our van to the gills and hit the road.