I asked them a couple of weeks before their birthday how they wanted to celebrate this year. We had already decided as a family that instead of doing a big party for everyone, we would take a small family trip instead. This was different for us, for sure, but we were all looking forward to the change! Although I typically enjoy planning a big party for the kids' birthdays, it was really great for me to not have to think about that this year. Anyway, so Brooke and Brecklyn decided quickly that they wanted to visit Grampy and G-Jo's house for their birthday. I thought this was a great idea, and we made a plan to do just that!
Since the twins' birthday fell on a Saturday, we planned to pick the Bigs up from school on Friday, February 2nd, drive straight to Grampy and G-Jo's house, and return home on Sunday evening. This meant that we wouldn't be home at all on Brooke and Brecklyn's birthday, but I still wanted to continue our traditions of decorating their door and setting up the mantle with decorations and gifts.
On the evening of February 1st, Chris and I got everything all set up so it would be ready when the girls woke up on the 2nd.
To say they were excited to see the decorations and gifts when they woke up on the day before their birthday is an understatement! They absolutely loved everything!
After taking the Bigs to school, I took the girls out for breakfast at McDonalds (their choice). They were being so cute and sweet, and an older gentlemen stopped to tell me how lucky I was to have two cute breakfast dates. I agreed!
Brecklyn, Brooke
We didn't let the girls open any of their gifts, but we did let them have the little scooters you can see in the photo above that were a gift from Meme and Papa. They had a blast riding those scooters all around the house while I got everyone packed and ready to go out of town. It was kind of crazy to pack all the other gifts and haul them to Missouri, but I wanted the girls to be able to open them on their actual birthday.
Chris got home from work early (he only worked a half day), we picked up the Bigs from school, and drove to Missouri. We arrived just in time to eat dinner with Grampy and G-Jo, play for a bit, and put the kids to bed. I had allllll the feels putting my babies to bed as two year olds for the last time *sniff*!
Brecklyn, Brooke
All the kids woke up early on the morning of the 3rd, ready to get the day started! They love being at Grampy and G-Jo's house, so the energy in the house was HIGH, haha! G-Jo had these fun headbands for the girls, and as you can see, they were excited to wear them!
My three year olds, Brooke and Brecklyn!
G-Jo typically has a little project for the kids planned when we go visit. The kids have come to expect this, and couldn't wait to find out what the project for this day was. Of course, G-Jo didn't disappoint and had Valentine bags for them to decorate.
Brianna
Brenson
Brooke
Brecklyn and G-Jo
After the little project, Grampy got home (he had been at his office teaching his Saturday class), so we decided to let the girls open their birthday gifts. We had planned to go out for lunch, and I knew that once we got home the girls would need to take their nap. So, we decided to let them open gifts and play for a bit before leaving for lunch.
Who's ready to open presents?!? We are!!!
The Bigs were so sweet and blew up a bunch of the balloons for the girls to help them celebrate. Of course, the girls thought the balloons were just fantastic!
Most of the gifts we purchased for the girls this year were joint gifts. This is never an issue for them . . . I guess they are used to it?
The "big" gift from us was the super fun teeter-totter. I wasn't really planning for it to be set up at Grampy and G-Jo's house, but Grampy and Daddy thought otherwise :-). The girls loved it! I imagine there will be many hours spent on this once the weather warms up.
After we let the girls play for just a little while, we asked them where they wanted to go for lunch. Of course, they chose McDonalds. I wasn't too impressed with this, but couldn't say too much since we let them choose!
After quickly eating their lunch, all the kids ran off to play!
Bren was obsessed with this foosball table. I'm not sure he's ever played with one before, but he loved it!
The kids played for about an hour, then we headed back to Grampy and G-Jo's house for naps. The girls had no problem falling asleep because they had been up early and played so hard. After a good nap, I took some pics of my sweet birthday girls :-).
We're THREE!!!
Brooke just had to hold a purple balloon, since purple is her color.
I tried to get Brecklyn to hold a pink balloon, but she wasn't having it. *sigh*
My four February babies <3 p="">
I adore this photo! It's a very accurate representation of everyone's personalities!
How is it possible that my sweet Brooke is THREE years old *tear*?!?
And, the baby of my babies . . . also THREE *booo-hooo*.
For dinner, G-Jo fixed a delicious meal of ham and mashed potatoes. Then, we had a little birthday celebration with candles, singing, and cupcakes.
Happy birthday to Brooke!
Happy birthday to Brecklyn!
Happy birthday to Brenson!
(Notice Bren's "birthday boy" pin? He wore that thing ALL day and would have slept in it had I let him!)
Happy birthday to Brianna!
What's better than a cupcake (with frosting in "your" color) on your birthday?!?
I'm so very grateful for my little loves!!!
Even when they act like this, haha!
Even though they are big three year olds now, both of the girls needed to be held and rocked a bit before bed. This made my heart happy. Good night my three year old babies 😘.
The next morning, Grampy had a preaching appointment in Nevada, Missouri. I hadn't even thought about looking at the weather - and although it was cold - we had no idea there was a possibility for snow. Well, we were certainly surprised when we walked out of the church building after worship services! I took this photo on our way to lunch, not knowing how much worse it was going to get.
The snow just kept falling and falling, and the ground was completely covered by the time we finished with lunch. This congregation typically has a morning service, dismisses for lunch, then reconvenes for an afternoon service. The snow was so heavy that they decided to cancel the afternoon service.
We left the church building and almost couldn't even make it out to the main road that led to the highway. I guess a minivan isn't the best vehicle for driving in fresh, wet, slick snow!
(Bren's tongue out to catch snowflakes is my favorite in this photo!)
Our drive home ended up being super slow and stressful. The roads were slick, and as we drove toward home the snow turned to a solid sheet of ice. We saw more cars than we could count in the ditches and median, and there were tons of accidents. What should have been a two and a half hour drive home took over five hours! And it wasn't much better for Grampy and G-Jo. We were all beyond thankful to be home safely at the end of that trip!!! Lessons learned for next time: Don't wear flats in February (my feet were freezing!) and check the weather!
Even with the crazy ending to the weekend, we had a wonderful time celebrating the kids' birthdays with Grampy and G-Jo. I love the special memories we're making!
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