FROM HONOLULU TO HANOI: To Ohio.....and back!

It has certainly been a while since we posted to the blog!! Cris and the girls spent 10 days in Ohio, and with rest of the gang away, I didn't really have much to write about! There was a lot of working and cleaning/organizing, and sleeping going on around here (with maybe a mani/pedi thrown in for a little mommy time while the kiddos were away!)

Anyway, we completed our 20+ hour road trip from Ohio to Colorado this evening, and I am finally ready to post some pictures! Cris had his hands pretty full keeping up with the girls during his solo part of the trip, so we are a little short on pictures from the Stickley/Matus adventures, but not to fear...the momma arrived with camera in hand, and we did a little catching up.

The pictures are in no particular order, and sadly enough I don't have the energy tonight to organize them, so it's pretty much just a photo dump :)

I flew from Colorado to Ohio on Wed, and spent a couple of days with the Matus Gang, and a couple of days at Grandpa/Grandma Saccentis, then on Saturday bright and early we hit the road for the long road trip back to Ohio.

Cousins Secily, Micah, and James came up to Grandma's house for some serious cousin play time. The girls had such a blast together!!! I'm sure Micah is anxiously awaiting the day his brother James (and soon baby Jude) is old enough to actually play so he can escape the make-up and pretend mommy-kid play time the girls seem to like so much!

The kids all like to squeeze onto this bench at meal time. James is actually sitting in a dolly high chair!

Nova absolutely LOVED being around baby James. In this picture she was saying "I'm a real Mudder!" She loved to hold him and tickle him, and the whole drive home she said "I miss Secily's baby sooooo much!"

Juneau wanted to climb this tree at the Mello Cream (the Matus gang's local ice cream hangout). There was lots of Mello Cream to be eaten last week!

Classic little girls snuggled up in the hotel bedroom on the road trip.

One of Gramma's favorite outings is the Mansfield Carrousel. The kids absolutely love it. We saw the cutest and sweetest elderly couple at the carrousel during our visit. They reminded us so much of Mammaw + Pappaw Stickley, and they were just so sweet, laughing and waving at the kids. After the Grandpa helped the Grandma onto her horse, my mom went over to say hello. It turns out they were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary! The Grandpa had been in WWII. He said that they tried to think about the perfect way to celebrate the "ups and downs" of 60 years of marriage, and decided the Carrousel was the perfect place! What a sweet way to spend the afternoon!

Wiped out on the way from the Matus house to Gramma/Grampa Saccenti's house. Love how kids can fall asleep in any position, and still wake up well rested!

Nova holding Baby James. Yes, at 6 months old, James is quickly gaining on Nova in size :) He's the cutest, sweetest, and most easy going baby! He let Nova hold and dote on him all weekend, and was an absolute sweetheart!

As a celebratory dinner at the end of the road trip we went to Nova and Daddy's favorite restaurant - Cici's pizza! Nova ate 3 pieces of pizza, a cinnamon roll, and a brownie (this is a LOT of food for our normally picky little eater!!). Here she is telling Cris a secret (I'm sure it had something to do with him being the "Best Prince in the World!")

Upon arriving home, I had a package from Amazon waiting...my first purchase for Baby Jude! I am surprised I actually made it to 28 weeks without buying any baby stuff! This is my new Moby Wrap. It's super cool, and i can't wait to use it for Jude. Unfortunately, Cris is not quite as enthusiastic. His first comment was "Another baby sling???" His second comment was "wait a second, is this just one long, giant piece of fabric? How much did this thing cost". His third comment was "This is the one and only time you will see me wearing this thing". He didn't seem impressed that Brad Pitt wears one :) Nova, on the other hand, was a big fan!

It's not uncommon to share the roads around my parent's house with our Amish neighbors :)

Cris picked me up at the airport, while the girls spent some time with their Matus cousins. We took the opportunity for a quick "date" for some Cincinnati style chili.

Nova cruising on the road trip with her best Grandpa Stickley Napping impression :)

Grammie with her little ducklings in a row on the way to the carrousel.

The girls with Cousin Brent. Brent has always been so sweet wtih the girls, and even though he is getting older and has lots of other interests, he always spends so much time playing with them, and making sure they have a great time. I'm sure this visit just solidified Nova's obsession with her "crazy brenty boy". If you ask her who the craziest person in the family is she will always say "That Crazy Brenty Boy. He's sooooo crazy!"

Nova and her dad. Her exact words at the time of this photo were "You get over here, big boy!"

Enjoying breaskfast at the Matus house

Random Face-painting clown at the carrousel.

Nova is doing so great with her "swimming". She is definitely getting more brave, and has been actually trying to swim with her face under the water.

And Juneau with the random face-painting clown.

We stayed at a pretty cool hotel on the way back to Colorado, with an awesome swimming pool and hot tub.

And.....more mello cream

Nova's other "baby" (Actually, she called the kittens her kids). Alex and Lyndsey's kittens were so patient and sweet with the girls. Juneau and Nova carried these kittens all over the place, and loved snuggling them!