Connecting in Flagstaff

After New Year's, Rus headed back to work and the kids and I headed to Flagstaff for a few days of relaxing, cozy fun. It was COLD there. There was still a lot of snow on the ground. So we hung out inside, spent most of the day in our jammies, had dance parties, ate so much good food, and played goofy games involving matches and toilet paper rolls. (Two different games.) But most of the time, while Amy and I sewed or stamped cards or baked or organized her drawers, everyone else looked like this:

 The appropriate caption for this picture is, "Our Family is Connected."

*Yes, this shot was staged, but I assure you it is a completely accurate representation of how they spent their time.

The toilet paper roll game was really goofy but fun. Amy hung a broomstick horizontally with two rolls of tp hanging on it. She unrolled each roll just a little bit and then attached a candy coin to each with a clothespin. The kids took turns trying to shoot the toilet paper, make it break (and make the coin fall), and then eat the coin as a reward. They loved it, when they weren't too busy complaining that they missed. I got in a shoot-out with Amy and totally whopped her. Naturally.

I love Sarah's face here. I'm not sure if it helped her aim though...

Another thing the kids loved was having some brand new baby kittens to pester love. Amy is a pet foster parent. I had no idea there were such programs around, but evidently...

It's actually not a bad gig. The animal shelter calls and asks if she is willing to take care of cats or dogs (I'm not sure if there are other animals), for a certain (and limited) period of time. The provide the food, and if the animals get sick or are too hard to take care of, she can return them. Awesome, huh? So she was foster-parenting a momma cat and her five kittens. Bekah and Sarah spent hours with them everyday.

Marianne was pretty good on the trip. The second we walked in the door after our five hour drive, she went straight to Amy and hugged her for a good long while. Then she forgot she liked Amy, and was super clingy for a while. But then Mike got down (literally on the floor), and played with her and she was super happy again.

I wish she were more predictable around people. Sometimes she likes them, sometimes she doesn't. Sometimes she'll walk up to random strangers and ask for a hug, while other times she refuses to even let Rus hold her.

Anyway, it was a wonderful trip and I'm so grateful we were able to go. I am waiting for the golden vacation where I don't have to worry about my kids sleeping all night and I don't have to hold anyone for hours at a time, but until then...at least I have a terrific and understanding sister who puts up with us all anyway.