Surprises

This past weekend we headed to Mount Vernon to see Kayla. Her classes were over Thursday evening and she had to be back on campus Monday afternoon. Since it was not enough time to come all the way home we decided to rent a house and spend the weekend there. What Kayla did not know
is that we had invited her Grandpa, Grandma, and Aunt Lindsay to spend the weekend with us and they said YES! 

We arrived earlier than we had anticipated because Junior was a ROCK STAR in the car and he did not want to be out running around long each time we stopped. He was too anxious to eat or drink, so we had quick stops. We decided to change the plan from going straight to Kayla to going straight to the rental house. It was only about 30 degrees and was spitting snow, it was too cold to sit outside and wait on her for 30ish minutes. So, after dropping all our stuff at the house, I went and got Kayla and we headed to Walmart to get the cold foods that I had not brought with us. Matt and Harold (Grandpa) were already at Walmart by the time we got there. So, Kayla and I are back by

the milk and I see them coming and I am trying my hardest to focus on what Kayla is saying to me while keeping a straight face. It was so hard!! But I had kept the secret for weeks and did not want to blow it in the final moment. The next thing Kayla knows someone is running into her and saying "Excuse me, Ma'am, I didn't see you there." Kayla recognizes the voice and turns, her jaw drops and she stares in stunned silence before launching herself at her grandpa 💓 It was the SWEETEST thing ever! I wish I had a picture of her face. She was laughing with excitement and trying not to cry. Seriously, the sweetest. A wonderful surprise for her. I am so thankful they said yes and got to go this weekend.

We had planned a surprise for Elijah too. He knew his grandparents and Aunt were going, but he was keeping it a surprise from Kayla. (Do you know how hard it is to keep a secret from someone when you talk to them almost every day?!) Elijah's birthday was yesterday and we decided to surprise him by celebrating it over the weekend so Kayla could be a part of it 😀 He had no idea, although I almost gave that away too. (Kayla knew about it and was keeping that surprise from him!) He had a great birthday and we did a small celebration yesterday, simply because I feel like a person should be celebrated on their actual date of birth, no matter if it is already celebrated or not. Life is important and we need to let the people around us know they are
important too.

We did not do a whole lot this weekend, it was very laid back. I took Kayla and Grandma to Goodwill Friday morning (it is a nice one). I found a pretty dress and some nice ankle boots (I am weird and would not normally get shoes from a Goodwill, but these looked barely worn, so winning!). Kayla had wanted to look for records, which we found in an obscure place, and she is looking forward to listening to them when she gets home in a couple of weeks. Grandma also found a few treasures, so overall a nice little outing.

We cooked almost every meal (per Kayla's request) and how could I tell my child who has been suffering from eating college food (LOL) for 3 months no?! I simply could not so we ate a lot. I feel like we mostly ate and laughed this weekend, which was/is a very good thing. Friday night we watched the movie "Undercover Blues," which if you have not seen I would recommend, it is hilarious. It does have some language in it, though. Saturday we pretty much stayed at the house, eating, talking, and hanging out. Saturday evening we grilled out and had Elijah's celebration. After dinner, we played the game "Pinch and Pass" which we love and is funny every time we play it!!! If you have not heard of it, get it. It is a quick game and we have seriously laughed each time we have played it. I bought it on clearance for Christmas on a whim and I am so glad

I did!

Sunday was Easter and we went to Kayla's Church for the 9:30 am service. They have a nice orchestra and choir and one of her music professors leads worship there. It was great seeing him in a different role and hearing their choir sing. I also liked her pastor and enjoyed his message. After Church, we headed to Kayla's school which is literally next door (a ways) to the Church. There is a path she walks in nice weather to get to Church. Her grandparents and Aunt enjoyed seeing her school. We walked a small part of the campus and then drove them around the whole campus before heading toward downtown Mount Vernon so they could see "town." (It is so small!) We spent the afternoon relaxing, hanging out, and doing some minor packing. After dinner, we sat around watching Tim Hawkins videos. He is a Christian comedian and he is hilarious! Elijah watches him on YouTube all the time. We were only going to watch for about an hour, but twoish hours later....

Anyway, we had a great visit with Kayla, fed her well, super surprised her, got to celebrate Elijah's birthday, and Junior was great in the van. (We will NOT talk about how barky he was in the house all weekend😬🤦, obviously something we still need to work on).

I am so thankful for the time with family this past weekend. After not being together for such a long time, it was a great time of just being together, and after the difficulties of the past year or so, much
needed! I am thankful to God from whom all blessings flow!