Ipop and Nana's House

Evie was so excited to get to Gastonia and was ready to swing on her new swing right when we pulled in the driveway. We had a quick dinner and let her play a bit before bed. Henry met the dogs and liked them just like Evie. I put the kids to bed and stayed up for a bit before going to bed myself.

My mom stayed home from work on Friday which helped me tremendously. It's a lot more difficult to take of your kids when you are not in your own house. We took Evie and Henry over to see my grandmother. She had not met Henry so I know she was thrilled to finally meet her great- grandson. That afternoon, my dad arranged for Maddie, to come over for a play date. Evie had a ball with Maddie. They got along so well together and enjoyed a fun snack of munchkins courtesy of Maddie's Aunt Joanie! Evie was exhausted and ready for bed right after dinner. Playing is hard work.

On Saturday, Evie and Maddie went to ride a pony at a horse farm in Gastonia. My dad arranged this for the girls since Evie loves horses so much. Bucky was a sweet pony and both girls enjoyed this so much. On the way home, we made a quick stop at the local castle for some playtime. Evie knows exactly where this playground is located and finds it a crucial part of her visit. Nana stayed home with Henry. They started working on our Thanksgiving meal. Henry makes a very good sous chef and enjoyed kicking on his play mat. Evie was beginning to melt so off to nap for her while I took Henry to see my Aunt Libby. Ben took Evie down to the lake to see the geese. Evie LOVES her Uncle Ben and talks about him every single day at home. She told me that she wanted him to take her fishing but she settled for a walk down to the lake. They saw Jackie, Maddie's aunt on their walk. Jackie brought Evie some gorgeous bows that she had made which Evie has already enjoyed wearing. I need to try out bow making myself!

Sunday, we stayed home from church because they were having bagpipes and my mom was preparing Thanksgiving. Evie would not have enjoyed the bagpipes since they are so loud. It was much easier to stay home although we would have loved for everyone to meet Henry. Carl got to my parents that afternoon and Evie was so excited to see her Daddy. My grandmother and aunt came over for Thanksgiving. My mom did an outstanding job on the dinner and it was all dairy-free. YUMMY! My favorite parts were the dressing and the pumpkin cake with a delicious glaze. Evie was not too interested in eating since she had a new audience but perked up for some cake with lemon sorbet. It was very nice Thanksgiving and so sweet of mom to host this early so we could be there too.

Monday came too quickly and it was time to head to Charleston. It literally took us over an hour to pack up and load the van because we had so much stuff . . . too much stuff! We had such a fun time visiting my parents and brother. Evie turned their entire house into her own personal playground. She has a way of doing that but I am pretty sure that Ipop and Nana did not mind one bit. I will get some more pictures from them. Carl had my camera on his camping trip so I did not get too many.