We went up to Rockford on Saturday and came back on Tuesday, by way of Ames where we stopped in briefly at a ridiculously-sized gathering at my grandparents' house there. We had a wonderful time in Rockford, including two fun-filled days with cousins and another day with just my little clan there. As you can tell by the picasa pictures, it was really, really fun. It was hard to say goodbye to Jenny's family, knowing that she had to go back to Ames so her girls to go off to Michigan with their dad, but she's been holding up much better than I ever could. The whole situation is ridiculous, and I just try not to think about it too much because I get so pointlessly angry at her stupid husband, doing such stupid, hurtful things. He seems to be doing anything he can to hurt Jenny, and it doesn't matter if he hurts himself (stupid) or his kids (heartless) in the process.
...but anyway, it was a really great Christmas, and it's fun to think we get round two in Barnum during this coming weekend! The girls got some fun gifts, including a truck for Emily that she can take apart with a little battery-powered driver, a play mailbox for Audrey complete with letters AND stamps (I think I saw every kid except Milo having fun with it), and a ton of puzzles and books and other fun things. They really enjoyed the thrill of waking up to see what Santa brought them. They weren't up at 5 AM like Julie was; in fact, I thought 7:15 was pretty nice for Christmas morning! If only we hadn't stayed up until 1:30 getting everything ready, and doing the grown-ups gift exchange! Ah well, I got a nap the next day, and it was really feeling vacation-like.
But today, Travis went to work, since we were in town and he had stuff he wanted to get done, and he can take the vacation days later in the year instead of today and tomorrow. That meant it was a pretty normal day for me and the girls. We actually went to the mall and walked around, which was fun, and when we got home they decided not to come inside but rather to play in the car for about half an hour, which enabled me to unpack purchases, switch out laundry, and start lunch! nice! Speaking of meals, I know I have described how independent these little girls have become in getting their own plates, cups, etc. For breakfast this morning, Emily got out her own plate and knife and the bread, and wanted to make a PBJ sandwich. Audrey picked out her rice krispies and her bowl, and headed to the table. I called her back to the kitchen to point out that we were out of milk, and as she's standing looking into the fridge, she says to me, plain as day, "Egg nog!" I said, ohhhh, no, I don't think we can put egg nog on your rice krispies, but she kept insisting. And I decided, well, how bad could it be, really? She loved it. And I loved hearing her sing "Egg nog, egg nog, egg nog" all throughout breakfast. What a fun way to start the day!
The girls put on a little vocal show for the family at Mommo and Poppo's, although I guess it was mostly Audrey because Emily was quite crabby at the time (which was understandable because she was exhausted from being at Grandma's house and still miffed that we had to leave in the first place). It was so lovely. I was most pleased that I think Mommo could actually hear her, because she would start to sing along with Audrey but then not continue singing and just listen. This is truly notable because 1) her hearing is far worse than she will admit and 2) usually she sings along so loudly that you wonder what the point is of having a child sing for her if all she wants to do is hear herself sing. But that's one of those things that you just accept from someone who's 92, though, you know? I think she really was able to enjoy Audrey's spontaneous lullabyes, and Audrey really got a kick out of the applause and general reaction, seeing people so pleased with something she could do. It'll be a few years before self-consciousness provides her some stage fright, so for now I'm going to enjoy it and make her do her pony tricks for everyone who would appreciate it - haha! The girl is amazing! So is Emily, but she obviously is more shy, and I don't want to weird her out about music - I want her to love it in her own way. She recited a couple of poems for my mom, though, which was amazing in itself. "Girls and Boys, Come Out To Play" is 10 lines long! She also recited over half of the Bunk Beds book for mom. When she did that for Travis the other night, he said to me afterwards, "Is that normal???" I don't think it is, but it sure is lovely.
I have a huge to-do list for tomorrow, but I'll probably spend a lot of it getting ready for another weekend trip. It'll be 2012 before I know it!
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