Cincinnati Easter- Part 6- Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday was spent as usual at Aunt Winnie's house prepping everything for the big Easter celebration the following day.  

Elise and Ava both succumbed to the flu and laid in bed most of the day.  Kayla was feeling better and was up for the better part of the day.  Sophie and Kolbe ran around as happy go lucky as usual.  

Sophie was pretty excited to help Uncle Nicholas and awesome Uncle Mark fill the confetti eggs. 

And she was really good at it too!

Awesome Uncle Mark and Aunt Colleen were able to stop by and chat and hang out which was such a fun time.  I felt bad that we were exposing everyone to a plague, but I was genuinely amazing and grateful that family was so willing to come and visit and take the chance simply because they wanted to see us and we had come so far.  Thank you, all.  

Ava got up from her sleep briefly to participate in a picture and flower headband making (below). 

During the day, Chris, his dad, and many of his brothers visited a couple local breweries together.  While they were having some guy time, we continued to finish up prepping for the Easter brunch. 

 Chris' brother, Patrick's wife, Laura , came over with their daughter.  Aunt 'Tambourine', as my kids have (for no apparent reason) dubbed her, brought along supplies to help the girls make their own sweet little flower headbands.  One of Winnie's sons, Don, came over and joined the estrogen fest.  He is just great with kids and jumped right in helping Kayla dye hard boiled eggs.  

Aunt Winnie began feeling poorly and went to rest in her room, but she shooed us off to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  (The other) Laura and I and Don took several kiddos over (the ones who were feeling well).  They enjoyed coloring bags to collect the eggs, playing little games, and hunting.  

 

These are a few pictures Don took when we rode over to the other side of the neighborhood for the hunt with him in his new truck.  

 

Kayla spent a good deal of time when Michael was around listening to him play and asking him to teach her some simple songs.  He obliged and she came home with a few tunes that she bangs out on our very tiny, very off key, somewhat broken toy piano.  It's pretty cute.  

For dinner we all enjoyed a Cincinnati favorite, Skyline Chili (Thanks Don and Aunt Winnie!)

After kids were put to bed and most people left for the day, we had some time with Scott and his girlfriend, Makayla.  Our job was to fill the eggs for the big Easter egg hunt at Aunt Winnie's.  We also filled the pinata and had a lot of good laughs together.  

And thus, we were prepared for the big party-- Easter at Aunt Winnie's 2018

Bela Fleck and Chick Corea Concert Date

Months ago, Chris saw that Bela Fleck AND the Flecktones (they don't always tour with him) were coming to town.  Not only that but the Chick Corea Elektric Band was also coming and it was a combined concert.  The look in his eyes said it all.  We had to find a way to get the tickets and find a sitter.  Fortunately Chris' brothers were up for planning their trip around the concert so that we could see them, they could go hiking and backpacking in the mountains, AND Chris and I could go to the concert together.  THANK YOU, Ethan and Nick (and Jordan too!), for watching the kiddos and having a great time with them and keeping them safe and getting them down to sleep.  You are the best, and we appreciate it more than you could possibly know. 

In the first 8 years of our marriage, we went out on dates only rarely.  Some years once.  Some years 2-3 times.  It was usually simple.  It was usually fairly short as we didn't want to inconvenience free sitters (we couldn't afford to pay a sitter on Chris' Catholic radio salary).  But over the years, we've realized that getting out together is REALLY VITAL to our marriage.  So we have worked and re-worked budgets to try to squeeze some money for babysitters sometimes.  We have also asked (begged in many cases) family members to babysit when they come visit.  It's a bit humbling.  I hate asking for help, but I hate inconveniencing others even more, so it's pretty much my least favorite thing to have to do.  But I want to nurture my marriage even more, so humiliate humble myself it is.   If you haven't been getting out much, be creative.  Find ways to move things around in your budget (you'll have to sacrifice something, but don't make it your marriage).  Ask people for help.  Do babysitting swapping.  But leave your house and go on dates.  

End of rant.  

So we went to the concert.  

We sat in line waiting because it was an outside open venue with no assigned seating, so the spots were first come, first serve.  Our "waiting spot" was under a big and very old tree and it was lovely.  

We chatted and sat and just people watched.  

Then the line was moving and it was time to go claim seats for the concert.  

 

silly selfies and the photobomber guy

We found pretty good seats and then got all settled with the cheese, crackers, grapes, and adult beverages we had brought with us.  The guy next to us was a sweet older guy who was very chatty and had all sorts of mostly interesting information to share.  He and his wife (she was there too, but she hardly talked at all) go to concerts at the Botanical Gardens fairly frequently apparently.  

And then the music magic began.  

These are some brief video clips.  It doesn't do the concert real justice, but at least gives an idea of the music style and the talent. 

           

           

Some Victor Wooten on bass, solo work.  

           

         

          

And then Chick Corea's Elektric Band played.  

          

 

          

Just some phenomenal musicians in both these bands.  We had so much fun listening.  And hang out together.  And hold hands.  And eat chocolate (and all the other yummy stuff).  :) 

And then Bela Fleck and the Flecktones came back out and they all played together.  What a night. The video  just catches the very end but it was amazing talent all together.  A fun date to experience with my own talented musician/husband.  Thanks for taking me out for a fun night, babe!  What a great time.    

          

Trip to Cincinnati 2016: The Last Few Days

After our fun first few days in Cincinnati plus our time with Chris' siblings on Saturday, we still had a few days of fun left in us before it was time to head home.  Unfortunately for Chris he woke up on Sunday feeling terrible.  So his Sunday ended up being a day in bed.  

Here's how our Sunday went...

I got up, got the girls ready for church, and once I realized that Chris was not going to be making it to Mass, I headed out to St. Gertrude's to meet Chris' family there with the girls on my own.  Evan met us in the church parking and helped me herd the gaggle of girls and carried Kolbe's car seat in.  The girls were actually really really good at Mass (Sophie was a little antsy, but not LOUD like she often can be at this age).  Sophie did try to run away at the end of Mass and made it all the way outside before I could finally grab her and walk back into Mass for the closing song holding her in one arm and Kolbe in the other.  

We all headed to Aunt Winnie's (where we were staying) for a fun day there.  Aunt Winnie had sandwiches and other delicious treats for lunch and we hung out with her and Chris' family.  Some of Aunt Winnie's children and their families stopped by throughout the afternoon as well.  It was really wonderful getting to visit with extended family and also get to hang out with the sibs and Mom and Dad B more.  

 

Ethan and Callie (Don's wife) got to take a turn holding the little man. 

Winnie's porch swing is always a hit with the girls.  

Granddad making sure Emiliana is nice and relaxed taking her bottle

Sophie and her cousin Emiliana playing together

Laura Bissonnette sqaured  :)

Later in the day, pizza was ordered and we hung out more.  It was a really nice, relaxing day and I was able to check on Chris easily and frequently and get him water and probiotics.  The next day he was feeling significantly better, and we headed out to start our day with a little visit to Aunt Winnie's husband Uncle Bill.  He's in a neat home so that he can have extra help since he has Parkinson's.  It was so good to see him. He had the nurse shave his face just for our visit which was super sweet.  The girls sang him This Little Light of Mine and told him about their activities.  

Next we drove back to Chris' parents house to visit with his Grandma and Aunt Colleen who had arrived just before us.  Grandma brought sweet gifts for the girls and wanted to hear all about how they were doing.  We laughed and chatted and Kolbe got to meet his Great Grandmother.

 

I know Colleen will hate me for posting that picture, but she was just so expressive when she was talking and Kolbe's face is so great....

 

Love these two pictures so much!

We got a sweet picture of Great Grandma with our kids (5 of her 8 great grandkids) and another where we added her grandkids who were there 

 

After they headed home, we had a brief visit with Chris' sister Emily and her family.  Their cousin Gianna is old enough to play with them now and the girls sure had a lot of fun playing on Grammy and Granddad's play set in the backyard.  The rest of the afternoon and evening was just quiet visiting with Mom and Dad B and their kids who still live at home.  And Granddad played his drum set for the girls.

And we celebrated Andrew's upcoming birthday with ice cream sundaes.  Mmmmmm!

 

It was hard to say good-bye after such a fun, full visit.  We can't wait for our next adventure to Cincy.  Thanks, everyone, for coming to spend time with us while we were there.  Love you all!

The lovely morning sky as we packed up the kids in the car at Aunt Winnie's Tuesday morning to begin the drive back home. 

The trip was stressful at times.  The kids were kids and got bored and feisty in the back seats, although were fairly good for the most part.  I caught a bad cold on the way out and my head felt like it was exploding as we drove so I wasn't thrilled.  We broke up the drive more evenly on the way home, stopping in Kansas City for the night.  The girls watched Finding Nemo in the hotel room before bed that night.  

And eventually we arrived home in Colorado, happy and tired.