The Rest of the Visit with Grandma Robbie and Grandpa Ron

After we came home and decorated the trees and dried all the outerwear, my parents took us out to eat.  I chose Clyde Ironworks, thinking it would be a calm, spacious option before our subsequent trip to see the Christmas lights at Bentleyville.  Unfortunately Clyde Ironworks was packed to the gills and hosting several different events, but we still enjoyed pizza and dessert even though the kidlets were getting a bit tired.  Mr. Sneaky Pants thoroughly enjoyed his large drink of Dr. Pepper, courtesy of his grandparents.  The Banana had pink lemonade.

It was back to the van for a drive to Bentleyville, which was also busy, busy, busy!  I knew it would be since A.  It was the first weekend in December, and B. It was 42 degrees outside, and everyone wanted to be enjoying the lights and not freezing.  We had a lot of fun walking through the park.  So many lights!  So many fun sights!  The gigantic metal Christmas Tree is always fun to watch from different angles, and Mr. Trouble on Feet fell in love with the reindeer. He thought they were bears, but he really, really loved them.  We roasted marshmallows and bypassed Santa, but almost at the end of the route, Grandpa Ron was inspired to visit Mrs. Claus.  The Banana wanted to come along, and at the last minute Mr. TOF joined them too.  Bentleyville can sometimes be a bit overstimulating for me, but it’s a fun tradition and we really enjoyed being able to share it with Grandma and Grandpa.  

It was back home and off to bed for everyone.  After church and some homework time on Sunday, we headed down to Grandma and Grandpa’s hotel for some afternoon swimming.  The kidlets were very, very excited about afternoon swimming.  Mr. TOF stayed with Dr. Peds at home to finish his nap, and they arrived just as I needed to leave for my gigantic Sunday evening choir rehearsal.  While I was at rehearsal everyone dined out again.

On Monday morning Grandma and Grandpa were able to make one last trip up to our house before leaving to drive back to North Dakota.  Since the big kidlets were at school, this little visit was a very special time for Mr. TOF, who loves his grandma and especially loves his tractor driving grandpa.  He was bopping in full force, and full of energy and craziness, thrilled to have all the attention.  He was also hopping mad when they climbed in their car and drove away.  In fact, he was downright furious.

He is still talking about Christmas trees and how Grandpa  shares his “num nums” which I’m pretty sure refers to the time in the forest while we were getting the tree and he snarfed down all of my dad’s chili.  The fast track to solid friendship with Mr. TOF:  yummy food.