Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A good weekend

My parents came for a visit this weekend.  Dad and my brothers make their annual pilgrimage to the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.  I couldn’t make it this year due to my school schedule. 

This year my mom came out too to see everyone and spend some time with the grandkids.  So I took advantage of the free babysitting and surprised Jessica with a night away.

Mom came to our house Friday afternoon and I told Jessica to say goodbye to the kids and get in the car – we were leaving and she was going to stay with the kids.  I had packed a bag for her and we were going to a hotel for the night.  The kids loved the time with Grandma too!

It’s kinda weird to stay in a hotel room five miles from your house.  However, it’s also nice to be able to do something like that and not have to drive an hour.

The best part – packing for Jessica.  I’d never done anything remotely close to that before and I was pretty proud of myself.  However, my bubble was soon burst when we decided to take advantage of the hotel pool.  Apparently, there are certain types of female bathing suits that contain more than one piece.  And it’s pretty hard to make use of one half without the other.  So, nix the pool.  Regardless, it was fun to surprise her like that.  By the way, Priceline has got some pretty deals on hotel rooms.

Mark and Dad arrived back in town late Saturday night and we had the whole gang over to our place for Sunday dinner.  It was great to have a big crew around the table.  The occasional Sunday dinners at Mom and Dad are one of the things I miss most about not living close to family.  I love to eat and I love to talk and we always did a lot of both with the fam.  It was good to do that all again.

Last night we had one last hurrah at the Pizza Ranch in Hudsonville.  Pizza, chicken, breadsticks – not a bad way to finish up some good family bonding time.

2 comments:

Paul said...

I miss the Pizza Ranch! :(

Beth TenHaken said...

Hi Michael....
We got home safely at around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Made a stop in Woodstock, Illinois to check out a few handicap accessible vans for Mark and Kelli. I look forward to our times together and every time we come, dad admits that the drive really isn't "so bad"!! (If the roads and weather are good) I drove most of the way home. Dad drove to the Wisconsin border and then I took the wheel. We had such a great time once again!! And what fun to see the kids!! Especially Alex, Ruby and Charlie and see how much they change in just a few short months. It worked out well that we got to be at a service where you were the liturgist. You did a terrific job!! Thank you for making us feel so welcome.

Love to you and your family....Mom