Field Trip To Great Harvest Bread Company

 The day after I returned from MA, we went on a field trip with friends to Great Harvest Bread Company. It was amazing to see the process of baking bread. Their ovens are HUGE!

 The crew. Each child was given a mini honey whole wheat loaf to take home.

We all came back to our house for lunch.

Look at who is sleeping in a BIG GIRL bed! Ah...my baby calls herself a "big girl" now. She is using a quilt I made for Aunt Dottie in 2001.

She's so fun. I love her spunk. 

Trip to MA

After the service, my mom, Aunt Jennifer, sister, and me headed to MA where Aunt Dottie had lived the last 10 years.  Jesse was so kind to drive the girls home and watch them for 5 days! 

I'm so thankful for him.

 On our way, we stopped in Pelam (where my mom and Aunt Jennifer grew up) and went to their favorite pizza place. 

It was pretty amazing.

We had our work cut out for us. Aunt Dottie had collected many things over the past 103 years! She kept every note and picture ever given to her- including ones from her parents! We took multiple trips to Good Will and actually were able to clear out everything besides the furniture. It was a joy to help with this process, but we sure do miss her.

Here's the view from Aunt Dottie's apartment. While we were in MA it got crazy cold. It was -11 Sunday morning, with windshield it was -25!! My aunt's heat broke while we were there so it made for great memories! One night we played a dice game wrapped in blankets and wearing gloves in the house!

 

Here's some of my favorite photos of Aunt Dottie. 

  

  While we were there, the house where she lived held a tea in her memory. All of the elderly came, brought treats, and shared stories about Aunt Dottie. It was such a sweet time. Aunt Jennifer read her eulogy. I was able to meet a few other Christian women there!

   I came across this beauty of me and my sister! Haha. 

I think the Easter Bunny was a convicted felon!

 All the great, great grand nieces inherited a tea cup from Aunt Dottie when she passed away. 
Here are Charis and Emma's tea cups. 

 Here's Maddie with hers. She wanted to stick out her pinkie and drink like a "lady".

It was wonderful to come home and see my little family! I've never been away so long. I brought home a few things for each of the girls from Aunt Dottie. Maddie has wanted her wear the sweater every day, Geneva sleeps with the snowman, and Savannah has been playing with the kitchen timer! They all miss her and will remember her. She was one special lady.

Remembering Sweet Aunt Dottie

 The day after we flew home from CA we woke early and drove to NY for Aunt Dottie's graveside service. We went from warm weather to freezing, from fun on vacation to remembering a loved one. It was a great teaching time for all of us to think that all of life is to be lived for God- the happy and sorrowful times. He is in control of all of it. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

 These sweet girls held hands part of the 5 hour drive.

 Maddie is acting so mature. She's so sensitive and thoughtful. I love this young lady.

 My dad gave a wonderful tribute to Aunt Dottie- the role she played particularly in my parents' life. My parents were blessed to see her come to an understanding that she was a sinner and needed a Savior. My dad also shared the gospel with everyone that was there. We will greatly miss our times with Aunt Dottie, but we have many treasured memories.

 After the funeral we had a dinner reception back at the hotel for family and friends that were able to make it. It was amazing to see friends of my mom and dad's from before they were even married! 

Disneyland!

While in CA we went to Disneyland with my parents. We had never taken the kids before, so this was a pretty special day. I think their favorite part was meeting the princesses and watching the parades! These pictures are in no particular order.

Can you tell that Savannah was ecstatic?! She was skipping after meeting Belle.

It's a Small World After All!

We actually spent the night at a hotel and the girls loved having a slumber party with Papa and Mimi!

Lots of Papa snuggles.

The girls put on their princess dresses at the beginning of the day- 

Maddie hardly kept it on for one minute!

Tink!

Run Geneva- they're after you.

The castle was so pretty at night! Maddie and Mimi are buddies.

Meeting Mini Mouse was kinda a big deal for Geneva!

We all rode the carousel a few times!

Thanks Papa for Cotton Candy!

We watched a 20 minute Rapunzel play. It was so well done!

Savannah was pretty excited about the HUGE pickle Daddy found for her.

Cinderella couldn't handle all the excitement and passed out!

Space Mountain- it looks like no one is next to Jesse, but Savannah is there! She's so little you can't see her. After the roller coaster, she said she really didn't like it.
She said she was trying to think of "happy thoughts" on the ride! Poor thing.

This ride was one of Maddie's favorites along with Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Tea Cups.

Dumbo!

Geneva's favorite!

Aw. So, my mom has a fracture in her foot, so she HAD to have a wheelchair at Disneyland.
She didn't really like this, but my dad joyfully pushed her around all day. 

The night parade was amazing!!

Sometimes Papa pushed 3 girls at one time!!

The girls.

Savannah LOVED the princesses in the parade. 

Auntie "L" and Uncle David gave the girls a little spending money for Disneyland. 

It was hilarious to see what each girl picked. Maddie got a light saber.

Savannah picked out a princess, and Geneva picked out a cookie!! 

I love their personalities!

This little princess fell asleep right on her doll!

So the morning we flew back to freezing VA, we first swam in the 80's. 

It was wonderful to feel the sunshine. 

Breakfast poolside.  

 The kids did great on the flight home! Geneva even napped.