Our Trip to Payne and Ft. Wayne

Last Friday night, we decided that we should go visit Paul's Grandpa in Payne, OH for the weekend. We called him up and he happened to be free, so we packed our bags and then made plans to visit my Grandparents (who live close by) on the way home.  Saturday after an early lunch, we packed the van and started the two and a half hour drive to Payne.  All those weekends that we had driven from Louisville to Carmel for the weekend quickly came back to mind...SO grateful that we don't have to do that anymore!

We pulled up to Major's house around 2:30pm to see kids bikes and tricycles all lined up in front of the garage.  It was so sweet how they had everything set out for them!  The kids spent the afternoon outside...riding bikes, drawing chalk, and even taking Grandpa's old mower "tractor" for a spin!

Madeline working on her chalk masterpiece

She must have sat there for a half an hour coloring (and using up all the chalk!)

Grandpa giving Madeline instructions on driving the tractor

My boys looking on

Some of the beautiful flowers growing next to Grandpa's garage

Grandpa K's property is a perfect place for the kids to run around.  He has a large circle driveway for them to ride their bikes around and tons of yard where they can just roam free.  I dream of having land like that some day.

They didn't forget about Grandma's dress up clothes either!

For dinner, we drove about 20 minutes to a local restaurant called the Orchard Tree and Grandpa treated us all to dinner (even Paul's cousins Olivia and Kyle)!  They had a soft serve ice cream buffet for dessert, which was everyone's favorite.  What a treat!

When we got back, the kids played until the sun went down, then we put them to bed and spent the rest of the evening chatting with Grandpa K; listening to the details about his recent honor flight and stories of his time in the war.  It was fascinating!  Paul said that even he hadn't heard a lot of those stories before.  I wish I would have thought to record them!

This bike was probably my size, but that sure didn't keep the girls from riding it!

Our little daredevil riding her bike with one hand

Sunday morning we went to mass in Van Wert with Grandpa K. then headed to Ft. Wayne to have lunch at my Grandpa's diner.  Grandpa made Mickey Mouse pancakes for the girls and Paul and I (and Max) had the garbage...our favorite!  After we were stuffed and completely satisfied (and kissed the cook good-bye), we headed to my grandparents' house to visit with my Grandma. 

(I can't believe I didn't get any pictures with her...ugh!)

Grandma went out of her way to make us feel at home.  She got out all the baby toys for Max and had fun snacks and drinks for the girls.  They colored, played checkers, and enjoyed checking out all of Grandma's Santas.  I wish we could have visited longer, but I am grateful for the time we had.  

It was so nice to have one on one time with the grandparents!  I am so glad we decided to make the trip and now that we live closer to them, I hope we can do it more often!