Visiting the Dufners

I haven't seen my sister or her family since Jay and I got married. They came home from China to be in our wedding and we haven't crossed paths yet. When I knew I was going to Washington D.C. I looked into going to Illinois for a couple days before coming back to Germany. It wasn't too much more and I really wanted to see Andrea and the kids, so I decided to go for it!

I loved seeing the kids and spending time with them! Jacquelyn and Jacob have grown up so much!! And I got to see Alex and Carter for the first time. Alex is two years old already, so it was about time that I meet the lil guy! And Carter, I just couldn't get enough of him. He is such a sweet little baby! I held him as much as I could! Here are all my cute little nephews and niece!!

While visiting, we did some work too. Andrea and her family are moving into a new house. They are in the process of getting the house ready to be moved into. Between emptying boxes and painting walls, we had a busy few days. My main job was to keep the kids busy, and I had fun doing that!

I flew out at noon on Friday. That morning we had nothing planned, so we took it easy at the hotel. The kids were all awake by 6:30 and I was already up, so I did my best to keep them quiet....

This is my way of babysitting in a hotel room. We let mommy sleep in since she doesn't get to do that much. After I got everyone dressed and ready, we went down for breakfast. By the time we came back up, mommy was up and ready. We brought her breakfast, so she enjoyed that in the room.

It was really hard to leave them all. It will be at least another year before we get to see them again. They grow up so fast at that age!! I said goodbye to them and started walking into my terminal. I heard Jacob ask where I went and Andrea told him I had to get on the plane. If I would have turned around to say goodbye again, I would have lost it. But then as I was waiting in line to go through security, they all yelled goodbye to me. That's when the tears started! I sure am going to miss all of them!

Thanks, Dufners, for letting me crash your motel room for awhile! I'm so glad I got to see you all!!