Jam Packed Trip to Kentucky

After picking up Ella Ann at preschool on Wednesday, we drove to my parent's house in Kentucky to spend the rest of the week. It was my last trip with just Ella Ann in the car for forever! It was kinda sentimental. We have our routine down pat as far as traveling goes and it is SO easy to travel with her; always has been. It will be strange to have another little one in the back seat...I know that certainly means more pit stops await me in my future, which I hate! :) Anyway, my main reason for visiting was that Mom and I were hosting a shower for one of my oldest friends, Sara, who is having a baby girl in December. The rest of our week was filled with several shopping trips to buy stuff for the baby, Ella Ann, myself, etc. for Christmas and birthdays. My parents are coming down for both holidays since I can't travel and Spencer will be working anyway, so we tried to squeeze in as much as we could while we were there.

Ella Ann had a little friend, Briley, come over to visit Friday morning. Their parents and grandparents are good friends with our family and we try to get the girls together to play when we are in town. They really enjoyed playing together and chasing each other around the living room!

We went to Evansville to shop on Friday afternoon and got to have dinner with my Great Aunt Sue and Cousin Cindy and her husband, Ed. Ella Ann and I had not seen them since she was 6 months old. It was wonderful to get to spend some time with them catching up and Ella Ann really enjoyed the extra attention she got from Cindy! She was quite the chatterbox at dinner! She used to be so shy when meeting new people or even seeing people she knows very well but now that she's almost 3, her personality is really taking shape and she is becoming a social butterfly. She will wave to everyone on our way into stores now! Okay, sorry for the sidetrack, back to Kentucky.

On Saturday morning we went to the bed and breakfast where we were having Sara's shower to get everything ready. We had brunch while there and some yummy cake. It was great to see Sara and her mom and spend what little time we had together. She has many guests and many gifts! We played a couple of games and I think everyone had a pretty good time....I hope! Ella Ann enjoyed herself, especially when she finally tried cake for the first time and realized what she's been missing all of these years! She couldn't shove it in her mouth fast enough! At least now I know she will eat her birthday cake! My Dad picked her up early from the shower and took her to DQ to get some ice cream...sugar overload anyone? It didn't seem to bother her one bit because my Dad managed to put her down perfectly for a nap and we had to wake her up so we could go to the pumpkin patch that afternoon. Ella Ann is so obsessed with pumpkins and it is a game every time we get in the car to spot pumpkins and Halloween decorations in the neighborhoods. So needless to say, the pumpkin patch was overwhelming to her with all those pumpkins! When we pulled up we could smell the food being cooked on the fire and people were everywhere, but it wasn't bothersome crowded at all. It was the absolute perfect day to visit the patch....clear blue skies, bright sunshine, beautiful foliage, bond fires burning, and cooler temps! The had so many neat pumpkins that we had never seen before. One variety looked like it had peanut shells growing all over it! Ella Ann LOVED being at the patch! Mom and I took her through a corn maze while Dad hung back with some friends. Then we all took a hayride through the farm and at the end got out and picked our own pumpkins in the patch! So fun! Ella Ann managed to pick out the ugliest one, which were her favorite variety. After spending nearly 2 hours there, we drove home and ate a nice hot meal. It was a wonderful day, to say the least!

Ella Ann and I got up bright and early and drove home this morning to see Spencer. We had missed him terribly and he was so sweet to put my new double stroller together while I was gone (it arrived while I was gone and is a birthday/Christmas present from my in-laws...thanks again Gary and Gayla, it's awesome!). You will have to read the captions on my pictures to get more info on the stroller and how much Ella Ann loves it as well!

Thanks Mom and Dad for a very, very fun visit! We had such a good time and were sad to leave, especially since it was the last one for quite some time. I took so many pictures once again that I couldn't post them all to the blog so click HERE to view them.