The Gales: A visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bobbie Alton

My parents came to Oklahoma early December. They flew into the Dallas airport, rented a car, and then were going to drive up to Oklahoma City. However, just a little after crossing into Oklahoma, a semi truck hit them and ran them off the road. The car they were driving was totaled, but, miraculously, they were able to walk away from the accident without serious injury. They were sore after, but they didn't even have to go to the hospital to be checked out. We are so grateful for them being watched after. It was clear that it wasn't their time to go.

After their eventful trip up, we got to spend a lot of time with them. I went to my sisters house with the girls for a few days without Jared since he needed to study for and take a final. Then after the final, we went home and got him and returned a few days later to spend more time with my parents.

The day after their arrival, we celebrated Bella's 8th birthday. She had a fun party in the morning, and she got baptized in the evening. We'll talk about that more in the next post.

We did some fun things with them, and we also worked with them. My sister's house sold and was set to close on December 22nd, so we helped pack, paint, and clean. It was sort of a working vacation for my parents, but they still had a good time. We just loved having them around. Allie was especially excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Bobbie (she still calls my dad Grandpa Bobbie). And they were excited to see her and Rachel, who had changed and grown quite a bit since they were last here after her birth.

Grandpa Bobbie with Rachel and Bella

Grandma Bobbie with Rachel

Allie excited to see her grandparents, standing by Daddy

Since we were at Maria's house so much, Allie had a lot of fun with her cousins. She loves being with them.

Cute picture of Breya, Allie, and Bella

On the day that we returned to the city with Jared, we went to the Oklahoma Cityscape. We had purchased a group-on that got us in at a great rate. And proceeds went to Oklahoma City Educare, a flagship early childhood education center. It didn't end up being quite how we had envisioned, but it was still pretty cool, and we had a good time. Professional LEGO builders (yes, that job exists) had constructed the Oklahoma City cityscape, the buildings and scenes from downtown, with over 2 million LEGOs. They also had three or four table areas where people could build their own creations. We had a good time talking as we built different things.

Allie enjoyed watching the train go around and around.

Jared and Nathen building their creations.

You can see some of the buildings in the background.

Allie with Grandma Bobbie and Nikki all having fun.

Grandma Bobbie showing Breya LEGO man.

We were reminded how lucky we are to have such a wonderful baby during the times we were packing, painting, and cleaning. Though I sometimes felt guilty for "abandoning her," we were able to let Rachel sit by herself and play with toys for long stretches of time. She wasn't truly abandoned or alone, either. The cousins loved visiting with her, especially Bella and Nathen.

Rachel, happy just chilling on the floor.

Nathen and Rachel

While packing, some of Maria's holiday decorations were available for little hands to grab. Allie found a black Halloween scaredy cat decoration that she liked to play with. After carrying it around with her for awhile, she discovered that it fit on Kira's back just perfectly. (Kira is a Husky that Maria was dog-sitting. She was so patient and good with the kids.)

The night before my parents left, we went to the mall for the kids to see Santa. Allie was incredibly excited to see Santa. She didn't end up with as big of a smile as we thought she'd have in the picture, but it was still such a cute picture with the cousins and Santa.

Bella, Santa, Allie

Rachel, Breya, Nathen

When we got home, we tried out a gift from my mom, a complete nail kit system. It is simple and makes your nails look so good. I prefer not to have paint on my fingernails, so I like that this makes my nails look healthy and shiny. Breya wanted to treat Jared to a nail treatment, too. He was so good to let her work on his nails and cuticles. I thought these pictures were precious.

Breya giving Jared a manicure