spring break in gp...finally!!

after a 3 hour night trip across the state we finally made it to see some good ol' friends
the smiths: allie, dave, emily, peter & josh
the gants: jen, jason, emerson & ben
the o'donnells: cheri, pat, morgan & caroline

elle was a trooper although my plan of her sleeping the whole way didn't exactly turn out that way, she finally fell asleep 45 min. outside of detroit. we had a great time catching up with old friends and finally getting the chance for most of them to meet elle and for me to meet some of their new additions.

when we lived in gp over 4 years ago we were in a small group with these families and at the time between the 3 of us couples there were only 3 kids, now we're up to 8 between us all. crazy how time flies and how families grow.

elle quickly jumped in on the fun and emily, peter, and emerson were more than willing to help her out. we had some fun playing outside on what we like to call "the smith playground" as they have EVERYTHING. love that lady- allie, she's the best! and of course once the kids were in bed we chatted until we were falling asleep. it's fun to visit with friends when it doesn't matter the about of time that passes between seeing each other.

thanks ladies for an awesome trip! love you all

ben and elle enjoying their afternoon snack...so cute together, only 2 weeks between them.

elle loves to hang with the big girls

what a ham!

just chillin' together

elle LOVED the trampoline, once she got the hang of it and the other big kids were off so she could actually stand up. so cute to watch her bounce across and her proud little face. she is not afraid to try new things.

our attempt to get all the kids...morgan and caroline had already left. hard to get 8 kids at once in between naps and play.

fun with emily and auntie allie getting pulled around the house as i quickly tried to pack the car in the down pour. it rained all 3 hours across the state and of course elle fell asleep 40 min. from home. at least she was a good back seat driver, starring out the window and only making a peep every once in a while.

can't wait for the next trip...perhaps josh can come along next time.