Grandma Mona & Papa Kyle

The kids and I finally got to meet Grandma Mona and Papa Kyle (Dan's biological Dad). They flew in from Denver, Colorado to spend a weekend with us. It was a lot of fun to finally meet another branch of our ever expanding Family Tree.

They arrived Friday afternoon with gifts for all the kids: Noah got a Denver Broncos sweatshirt and light up pumpkin, Zoe got a soft Purple Zip up hoody and light up ghost, Jack got an adorable Monkey Sweat Suit and light up rattle. We spent the first evening just visiting and getting to know them. They were very patient as the kids kept bringing out different toys they owned to show them. That night we all enjoyed dinner at the Black Bear Diner. After dinner it was past Papa's bedtime so they headed to their hotel. The kids were a little disappointed and a few tears were shed. Noah didn't understand why they weren't staying at our house and Zoe just wanted Grandma to sleep in her pink room.

Saturday morning, Dan and the kids got up early to fix them breakfast. Noah decided that Dad should make his yummy Pumpkin Waffles. After that we did a quick photo shoot on the lawn before heading out to the "Chocolate Store" (aka Scheel's).
The Chocolate Store is Noah and Zoe's favorite place to take our out of town guests. They like to show them the mountain of stuffed animals, the different shooting games, the fish tanks, and to take them on an indoor Ferris Wheel ride. Plus, the trip wouldn't be complete without a stop at the fudge factory.

Papa Kyle showing Zoe how to hold the gun and shoot - he's the first one to have enough patients to help her instead of do it for her.
Noah taking a turn...
After walking around for a bit we headed over to the Cadillac Ranch for lunch. After everyone was fed, including Jack, we stopped at a few stores in Legends. We then headed over to Target - Papa had promised them a new toy. Zoe picked hers out right away (a new doll & stroller), Noah wanted to stop at another store since he didn't find a Tow Truck. On the way back into town we stopped at Walmart and Noah found the Tow Truck of his dreams. Later that night Dan fixed everyone dinner and we watched a movie.

Sunday morning they stopped by for breakfast and goodbyes before heading to the airport to make their journey back to Colorado. The weekend went by much too fast. It was nice to finally meet them and to see some similarities. Dan and Kyle have some of the same facial lines and I swear Jack gets his ability to wrinkle his forehead from his Papa Kyle.

Papa Kyle is a very soft spoken, gentle person - it was fun to see him get down on the ground and play with the kids. He must have spent an hour trying to figure out a way for Noah to hook cars to his newly purchased Tow Truck. He was sweet with Zoe and helped make sure her food was cut up nicely at lunch. She even would walk hand in hand with him. I also loved the way he was content to just cuddle Jack and talk to him. You can tell he really loves his Grand Kids.

Grandma Mona is just as wonderful. I really enjoyed talking with her and hearing more of their family stories. She French Braided Zoe's hair and helped Noah with his letter writing. She too was a good baby holder. They both didn't hesitate when Noah and Zoe wanted to ride in their car. It was as if they had been part of our family forever.

All in all it was a very pleasant weekend. We can't wait to go visit them in Denver and meet the rest of the family: Aunt Lori, Uncle Rod, Aunt Jackie, and Uncle Jimmy.