Our first time back to the States!

Our first time back to the States was unexpected, and was brought on by the passing of Grandma Joehl.  She was a vibrant, hardworking, loving woman and I would have SO loved to see her when she was 35 - running a household with 15 children! Grandma Joehl passed away on Sunday, February 19 and after much discussion, we made the decision to book a Tuesday morning flight at 6am.  By the time the decision was made, we had less than 24 hours to get organized, plan activities for the plane/layovers and snacks, and make sure all of us had appropriate attire for the funeral - cue chaos!

We were up at 3:30am on Tuesday to get ready and get the crew out the door by 4:00am.  We first went to Amsterdam (2 hour flight), then to Detroit (8 hours) and then to St. Louis (2 hours).  I am exhausted just 

Our load! And we packed light!

Nap time tent

And amazingly, two sleeping children!

We had a drink in hand within 15 minutes of our arrival!
There is no Bud Light in Poland.

The wake was on Wednesday afternoon, so we had some free time to play outside and enjoy time with the family that morning!

We also needed some essentials that we either forgot to bring or didn't have in Poland - curling iron with US plugin, shaving cream and razor for Andy - you know, anything to give us an excuse to go to Target! I was giddy!

We had to make up for lost time!

Post nap snuggles!

Mormor kept the kids entertained at the wake!

Andy snapped this shot at the funeral.

After the funeral on Thursday morning, we headed to the ER with Reese as she just wasn't herself and had a fever on and off for about four days.  Luckily, she was feeling better by the time we headed home on Saturday!

After about four hours in the hospital, we were starving and the guys headed out to get Chipotle! SO good! 

Friday was a day of relaxation, park time, a second Target run and some Buffalo Wild Wings for Andy!

Mia had everything ready to keep these kids busy during our stay!

These two have a special bond!

I dream of this view on the weekly here!

Another cart full!

Saturday, our last day, arrived before we knew it.  We didn't leave until 5:30pm though, so we still had plenty of time to cram in more family fun!

Sky Zone!

And then ONE MORE trip to Target!
The kids remembered that we promised them a trip down the toy aisle!

Family shot before heading to the airport.

This is what you call a big sigh of relief!

While in St. Louis, I discovered that we were heading back through Minneapolis on our way home (Andy booked the tickets) and we had a three hour layover!!! I immediately connected with my sister and they graciously changed around their plans that night so they could come to the airport and get some quick hugs! We kept our fingers crossed that our flight would arrive on time and kept it a secret from all of the kids, just in case.  I tried to get their adorable faces on video, but I was crying too hard and wanted to enjoy the moment.  Oh boy, that family - melts my heart! We had a short 45 minutes with them by the time we put our bags in a locker and headed back to the security line, but it was TOTALLY worth it.  I am now confident that I can make it another three months before we head back.

Reese snuggling in for a cuddle with Eva!

It had definitely been too long that we were apart!

Every year, I hold Nathan like this on his birthday and tell him about how I used to hold him like this when he was a baby.  This year was the first year that I wasn't with him on his birthday, so I scooped him up at the airport.

Dan brought Andy a beer at the airport! Squeezing in some guy time!

Our crew! Cannot wait for summer to be reunited!

Goodbye hugs! More tears!

Reese slept the entire 8 hour flight home and then again on our flight from Amsterdam to Warsaw.  Winning!

It was a short trip, but SO worth it to be with family and to be present at the celebration of Grandma Joehl! A big thank you to Steve and Gayle for hosting us last minute!

Our last family photo with Grandma Joehl