Grandma Ruth

We made a last minute trip to Chicago this week to celebrate the life of my Grandma Ruth.  She was such an amazing lady and I have so many great memories of her from celebrating every Christmas at her house to painting ceramics and making puff paint shirts while visiting her in the summer.  Although I wish we were visiting under different circumstances we made the most out of our trip and ended up having a great family reunion with all the Nelsons and Seamans.  Jackson, Harper and Mason had a blast with all their cousins.  As we were sadly saying our goodbyes, Jackson looked at me and said "I don't want to go home, I want to live here".  I was instantly flooded with all the times growing up that I had the same feelings after a fun week with all my family. This past week was so refreshing and so good for the soul! 

We started our road trip at 3 am to ensure the kids would sleep for a few hours.  Rise and shine little ones!

 The excitement of staying at a hotel never gets old to J&H!

We woke up the first morning to SNOW!!!  It felt like Christmas morning.  We could finally put our snow boots and puffy jackets to good use. 

We also squeezed in a quick train ride which the kids thought was so cool!

And we did lots of swimming at the hotel pool!

 Sitting around the hotel pool with all the family brought back so many memories of Thanksgivings we spent in Iowa growing up.  The evenings always ended at the hotel pool with the kids swimming and the adults catching up.  Looking at this picture makes my heart so happy! 

 

But most importantly we celebrated Grandma Ruth with all our amazing family.  It was so special to see all the great aunts and uncles.

 We can't wait for the arrival of the newest Nelson in just a few short months! 

 J,H and M had SO much fun with their cousins!  You all are the BEST for keeping these little ones so entertained.  They can't stop talking about how much fun they had.

 worn out!

I wish I could have spent more time catching up with each family member but honestly I was having too much fun watching J,H and M create such fun memories with the family.  Such a bittersweet few days!  We will miss you Grandma!