The More the Merrier!

My parents brought my nephews up for a visit this past weekend.  We were hoping that temperatures would get above zero so that we could go sledding because 1) It's the biggest reason they make the trip in January - to catch some good snow  2)My place is too small for all those people. 

 We had a great time.  Molly's basketball game, the children's museum, dinner in a restaurant where you eat in an old dining car of a train next to train tracks, board games and cocoa, and finally on Sunday, a bit of sledding.  

This is Brayden. Not that you can tell who it is or what he looks like by this picture.  I always think it's super cute when little kid's hats are down over their eyes and they look at you with their head titled way back.

Here's Nan, who's learning to love winter.  She begged me to take this picture of how deep the snow was on her.  
My mom and Anna.  I hope I am the trooper my mom is about sledding when I'm her age.  And she was the best one - all the kids wanted to ride with her because she could go the farthest. And manage not to spray snow in their faces.
Collin and Brayden.  Collin did not have the same luck as Grandma, and often spun the sled around halfway down.  He can eat mass quantities of Cheez-Its and Doritos and wants to do so right before bed.  While he's frighteningly skinny, I hesitated to let him eat that stuff before bed.  He insisted, "I will NOT get indigestion!" I think the boys have figured out that their aunt can be a softie where they are concerned:) I LOVE my nephews.  They are two of the funniest kids I've ever met and it was great to spend so much time with them.  
Molly blazing down the hill so fast I couldn't get a good picture of her.  Loves having her cousins around and wishes she was born into a family with lots of brothers and sisters.
I have to confess I've been loving having extra kids around (ones that I love, anyway) and think the house seems kind of empty when the extra kids are gone.  This is some kind of craziness since I'm not sure how well I would handle that all the time.  It's not like I'm adept at handling my life now.  But I must admit that when I hang out with kids I love and do kid stuff with them, I experience a life in a happier, brighter, care-free dimension.