Christmas with the Mlakars

In mid-December we hit the road (yet again!) to visit Gramma Debbie and Michael's siblings in Davenport, Iowa. It was our combined Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering and we sure had fun!

As you can see, Katelyn has become quite the road warrior with all of our travel these days. But Kendall... umm, not so much :) Kendall is so mobile and being contained to a (rear-facing) car seat is not her idea of a good time!

We made it to Debbie's house and loved reuniting with cousin Emerson. How's this for a couch-full of girls?!

People always say Emerson and Kendall look a lot alike. I think it's the blonde hair and blue eyes amid the dark haired, brown eyed Mlakars. They're almost exactly a year apart and had fun playing together. 

And guess who else made a trek? Aunt Jen! All the way from North Carolina. Woo hoo! 

We also got to see Jason and Cassie, soon-to-be parents to a baby boy - our first nephew!

All three of the little girls had a ball! What a joy to see them laugh and play together. There's something so very special about the cousin bond.

Giddy-up, Uncle Jason! (Thanks for the seatbelt, Jen! And how about Michael? He was ordering taco pizza from Happy Joe's - when in Rome Iowa!)

Michael and Em are good at being goofy! Look at these cuties!

Gramma Debbie and Kendall (and baby, of course :)

We celebrated Jen's January birthday a little early. She had lots of little helpers to assist with blowing out the candles... and eating the cake!

You know what they say, full arms = full heart!

I didn't get any photos of it, but we did exchange and open Christmas gifts. Generosity city!!

And we did make sure to snap some family pics before we had to leave. Here are the Mlakar kids...

The Mlakar kids with Mom Mlakar...

And all the kids and kiddos... (the kiddos aren't into it, as you can see! Katelyn - wow, whoa, what?!)

We had a great trip and loved catching up with everyone. The next time we all get together, there will be a little boy in the brood! Yay!

And the girl who never naps took an almost 2-hour snooze on the way home. It's the telltale sign of a fun-filled weekend!

Thanks, Mlakars!