Allred Sibling Get-Away

A few months ago, Chad told us he was going to be in town for a couple days, so we planned a sibling get-away! We were all going to spend the night together in a sweet hotel in Tyson's Corner. George was working and the Glasses weren't able to watch the kiddos, so Tyler amazingly volunteered to watch Lance, Jude, Cole, and Lily with the Calderwood boys while Laura and I spent the night with the adults in Tyson's Corner. He is amazing! Thank you, Tyler!!

 Cousin time! Love these kiddos!

Even though we had Lexi, Cassidy, and Valerie, it seemed like a vacation with just the adults.

Jason flew in for the trip, too!

This baby was an angel the whole time!

I think Lexi was enjoying her "adult" time, too. All in all, she did a really good job.

We had dinner and walked around Tyson's for a bit before heading back to the hotel room for some room service dessert and games.

Getting some Uncle Chad time:

Lexi thought these huge windows were pretty neat.

After the little people were in bed, it was time to dig in and play some games!

I think Chad treated us to the entire dessert room service menu. Amy also brought some amazing cinnamon rolls.

While we were at dinner, Stephen let slip that he had some exciting news, but wanted to wait to share it. When we were all together, he announced that he and Ashley got engaged TODAY! 

Showing us pictures

We are all super excited for Stephen! Ashley seems like a great girl--a perfect match for Stephen. 

After getting the whole story, we played a few rounds of "What Do You Meme" before heading to bed. We were all pretty tired.

Tyler sent this picture of all the kiddos having a movie night:

He seriously is amazing to take on 7 kiddos all by himself! 

In the morning, Chad once again ordered practically the entire breakfast menu from room service. 

Attempting to replicate the picture from Busch Gardens from our first Siblings get-away:

Two cuties waiting so patiently:

Stephen had to go to work, but the rest of us decided to take Ashley out to lunch as a "welcome to the family" celebration! We picked her up from work and took her to Red Robin.

It was really really nice getting to know her a bit better.

We finally made it back to Laura's to relieve Tyler. He played it off, but I'm sure he was excited to not be the lone parent.

Ha! This picture makes me laugh. These two share a lot of interests and are always talking about anime or Pokemon or their favorite new video game. I love that they have a relationship like that.

Uncle Jason in the thick of things:

Hugs for Uncle Chad! We were sad to see him go.

Park time with cousins!

Uncle Jason is a champion. I love that Cole is trying to help Lily swing. Such a good big brother.

Love these boys!

I am so grateful for my family! I had a really good time spending a couple days with my brothers and sisters. Lets not wait another 11 years before we do the next Sibling get-away!

Selfies, Choo Choo Town, and a game of Polo

Cole has been perfecting his selfie face and every so often I'll find these treasures on my phone:

 Selfies made even better when they're shared!

Sometimes, when I don't think I can handle another second of screaming or yelling or fighting, the kids do something like this and I catch a glimpse of the friendships that are forming between these siblings.

 This makes my mommy heart sing.

Wait, is Lily getting into the selfie game, too?

Yes, that's Valerie standing in for a doll in that stroller. She's such a good sport.

A new restaurant opened just up the road from us called Choo Choo Town. We had been wanting to take Cole there for a while, so when our friends the Knights told us they were going for dinner one night, we came along.

The food is simple and there's nothing fancy about the seating or arrangement, but the food gets delivered to you on a TRAIN. Magical.

Cole loved watching the train come in and out of the tunnel, playing with the train table, and watching all the model trains chug around on their tracks.

Even for a Saturday, it wasn't busy and the kids could run around and play while we waited for the food. It really is a neat little place.

Here it comes!

One of Lance's staples is chocolate milk. His dad is always buying him a quart of Promise Land to bring home (the BEST) and according to Lance no one is allowed to drink it except him. Well, he left for a week and his milk was going to expire, so one day I sent him this:

Ha ha. Drank your milk, Lance! Now what? 

Ever seen a Polo game in real life? We hadn't either until our friends invited us out one weekend. It was free to the public to watch, so we set up our canopy, hung out with friends, and watched the horses run up and down the field. We felt so posh. 

Is there anything prettier? Seriously, we live in paradise.

Lexi had her 2-year well-visit at the Pediatrician's office. She's growing like a weed! We get asked quite often if she and Lily are twins because of how close in size they are. 

Speaking of Lexi, I think she's finally getting used to her big sister role. We've been seeing a lot more of this lately and I love it.