return to the midwest

So we made it back to Michigan on Sunday. It was a 13 hour trip altogether and it began earlier than we'd intended due to the kids waking up and demanding action at 3:30. Ellis, as usual, didn't sleep at all on the road, but we managed to keep him entertained. Somehow I always mis-predict what he'll be interested in doing...for our Thanksgiving trip I thought he'd want to watch movies, but all he wanted to do was listen to stories on CD, this time I packed stories on CD and he only wanted to work on activity books. Not sure what he'll move onto next.

We're having a really good visit seeing all the friends and family here in Ann Arbor. Some friends of friends lent us their empty house, which has made things much more comfortable. And they have little kids, so Ellis and Maddox are digging all the never before seen toys. Ellis is also happily reunited with his second cousins, Bella and Holden. Because Holden is a few years older, Ellis has quickly become his shadow and willing to do anything he does- make goofy faces, speed down the sledding hill, stick his nose in piece of cake with icing, and so forth. Luckily, Holden seems to be generally a force for good or silliness, at worst.