Over Labor Day, Grammy & Grandanny (Tad’s parents) hosted “Christmas” for the grand kids!  It was a fun opportunity for the kids to learn more about Jesus and to have a great time with their grandparents and with each other.

We dropped Vera off on Sunday afternoon.

We knew right away that she was going to have a blast!

I made some gingerbread play dough in case they needed another activity at some point.  It ended up being helpful, I think, since it rained and ruined a few of the outdoor activities that were planned.  (Recipe at the end of the post!)

I think everyone had fun because I saw lots of pictures on instagram throughout the day.

While Vera was at Grammy & Grandanny’s, Tad, Cordelia, and I stayed with Jed and Angela (Tad’s brother and sister-in-law).  We had an awesome time with them!

Tad cooked burgers for us Sunday night.

Cordelia started sitting up (kind of) on her own.

We went thrifting (I’ll share more about that later).

We went to pick up Vera and eat dinner with everyone on Monday evening.  They had fun showing us their crafts and telling us all about what they learned!

they even set up their Christmas tree

just a few of Vera’s crafts

 So glad Vera was able to be a part of “Christmas at Grammy & Grandanny’s” this year!

Gingerbread Play Dough (recipe originally found here)
    (just for playing; not for eating)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. oil (I used olive, but you can use something cheaper)
1 cup water
1 tsp orange extract (optional, but recommended)

Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add water, oil, and orange extract (batter will be thick). Stir and cook over low/medium heat until mixture becomes “play dough” consistency. Remove from heat and knead on a silpat mat or parchment paper until smooth. (I love this part, so I kneaded mine for a while! It’s just so fun!) Cool and store in an airtight container.  Makes around 2 cups of play dough.