Easter in New Jersey

So we decided to come spend Easter in New Jersey with my Grandparents... Nannie and Pop-pop. We have never had a holiday with them and our children, and with Pop-pop's heath not being so well, I didnt want to put it off much longer. I am sooo glad we came. We have had the most wonderful time. We didnt tell Nannie we were coming, and she was quite surprised ( and a little pissed we didnt tell her). But she warmed up pretty quick when she saw the kids with Pop-pop. Kathryn is facinated by Pop-pop's history and stories he tells of his life. We could barely keep her out of his room. Pop-pop stays in his room because he gets too weak. So we went up to his room to visit him so he didnt have to worry about it. Kathryn spent most of her time at his bedside chatting away. Brandon and Ashlyn would pop in and out of his room, but they played so well and really entertained Nannie, and Aunt Peach (My mom's sister Doreen). Chris and I ran to a few stores to get Easter shopping done, and we got groceries for Easter dinner. I didnt want Nannie worrying about feeding all of us. I bought a ham, potatoes, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, cranberry's, and cantelope. (It's what Pop-pop wanted). We even bought some Humus and tortilla chips, which Nannie couldn't believe we were eating. We were supose to go to the statue of Liberty on Sat, but it poured rain till almost 6pm. Sat night Mom, myself and Doreen played Easter bunny. The kids were so afraid the Easter bunny would come to the hotel and not to Nannie and Pop-pop's house because they wanted Nannie to see them get their baskets. Brandon made everyone pray that the Easter Bunny would go there and not here.... he wasnt disapointed. Sunday, we all got dressed up and went over. Everyone was so excited to see the kids all dressed up, even Kathryn. We decided to take a drive to see the Statue of Liberty and Mom and Aunt Peach came with (good thing we have the van.) We went to Liberty State park and saw the statue from a distance.... it was still amazing to see from the distance. Chris also heard about a 9/11 teardrop memorial from the Russians and we found that too. It was very emotional to see. We made it back in time to start dinner..... Nannie actually let me cook in HER kitchen. She didnt even stand over me, she stayed out of the way. Everyone was very shocked, including me and Pop-pop. Dinner was wonderful, and Nannie thanked me for all of it. We played around for a while and then it was time to say goodbye to Pop-pop. We are leaveing early in the morning and he wont be up yet. It's hard to say goodbye, but we really did have a fantastic time, and I am really glad we finally made it back out to see them. Pop-pop was very proud of how well behaved the children were, and was amazed that the kids wanted to hear so much about him. He cant believe how much Kathryn and Brandon really look out for Ashlyn. He cant believe how much they have all grown. He gave me a hug and told me and Chris that we are wonderful parents, and that he has not been this happy in years, and that we really made his weekend. I hope we can get back out here this summer and actually get to go to the Statue of Liberty and go inside the monument... I am hoping Chris' dad will come with us too.

Anyway,
Happy Easter.
Lots of Love,
Shel