Our Week "Back Home", Part 1

Weekend before last we began what for us was a pretty elaborate, though not very far, road trip, which included visits with both sets of grandparents, a trip to our college town to visit my aunt and uncle and go to a wedding, a ballet event, and then the kids and me staying 4 more days to do various fun things while T came back to work. Thankfully all the driving and logistics went well, and apart from a certain little someone who seems to have grown up enough to know when he's not in his crib and decided to let us hear about it a few times each night, it was a really good time!

During our visit with Uncle Mike and Aunt Cherri our girls made great strides in their comfort around dogs...a big deal since AG and LL especially have always been pretty fearful around them up til now. With 3 sweet full-grown Weimies (I don't know if I spelled that right but I won't even try to spell the full name!), 5 new Weimie puppies, a shy poodle, a friendly terrier, and a passle of super-excited bird dogs around, the girls had plenty of exposure and were soon convinced that they didn't need to go into panic mode as soon as a dog looked or moved their direction! Aunt Cherri and Uncle Mike were great hosts and made us all feel right at home! Here's Cherri introducing the girls to Barney Fife, the poodle who definitely won them over.



Uncle Mike showing the girls one of the quail he raises...a neat thing for them to get to see. I definitely don't consider us a "city family" who are starved for nature encounters, but I have been thinking more that I'd like to be more active in getting the kids out and doing and seeing more new things. It is such fun to see how they respond uniquely to interesting new situations and how much they learn.


T and I went to the wedding of a friend of his from college that night, and the next morning we were back on the road...RL was set with his favorite puppy dog, Ralph. Ear in mouth, ready to roll.


After a quick trip to Nana and Grandpa's to have lunch and recharge for a few minutes, the kids and I met Gran and PopPop to go to the first round of the International Ballet Competition. The girls especially enjoyed this...it was really neat to see dancers from around the world!


More to come!

June Boom

So we got back home from vacation the Saturday before Memorial Day and hit the ground running...it has been a super busy month so far! Our weekdays and weekends have been filled with fun, friends, and family. The first weekend of June we went to Mimi and PawPaw's house to celebrate Father's Day early with all the family. We had a great time...we really treasure these times with PawPaw and Mimi!

Most of the family there that day...


The first RLP and the fourth RLP!


1 and 4 plus 2 and 3= 4 generations of handsome :)


Mimi and PawPaw with all of our sweet Ps!


Mimi plays piggy toes with RL


RL eats his piggy toes with Nana


RL hanging out with cousin A


SJ really liked PawPaw's old tiger beret...as I'm sure many people in our town would!


Sweet moments and sweet smiles

General Beach Cuteness

Beach Vacation, Part 2

Our fun at the beach continued during the second part of the week as PopPop and Gran came to join us. More pool, more beach, more sun and fun for all! A highlight for the girls was burying PopPop in the sand and painting his toenails green! (Too bad I wasn't there with the camera for that one!) Thanks, Gran and PopPop, for coming along for some sun, sand, and silliness!

Beach Vacation, Part 1

We got back home Saturday after spending a week at the beach. Nana and Grandpa joined us for the first 3 days and we had a great time swimming in the pool, playing at the beach, playing mini golf, and just hanging out! RL touched the ocean for the first time on his 7 month birthday...not too impressed overall, but he was a trooper throughout the trip considering how much sun and nap-schedule switching he was asked to endure. The girls loved it all of course! One day we had a surprise visitor on our beach blanket...see if you can spot him below. Thanks for making so many fun memories with us, Nana and Grandpa!

RL the Roller

Can't believe RL will be 7 months on Sunday! He's much more mobile now and rarely stays where I put him down if he has the freedom to roll. He is like a super-chewing machine, putting everything in his mouth that he can get his hands on and pull toward his face. His favorite "must-have at bedtime" chewable item is his lovie Ralph, and thankfully I was able to track another one down earlier this week so we can have one to wash while he makes a mess of the other one's ears. Still not sitting totally independently, but closer everyday! He's got an awesome laugh and LL is especially good at getting it going. We're all having lots of fun with our little guy and though I don't want to wish his baby days away, I am eager to see what his personality is going to be like as he grows!











And one of the girls (and me) for good measure!

Mother's Day Weekend

As you can tell, I am a little behind on my posts! After our visit with Gran and PopPop, we went on to spend the weekend with Nana and Grandpa. While there, AG went to a museum with Nana and Grandpa (her birthday gift and a fun peek into the past...as well as some rare time for her to have the undivided attention of two very special grown-ups!), we had a visit from "Aunt Jess", and enjoyed a special lunch after church with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Matthew, and Gran and PopPop all at the same time! It was a great weekend...thanks, Nana and Grandpa!