A Visit to the Lake

A few weeks ago, our good friends Rick and Tina and their boys Zach and Colin came in for a visit from Texas.  They invited everyone to a friend's cottage along the lake. It was kind of chilly that evening, so we didn't bring the girls' bathing suits. We figured that the girls would be content dipping their toes in the water.  I think Allison would have been fine, however, Amelia was not happy at all. She wanted to jump right into the water. We managed to get away with only a wet skirt.  Luckily, I had a change of clothes in the car.

Neighborhood Party

Earlier this month, our neighborhood and business association threw a party for National Night Out.  It was a chance for people to come out and enjoy free, family-friendly entertainment and meet their neighbors. We finally met and introduced ourselves to a family that lives down the street from us. We always see them with their kids but have never spoken before. Their third child is less than a week younger than Allison.

The event had a petting zoo, pony rides, music, and the fire and police department were also there. The police had their SWAT truck out. We hoisted Allison up there, thinking she would sit on the bench, however she proceeed to jump right into the driver's seat, which freaked me out a little since the truck was running. The police office sitting in the passenger seat, who was enjoying the cool air and talking on his cell, didn't seem too concerned. Once Allison left the drivers seat, Amelia hopped in and pretended to drive the truck. Between the SWAT truck and the police car, I thought for sure we were going to get stuck with a bill to repair some "button" that Allison pushed. 

At the end of the night, we treated the girls to a treat from the ice-cream truck. Overall it was a fun night. Hopefully by next year, the girls will be old enough to enjoy the outdoor movie they played later in the evening.

The turtle kept trying to escape.

Amelia sitting in time out.

The girls sitting in the fire truck.

Amelia leaving an impression (facial impression that is) with the fire department

A Belated Birthday Post

At the beginning of the month Brian celebrated his birthday. We dropped off the girls at his parents' house while we went out to dinner. While the girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, they prepared a "surprise" birthday party for Brian, complete with Toy Story 3 plates and napkins. The girls had fun throwing a party for their dad and especially liked the party favors that you blow into, even though it took Amelia a while to figure out exactly how to do it.  

100% Pure Joy

Read Me, Momma

The other night when putting Allison to bed, I decided to tell her a story about when she was a baby and she thought that was funny. The next night I put her to bed and she told me "Read Me, Momma." Luckily I remembered that I told her a story the night before and assumed that was what she wanted. When I finished with her story, she said "Read Mia, Momma", so I told her a story about Amelia.  Now she is really into me telling stories.

The only thing is that I stink at telling stories. Creative writing was never my forte in school. They say stick with what you know best, so I guess I will tell her stories about when she was a baby.  I told her that she used to cry and cry and she thought that was funny (there goes my plan for making her feel guilty about her colicky days in an effort to get a better Mother's Day present some year). When I was putting her to bed last night, she was laying on her tummy and her butt was up in the air a little, so I told her how she used to sleep with her butt right up in the air (I still haven't figured out how babies can do that).  When it comes to telling stories about Amelia, I always end it how Amelia had a excellent big sister named Allison that took very good care of her and gave her lots of hugs and kisses. When I tell that story, Allison always gets a very proud grin on her face. 

Now lets hope that Allison doesn't get into stories about fairies, princesses, and fantasy kingdoms, because I'm toast if she does. Anyone have cliff notes on those subjects?

Souvenirs

Personalized bats from Louisville Slugger Musuem and Factory

T-shirts from Ft. Wayne Zoo

Vacation Days 5-7

On Thursday, we checked out of the condo and headed towards Indianapolis. We made a stop in Columbus to check out their River Walk area.  We didn't quite make it all the way to the River Walk but did stop off at the playground so the kids could burn off some energy.  We also had lunch at Zaharakos, a restored old-fashioned soda shop where we treated ourselves to milkshakes. We then went on our way to the outlet mall, where I snagged some good deals on clothes for the girls next summer.

By the time we made it to our hotel in Indianapolis, the girls were worn out and very crabby as they didn't have a nap. Allison told us that she would rather stay and take a nap than go out to dinner. Once Brian started to get her ready for her nap, she changed her mind. We walked towards downtown to the main shopping area to find somewhere to eat. I noticed people kept glancing at our stroller and smiling, so I took a peek at the girls to see what was going on. Allison had fallen asleep....I don't think she has fallen asleep in her stroller in at least a year and a half. We found a restaurant where we could roll the stroller right up to the table. She continued sleeping until the food came out. It felt so strange to only have to deal with one child as we waited for our food.

The next day we headed to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The place is huge and would have taken hours to go through it all; in fact my sister and her family just went and they spent 7 hours there. Because the kids didn't nap the day before, we only stayed about 2.5 hours, which was enough for them. I can't wait to go back when they get older, as we barely saw any of the exhibits the musuem has to offer.

Later that night, we strolled along the river walk for a little bit. I was really impressed with downtown Indy and would love for a chance to go back again...maybe next time without the kids. 

We left on Saturday, but not before we headed to the Indianapolis Zoo.  We arrived right at 9 am when they opened and it was a bit overcast. This was great for us since it wasn't very busy and we had a chance to see all the animals up-close. My favorites were the polar bear and walrus exhibits. We finished touring the zoo just in time to see the dolphin show. Next we went to the splash pad, where there were only two other families, giving the girls free reign. We finished up with a quick snack and headed out just as it was starting to sprinkle. 

The drive home went smoothly and everyone was very happy to be home. Amelia walked into the living room and saw her Little People sets and yelled out "Yay" and sat down to play. Allison was happy to check out all her birthday presents once again.