Vacation Day 1

After being long overdue for a vacation,

we chose a place where we could spend our unhurried days doing relaxing things like

swinging on a rope swing

feeding livestock

"driving" tractors

jumping on the trampoline

 and most importantly,

getting lots of hugs from grandparents.

Just Perfect.

save it for a rainy day

What do you do when it rains all day in Florida

while relatives from the frozen north are visiting?

You take them to IKEA.

And introduce them to all that

that magical wonderland

of feel-good consumerism has to offer.

And, if you are three or under,

you shamelessly manipulate your grandparents

into buying you any toy that you take a fancy to.

Ingrid brought out the big guns

when we got around to the stuffed animals.

Must......Resist........

It was no use. They all took home a plush pal.

Fortunately, we have much to be thankful for.

Unfortunately, the starter in our van decided to go

just after we had finished a shopping tour of

the big flea market near us with Jessie's folks,

who are currently visiting us.

Thankfully, the men in this family

aren't afraid to get their hands dirty.

Unfortunately, one of the fastening bolts

on the bad starter was STUCK.

For THREE HOURS.

Thankfully, Mom and Aunt Joy are excellent at

telling captivating stories,

holding babies,

playing ring-around-the rosies

and drawing in the dirt.

Unfortunately, this all happened right before

lunchtime and Ingrid's {non-optional} nap.

Thankfully, Ingrid finally fell asleep for awhile,

and Theia and Eliza were TROOPERS after

being sustained with a variety of flea market goodies.

Unfortunately, we were kept from

the other activities we had planned for that day,

but thankfully, we were in the best of company

for the entire day, and were reminded again of

how blessed we are to have families who rise to the occasion

at every situation of need.

Horses, Haystacks, and Homage.

We took a very, very, VERY impromptu trip to Pennsylvania over the Memorial Day weekend. So impromptu that it was brought up at 7 pm, decided upon at 8:30 pm, and acted upon (as in, packed and on the road) by 10pm. That's just how we roll. You would think that someone with 3 children under the age of 3 would pre-meditate a 20 hour car ride for more than 2 and a half hours, wouldn't you? We actually would, usually, but this one was brought on by a desire of Jessie's to see his very dear and very ill grandmother, and we had reason to worry that if we didn't do it right away, we might miss out on the opportunity to be with her while she could still appreciate visitors (thankfully, she did revive from the down-turn she took that weekend and is still with us).

Although the car trip was something we would like to eradicate from our memory permanently, we did have a lovely visit with Jessie's parents and his sister Joy. The actual time spent at their house exceeded the actual time spent traveling by about 53 minutes, I think. The girls adore their grandparents and Aunt Joy, and were rapturously happy the entire time they were there.

Ingrid on the trampoline

Theia and Eliza sitting on the "horsey food"

Joy's horse, Misty, just had a foal two weeks before our trip, so we had a delightful time introducing the girls to horses.

Misty and her little colt, Destiny

Is he cute or what?

We took the opportunity to give them all a lesson in riding. This was the first time any of them have submitted to being put on a horse (Ingrid had never even seen one). The last time we tried with T and E they both froze in terror and let out a primal shriek that convinced us not to press the issue. This time they loved it. L-O-V-E, love. They are still talking about it.

Theia even went bareback with Aunt Joy

Eliza was nervous at first, but soon she was

saying "Go faster, Daddy!"

Ingrid took it all in stride

"What's the big deal? Yeah, I can ride."

We also got this great shot of our whole family while we were there. Well, great except for Eliza sticking her finger up her lip. Now, that was worth driving 4o hours for, right?

Jessie was very blessed to be able to visit with his grandma when she was having a good evening, and we all saw her together before we left for home. She hadn't met Ingrid yet, so we were happy we got the chance to introduce her. She is a beautiful, special woman, and we feel so blessed to be a part of her family. She has a pretty far-reaching influence since she has nine children and their spouses, fifty-five grandchildren (including their spouses), and fifty-four great-grandchildren (and that number is always growing).

Grandma at her 80th birthday party in May

I really am in a blogging funk this month. I am certainly not suffering for lack of material, its the time and initiative that is lacking on my part. I could share about how my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law/cousin came to stay with us for 5 days last week, along with their 3 under 3. I mean, could you ask for a better blog post scenario than 6 girls under 3 under one roof?

I could show you what mealtimes might look like in such a scenario

I could share tips on bathing 4 girls under 3 at once

I could tell you how to build an enclosure that small

rambunctious girls actually beg to be contained in

Or how to efficiently transport 4 girls under 3

Or how to multiply cuteness and fun

exponentially in a water balloon fight

I could post pictures of our Easter egg hunt

(because its Easter, and that's just what you do)

And I should inform you that there is some pretty stiff

competition this year in the adorable girls department

And in the cute niece department

I could admit that I must be a horrible aunt because I did not get

a single picture of my brand spankin' new niece, Taylor, while she was here!

But I just don't feel like it.

Would You Believe It?

Would you believe it if I told you that both my sister-in-law and my cousin gave birth this past Saturday? And would you further believe that both gave birth to baby girls? And would you further, further believe that both chose the same name for their baby girl?

You don't believe me? Well you should, because its true. Astounding, isn't it? Well, not so astounding when you consider the fact that my cousin Bree married my husband's brother Josh a couple years back.

With no further ado allow me to present my brand, spankin' new niece/second cousin,

Taylor Patton

Born March 14,2009

7lbs, 18in

Is she sweet or what? I was tickled that they chose the middle name Patton for her. We had that name picked out for Eliza if she had been a boy because it is my Mom's maiden name (and of course, Bree's mom's maiden name as well) and my grandparents had four girls - consequently no one to carry on the family name. Little Taylor will do it proud, I'm sure.

Taylor joins her big sisters Kadyn and Sydney. Yes, they have three girls as well. And Kadyn and Sydney's birthdays are just days apart from Theia's and Eliza's. We live very parallel lives in some respects.

Gumming the Grandparents

Ingrid is already very well-acquainted with her Pennsylvania grandparents even though she has only met them once. She is even on chewing terms with them. My mother-in-law made this cute little toy for Theia when she was about 5 months old since she did not see them often. It is only a photograph between two transparent pieces of contact paper, but it has lasted through all three girls, and it has been a favorite with each of them. Granted, Grandpa and Grandma have a few more wrinkles than they started out with, but I don't think they mind :).

Ingrid carries on a very lively conversation with her favorite teether.