Up close and personal at the Zoo

My work girlfriends and I were invited to the zoo last night by a rep and we got to bring our families! Free trip to see the new Oceans exhibit, free food and good times with friends...can't beat that!

Miss Piper and Lucas checking out the Eels...man are eels ugly!
This is the new pet the shark exhibit...don't worry Lucas didn't fall in and the sharks didn't even get close enough to pet.

Miss Jenna and Miss Lilly chillin in the stoller.

My favorite...the Walrus family! They come right up to the glass!

Here is one Walrus giving Miss Jenna a kiss!

Playdates

Maybe it was lack of a deck or just too much going on, but the last two weeks have had more playdates than all summer it seems like. First were the Kearney boys, then Grubb and Elling girls, and tonight Neil came over for a little while.

Playdates are alot of fun for two reasons;

1. the kids get to hang out and play (and get worn out to take good naps)

2. the moms get to sit and gab while the kids entertain themselves...usually.

This is Ethan and Lucas chasing trucks...or Wrigley.
Mr Evan showing off his slide skills.

Miss Piper pushing Miss Ashtin.

Hiding in their "fort" under the Hammock. Lucas was totally outnumbered this day...5 girls and him.

Two train conductors- Neil and Lucas.

And the three man band. (Dave's son a drummer??? Noooooo.)

Actually it was pretty cute tonight b/c everywhere that Lucas and Neil went Lilly was sure to follow...I can see Lucas getting annoyed with that in the near future! (Reminds me of my tag-a-long little sis!)

I love that my friends all have kids the same ages and they all love to play with eachother...I will relish the moments for now I guess!

Up North

Well, the kids and I headed up North for 1/2 the weekend. We stayed with my friend Stephanie and her two kids and had a blast. They took us to this great little restaurant that was train themed. It had a train table to watch, a train that delivered your food to you and even a little train to ride. Lucas was in heaven!

Madison, Lucas, and Austin watching the trains.
The table came up to the bottom of Lucas' nose, so he could just barely peek over to see all the action.

Lucas and Madi peeking out of the caboose! Madison was a good helper- and we even got to play with Hannah for awhile who was up in the area too!

It was a great little weekend away with friends. Thanks for having us Stephanie! (send me the pic of you and me!)

Another Try

We took another try with Lucas and Lilly in the bike trailer...more successful than the first time we tried a month or so ago. They are pretty cute in their helmets.Well, the first time we went we had forgotten our camera so I didn't blog about it but basically Lilly cried the whole time and we didn't get too far. This time though we definitely made it a bit further before we had to turn around due to crying...she did cry all the way back though. It is hard to tell what the other people on the Monon are thinking when you pass them really fast with a screaming child in the back...I am guessing one of two things; "That poor little baby" or "What horrible parents"...or both.

Weekend Part II...and III

Saturday after the game we headed north to Suprise Tim's dad for his birthday. Not too many pics, but I thought this one with the grandkids all blowing out the candles was cute.

Then Sunday we got to see Miss Allie our niece get baptized.

Check out those big brown eyes!

Then we tried to get a picture of the four grandchildren...can you guess who didn't want to participate??

Ok, so you are probably thinking...wow that is alot for one weekend. Ok, I will admit that I have a problem. I tend to shove too much into one weekend with the mindset of "we can do it all and make everyone happy". Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. My friends make fun of me for how much I try to squeeze in and my husband tends to get frustrated. I will have to blame this learned trait on my mother. We would always go on vacation and she would have the whole day planned from sun-up to sun-down and it could drive you crazy (but I do admit I got to see alot of cool places). We joke about it now with her (b/c she still does it)...but the question I have is "Why do we tend to mimic our parents even if we don't want to??" I do not have the answer...but I am trying to be better. Sorry to say this past weekend was NOT a good example...but we saw alot of family and had a good time.

Weekend Part I...Are you ready for some Football??

The boys...and Dave with his beer.
Me and Kelley sporting the denim look.

These are the strange people who sat behind us.

Lucas and his girlfriend Aly watching the game.

Daddy keeping Lucas occupied and happy.

Well, we took Lucas to his first Purdue Football game on Saturday! He lasted till the third quarter but we were winning 34-0 so we figured it was safe to leave. He started getting tired and cranky from running around tailgating all morning, but had a blast and still talks about the baseball...I mean football game. I think he was most interested in the band...probably b/c of the shiny clashing cymbals. Of course the "choo choo train" that he got to see was the highlight of his day.

Let's Compare:

Let's compare Lucas and Lilly at 9-10 months. Can you tell they're related??

It is so fun to watch them grown and learn.

The last 4 weeks...

Lilly turned 10 months old yesterday and in the last four weeks has turned into such a little girl.

She has two little teeth and LOVES to eat ANYTHING with them.
She waves bye bye and does "So Big" with her hands up high.

Finally mastered crawling on the knees.

Pulling up and Cruising along furniture...or doors.

And also keeps her big brother on his toes. He is not too keen on sharing his train table with her...especially since she tends to wreck it. Lucas tries to distract her with something else if he notices her coming close...but if he doesn't see her watch out!
Lilly has also mastered climbing up the two stairs in our house...can't quite go down them yet though. I think that is it...teeth, eating alot, crawling, standing, cruising, fighting, climbing, waving, so big and starting to get into everything...and finally no more ear infection. So to say the least, things have been a little crazy here.

Pergola oh Pergola!

Well folks...we are one step closer to that deck party! The Pergola is complete! Might have turned out a bit simpler than what was in Tim's mind but it looks amazing and actually was accomplished in one weekend...in between rain storms!

Check out my man on top of his castle. Men are sexy with power tools. Can you feel the shade???

It is like a little outdoor room of our house.

The furniture is actually back on the deck and we grilled out and had dinner out there tonight! It is actually nice to start to enjoy our new little paradise...hope you can come and see it soon!

Blueberry Fest

We also went to Blueberry Festival in Plymouth this past weekend. Hannah invited us to come and eat good food and watch the fireworks! It was fun and Hannah and Lucas checked out the Kiddie Rides...

Lucas' first Carnie Ride!
BEEP BEEP!

Can you see Hannah and Lucas on their first rollercoaster?

Giddy-up!

Lucas and Hannah running around waiting for the Fireworks to Start.
The fireworks were some of the best we have seen, (and Lilly slept through it all). Despite the ginormous crowd, we had a great time! Thanks for the invite Hannah!

Weekend at the Lake

Lucas pushing Lilly around in her "little boat".
Lucas playing fetch with Wrigley.

He even shared his train with Cousin Noah...wow!

Olivia and I built a great sandcastle...

and then Lucas demolished it! Boys!

Lilly crashed out on Gramps after a long day.

We had a great Labor Day weekend up at the lake! Lots of sun, boating, sleepless nights with two kids in our room, good food (have to start my diet over), family and just plain fun. Probably won't be back before the boat is put away for the winter, but we sure enjoyed our time at the lake this summer! Thanks for always hosting and taking good care of us Gram and Gramps!