Recent Adventures

I got a little back logged waiting to post the hearing aid post, so this is just a compilation of what's been going on lately!  I wanted to be sure I told everyone "in person" that I needed to tell before posting that one!

On Brian's first day of school we took just Lilah to the zoo.  We got to see the kangaroos behind the scenes which was really cool!  One of the workers offered to let us go into their backyard to see them.  They were just behind a fence which was cool because they are usually behind glass.  Lilah really enjoyed her time that day and the first two weeks of school.  Brian was in class, but my preschool wasn't so she got a lot of mommy time.  Her favorite thing to do was to come home and push her play stroller up and down the driveway.  She has gotten more into babies lately.  It's funny to hear her and Brian play.  She will say, "okay, now you be the daddy and I will be the baby sitter."  Too cute!

Brian and Addison spent some time together at Ava's first birthday party.  These two are so cute together! At one point I heard Addison chattering on about some dream she had about a cave.  Brian was actually listening to her!  He'll make a great boyfriend to someone some day if he keeps that up!

We spent Labor Day at Bibber and Billy's.  I LOVE that the kids have somewhere in the country where they can go and play out in the open...and with the goats!  We had a cousin swimming party and then, of course, fed the goats.  The kids are SO cute together.  It was a lot of fun!

We also did the Reds game Labor Day weekend.  Also lots of fun!  Lilah actually cooperated pretty well, which usually isn't the case.  Nana even shared her headphones, which also isn't usually the case!

Last weekend we were at Lunken to see the planes.  The kids had fun running around and getting into the different forms of transportation. 

A Night at the Zoo

I was more than a bit nervous to attend an evening zoo event with both kids last week.  Shawn had to work late and we had already registered, but there was rain in the forecast and I could just imagine myself hauling it up the bear hill with the double stroller in the pouring rain.  I went for it anyway though and was glad in the end that I had.

The kids got to make a craft, see the new jungle style play areas, visit the monkeys and apes and ride the carousel with no line!  It was a really nice night.

This dude is going to KINDERGARTEN tomorrow!

 Proof that they got Shawn genes.  My little engineers were fascinated by how the animals worked.

Old Friends

We've been lucky enough to visit with some old friends this past month or so.  Not old in age, but in the length of time we've known them! 

First, Jennie, Jack and Patrick came into town.  They don't live too far away, so we see them several times a year, but it's always special to get to visit.  They actually came in for the joint birthday celebration, but we got an extra visit in later that weekend at the park! 

 Then a couple of weeks ago, one of my high school friends, Julie, came into town.  We invited her and another friend, Ellen (and her kids), to come for a play date!  It was great to catch up and the kids had a blast!

The day after the "high school reunion play date," it worked out to meet Stacey, Leah and Natalie at the zoo!  They live here, but with busy schedules we don't get to see them as often as we would like. We were so glad that it worked out and we got to spend the morning with these sweet girls!

I love that summer allows for a little bit of extra time to see the friends we don't always get to see.  So sad to see it coming to an end.  Kindergarten starts in 1.5 weeks.  Gaaaak!

Pre Vacation Photo Dump

Right before we left on vacation, I dumped all of the photos on the camera into a file on my desktop.  I finally went through them last night.  They are a good depiction of what we did during our days prior to leaving for Pawleys.  Here are some of them...

We babysat for "baby Gavin" on a random Monday.  The kids had a ball playing together!

We went to the butterfly show one day.  Brian tried so hard to catch the little critters, but he moves too much!  Several landed on Lilah and one landed on my head!

We went to the zoo for a special "Wake Up on the Wild Side" event.  Lilah got to pet a penguin!  Brian was not having it, so he didn't get to.  He couldn't understand why we had to do the planned events.  When he's at the zoo, he's used to deciding what we see and when.

I love the guy in the background's reaction to Lilah petting the penguin!  And I look somewhat disgusted...not sure why!

Mama and Pappy worked with Brian on his baseball skills, which Nana thought was hi-larious.  (Not the Pappy part, the Mama part.)  Sometimes the best coaches were never the best players...just sayin'!

And just a few cute ones...

Look Mom, no hands!

Sorry, We've Been Enjoying the Weather

No posts lately, I know. We've been outside. It's been beautiful out! Last week we hit record highs several days. This week it's going to cool down a bit...mid 60s, but I still imagine we will be spending a lot of time soaking up the sun! Why not? Might as well enjoy it!

So while I have lots to blog about...Lilah turning 8 months, the tube surgeries, the plan (or lack thereof) for Brian's ears moving forward, the Jersey Shore party...it can all wait until a rainy day!

Until then, here's what we'll be doing...

Taking lots of walks...

Hanging out at the park...

and going to the "Animal Zoo!