Fun In The Sun

Here's proof that they really can play well together...

Well....SOMETIMES!

He was there too!

Ben seemed to enjoy the beach.
He wasn't really interested in leaving the blanket, but who can blame him?
I could do without the sand sticking to me too.
He was much more interested in playing with Will's superheros, snacking, and relaxing.

Cheese!!

Oh, those pudgy little hands and feet!

And then there was this one.....

This one had no trouble posing for the camera!

Beauty & The Beach

The beach was PERFECT!
No oil, no seaweed, no june grass....just emerald water and white sand!
The beach life was good!
We only have a few pictures of Abbie by herself.
She made a friend, Amanda, and spent most of her time playing with her.
Here's a few...

By the end of the week she was a boogie board pro!

Vacation Begins!

On July 30th we headed out for vacation.
We left early Friday morning, all packed and loaded into the new mini-van, which by the way has DVD and headphones...bliss, I tell you!
We made a stop in Tennessee so Andy could take a picture of the Capitol building.
He has a bit of a collection going.


Hmm...I think this was Tennessee.

Later we stopped in Huntsville, Alabama to visit the Space & Rocket Center.

We ended up stopping for the night in Cullman, Alabama.
The ride down was pretty uneventful as displayed by Will's body language.

First sleepover guest!

The weekend before we left for vacation Abbie & Will had their first sleepover guest.
Cousin Emily!
They loved having her, and I loved having her too.
There was no fighting between Abbie & Will!
Maybe she should just move in?!?!
They played outside, went swimming, feasted on chocolate chip bars, and slumbered.


They both wanted her to sleep with them.
They all cuddled for awhile watching cartoons.

Will got her first, then she moved to Abbie's bed.

Hells Angels?

Why the strange, puzzled face?

I think he was trying to figure out his siblings outfits.

They were playing mom and dad with their Harley get up.
I'm sure Papaw will love these pictures.


Yeah, Benny, I thought it was funny too!
Give it one more year and you'll be part of the gang too!

The end!

Sisters, from left: Aunt Brenda, Mom, Aunt Susan.

Memaw & Abbie
Thanks, Memaw, for the trip and for our very first AG doll.
We love you!

Splish Splash

After our visit to American Girl store we headed to dinner.
We ate at Park Grill, a restaurant that my Aunt Susan and Uncle Tony have ownership in, located in Millennium Park.
We had a yummy dinner and then headed over to play in the fountain...even though fountain doesn't adequately describe the experience.

Abbie & Avery hesitated on the sidelines.

My cousin Haley finally got them up and active.

I bet she wished she didn't.
Abbie gave her a pretty good splash!

Yes, definitely a fun day for them.

American Girl

In mid July Abbie got to make her first visit to the American Girl store.
My Aunt Brenda took her granddaughter Avery (my cousin Danielle's daughter).
My mom took Abbie and had no choice but to take me as well since I wanted to be with Abbie for her first visit.
We all stayed at my Aunt Susan's condo in downtown Chicago. My cousin Haley lives there and was kind enough to take all of us in.
She even made some VERY yummy M & M cookies. I may have ate more than my share. Oops!
Abbie & Avery seemed to have a blast together.
They even insisted on matching.
Good thing Danielle & I both packed yellow!
Here we are getting ready to leave for our shopping trip.
Caesar was determined to be included in the picture.

Now it's just the girls.
Avery already had an AG doll, Abbie only had a knock off so she was ready to go!!


We stopped for a picture with "Lanie."

The store was overwhelming.
From here on out, my mom has full permission to take Abbie....without me.
The number of dolls, clothes, people was not for me.
Abbie picked her doll with much consideration. Then we took the doll to the salon to get her ears pierced.
They did the piercing in the back, but we sat and watched as other dolls got their hair styled.
REALLY!?!?
Memaw bought the doll and earrings so I let Abbie pick out a few accessories. Her doll got a new dress, sneakers, glasses, and pajamas.
Avery got an AG dog and grooming set.
I'm pretty sure we had some happy girls!

A Rainy Night on Heritage Drive

After we got home from celebrating the 4th at Papaw & Memaw's, we had our grand finale in the rain.
We live on a private drive with only 3 houses. The neighbors across the drive have 2 children, Seth is 6 and Ethan is 3.
Perfect playmates for Abbie & Will.
The other neighbors are the grandparents.
We love where we are located. The kids spend lots of time riding their bikes or power wheels around the culdesac.
On this night, they jumped in puddles.

They all crammed under one umbrella and walked around the culdesac.

They got pretty wet, but still had time to stop for a picture.
From the left; Will, Seth, Abbie, Ethan.

Ben watched all the fun from his bedroom window.
He beat on the window and yelled for them.
They were kind enough to climb up and visit him.
Ben will have a playmate soon...the neighbors are expecting a third son mid-September!