Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus...wait....

OK, so the end of last week and yesterday found us in Richmond, VA, visiting family and attending a wedding of a lifelong friend of Seth's...needless to say, we were busy and got to see alot of loved ones! My in-law's camera holds the pictures so I'll download some of those later but here are the highlights of the trip:
1. Gwen and Graelyn endeared themselves to the pilot on the way out...NOT the flight attendant on the way back...long story.
2. We all attended a VERY Greek wedding 1 hour 4 minutes long...I looked...Gwen made it through the ENTIRE thing silent and perfect and then reinacted it with her G-ma Nancy and Grandad afterwards...Graelyn made it through exactly 4 min. 37 seconds until we exiled ourselves to the "loud kids" area of the church...she had fun, made friends with Sammy from Philly and Henry and Greta from Plano (who by the way flew out with us...we're bff now for real)
3. We left the girls with said G-ma Nancy and Grandad to play, bathe and sleep while we went to the adults only reception (which was kinda nice for a change...but I wish we could have danced with the girls!)
4. Aunt Shannon (Seth's brother Ethan's wife) is looking super cute with her belly...baby girl Lindbloom should be here sometime in October and we'll get to see her over Thanksgiving!
5. Had a little party for Graelyn on her actual birthday (July 26th)...officially 2 years old!!! EVERY aunt and uncle was there that lives in Richmond: Aunt Carlyle, Aunt Amanda & Uncle Eric (whom I just met and LOVE!), Aunt Shannon & Uncle Ethan...then some new friends who garden and have inspired me to do so as well...Melissa & Shawn...and Shawn is a good friend of Ethan and Seth's from high school!
6. Ate really well...Seth's dad might as well be a chef so we ate lots of new and fun things and the girls LOVED Grandad's waffles!
7. Ran 2 miles with said Grandad...who totally schooled me at the end...whatever, he's a stud
8. FINALLY got to go to Carytown and shop a little, very little...can't wait for the next trip! Carytown is a super cool, eclectic sort of road/area with all kinds of cool/eclectic shops! Bought the girls 2 baby dolls with funky pink hair! Too fun!
9. Went to the James River and waded in the water with the girls, Maymont to see its amazing beauty and 2 bears!, and the Children's Museum (almost lost Graelyn...she's so fast!)
10. And finally, drove around Richmond with the girls by myself and NOT ONCE got lost!
Needless to say, it was a busy trip and the girls are exhausted...oh yeah, flight was delayed last night 3 hours...didn't get to bed until 1:30am...I haven't seen that time since I was nursing Graelyn!!! Anyway, good times had all around and we can't wait to get back up there to see baby Claire in November...oh yeah, and everyone else too:)

Monday, July 13, 2009

The summer

Is quickly fading before my eyes and my heart and I can't seem to find the way to stop it from slipping through our fingers (ok, hearts don't have fingers but you get the picture). I can't seem to stop Gwendolyn from growing up into a big girl, from pretending to spell and be my teacher and play family and be the one in charge. I can't stop Graelyn from going potty by herself and getting her own snack (by climbing on the counter) and helping her sister do 5,000 little cute things during the day. I can't stop time...my heart wants to...my heart tells me to stop time, to play Barbies a little longer, to forget the dishes in the sink, the laundry on the couch (yes Rebekah, more is there) and to play in the sprinkler with them, eat more ice cream, color just one more picture, take a nap with them...so I will...I told some friends that I've been meaning to really "spring clean" every room this summer and obviously haven't...if you've been to my house this summer you would be able to tell! Maybe rather than cleaning out my house, I just need to continue loving my House...my Home...my Family...my God a little more...yeah, that's the kind of "spring cleaning" I think I can get into!