I'm mixing

Look at me, I'm mixing mommy!

 Go get your camera so you can take my picture, says Penny!

She never fails to crack me up!

Happy Father's Day!

Dear daddy,

We love you so much!

Thank you for being patient!

Thank you for constantly encouraging us to learn!

 

 Thank you for spending time with us!

Thank you for turning every day tasks into games and making everything more fun!

Thank you for making us smile!

Thank you for being you! We love you!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

Baby Deer

We have a brand new fawn in our backyard. Penny likes to watch the baby, but heaven forbid that little deer get too close to the swing set! "Baby deer, do not lick my slide. And do not climb my rock wall!" says Penny. I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about that last one honey :)

Rehearsal Fun!

We brought Penny and Porter to the wedding rehearsal.

Porter snuggled up with great grandma Jeanne, Sandy and John while Penny came out and ruled the rehearsal.

She had a blast running up and down the isle and standing in the midst of the bridal party.

She loved playing with Jen- they made drumsticks and paper airplanes together :)

I'm so glad we were able to bring her along for the fun- in her mind, she got to see the wedding!

 We took the kids home to aunt Missy and Eric before heading out to the rehearsal dinner. It was held at a local Mexican restaurant and the food was amazing! We had a great evening catching up with friends and celebrating Megan & Chris!

Fun at the hotel

Penny had a chance to explore aunt Meggie's bridal suite at the hotel.

The room and balconies were gorgeous and the views were unbelievable!  

 The hotel had a series of pools and a lazy river- talk about a swimmer's dream!

Penny had a blast swimming in the pool with Emily, Chloe, Mary & Tomas!

 And Porter enjoyed some nap time in the shade with a nice breeze blowing on his sweet cheeks :) 

 Penny watched Emily & Chloe swim and decided that she wanted to do what they were doing. She did bobs, kicked and paddled her little heart out!

She had fun in the water with Missy, Eric & Pa too!

 And when she was all finished swimming, she enjoyed a pina colada under the shade of a tall palm tree. I'm not joking...Aunt Missy was so nice and bought mommy a non-alcoholic pina colada. Penny decided she wanted a sip and continued to drink half of mommy's drink! I guess girlfriend likes coconut!

 A girl could get used to this! This is the life!

Fun at the Railroad Park

On Thursday, Grammy, Missy and I took the kids to the McCormick Railroad Park.

Porter went on his first mini train ride with us and Penny got to ride another carousel :)

Penny had a blast running through the old train, which had a sleeping car, a dining car and a parlor car, and she really enjoyed the model trains!

Thanks Grammy for coming with us!!!

Visiting Aunt Meggie and Uncle Chris

We got to visit Aunt Meggie & Uncle Chris' house for a BBQ with family on Wednesday.

Although Penny was excited to meet the dogs, she was a little scared of them! Aunt Meggie and Colleen took Penny in the pool :)

We had a blast catching up with everyone as we kicked off the wedding weekend!

Traveling Circus

We survived our first big trip with two kids! And Porter was a rockstar on his first flights!
Aunt Missy and Eric came along with us on our trip to Arizona and we couldn't have done it without them! Talk about amazing travel companions and babysitters! We owe them big time!
Why are they the best ever? We spent 10 hours at gate E16 of the Philadelpjia airport as we watched our flight go from delayed to cancelled. They helped us by entertaining Penny and Porter And turned what could have been an awful day into a fun day at the airport.
Highlights of the airport:
-Penny had her first happy meal. The toy was a microphone hairbrush and it kept us entertained for quite some time!
-we saw a model of the Liberty Bell made out of Legos
-We had fun playing I Spy...so much to look at!
-Penny had a blast looking at all the purple airplanes and tunnels. She even noticed the construction equipment working on terminal F and pointed out the cranes and bulldozers to Missy & Eric.
-We met an amazing family from Texas. Their daughter Beth had DS and was 38. They shared stories of faith and the love they experienced throughout Beth's life. Beth was amazingly passionate about politics and had just helped her former OT campaign for and win a seat in the state senate. So happy to have had the chance to talk with Beth and her parents :) And, when Porter got a little fussy, Beth held his hand and he calmed so quickly- it was a magic moment :)

8 hours after we were due to take off, we finally hopped on a plane to Chicago. After three hours of sleep in a hotel (Thank you Pa!!!) with no luggage, we hopped on a plane to Phoenix.
The kids got to add a new state to their list and Penny had a blast running around the airport with Missy and Eric! Porter was a really good boy! Almost 24 hours after we left home for the airport, we finally arrived in Phoenix, and so did our luggage!
Porter was incredibly happy to lay on the floor and play once we got to our house in Arizona! We had a great time in Arizona...there are many more Arizona posts coming your way!

Nana Love

Nana has a new hip! Penny and Porter are so excited to see just how much fun pain free Nana can have! Just a few days into her recovery, Nana was snuggling her loves and reading them stories!
Nana, we're so proud of you! Keep up the great work! Love you!