Visit from the Aunts and Backyard Fun

As I was getting all the photos transferred, I realized I haven't even blogged about Rosi and Sandy's visit at the beginning of June.  We had a great week and just spent a lot of time together around the house, plus I got to make some appointments for myself which was nice - it's never easy to drag the kids along to the chiropractor!

Some random shots of us playing outside!

The kids and their great aunts

The beginning of their visit was really strange weather.  We were playing in the backyard and I was wearing a hoodie...crazy for June!  Rose and Sandy aren't in any of these pictures, but I love all these snapshots of Riley...this girl and her crazy hair make me smile!

Phew!  Feels good to blog again....Gotta document this cuteness somewhere. ;)

Welcome to Arkansas...

....Let me show you to our tornado safety zone!  :)  Rose and Sandy came to visit for 6 days, and we had some of the worst weather we've had since we've lived here while they were visiting.  So much so, that we spent a lot of time in our hallway, keeping safe from threatening tornadoes.  But, we luckily dodged all the bad storms and enjoyed our visit.  We went out to eat, visiting Yum Yos (a couple times), did some shopping, and spent a lot of time just hanging out at home.  Gavin, of course, showed them all about being a 3 year old boy - they played a lot of cars and trains while they were here!

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Well, today is the big game! Gavin and I are excited to watch OSU vs. Michigan with Daddy when he gets home from Syracuse. We're hoping he'll get to take tomorrow off since he's been traveling the last three days, and we can put our Christmas tree up. I'm a bit worried how Gavin (and the other kids that come for playdates) will do with the tree. Let's just hope it doesn't get knocked over!

Gavin and I had a fun time showing Aunt Sandy around Rochester. We took her to Melon Bean for some coffee, visited Strong Museum and the mall, and she was able to meet some of our new friends. It's always great to see family. :)

And, how about a picture to get your weekend started? This was from Gavin's first carousel ride a couple weeks ago at Strong. He loved it...for the first couple times around, and then he kept trying to stand up and was ready to go. Unfortunately, this merry-go-round lasted FOREVER!

Fun Times Friday

....in black and white! While Sandy was here visiting, we headed to the park to enjoy the weather. I knew if I got Gavin busy enough, he'd actually leave this hat on. I love it, but he never wears it. It actually didn't match his sweater at all, but that's what's great about black and white, huh? :) Enjoy!

Vacation, Part 1

Jarrod's last vacation of the year was this past week, and we filled those 9 days as full as we could! He worked until 1 on Friday, then we caught a 5:00 flight home to Cincinnati. It was so nice to spend time at my parents' house and with Jarrod's family. We were there until Tuesday, and my only regret is that we didn't have a car to make a trip up to Dayton to see our friends. I would have loved to have visited Shaw and saw all the kids. But, with all the illnesses going around, maybe it is best that we didn't! Here are a lot of pictures from the Cincy visit in no particular order.

Nothing better than grandma love early in the morning...again, Gavin has red eyes. Devil child! Hanging with my Uncle Tyler before he leaves for school

My Aunt Briana is hilarious!

Helping Grandma with the laundry

Grandpa reading me a book

I'll read this one on my own!

Ok, I guess Uncle Ty and Aunt Bri can help me.

Here, Maddie...take your bone!

My sisters are so beautiful!

Gavin playing with Aunt Rosi and Aunt Sandy

He loved playing under the table

My grandmas are crazy! They were trying to get me to jump off the dining room table!

Maddie is my new best friend. Shirley never lets me do this!

While we were in Cincinnati, we of course had to eat Skyline (more than once) and Larosa's. We even made it to Pomodori's for lunch on Monday and had Chick-Fil-A in the airport before we left. Pretty sad when you visit home and spend most of the time at restaurants! We had fun with Travis and Ashley, hanging out at their place. Uncle Travis taught Gavin a new trick...

Well, he says he didn't teach him that...but he spent 5 minutes alone with Gavin and this is what he does 2 minutes later...you do the math! :) Just kidding, Trav.

We had a big family dinner while we were home since we're not going to make it home for Thanksgiving. I was so thankful that we could do that. I think that was my favorite part of the trip. All of us together, eating and watching football... Fun times!

More vacation pictures and stories coming tomorrow!