Children's Garden

Hi All,
We had a fun time with our friends at Meijer Gardens today. After a quick run through the butterfly exhibit, we headed outside to explore the children's garden.

Let the fun begin!

As usual, Drew and Bree were enamored with the wettest exhibits!

Not sure what there is to see in here, but Colin had to find out.

Checking out "the tongue". Claire, we are loving that tutu, girl!

A giant sandbox - oh boy!

 The moms got to sit and chat while the kids moved dirt.

Bye for today - we'll be back!

Miller Time

Hi All,
We were lucky enough to have our good friends the Millers pay us a visit this weekend. We scrapped all potential outings, but enjoyed each other's company in-house. With two sets of twins within six months in age and plenty of toys, no one had an issue keeping entertained.

 Tracy's Ipad was enthralling and kept the kids' attention for a long time.

The kids played really well together.

And so did the adults :)

D and B showing off their brotherly/sisterly love.

Evan and a new set of wheels.

 Aspiring Bike Model #1

And #2, I think they have potential!

Rind Around The Rosie - falling down on the bed is more fun than the floor!

Can't wait till our next "Miller Time"!

Chicago!

Hi All,
Jim and I got a quick getaway to Chicago over the weekend. We attended the Cubs vs. Cardinals game with our friends Al and Sandy on Saturday afternoon. Then, we headed to Navy Pier with friends Doug and Lisa for the evening. We grabbed dinner, took in some of the rides, and just enjoyed a nice summer evening on the pier overlooking the city.

The big anchor of Navy Pier.

Love the backdrop of the city in this one. Jim and Doug look ok too! :)

Friends

Hi All,
Our friends the Millers came for a visit on Sunday through Tuesday. Evan and Rowan are just 5 1/2 months older than us, so we had lots of fun!

They helped us celebrate Oma's birthday at our Sunday dinner. We surprised Oma with some candles that relit after she blew them out!

Of course, dinner was interesting with all of us. Check out this assembly line......

Rowan really liked Blanca. Can you tell Blanca was undecided about Rowan?

Evan was always on the go. He even decided to start walking for the first time during his visit. Yay Evan!

Tracy taught us Itsy Bitsy Spider while she was here.

We managed to get a few "posed" shots of all of us, with mixed results......

All in all, we had a great visit and can't wait to see the Millers again!

Evan and Rowan Turn 1

Hi All,

Our twin pals, Evan and Rowan turned one recently, and we had the pleasure of attending their birthday party last Sunday. It was a beautiful September day in the park, and it could not have been any more perfect. Evan and Rowan were champs, as were Drew and Bree. We enjoyed the time with our good friends and look forward to many more! I have to admit I had to pirate a few of these pictures. It's sometimes difficult to find a free hand to snap pictures these days!

The happy Miller family

Drew and Daddy enjoying the party

Evan and Rowan enjoying their cake - notice the difference in "the attack"!

The cakes were so cute!

And after party fun......

Rowan says "Evan, who are these kids?"

Evan says "I don't know, let me poke this one and find out!"

"Oh yeah, these are our future BFFs! Smile!!!"

Labor Day Happenings

Well, I mentioned we have some catching up to do our our latest happenings. We got busy a few weeks back, as we were out and about. So here we go....

On September 3rd, Jim and I traveled to Chicago to join our friends Al and Sandy at a Chicago Bears football game. We enjoyed the game - the Bears won! And we mostly enjoyed catching up with old friends.

Then, we headed north the following day to spend Labor Day weekend at my grandma's cottage. I have been enjoying my grandparents' lake since childhood.

That's me on the pink float toy....

So it's a great pleasure to be able to introduce Drew and Bree to this beautiful place. Although the ride was long, once we arrived, we could not have asked for a better weekend. My grandma said we had the best weather of the summer -sunny and high 70s. The Fergusons accompanied us, and we enjoyed a beautiful weekend on the lake with family and friends.

Sunday, I got round 2 of birthday surprises when my grandma invited lake neighbors over to wish me a happy 40th birthday. It was nice to have the whole group of them gathered there, as it's a little tougher for us to get around these days with two babies in tow! I enjoyed the time with childhood friends. Christy, one of our lake neighbors is also a mother of twins, and we enjoyed sharing twin stories and seeing her daughters Jersey and Gracie interact.

I also wanted to mention that this was Drew and Bree's first overnight trip. They slept away from home in their pack n plays for three nights and did wonderfully - no nighttime interruptions whatsoever! They are proving to be good travelers. Big thanks to my grandma for hosting our crew! There is more I could add, but I'll let the pictures tell the story.....

Twins times two

Hi All,
We just had a super weekend with our good friends, Scott and Tracy and their 9 month old twins, Evan and Rowan. Tracy and I have been long time friends and shared many life experiences. These include college, careers, vacations, dating, boyfriends (no, we didn't share boyfriends, just the ups and downs they bring ;). We even share families, to some extent, as our grandparents owned cottages next to each other on Long Lake for several years. But never in a million years would I have guessed we could continue down such a similar path once Scott and Tracy announced they were having boy/girl twins. Sure, Jim and I planned to have children. But it was quite unbelievable for us to learn we were also pregnant with twins late in Tracy's pregnancy. Scott and Tracy's beautiful babies were born September 16th, 2008. We received news in early October that we, indeed, were also expecting a boy/girl combo. How crazy is that?!?
At any rate, I know Drew and Bree enjoyed cuddling with Auntie Tracy and playing with Uncle Scott. And Jim and I enjoyed Rowan's big laughs, Evan's jibber jabbers, both Evan and Rowan's expertise on the jumperoo, and also getting a glimpse of what is in store for us in a few short months.
We will all meet up again for Labor Day. Tracy, let's make sure to get a pic of all 4 kiddos together next time!

The Miller clan enjoying the pontoon


















Scott and Evan in his cool hat!























Tracy and Rowan, sporting sweet sunglasses!























Me and my kiddos