Visiting Max, Mya, and Ivy!

 

Late July, the girls and I made a day trip down to Dubuque to hang out with Max, Mya, and Ivy (and Beth too, of course!).  The girls were super excited, and we hit the road (with the girls still in their jammies because all Grace wanted to do was put on dress-up clothes with Mya) by 7:40...and, that was after we stopped to get air in one of the tires.  Speaking of Grace, she probably asked...hmm...about 100 times "When are we going to be there?" on the way down - sigh.  Anyways, it was awesome to arrive early with plenty of time to play; and, in case you were wondering, Grace was true to her word and had a dress-up outfit on within five minutes of arrival!

I especially enjoyed getting to spend some extra time with the littlest cousin, Ivy - or Ivers as the girls like to call her.  There couldn't be a cuter, spunkier little girl, and I loved her willingness to dish out cuddles and her total obsession with shoes!

We spent the day playing!  After letting the kids play around the house for awhile, which they would probably happily have continued doing all day, we headed to Jumpin' Jane's (a big building filled with blow-up slides, a climbing gym, etc).  The afternoon involved more playing while Ivy napped.  Beth got out Mya's convertible and Max's four-wheeler for the girls to try out.  They were in love, and I only wish my pictures showed their smiles better.  As for me, it was like a blast into the future watching them drive around on those things!  Other favorite activities were a trip out for ice-cream, playing babies on the swing-set, and playing with the water table.

 

 

 

We headed home later evening after a little fuss about wanting to stay from two very tired, once again jammie-clad girls.  They were asleep within ten minutes of leaving, and neither moved till we got home.  I carried Olivia in first, and after getting her into the living room, told her to head upstairs.  When I came back in a minute later with Grace, she was lying on the living room floor completely asleep.  She didn't wake up at all as I carried her limp-limb-body upstairs - no small task with a growing five-year-old or a growing baby belly!

It never ceases to amaze me how well the kiddos get along.  It's so fun to watch them play and make memories together while clearly building a great family bond.  Even if that does sound a little cheesy - it's totally true and I couldn't be more happy about it!

 Playtime at the park after going for ice-cream!