champaign visit

i've known lindsay since 5th grade when we moved to bourbonnais. its been fun to stay in touch with my childhood friends as we've spread out and grown into the adult versions of our silly selves. and now that we are all having babies, its even more fun to reminisce and stay in touch.  we met lindsay and her two littles (and her little sis, shoudln't she still be like 13 or something???) in champaign for a date at jarling's custard cup and some play at the park across the street. thanks for taking the time to catch up with us and spend a little time playing, friend! after our date, my parents took my big babes home and curtis and i stayed to spend the evening with the thompson family. we caught joel's last ballgame of the season, a driving tour of campus to see the latest and greatest changes there, enjoyed always incredible fare at dos reales (what a treat to have friends to snuggle curtis while i ate using two hands!) and spend some time back at their casas reminiscing and watching curtis perform his crawling stunts (he loves to get up on all fours and rock back and forth, this one is a mover and a shaker!). i also was thankful to see some of emmily's latest performance as belle in her school's performance of beauty and the beast. she's off to college soon and i can't wait to see her on even bigger stages in even more exciting venues. she's got big, beautiful things coming her way.

our littlest babes were born one day apart :)

everyone gathered 'round watching the curtis show - he is incredible.

fun in blo-no

there is definitely some finesse involved with taking three tiny children on an endlessly delicious (but exhausting) vacation. living out of a suitcase, sleeping in a new bed each week and not having access to all of our toys and activities and the rhythm of our "normal" is definitely a tiring adventure to be on. nonetheless,  we are soaking up the sun and the fun with deedee and bumpah in bloomington-normal this week.  we have enjoyed a day at state farm park pool as well as a day at the discovery center in uptown normal. between fun outings, we appreciate the air conditioning as the weather continues to be insanity hot, alternating between playing in the cool basement and running in the sprinkler or backyard pool to fill up the hours of the days.  we're loving our time here, missing the rhythm of our norm in san diego just a bit, and realizing that we are about to embark on an even greater adventure - creating a new rhythm to our days in a new home in a faraway land!

enjoying the awesome kiddie pool at State Farm Park with DeeDee - this was so perfect for a hot day!

Baby Curtis has a different idea of enjoying a hot day. :)

Pete on top of the play structure - there is a little water cannon that he loved. So fun to watch momma squirm after getting soaked.

Lady bug got tired out and needed a snuggle with Bumpah

Pete throwing water toys to a friend with DeeDee and my cousin Alison

the snuggle turned into a full blown nap in the sun to warm up

more cuddling with my littles

Pete living large on the waterslides - see him in the blue rash guard coming down the slide to DeeDee?

Betsy and Bumpah rocking the lazy river (in pink rash guard)

enjoying some fresh peaches in shade with DeeDee and Aunt Elle after a romp in the sprinkler

"There is a baby hiding in this mirror!!!!!!"  He is delighted to have discovered this little trick and squeals about it on and on

going for a walk with DeeDee after dinner - she loves that she gets to be a "real grandma" and push the stroller

Fun at the children's Discovery Museum in Uptown Normal

This just made me happy

Curtis was impressed by all the activity at the museum

Making pizzas with DeeDee at the Discovery Center

Feeding the cows so she can "milk" them

watching the inside workings of the combine with Aunt Elle

wind energy exhibit

the star of the show - they have a big stage with costumes

loving the window painting station - what a great idea!

splash park

finally the heat broke yesterday and we could go outside without quite literally melting into a puddle and evaporating immediately. its been so hot so it was such a relief to be let out into the fresh air and sun.  we hit a nearby splash park in the afternoon and everyone had a lovely little frolic. i think the kids enjoyed having space to spread out and stretch their legs and curtis enjoyed watching the tree branches dance overhead while he laid in the shade and took it all in.

pretty serious water spraying action

lady bug on the swings. she tried out every. single. one.

chatting with bumpah and watching the leaves dance

5 months old!!!

freedom

deedee loves having her babies here. we went for a walk last night and she asked if she could push curtis in the stroller like a "real grandma"...poor deedee is heartbroken that japan is so far away from illinois. :(

4th of july in hopedale!

oh hopedale, the fourth of july is such fun! i love that its become such a tradition for all of us to gather together - all the kids come home, its like christmas but with better weather!  reid's bff isaac's family hosts an all-day shindig after the independence day parade, and this year with temps around 105 the only bearable way to celebrate was from within their pool. pete and betsy absolutely loved the pool - and peter spend the entire day jumping off the diving board over and over.  for someone who just a few months ago was still trying to get his arms and legs organized to swim halfway across the pool for his swim teacher, these few weeks of daily dips in the closest pool has really propelled his abilities. he jumps off the board without hesitation, swims himself up to the surface and then with a little directive assistance for him to grab his breath and get turned in the right direction, he goes to the side and hops out to do it all again. mr. fearless also had a few flips off the board in daddy's arms, always surfacing with the biggest grin of delight! seeing so many family friends in one place is always special, i'm continually grateful for the family i married into and all of their friends who treat me as though i've always been part of the family and our kids like their grandbabies. of course there is also the festival with the rides and games and treats. corndogs are always a hit and pete loves the rides. betsy was so disappointed to find out that she wasn't quite tall enough to ride the swing rides that spins in a wild circle this year (i was relieved as i wasn't quite ready to put her on that thing yet, but was proud of her for her bravery). we heard aunt linny sing on stage and then headed out to the road on the far side of town to see the fireworks launch. last year pete was terrified and spent the entire show in the cab of grandpa's truck, little man has pretty sensitive ears.  this year we came prepared with his hearing protection. before they started he kept saying "let's get out of here guys" but as soon as they lit up the sky, he was mesmerized and enjoyed the show. betsy was unphased by the noise - and quite pleased that another family tradition is to bring a freshly made bag (ok, there were several bags) of tasty, mini sugar covered doughnuts. once she found out aunt bethany was handing them out, she made several trips to ask for more. she fell asleep on the ride home and it was too late for a bath, so the next morning she woke covered in sugar from head to toe.  it was such a hot day, our family of 5 went through about 15 bottles of water just that evening. grandma stayed home with curtis so she could rest up for grandpa's surgery the next morning which went fine, thanks for sending up your positive thoughts and prayers.   

she reeeeally wants to ride the neighbor's horses

enjoying a tasty corn dog on july 3

super happy little man

love his new urban baby bonnet

aunt linny loving on curtis at the parade - hottest 20 minutes of my life. soon after this he ditched the patriotic onesie and sat in the shade wearing only a diaper the rest of the parade

Gina and Isaac visiting from Phoenix

betsy found a spot on the curb with an empty icecream bucket for her loot and decided it was too hot to scamper for candy. luckily, she's cute enough and small enough that the big kids kept her bucket plenty full and she happily sat baking in the hot sun enjoying her goodies.

our little fam enjoying the parade - doing our best to somehow stay cool.

grandma staying cool in the shade with baby curtis

aunt briana manning the curbside affairs for a bit so i could find some shade

taking his turn in the shade with the baby

hanging out in the shade of a pop-up tent at the afternoon party for his 25 minutes spent outside after a nice long nap in the ac at grandma's house post-parade

having a snack after non-stop pool action for several hours straight, he wore himself out!

betsy swimming with daddy. she took a few turns off the diving board too

curtis took his first dip in the pool, thanks to aunt bethany for holding him so i could get dry enough to grab my camera

tandem diving board jumps are the best

this is what J-O-Y looks like

super duper sweaty carousel ride

standing in line sweating some more for the giant slide ride. she got bored about 5 minutes into the wait and vetoed the whole thing.

pete and daddy rocking the swing ride - pete could have ridden this thing all night!

when we told him it was time to go sit and wait for the fireworks he told us it was actually time to "get out of here"...but when i pulled these out of my purse, his face lit up with a smile and he decided it was ok afterall. thankful i remembered to pack them a month ago!

our little fam (minus baby curtis who was sleeping soundly in the ac at home) on 4th of july

shows is in full swing, betsy is tuckered out...and poor daddy, if it weren't already sweltering, he's got two babes draped all over him. but i know he loved every sticky sweaty sugary minute of it. :)