We just got back from a great trip visiting family in Minnesoooota -- the girls had lots of great Grandma and cousin time! We'll post some pics later. And now we have just enough time to unpack, do laundry, and repack for our Big Car Trip Down South! Our Southern Belle Maid of Honor is herself getting married, and Mrs. Pickles is in the wedding party, so we're making the trip in the Big Blue. It's two days each way (if we were insane we theoretically could have made it in one, but we're not insane) so we're in for a lot of car time over the next week. But we're going to leave early in the morning, and stay at hotels with pools, so we should have some good down time at the end of each day.
The biggest stressor for me was whether my bridesmaid dress would still fit! I bought it as late as I possibly dared -- in July -- making sure it was still roomy. I tried it on last night, and the good news is I can still zip everything up! :) (Yeesh -- it's amazing how fast things pop out with subsequent pregnancies...) It fits like a glove and I can ALMOST breathe, as long as I don't run or bend over or anything that requires something besides standing and looking pretty. :) I also made dresses for the girls (matching white eyelet with purple ribbon laced thru) which they can't wait to wear. Once again, pictures to come!
We've got the car packed with snacks and books -- ooh, that reminds me, need to choose music! -- in the hopes that the girls will be sufficiently entertained. We ALMOST borrowed a DVD player, but since each day's trip shouldn't be that long (about 6 hours -- same as a Steubie trip) we decided to forgo the electronic babysitter. And when they're tired they'll both sleep in the car, thank heaven.
Oops, I hear meltdowns happening upstairs. Poor kids, we've been ignoring them all day while we packed & prepped. Gotta go. Wish us luck!
The girls spent practically every waking moment outside...
...when they weren't taking advantage of Grandma's infinite patience for reading books to them.
Our cutie-pie.
Madeline spent a lot of time outdoors too. I can't believe how clean she looks in this picture. This was taken towards the beginning of the visit, before she went down the slide face-first about 1,007 times.
The girls with Uncle Dan.
Trying to find Uncle Dan's weak spot (or, tickling him with grass).
With some of the cousins (Bethany is very camera shy -- I think she was hiding behind a tree at this point). They had tons of fun on the cousins' swing set.
The two Catherines. Bethany's grandpa has a punt so he took everyone out for a spin on the lake. Gorgeous.
