The month started out with a trip to Dallas for me. It was pretty much all work and no play, but I did get to have dinner with my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Les, Jamie, Trip, and Olive who I only see a couple times a year. One of the perks of travel is definitely getting to see family and friends. While I was gone the kids were getting spoiled at Grandma and Grandpa's which they always LOVE!
The week after I got back, Colin made his rendezvous to Atlanta while the kids and I hung out for a few days at home. That following weekend it was birthday time! Andy had been planning a surprise party for Shannon for months, and the weekend was finally here. Colin and I jetted down to Madison for a night for the big surprise. Shannon was in tears of course (she had NO idea) when 50 of her closest friends and family converged on the Great Dane. It was definitely a fun night!
Leave it to my hubby to spoil a perfectly good photo op!
Group shot! My eyes are closed, but I still love this picture!
Bridesmaids getting ready for July!
The day after Shannon's party, I was onto work trip #2 to New York. This was my 3rd trip to New York, so each time I try to see a little bit more of the city. Work left little time for fun again, but I did manage an evening trip to Central Park which was perfect since I was spending all my time indoors. I was also in New York the day of the bombings in Boston which was a bit surreal. The walk to work the morning after the bombing was eery...there were police on the streets EVERYWHERE. The city was on high alert. My travel home was miserable. I was so happy to be home after that trip.
Central Park in the Spring
While I was gone, Emmit got to spend a couple days with Grandma Donna and Papa Herb. They were visiting Wellyn and Sue in Minnesota and stopped to pick him up on their way back home. We are so thankful for the help our families give us when I have to travel for work.
Emmit loved playing with Maxwell and Matthew for 3 fun days!
Two days after I got back from New York, we jumped in our neighbor's mini-van (8 of us all together!) and made a little weekend get-away to Wisconsin Dells. We all stayed in a big suite together, and the kids had a blast. The water parks were a lot of fun for everyone.
Ellie, Emmit, and Sydney in the big hot tub in our room.
Ellie having fun in the pool
Emmit coming down the slide
Ellie and Sydney on the rope bridge
Emmit and Palmer coming down the slide together - they must have done this 50 times, up and down, up and down, that's all they did!
The week after the Dells, I worked a couple days, but then took 3 days off and the kids and I hopped in the car again! We made our way to Madison on Wednesday for a night at Stephi and Mike's. And then 3 more hours south on Thursday to visit the Leustek clan. Jen and Matt just welcomed Jacob Matthew to their family at the end of March, so we were very excited to meet him for the first time and see to Lauren and Elizabeth again too. Once again the kids had so much fun together, and Jen and I had a great time catching up as well. I so wish we lived closer!
Ellie and Emmit watching a show with Uncle Mike the night we were there =)
Emmit holding Jacob. Both Ellie and Emmit could not get enough of Jacob. They were holding him constantly.
Ellie (5), Lauren (almost 4), and Elizabeth (almost 4) hugging so nicely, and Emmit (3 1/2) being silly as always!
We visited the Caterpillar Museum - possibly the best museums for little boys ever! The kids just loved climbing in all the equipment, driving the simulators, and watching a movie in the back of a mining dump truck. Emmit was in heaven!
Just a couple of the big machines - there was no way to get everything in one picture.
The girls getting a picture in the bucket
Waiting for the movie to start
Emmit played in this loader for almost a 1/2 hour. Everytime I asked him if he wanted to check out something else, he'd respond, "No Mom, I'm working."
Sitting all together one morning again. We had a great time visiting out friends. Other than the museum, we visited a couple parks, played out in the yard, had a picnic, and just played, played, played. Thank you Leusteks for such a fun trip!
The week after our road trip to Peoria, I hit the air again for my third and final work trip. I went to LA for 3 days and then Detroit for 2. This was an unusual week being gone for that many days in a row, but thankfully again the kids were well taken care of by Daddy and Miss Kim at home. When I was in LA, I got to meet up with my cousin Jake and his girlfriend Brooke for dinner and drinks. Once again the family perk on top of business travel which definitely was a highlight of the week.
Kim took the kids to a Timberattlers baseball game one afternoon which they absolutely loved! Here's a shot of Kim and Nick with Ellie, Emmit, and Eli, and then Kim's friend with the kids she watches during the day too. They had a lot of fun.
Ellie, Emmit, and Eli with their cotton candy faces!
And then the day after the game look what was in the local newspaper...Emmit playing in the sand. The newspaper photographer captured this shot during the game...he looks so cute! This one we need to get framed =) This was in the paper on May 1st! And gone is the month of April!
0 comments:
Post a Comment