Annie and Her Events

 Love this little girl!  She is so much fun and just a treat!  One of her greatest talents is memorizing things - kind of drives Ben crazy because this is a real challenge for him.  Alas, her class did a poetry celebration and her poem was about Pigs.  Pigs are playful, pigs are pink...  Mitchell had a hard time sitting through the program and the slide show after, so he went to snuggle with Annie for a bit.

 She loved being in Girl Scouts - there is a huge group of fabulous little girls that love to play! 

 Crossing the bridge from Daisy to Brownie at Jackson Park!

 She's had such fabulous leaders who are so organized and prepared and excited about life!!

 My beautiful little daisy...such a sweet little girl!!!

 Annie and her teacher, the fantastic Mrs. Steadham.  Love her!  She loves this little chatty girl!!!

 Being served by her brother.  Ben loves to play beauty parlor with the girls - painting their fingers and toes.  We have to lock  let Mitchell hang out in his high chair anytime this event occurs because he definitely wants to be in the middle of the action!!!

33 Months Later...

 Mother's Day 2012...waiting in the auditorium...plied with treats, books, and electronics (until the show begins)...

 90 minutes later (after many speakers)...we finally catch up with our favorite post-JD student!  No longer is he just a candidate for a JD/LLM in Intellectual Property degree (he walked 2nd during graduation because of the joint degree - after which we semi-patiently waited for the many other students to walk...), but a newly graduated student!  Yeah!!!!  We joined many other graduates and their families for a reception in the foyer (and outside on the concrete where spilled food isn't much of a concern) with veggies, fruit, cheese, and delicious cake!

 It was now almost 5 pm - we'd been at the school since 130, with minimal nap for out little 18 month old friend - he did absolutely fabulous!

 The rest of the munchkins - posing happily in the bring sun.  Love these kiddos.  They have been so incredibly supportive and patient these last few years.  We are all so glad to have this time behind us and look forward to...studying for the bar!!! 

 Well, at least the studying doesn't start until TOMORROW morning...we'll enjoy our bread while it lasts...Home for a few games of corn hole and swinging in the hammock, then off to bed for school tomorrow.  Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

While Parents Are Away...

 The kids had a grand old time while Andy and I were gone.  Ben and Annie were in school most days, so lucky Emily and Mitchell had Grandma allllll to themselves!  From what I heard, Emily is a puzzle and memory whiz!  Below - the kids also love and appreciate Grandma's willingness to share her ipad...

 There was much joy and entertainment with the newest pet - Bella, a frog that had the misfortune to hang out in our yard!  She was huge and had many habitats...and she needed to get home before Sunday dinner so her family wouldn't miss her, so she was released soon after mom and dad came home!

 Cutie boys!

 Is there really any wonder why Mitchell loves Ben so much???  These two are so incredibly fun to watch.  As tough and intense as Ben is, he is so kind and gentle with little ones - and they all love him, Mitchell most of all!  This series of pictures is one of my favorites!!!

 The preparations for our return took many days....lots of balloon blowing...

 ...coloring and letter writing...(all of Emily's words are written from right to left - that lefthanded thing is a trick to figure out!)...Mitchell's joy at finally being able to use markers!!!

 Love this one - Annie's hands are so classic.  The left hand trying to explain and brainstorm with Ben on how to get the ball from Emily, the right hand hitching up her shorts.  (She loves these and wears them several days a week but refuses to wear either a belt or tighten the inside straps more...whatever!)

 This game also ensued for a long time - the joy of a ball.  Even clutching at her shorts, Annie is super fast!!!  Ben jogs along just fast enough to keep the game interesting...

 Just before we left, Andy found a youtube video that Mitchell would sit still for - it's a sesame street song called 1, 2, 3, 4.  He showed it to mom in case she needed Mitchell to sit still.  They both enjoyed the ipad and Grandma went home singing this addictive song!

THANK YOU for coming to play with the kids!  They had fun (and really enjoyed going out to eat) and sad to see you go.  Thanks Grandpa for letting us borrow her for so long!!!

Returning Home

 

 Our last breakfast - we had left plenty of time to eat at a little shop that looked just quaint as could be.  It would have been great had they more than one person working there...and had we gotten more than half of our food and had it taken under 90 minutes...for pancakes.  Alas, it was a great atmosphore!

 After many hours of flying...we arrived home to find the house covered with balloons and sweet welcome home signs!

 The kids were all sleeping and not so happy to see us the next morning after 7 1/2 days away...apparently Grandma is much more fun than Mom and Dad.  Guess it means we'll just have to go back!!!

Puerto Rico - Day 7

The resort had scheduled activities throughout the day.  We missed early morning yoga but ventured out to feed the iguanas - huge!  So neat to watch them all running for the full-size lettuce leaves!  Pictures just don't capture the experience...

Below is our setting at this beach.  We debated getting up super early to take the ferry to a special island (La Culebra) but figured it wouldn't do justice since we needed to be back later.  Instead, we spent the morning and afternoon walking up and down this beach - finding a plethora of sand dollars (mostly still alive!!!) and reading.  This definitely wasn't our favorite place to swim (see previous side note), and I could see why this part of the island is no longer thriving.  Still - beautiful day, very quiet, but a bit too windy for my preferences.

Wednesday night was the tour Andy was most looking forward to, so we left the hotel in plenty of time...stopping for dinner in a little shack.  Neither of us were very hungry, so we shared two sides and enjoyed every bite!  Ohh, I never liked rice and beans until I had them Puerto Rican-style!  And, plantains are just fantastic!

While waiting for the bioluminescence phosphorescent bay kayaking tour, we found some corn hole boards set up to play while people waiting.  What???  Corn hole in Puerto Rico???  Well, the owner of the touring company went to grad school in...Ohio!  Thus, the corn hole boards.  Fun and simple game that we love to play!

I've always wondering about mangrove trees since first reading Harry Potter - this is one type of mangrove trees - really cool!  I kind of wish we had gone with more light, but that would have defeated the purpose...

Our group behind Andy...we had some fantastic tour guides.  This was so much fun - and completely amazing!  You are not allowed to swim in the bays because the oils from our bodies will kill the little microorganisms, but we did put our hands in the water.  Once you swirl the water, the lights come on.  I felt like I was stirring a witch's brew with my paddle/oar!!!

The happy couple just before heading back through the little channel to dock the kayaks/canoes - whatever!  Great time!  So tired...end of the trip and many days outside and in the sun!

After driving back to our hotel (the least scary ride of the trip!), we decided to finally splurge a little bit (we were under budget for the first time ever!) and order room service!  We shared a hamburger, a pina colada (they were completely delightful!!!), and a $9 piece of chocolate cake - which Andy loved.  Too much fluff and not enough cake for me.  So fun...loving our vacation!