Grammy and Grandan ... on the go!

The kids have been having a great time tracking Grammy and Grandan's progress on their Mediterranean cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit. Every morning when we eat breakfast, we pull out their itinerary and consult the map that they sent us to follow along. Now mind you, they set sail early last week and we've been talking about their trip since ... but we just realized yesterday that Tyler thought they were flying from location to location. Today, we pulled up a few shots of their ship online and BOY was he impressed! I was too! Wouldn't I love to catch a flight to Italy and join them for the second half of their trip! Traveling with their great friends, Barb and John McBride, they've already visited Venice (this is where the cruise began)...

Then they sailed to Dubrovnik, Croatia where they docked for the day. Dad has emailed a few times, and he said it was beautiful there.

And, most recently they docked in Santorini Greece. Now, THAT'S a lunch with a view!

Dad wrote that later on today they will be passing the part of Italy where his ancestors are from. They are now enroute to Naples, Italy ... their next stop!

Our Annual Trek to Iowa

Well, it has been about a week without posts, and that's because we've been in Iowa. That's right, we made our annual trek to the farm to visit Dennis' parents ... and all the cows and sheep, the tractor, site of the annual 4th of July parade, etc. This trip is a favorite for Abby and Tyler ... they had been talking about it for months. We have LOTS of pictures, so I'm going to have to post over the course of a few days. Here are the travel to Iowa pictures. Abby and Tyler toted their own toys and games for the plane ... finally! I did have to carry a bag too, but I'm convinced that soon enough they'll be toting MY stuff, right!

They really do a great job on the plane ... Abby loves to read and color, and both of them enjoy the mini-DVD player. Thank goodness for that!We brought our own flight attendant, Gloria, along on this trip. Actually, we were too stuffed from snacking on all of the goodies we brought, we had Abby's 4th of July teddy bear keep track of our oh-so-generous snack provided by Delta (HA!)
Oh, this is the look I got from Dennis the whole second leg of our trip, after I almost made us miss the flight out of Atlanta. The kids and I were having a splendid time in the bathroom (they hate the self-flushing toilets, but are all about the self-dispensing soap and paper towels ... we had to try that out several times) when we got a panicked call from Dennis that the lady was about to close the jetway door. Oops ... forgot to check the time. We made it!
And, when our luggage arrived in Kansas City, we were VERY glad for the rolling carts. Two carseats, carry-on bags, and luggage PLUS two kids makes for QUITE a load.
And THAT explains why I was feeling a bit FRAGILE by the time we got in the rental car! Just kidding ... it really was a smooth trip. Off to the farm!

CRAZY FOR CRAFTS!

It's true ... I AM crazy for crafts! I have a craft closet that's bursting at the seams, and I haven't done any projects for some time now. So, having my priorities completely in check (ha!) ... I chose the day I was to be packing for Iowa to reinvigorate my bow business. I have packed LOTS of ribbon and all of my tools (including the glue gun ... hope it passes through airport security) and I am planning to work on this project while we are at the farm. You see, it all happened when I was choosing bows for the outfits I packed for Abby, and I realized we didn't have a couple colors to match her clothes (oh the horror!), so I got out my ribbon. This reminded me I had promised to make some bows for my niece, which sent me looking through my supply of ribbon and bow making materials ... and here we are! I also came across a great sale at JoAnn's on small-sized flip flops, so I plan to try decorating those with ribbon too! We'll see ...

Crazy Cooks

Abby and Tyler helped me make cupcakes for a get together with some friends. They like watching the mixer do it's job, but they love eating the icing even more...After much debate, Tyler and Abby agreed that we should make the icing blue for Fourth of July.

They each got to ice a cupcake for their dessert that night...
Then I did the rest and added the red sprinkles, which were a hit at the Watson's pool party the next day. But, the water slide was also a bit hit! Tyler and Abby went down about a million times. Thank goodness for the swim lessons Tyler has been taking!

Random Fun

The kids are always cookin' up some sort of game or just enjoying life ... as is evident by all the crazy photos on this blog. I thought I'd group a bunch together from some fun over the past week. While looking for something in Tyler's closet, Abby found several stuffed animals that had been "missing" for some time. They were actually on the hunt for "Rookie Bear" about a week ago, so you can just imagine the excitement! So, Abby and Tyler thought a Welcome Home Party was in order!
One morning, they decided to fashion boats out of step stools and row their way across the ocean in our kitchen. Not a problem, unless Mommy is trying to cook and unload the dishwasher in that exact spot!
Dennis had to clean up a car seat and adjust the straps in preparation for our trip to Iowa. When Tyler climbed in to make sure everything worked correctly, Dennis paraded him around the house while he waved like a king. Fine for the 25 pounder, but anything that one child does ... the other must do too! Dennis got quite a workout carrying our 40 pounder around too!
And, something prompted the kids to gather all of their play vegetables on Sunday and bring them "to the fair" for judging. I had to come check things out, because it sounded like they were having much more fun than I was. I was packing Abby's clothes for Iowa and I heard dialogue that went something like this ...

Judge Dennis: And, who is responsible for this next entry?
Abby: Me ... I'm entering this tomato.
Judge Dennis: Ah, an fine specimen. Such great coloring, robust aroma, full bodied...

The tomato won first prize ... which was a blue ribbon AND a lovely floral lei. Weird family!

Summer Swim Lessons

Tyler has become QUITE a good swimmer this summer! Here he is during one of his lessons with Coach Erin. His lessons are twice a week, for 30 minutes in the Watson's pool. Overall, Tyler has a great time. He is always eager to get in the water, he kicks like a little fish... He loves to float...
And he is all about jumping into the pool. He also drinks a lot of water too while he's trying to take his breaths. We joke that we'll need to reimburse the Watsons for all the water we've taken over the course of the lessons!

G&G to the Rescue

Don't feel sorry for Abby and Tyler... even though Dennis and I had a lot of fun in New York City, they had a BALL in Orlando with Grammy and Grandan. And, since Aaron and Meredith (his girlfriend) were in LA for the weekend, Grammy and Grandan were also babysitting Auggie the Doggie. Tyler helped out by chasing Auggie around all weekend, so they didn't have to take him on so many walks! (just kidding)
Cupcakes ... and LOTS of icing!
And, they got to go to see "Go Diego Go, Live!" at UCF. No, they weren't part of the show. In the campus bookstore, they tried on these black/gold wigs.
And, they spent a good portion of one day at Sea World. Abby rode on Atlantis with Grandan (I'll post pictures of that later) and Tyler chose a ride up in the Sky Tower. Abby and Tyler love Sea World ... especially the penguins (real and larger than life!)
Thank you Grammy and Grandan for keeping the kids ... and entertaining them all weekend long!