- Real Life Farm -

On Friday we went to Real Life Farm again with my twins club like last year.

Playing before the big fun began...

I love that this style of play equipment is still in action.  I remember these from my own elementary school playground!

Feeding the animals...

Milking a cow...

The hayride...

Horseback rides...

Playground fun...

Peek-a-boo, Mama!

A Day Out with Thomas

For the second year in a row, Mike and I took Michael and Sophie to Greenfield Village to ride Thomas.  Basically it's the same train we ride there several times a year but with the big blue guy pulling us along.  It's also crazy expensive for the little you get out of the deal, but we parents are suckers for our kids' excitement.







Last year Michael and Sophie were just getting into Thomas, but this year he is big stuff around here.  On the train Michael didn't want to sit in anyone's lap, squirmed to get back down when I lifted him to see Thomas up front when we were rounding a corner, and I think it was because he very literally wanted to ride on Thomas.  That's what we talked about all week, and he wanted what he envisioned.



We brought along the grandpas...



...and Grandma and Grammie, too!


I couldn't resist going vintage with this picture of Sophie and me on the carousel.



The village had a number of activities especially for this kids during this event.  They really loved the little cars...




















...and feeding them gas when they were hungry like Mommy and Daddy do!\

To friendship...

Whenever I got nervous about giving my toast at my friend Kelsey's wedding (the purpose for our recent trip to AZ), I reminded myself that it was truth, that it was what rang in my heart when I thought of this moment in my friend's life. I worried that it wasn't funny enough, that it didn't give enough detail, but ultimately Kelsey was touched.  Because of that and the handful of solid compliments that night, I feel inclined to share it here.  It didn't come out exactly like this, but I was pretty close.  I started by introducing myself and then...

I’ve had the privilege of being Kelsey’s friend for a very long time.  In fact, our friendship that began in elementary school will reach its 25th anniversary this fall. 

I’m honored today to have been a part of this beautiful celebration of Kelsey and Anthony’s marriage. 

Almost seven years ago I got married, and one of my favorite photographs from that day is of Kelsey, an hour or so before the ceremony, pen and paper in hand, putting the final touches on her toast. 

What makes me love that picture is the fact that I can actually see Kelsey’s writing in it, that familiar print that I see these days on birthday cards and in the covers of picture books she sends to my kids but that always reminds me of our note-passing days, of yearbook pages detailing our teenage heartbreaks and the inside jokes that sent us into belly laughs that particular year.  I believe it was in those days that we really solidified this lifelong friendship. (I believe this is where I started sounding pretty choked up, but I rallied on!)

With Kelsey’s wedding day approaching, as I became more and more excited for her, I realized there’s a part of me that longs to write a note, to fold it up, write Kelsey’s name on it, and pass it to that sixteen-year-old version of her at her locker.  If I could do that, I wouldn’t spoil all the fun of life’s surprises, but there are a couple of things I would say.

The first is this. As pretty as you are in your teens (although you don’t seem to know it), you become even lovelier over the years.  While the rest of us are starting to show our wear, in your thirties you look more gorgeous than ever, particularly on April 28, 2013.  You’ll see what I mean. (That part got a big woot-woot.  She really did look amazing!)

The second and more important thing I would tell that sixteen-year-old Kelsey is to keep listening to your gut, to that instinct of yours that drives you to do your own thing, to paint your bedroom walls a bold green and to later dye your hair a similar shade.  While your sense of direction will occasionally make us all wonder where exactly you’re heading over the years, things work out as they should.  The right paths will cross when it’s time, and the adventure will continue.

To this Kelsey, and to Anthony, I wish you many years of belly laughs, inside-jokes, a strong partnership for the ups and downs to come, and a lifetime of treasured memories between each of your many anniversaries.

To Kelsey and Anthony...

Reflecting back this week on that whirlwind weekend, I now find myself hoping that I can guide Michael and Sophie to value their friendships, to let them grow and change as they do, and to be witnesses (perhaps even on paper) for the many chapters in their friends' life stories.  

I'm hopeful they will be that for each other as well.

I'm also hopeful that Mike and I can start making more kid-free vacation plans!

Way Out in the Desert

One of my dearest friends got married in Arizona last weekend, and Mike and I made a quick weekend getaway out of the occasion. While I would have loved more time with Kelsey and palm trees and my husband, the many days home with sick kids this year really ate up my personal days. It's good that we planned this adventure to be a quick one. 

Here I am at 8 A.M. drinking a terrible glass of Pinot Grigio at Detroit Metro Airport last Saturday morning.  The justification for that (and the wine soon after on the plane) was that I wanted to sleep on the way to Arizona so I would be somewhat prepared for the time difference and ready to hit the ground running for the rehearsal and whatnot.  And it was my first time flying away from my babies.  Yes, babies.  Back off.

Yes, I did sleep a bit on the plane, in case you're wondering.  And no, I didn't get tan.  My Irish skin just doesn't do that.

Michael and Sophie stayed at my parents' house and were pretty excited that Mommy and Daddy were going on an adventure on an airplane while they were on an adventure of their own.  I left some little gifts for my mom to give the kids each morning, and she sent texts with photos like the one below to tide me over.

"Thanks for the pinwheels, Mom.  They're almost as cool as a vacation."

The kids slept well, had no accidents, and only mentioned that they missed mommy and daddy toward the end of the last day.  Couldn't have gone better, really.  We're lucky that my mom really knows these two so well after caring for them a couple of days a week during the school year, and they clearly felt at home with her and my dad.

We're also lucky that Mike and I didn't die and orphan our kids, not that I worried about that compulsively for weeks leading up to this or anything. 

Chaparral Suites - Our hotel in Scottsdale was a taste of paradise when back home spring was taking its sweet time kicking into gear.

The weekend in Scottsdale included the wedding rehearsal at the breathtaking Royal Palms Resort, a visit to Kelsey and Anthony's house (got a peek at Kelsey's dress--perfection), a dip in the pool back at the hotel, an amazing gazillion-course rehearsal dinner at Noca--a restaurant run by one of the groomsmen, lots of girl time in the bridal suite on the day of the wedding, and the emotional and beautiful wedding itself.  

Rehearsal Dinner

To commemorate our trip we picked up an Arizona Christmas ornament at the airport for my parents as a thank-you and one for ourselves.  I also found this book for the kids:

Way Out in the Desert by Jennifer Ward, T. J. Marsh, Kenneth J. Spengler

Thanks to this book Mike and I are now confident in our pronunciation of saguaro, ocotillo, and javalina, and Michael and Sophie love taking turns finding the numbers hidden on each page.

One of the reasons I didn't blog much leading up to this getaway was that I was putting some of my writing time and energy into my toast.  I'll be posting that in the next day or two as well.

Two cheers for gymnastics!

As is the case with so many activities we do as a family of four, I don't have any pictures of Michael and Sophie participating in their gymnastics classes yet.  With our one-to-one kid-to-parent ratio, pictures can be tricky to take when also spotting those kids on rings and bars.

Even without photographic proof, I hope you'll believe me when I say that Michael and Sophie love their gymnastics class and are doing great!  We go every Saturday morning, although we've missed a few due to other fun--Easter egg hunt, their own birthday party, a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's. Mike and I have been enjoying this weekend ritual as well and can't quite break the habit of stopping for a mid-morning meal afterward.  :P  This weekend we also stopped at a mom-to-mom sale and our neighborhood park before bringing the kids home for their nap.  I love when we're able to wear the kids out so thoroughly!

You might recall from my post five months ago that my primary motivation for getting the kids into a class like this wasn't really for them to learn the proper form for a forward roll.  It was to help them to become more confident.  I'm sure it's partly just a matter of maturing a bit and growing physically as well, but overall Michael and Sophie now eagerly enter parties and play dates without any visible anxiety.  They're more sure-footed on playground equipment, needing very little help, and they seem more willing to jump and climb in all sorts of situations like jump-houses and mall playscapes.

For example, Sophie kind of blew Mike and me away when she lifted her foot as high as her ear and pulled herself into this wagon climber...



I know it's not exactly phenomenal, but we were proud of how she clearly just believed she could do this and did.  I was just about to point out that little wheel sticking out up front for her to step on, but yeah, never mind!  Who knows whether or not any of this stuff is thanks to gymnastics, but it certainly hasn't hurt.

By the way, both kids are solidly in underwear during the day and just wear diapers when sleeping. The diaper peeking out of Soph's pants in that video has to do with not quite pristine undies after the day in child care and a doctor's appointment just before this.  With all my talk of our potty training journey, I thought I'd better explain.  Speaking of the doctor, the kids were more brave there than ever before as well!

Chances are, I know, that these positive changes could also have to do with my own increasing comfort and confidence that Michael and Sophie can handle themselves.  To me they have reached a physical size and agility that gives me the cue to step back a bit more.  It's funny to think that a lot of kids are this big at one-and-a-half or two-years-old...I wonder how that must change things. Anyway, I know Michael and Sophie feed off of my vibes for better or for worse, but it all goes hand-in-hand really.

Laundry Helpers...Again

Michael and Sophie's three-year well visit confirmed that, while they are still in the 25th percentile or lower in all areas of size, they are still growing on the appropriate curve.  They're still my peanuts, and they're fine.  And they still love doing this.

However, the laundry baskets are only so big, and I'm sure the days of taking turns "driving the car" are probably numbered.  In the spirit of "The Last Time,"  I took some pictures again this morning. 

Here's a post from almost a year ago where they're doing the same thing for one of the first times.