Trip to IN for a Wedding Celebration

Family is very important to me. I have a big family, and love to celebrate everyone's accomplishments/celebrations.  Earlier this month my niece had a destination wedding on a Caribean Island.  She and her husband live in Chicago and decided to have the wedding celebration for family and friends on their rooftop deck.  The party was this past weekend, so A. and I caravaned down to IN with my daughter and her boys.  A. & I stayed at my sister's house, the bride's mother & father. 

We had a great drive down to IN and met other family members at my brother's house. His daughter and granddaughter were travelling from AZ, but didn't arrive when scheduled on Thursday night as there was a power outage at Midway airport and all flights were cancelled. The airline said they couldn't get them on a plane to arrive before late Saturday afternoon. But with a lot of phone calls and persistance, they got on a plane and arrived Friday evening.  While we were awaiting their arrival, other family members filtered in.  A. had a great time running the length of the house with her 1.5 year old cousin, while the guys talked baseball.

I love helping prepare for these parties and spent the evening cutting up fruits and veggies with my sister.  A. and I got to bed late and I started counting the hours of sleep missed.  It really added up over the course of the weekend.

I have learned not to worry about bringing toys for A. to play with.  She just needs one baby and maybe a few accessories that we can keep track of.  She found all the baby stuff at my sister's house and was content playing with the car seat and bumbo.  You wouldn't think a 5 year old could fit in a bumbo, but this one with skinny legs didn't take no for an answer.

And now the party.........view from the roof-top deck.  You can see the Sears Tower (or whatever it is called now) and the Hancock building.  The view behind us (which I didn't take a picture of) showed the Rush Memorial Hospital where we took my Mom for her 2 surgeries and her doctor appointments when she had cancer.

My sister and A.

My niece and great niece.



It was a hot day in Chicago and we drank lots of water. A. loved going up to the deck on the roof with whomever would take her, and then coming right back down again.  She and her second cousin were partners in going up and down.

They have a loft in a building on the west side of Chicago.  This is a candid photo of the kitchen: bride on the left and groom in the middle talking to his mother-in-law, my sister.

This is my great niece with my sister...........

My grandsons--getting through an adult party the best way they could.

I wanted to get a decent shot of the two of us at the party.  We had such a good time.

My sisters-in-law.  These are the greatest ladies I could ever ask for as sisters-in-law. I love them both very much.

This little one kept busy the best way she could, too.

My niece just graduated from college.  Wishing her luck to find a good job.

And now for the family pictures up on the roof-top deck.  Patiently waiting for the rest of the cousins to arrive..........it's really hot up here.

These cousins have a good time together, no matter what.  The younger ones were done with the sun and the heat, though.

My A. loves her second cousin.

 One last quick shot of those who were still there.

I love this woman, the bride, so much.  She is the kindest, sweetest person and deserves all the happiness she can get.  She married a great guy, too.  I wish them both the best of luck.

My sisters................(it got a little windy while taking these pictures)

Add the bride..............

Add the two youngest brothers.............

The two oldest brothers couldn't make it, and we all missed them. 

Our youngest brother had to go home to PA and left Sunday morning.  My two sisters stayed in a motel in Chicago as they stayed at the party til the end.  A. & I had my sister's house to ourselves.  We went to church with my brother and visited with him afterward while strong thunderstorms came through.  The lack of sleep helped me to decide to leave and drive home on Sunday afternoon.  I know it was late to be driving home, but as it stays light in northern Michigan until after 9:30, I decided to go for it.  A. was a champ.  She talks non-stop while I drive, and I sing along with Harry Chapin.  She doesn't watch a movie, just talks......about the cars and trucks that go by, about our cat, but mostly talked about going to a party.  Obviously she had a good time at the party on Saturday.

We got home at 9:30 and A. raced to see where the cat was, stopping only for a second while I took this picture.

On Monday morning she woke up at 6:30--way too early for the amount of sleep she needed. I let her come into my bed, and she fell asleep again, which was good.

It took us 2 nights to make up for our fun weekend.  She slept 12 hours on Monday night.  It's Tuesday night at 8:30 pm and A. is still not asleep.  I think she got used to the late nights, and liked it a little too much.

We had a fun time this weekend, not only going to my niece's party, but just seeing family and catching up on everyone's lives.  It was too short, but better than nothing.  I love my family so much, and love being with them as much as I can.

June 2012, part two

The second half of June has been busy, too. 

We went to the beach with my daughter's family on a very hot Saturday before Father's Day.  I had worked all week and was looking forward to a great time with the family.  My oldest grandson spent the night with A. and I on Friday night.  A. was so excited to have him in the house (we really do lead a very low-key life) that she woke up close to 1:00 am asking if her cousin was awake, and never went back to sleep.  She ended up playing with her babies, her stuffed animals, reading books, and once when I went in there to tell her to go back to sleep, she had the stroller out and was taking babies for a walk in her room--in the dark!  And she did fall asleep on the way home from the beach, she couldn't help herself!

It is a long walk with all of our stuff to the perfect spot on the beach, and we all helped carrying stuff.  A. took bathtub baby with us and made sure she had a good time at the lake.

This little lake has a small channel that leads right into Lake Michigan. So we always take a walk through the warm sheltered channel water to the cooler, windier Lake Michigan.  It has fun waves to play in. A.'s body is long and thin, so she has trouble with balance sometimes.  She did end up face first in the water at one point. Thank goodness my daughter was right next to her and rescued her.

It was time for lunch and to get out of the sun for a few minutes.

Bathtub baby had more fun in the water, sometimes needing to be rescued by the cousins.......

.....and even got to go for a ride in the tube.

Looking at the path from the small lake to the big Lake Michigan.  It is getting a little cloudy......maybe it's time to go before the rain comes.  It's a long walk back to the car.

June 19 is an anniversary for A. and I.  On that day 5 years ago she came to live with me.  I didn't realize at the time that she would be here still.  But now I expect she will be here forever. She has become a part of me and I can't imagine my life without her now.

We celebrated this special anniversary with my daughter and her boys. After trying to decided what would be the best way to celebrate, we settled on going to the Children's Museum. It seemed like a good idea to buy a one-year membership for A. & I. We'll get our money's worth, for sure.

I was lucky enough to find all four kids together on the "boat."

They all love the water table.

As I was filling out the membership papers, A. found a friend.  They listened the the reading of "The Three Pigs" together. 

We went to Culver's for lunch and they enjoyed their ice cream treat after their lunch.

 

Later that day, we were at home and she was playing with her babies while I was working on the computer.  She was feeding Baby Kimmy and wanted me to take a picture of her.

One Sunday morning after a rainy night, I went out to get the paper.  Of course A. comes along so she can see what the cat is doing.  The flowering tree and flowers are looking good.

When we go shopping--to Target or grocery shopping to Meijers--A. always brings a baby to put in the "rocker seats."

It was a hot day and after shopping, I just wanted to stay inside.  I ran out of excuses, and so we went outside for a little while. A. was hot and sweaty, but happy to be outside.

Here is a picture of A. in her glasses.  She has far-sighted vision and needs these glasses when working on schoolwork--reading, coloring, writing, etc.

Our Monday morning visitor--Baby A.-- has 3 brothers. The oldest is taking driver's ed this summer and the youngest goes to summer camp.  The second brother needed somewhere to be when Baby A. came, so we invited him to come over, too.  He is a special needs boy, and loves my A.  I keep forgetting to mention that they have a nickname for A. They call her "Caker" which is a shortened version of Baby Cakes.  They took care of her a lot in her first 6 months and were hoping to be able to adopt her until they found out that I would be taking her.  They are special people in A.'s life.  The boy loves trains, as does A., and they watched a couple of Thomas episodes together.

And finally, I get these emails from Woot.com.  They have bargains and from time to time, I take advantage. Here is a picture of A. in her new tent that I bought for only $25.  I thought it was a good investment.  She put her pillow in there along with a baby or two and had a really good time.

She kept herself busy while I got ready for our trip to IN.  I'm there now and that will be the subject of my next blog.

June 2012: first half

I haven't been spending much time on my laptop lately.  I've been distracted by the beautiful summer weather and working by filling in for my former employer.  Being able to check Facebook and Instagram on my iPhone and iPad mean I don't have to go upstairs to the computer as much, so I don't.  My pictures will attest to that. We've been having a wonderful summer so far, and looking forward to more good times.

We start our pictures at the beginning of June.

I love looking at life through a 5-year old's eyes. Every morning we feed the cat, A. pets her and kisses her. She'll try to pick up the cat, but Babe is on to her and moves quickly enough to prevent that.

It was chilly the beginning of the month, and we helped celebrate the first birthday of the little girl I watch on Monday mornings. 

We all went to the local Adventure Park (the one A. and I walk to often on our walks) and this was the first time we were able to actually participate.  We rode the go carts, which she loved!

We found out she was tall enough to ride the bumper boats by herself. We decided I would stay back with the baby so the other Mommy could be with her 4-year old, and the others promised to stay close to A. I was nervous, but she stayed within 6 feet of the edge of the pool and mostly went around in circles. She had a hard time figuring out how to move the boat, but she was great at squirting everyone.  I laughed 'til my stomach hurt.  Birthday girl just enjoyed her bottle.

A. got to ride the kiddy go carts with the 4-year old.  It was hilarious to watch because A. had no clue what to do at first. They both kept getting stuck on the bend. She figured it out and had a great time.

We didn't miniature golf because there was not enough time and the attention span of the younger kids wouldn't allow it. The only other thing to do was the big water slide. It was too high for A. and cool enough that I didn't even bring her bathing suit. But the boys went  down the slide several times and loved it. Then it was time to go and we made sure the kids got their pirate hat and flag.

We were there only 2 hours, but had the best time!

One day we were outside and A. was telling me how her baby was inside sleeping and was going to get up at "ten firty."  She was so intent on her conversation and I thought I should take a few pictures. I took the first one when she wasn't aware, and the second one was when she realized I was taking a picture.

A few candid photos: changing Baby Kimmy's diaper,

and enjoying holding Babe. It's been a long time since she was able to catch the cat.

School ended the first week of June with a picnic on the playground with their families.  

A. became very close to this little boy in her class. His Mom and I exchanged phone numbers so they can get together over the summer. Both of them are too interested in their cookies to pose. His sister knew what to do.

This is the classroom aide who has been there each year since A. started. She is a very loving lady.

This is her teacher--the third one since A. started. But A. has learned more with her than the other two. It could be A. was just ready to absorb things, but I love how this teacher goes the extra mile when teaching.

The picnic was scheduled on the 2nd to last day of school. (This teacher doesn't take many chances!) So on the last day of school A. was pretty happy (actually she's almost always pretty happy) and excited to see the bus coming.

My oldest grandson turned 10 this year. How did the time go by so quickly???

He is a joy to me and a very loving boy. He has spent the night with us a couple of times and is always so helpful. He loves being in charge of A on the days my daughter watches her for me. 

One of the friends at his party went for a ride on the fire truck with A.  It was a warm day, the fire truck kept overheating and would stop in its tracks.  They would have to wait until it cooled off and then it would run again. The two of them started a game where they would kick the soccer ball around while waiting for the fire truck to cool down and then go back to the fire truck. It was fun to watch--they would jump out of the fire truck, run around kicking the ball, and then jump back into the fire truck.  Of course, she was the driver.  That's my girl.

In her party bag from the birthday party was a deck of cards. This is what she decided to do with them.  And notice the squirt gun from the bag in her hand.  She had a good time learning what to do with a squirt gun. :)

One Sunday morning we went outside to putz around in the yard before our shower/bath.  She caught the cat again, and kicked around the soccer ball while I weeded. She is still in her jammies.

That's the first half of June. I've got much more to share of this month so far.  See you soon.