Sarah (my cousin) drove from Texas to hang out with family for a couple weeks while she puts her house up for sale and waits for her husband to return from Iraq soon. She has twin girls born about 2 months after Gabriela. And an 8 month old baby boy.
So, Saturday we drove to Indianapolis together to watch the Indy 500 Parade. My dad was going to be the first unit in the parade and it's supposed to be a really big event, so we were excited! We had also arranged to meet some friends of mine as well as two of her aunts (other side of her family). Well, we got there and met up with my mom and headed toward the parade route, but it was crowded! And the worst thing was that they sent my Dad's unit down the street at 11:30 when it was supposed to all start at noon! No other unit went until a half hour later (when it was supposed to start. argh!) We were lucky to be able to cross the first street to get to the other side to meet up with said friends and family, and we found a grassy spot with a higher up view of the parade. We did get a glimpse of Helio (a favorite of course as he is Brasilian) but we were too far away to get a good picture, but the crowd went wild, which was fun to be a part of.
We weren't right next to the street, but we could see and hear most of it. The girls just ran and ran and ran around. And they got along perfectly! Sarah and I got a bit sunburned, but neither of us peeled later on. We did not get to meet up during the parade with our friends and family, but we did so afterward and went to a park to play and hang out a bit. It was a perfect day... sunny, warm, but not at all hot (that's why we fooled ourselves thinking we were okay without sunscreen ...we know... we know!) The park was fun as it had a really big (read steep) grassy hill. The girls were wanting to roll down, but need some visual aid. Sarah went first. Then Claudia and I... boy was that a fast tumble, but lots of fun! Sarah and I even had a good dinner at Cracker Barrel with grass in our hair and everything. We then headed on over to Ohio for some more "home grown" fun!
Sunday we slept in as it had been a long day before, and never mind the two days of driving Sarah and the kids did even before that. It was another picture perfect day and we just let the girls run and play... a great advantage to living in the country... lots of room to run! We were a little more careful of the sunscreen, though our girls don't happen to burn too easily. We had two fun activities that day: slip 'n slide and a cookout!
Sarah made a BIG splash! Again, she had to demonstrate for the girls :)
Dinner was yummy: hamburgers and hotdogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad, and the best... SMORE'S!! We had lots of sticky faces...
Monday (actual Memorial Day) was another hanging out day. It was also hotter and muggier. Ugh, I guess summer isn't too far away. We went and did some horseback riding this day. I like being the instructor and teaching the kids, but "pony" rides also give you a good work out.
My little girl is becoming a more confident horsewoman too...
Tuesday we headed up to see my Grandma for a bit and then over to visit our Grandparent's grave site. I liked this picture as it is near where they rest, but they would often take me to visit cemeteries on Memorial Day and place flowers on the gravestones. In honor of them, and our servicemen...
We traveled back to my place and had another day to just hang out and another cookout on Wednesday... hotdogs, chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon and homemade french bread and chocolate cake! Yum! Here are some closeup, parting shots of the kids:
All in all, it was a great time and the girls got along fairly well. Not perfect like the first day, but they each took a turn having a grumpy day... but we're thankful they took turns ;)
2 comments:
That looks so fun! I'm looking forward to hanging out with you guys again next summer!
Those are some awesome pictures! I am hoping that I can steal a couple of them from you sometime?
Post a Comment