Great Weekend Gone Too Soon

Friday morning I was feeling a bit blah because once again it was raining and I feared we would be stuck inside the house. Alas, the clouds parted early so we headed outside for a little fun in the sun. A wonderful lady in our ward who had a surplus in her garden offered free veggies to anyone who wanted to come pick them up. I jumped on that bandwagon and then headed to a nearby playground that has a water/sprinkler play area.
Morgan had a great time with the water until some day camps showed up with too many older kids. We're going back again this week for playgroup so hopefully we get to stay longer.

Friday nights are usually pizza night and this one was no exception.

It's nice actually having dinner together as a whole family.

And Pepper is now getting in on the action.

She really seems to enjoy her Bumbo chair and will sit happily for sometime. Check out the clenched toes; she always does that and it makes me laugh.

Saturday was a busy day of chores and fun. We cleaned the house in the morning and Cody took Morgan to a make-up Little Gym class. Around lunchtime a YW in our ward came over to babysit so Cody and I could go see Harry Potter. I was a little stressed about leaving Pepper for so long but I pumped a bottle so at least I was hoping she would take it if need be. She did and slept for a little while but did a lot of crying so we paid the poor girl extra. Hopefully she'll babysit again!

After naps we set out for Canton to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Balloon Festival. I had no idea the Pro Football Hall of Fame was nearby and that they had a big-to-do every year but we're excited.

Because of weather the balloons only blew up a little, hung out for a bit then deflated. But it was enough for a 2 1/2 yr old to get excited by the festivities. Hopefully we get to see the full show next year.

We did however get to see some skydivers come down right near us and one had fireworks shooting out of his feet. Morgan talked about them the whole way home!

Once again I need to express my gratitude for this little lady and her nursing capabilities. I struggled a lot with nursing Morgan for various reasons but did manage to do it for awhile before he weaned himself earlier than hoped. Although I do complain a bit that Pepper doesn't take a bottle very well and formula put her in the E.R., I am so grateful that I can nurse her without any issues. For moms who have struggled with nursing you know what a huge blessing that is. I stressed before she was born that once again nursing would be difficult but it has been a joy with her. I've always said that I would only nurse until the child could walk but I must admit Pepper could make me change my mind. Although a girls weekend away from the kids also sounds pretty appealing...we'll have to revisit the idea next spring!

Well, that was our weekend. Sunday was a chill day for us, which is always a nice way to wrap up a busy weekend. I just love spending time with my little family!

Projects and Playtime

Life has been a little slow since we returned from our big family trip. Partly because there's always a let down after a great adventure and partly because it has been rainy and kind of cold here for the past week and a half. We have managed to find some fun things to do when the clouds parted and entertain ourselves indoors as well.

From day one Pepper has been really good about holding her head up so since she is now 3 mos I thought it was time to break out the Bumbo chair. She enjoys sitting in it and sucking on her hands. She hasn't really conquered the art of holding toys yet but her hands seem to fill the bill right now.
Our little princess.

Already working on her different looks, such a little model.

Morgan got the camera and decided it was photo op time. After some not so flattering pictures of me I captured this great one of him actually smiling at the camera.

Toy, binky and Boppy. The trifecta of relaxation.

(Cody and I trying to make it seem like we take lots of pictures of Pepper)

Last Friday morning was quite lovely so some friends and I decided to go to the Akron Zoo for the morning. Morgan, Pepper and I were the first ones into the park and had a nice long chat with the Daddy llama.

There's a really cute play area for the kids that looks like an old fashioned village. Morgan took over the run of the store and had a great time.

There's a garden area that we finally explored. It was really pretty and Morgan loved all the fountains.

Here's a taste of how much Pepper loves taking a bath. She will just lay there kicking and moving her arms and blowing bubbles. She never cries no matter how long you leave her in there. The video is a bit long cause you never know if they're going to do something interesting but it's still pretty cute.

Cody's father and maternal grand-father built this cradle before Cody's brother Khan was born. So that makes it about 41 yrs old and it looks almost brand new. However since it has been passed around the family and used by Cody, his brother and sister, some cousins and all of Khan's children it needed a little restoration.

We sanded down through the layers of paint and buffed out some of the knicks and scratches.
This past Saturday we painted and believe it or not Morgan helped...it was not always helpful but he helped.

We repainted it a lovely pale pink color that came from the Disney collection at Home Depot.

It is now all together and residing in our closet. We have started sleep training with Pepper and so far she is sleeping like a champ. She cries for a little bit but usually falls asleep without too much fuss. Cody and I don't want to jinx ourselves but so far it seems like she takes after her brother in the sleep department! I just know we'll pay for this good fortune later in life!

I'm working on making a bumper pad for the odd size cradle and maybe some matching sheets so I'll post a pic of the final product when I'm all done.

Enjoying a nice yogurt for snacktime.

So that's a taste of what we've been up to the past week or so. Hope your summers are going equally well and possibly a little less wet.

Family Reunion in Maine and New Hampshire

I know I have a problem posting too many pictures but I really couldn't help myself with this trip. There were just too many great pics to choose just a few and we did so many different things that I felt the need to document them all. I will try to limit my commentary and let the pictures do the talking but we'll see how that goes...Here's Cody at the Akron airport in the play area. This was Pepper's first airplane ride so you think I would have a picture of her but you'd be wrong but I do have Cody sitting in a little house, so just enjoy that.My beautiful niece Mikayla holding Pepper for the first time. Everyone was very excited to meet Pepper and we were just as excited to show her off to everyone.Ok so here goes the crazy back story for this trip. Right before Pepper was born my mother got a call from her brother Billy informing her that her biological brother had tracked her down and wanted to talk to her. My mom has always known she was adopted but because of a huge lack of information and documentation never thought she'd be able to find her birth family. Well they found her and my goodness there is a lot of them! She know has 1 whole sister and 6 half brothers and sisters just on her mom's side alone. In this picture is my Dad (blue coat) and my new uncle Millett (red coat). He's the one who tracked my mom down, apperently they found my mom's older sister back in the eighties but have been looking for my mom for awhile. After we landed in Portland, ME, we drove to Two Lights State Park for a family reunion/picnic. These are my mother's newly found sisters and brother. Her whole sister is next to her in the light blue coat. Some of the details are still fuzzy because her mother passed away last year and never liked to talk about it but it's great to have a lot more answers and whole lot more family. Everyone was really great and anxious to get to know us. More family is never a bad thing!

My sisters and me with our new cousins.

The newest generation (plus Kevin and I holding children).

The house where my mother grew up in Bar Mills, ME. My grandfather built this house. We spent many summers and christmas vacations playing with our cousins here. I love the memories this house and place holds for me!

After the mini reunion we drove to Tory Hill cemetary to dedicate my mother's parents graves. They both passed away years ago but their ashes weren't buried till last year and this is the first time we've all been able to come. Jill is holding Pepper in case you're wondering where she went.

After visiting the cemetary we went to my Uncle Billy's house to visit with him and my Auntie Cheryl. My uncle has a stockpile of beebee guns and the kids had a blast. He gave each of the boys a gun and they had a great time playing cowboys the whole trip.

We spent the rest of our trip in North Conway, NH. This is where my dad's parents use to spend their summers and we would always visit them for a couple weeks. It is truly one of my favorite places on earth!

This place is known as Diana's Bath and is a series of waterfalls and small pools. The water is freezing but so fun to play in. There are lots of natural water slides and fun places to explore. We didn't come dressed for the water however but the kids managed to get past that parental oversite.

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like it could easily be an old picture of my sisters and myself. However it is Jane, Mikayla and Alice.

Jill's husband Kevin and my mom enjoying my camera! This made me laugh when I found it. I had no idea they did this.

This is a picture of the house we stayed in. It fit Jill's family, my family and our friends Dawn, Garrett and their son Nathan perfectly.

Wednesday afternoon we went to a place called Cathedral Ledge. I managed to fall in the parking lot area twisting my right knee, skinning both feet and spraining my left ankle. I had Pepper wrapped to me at the time but she came out unscathed luckily. The trip was a little more difficult for me after that but I managed to keep going. Luckily Garrett is a doctor and made sure everything was ok. The picture above shows Morgan finding wild blueberries. I think he must have eaten a buckets worth before we left the ledge.

After Cathedral Ledge we went to a place called Echo Lake. My dad's younger brother Uncle Larry joined us for Wed and Thurs. North Conway just wouldn't be the same without him! Thursday morning we hiked down to a waterfall. Since I was in a lot of pain Pepper and I only went half way and just waited for everyone else.

Dawn and Nathan (this little man is seriously a genius, he's not even two and can speak in complete sentences...clearly!)

This is my sister Kim and family. What a good looking crew?! My mom, Jill, Alice and Kevin.

After the waterfall we took a gondola ride up a mountain. It rained on us and was quite chilly but we still had a great time.

You can't really tell how badly my foot was swollen in this pic but Cody thought he'd document it anyway.

Friday morning we took a train ride. It happenned to be the same day Thomas the Train was there. The kids loved seeing Thomas, especially Morgan who was basically losing his mind about the whole thing!

After the train ride we went to a nearby park and let the kids play while we had a picnic. Such a beautiful day!

That night we went back to Echo Lake for more water fun. It took Morgan a little while but eventually he started enjoying the water. He loved that he could walk around a large area all by himself.

There was another family having dinner near where we went swimming. They were super nice and let the kids eat most of their marshmellows, watermelon and pineapple.

Can you believe Benjamin's tan lines?! He could be the next Coppertone baby.

Saturday morning everyone packed up and headed out. It was the perfect family vacation (except for that whole hurting my ankle thing). I can't wait to go back and do it again. I just love New England and think everyone should go visit North Conway sometime in their life!