Visitors in Indy

Here we go with Summer 2010, part 2.

After we got home from Disney World, we didn't have much time off before Sarah Kate came up to spend the week with us while Steph went globetrotting.

First, Hazel and SK tested out their artistic skills.

Soon after, we busted out the Shrinky Dinks. They were a huge hit.

The next day was "Camp Day" and the girls spent some time in the ladybug tent.

And no trip to Indianapolis is complete without a trip to the Children's Museum (or so Hazel tells me). It appears that we have some budding archeologists.

Or possibly a racecar driver.

Or even a famous Etch-a-Sketch artist!

And, of course, we stopped by the Barbie exhibit...

...and fashion was made.

A few days later, Megan's friends the McGarrys stopped by with their two kids, and wouldn't you know it, we were back at the Children's Museum.

Safety first!

You never know when you might stumble across a ferocious dinosaur.

The girls solve the fossil mystery.

And Lisey masters the trains.

As is often the case, we saw many, many more things at the museum, but managed to forget to take pictures. Oops! But, rest assured that our flurry of posts will continue. Next up: Kansas City and the Fourth of July!

The summer is flying by...

The summer is flying by, and we have done a remarkably poor job of keeping this blog up to date. As such, I am going to start posting some pictures from our various adventures, and hopefully the pictures will tell most of the story!

So, first of all, it appears that we never posted our pictures from Disney World. I guess better late than never!


After a two-day drive, we finally arrived in Florida. We explored the resort, then went and played at the Magic Kingdom.

Playing in the sand by the resort pool.

Hazel's favorite ride, the Spinning Teacups. I think final ride count was 7 times.

Elise loved the carousel!

Hazel and the dress the mice and birds made for Cinderella.

Elise being awesome.

The real theme for this trip, however, was meeting the characters. Hazel even brought her very own Alice in Wonderland dress.

Fortunately, we ran into Alice and the White Rabbit within the first 30 minutes of being in the parks.

Marie from The Aristocats, another favorite.

The whole family with Tigger and Pooh.

Hazel and Snow White having a deep conversation.

And another discussion with Aurora (Sweeping Booty).

And all the girls with TWO Alices!

Oh, and I hung with Mickey for a while. We're tight.

Not only did we meet the various characters in the parks, but we also had a dinner reservation with Cinderella!

Prince Charming, he's dreamy...

The Stepmother!

Hazel's not too sure about Anastasia...

...but had fun with Drizzela.

And, the creme de la creme, Cinderella!

Just to make everything more interesting, we happened to run into my cousin's from Colorado in Animal Kingdom. We missed most of the good photo ops, but here is one of Hazel and Lia using the buddy system.

And, finally, when we made it the Hollywood Studios, we found ourselves in the middle of a Star Wars weekend.

It's not everyday the entrances are guarded by Stormtroopers.

And there's nothing quite like seeing Chewbacca heading to American Idol auditions.

Hazel's Thoughts on Disney World

We just returned from another awesome vacation to Disney World. It was super exciting this time, because we had all the fun of anticipating this trip. Hazel and I made a count-down calendar a month before the trip and crossed another day off every morning at breakfast. She was so excited, she asked me every day if today was the day we were going to Disney World and we talked about everything right down to the color of the hotel room we were going to stay in. (She wanted it to be green.)

I have lots of pictures to upload, and I will do that soon (I am waiting to collect all the pictures in one place - the ones that we took on our camera as well as the ones that the Disney photographers took on our PhotoPass) but first - our trip to Disney as told by Hazel.

(And oh yeah, Elise is crawling now. We'll have more video on that later.)

Four Years of Marital Bliss

Four years ago today, Glenn and I started our life together, and so far, it has been a pretty good one, so we decided to celebrate. The traditional gift for the fourth anniversary is flowers, so I was not surprised when a bouquet of stargazer lilies landed on my doorstep. I got a little creative in my "floral" gift for Glenn, and planned a picnic to the Lilly House gardens and baked flower cookies too.

I spent all day in the kitchen baking cookies. But I had a super helper in Hazel.

Hazel kept saying, "Daddy be so happy we make him cookies!"

These were some pretty serious cookies. (And I also made some chocolate rosettes for good measure.)

We had so much fun getting out in the fresh air and being silly!

We decided not to get a babysitter, because we thought the girls might like to celebrate with us. We were right.

Glenn and Hazel chased the ball for a little bit in the garden where we had our picnic.

Elise really enjoyed her first picnic.

She even got to gum a piece of dinner roll, which was a different experience for her.

A little girl and a dandelion . . . Classic.

Sisterly love. . .

Sometimes sisterly love lets go. . .

After the picnic, we explored the gardens.

Together.

Independence.

And Glenn and I took the opportunity to play with our camera and take some photos of the flowers.

Glenn took this one.

I took this one.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was upon us. Saturday was dark and stormy, but that did nothing to dampen the mood. In fact, it just gave Hazel an excuse to wear her rain boots.

Saturday morning, the McCain clan joined the Pattersons at the Ulen Country Club for a quick brunch and an Easter Egg hunt. While we ate, a certain rabbit wandered through the dining room and introduced himself to Hazel. She was a bit surprised by his size, but quickly warmed up to him. Due to the rain, the egg hunt was moved inside, but none of the hunters seemed to mind the change in venue.

That is one big bunny!

Hazel decided to join the 3-4 year old group so she could hunt alongside Audrey.

Elise considered leaving the group to go hunt with the 2 and under crowd, but decided that she would just hang out with Aunt Annie instead.

The hunt is on!


That Easter bunny hid eggs everywhere!

Hazel's basket, affectionately known as "The Collector."

Not too shabby for moving up an age group!

In fact, I would classify this as "quite a haul."

On Sunday, Megan and the girls went back up to Lebanon, this time to see cousin Laura get baptized. During this time, Glenn went to the airport and picked up Grammy, and everyone met back at the Club for a delicious Easter brunch. Afterwards, we returned home, and to everyone's surprise, the Easter Bunny had stopped by!

Hazel got a fancy new tricycle and a princess helmet!

Lisey got a ball popper. Fortunately, Hazel (and her helmet) were there to show her how everything works.

Oh, did we mention that the new trike has a basket that is the perfect size for Pink Baby?

Apparently the Easter Bunny shops at Vermont Confectionery. Lisey likey.