So, I've been in kindof a daze today... We just got back from being gone for a week. I guess I'm recovering. I'll tell about our Easter break!
First, let me say Happy Easter! Saturday the 15th, Celine, the girls and I went to church for an Easter egg hunt and petting zoo. That was fun. Crazy but fun. Let me say, our church is quite prolific! You'd think we were Catholic or something. But no...we're Lutheran. We believe in birth control. But you'd never know it.
Sunday morning, we didn't go to church. Instead we got in the car and drove down to Atlanta. Well, Marietta, actually. Anyway--we had to be there in time for lunch in order to see Dennis' siblings, who all had to leave after lunch to go back to their homes. They had Spring break the week BEFORE Easter. Oh well... The lunch was nice and we made it in time and all that stuff. Dennis has a big family, so there were lots of people there. (They ARE Catholic) The Easter Bunny (EB) came to Marietta instead of our house. I wrote EB a note and told him that would be a better idea, since we were leaving so early. So, the kids hunted Easter eggs in GG's courtyard. Let me say, EB is a VERY good egg hider. And he left the girls some fun stuff for their Easter baskets. EB is such a nice guy....or is it girl?
After lunch and Easter activities, we went to Bill and Debbie's (Dennis' uncle and aunt) where we stayed through Wednesday. Well, Laura must have been quite inspired by Easter activities, because she took her first steps! She walked from the couch to the coffee table a couple of different times! About 5-6 steps at a time. Quite fun! It was very exciting, but then she decided she was done doing that! No more!
Monday, we went to a park and waded in a creek (Sope Creek) with Nona. That was fun! We ate dinner at GG's. It was a nice day to just BE with family.
TUESDAY WAS JULIA'S 5TH BIRTHDAY!!! WOW! What fun! Well, we woke up and Julia got to open BIRTHDAY PRESENTS!!! She was mildly excited. Let's see...She got the Mermaidia Fairytopia Elina Barbie doll that can either be a Fairy or a Mermaid. She got some pink high heel dress up shoes, Cinderella magnetic paper dolls, and an ABC dry-erase book. Anna got her a Strawberry Shortcake princess video. Julia was very excited. After that we got dressed and went to the Aquarium! This is the brand new, world's biggest aquarium! Let me say, it was quite impressive! Wow! We spent most of the day there with Nona and GG. And I didn't know before, but cousin Kingsley is working there too. We saw so many beautiful sea creatures! The girls most loved the beluga whales and the whale sharks, probably because of their size. I think I liked the coral reef exhibit for the beauty. Here is a link if you are interested... GG gave Julia some birthday money for the aquarium. She picked out a dolphin pet purse (a purse with a stuffed dolphin inside and its head sticks out of one end). She let Anna pick out something too. Anna got a sand thing. It looks like a paper weight. When the sand goes to one side, there are holes that make a beluga whale. When the sand goes to the other side, there are holes that make a whale shark. Does that make any sense?
When we got back from the aquarium we went swimming in GG's pool before going back to Bill and Deb's for THE birthday party! Nona let Julia pick out her birthday cake. Well, Julia picked out the BEST cake! It was a big, beautiful Barbie cake. The cake itself was Barbie's gown and a real Barbie was standing up inside. It was perfect for Princess Julia. For dinner, uncle Bill cooked pork chops on the grill and we had a nice meal with some veggies and a salad. We had the cake for dessert. Then, Julia got to open some more presents. Bill, Deb, and cousin Amanda got Julia a Dora lunch bag and then some special markers and a Dora coloring book. She loved that. Then I gave her Tante Sarah's present, which was a Mermaidia dress-up outfit and a Fairytopia DVD. She was so excited about the DVD that she shook with excitment. It was so funny. But later, I asked Julia what her FAVORITE present was, and she said the Dora coloring book and markers were her favorite. I was sure to tell aunt Debbie! :)
Wednesday was Arts and Crafts with Aunt Debbie Day! The girls painted (and planted) a flower pot. They painted picture frames and Deb printed a picture of each of the girls from Julia's party to put in the frame. They made a bee with their hands as the wings. They made a très cute visor to wear! They just had such a good time! It was storming really bad on and off during the day. Later, we also had to move from Bill and Deb's house to Richard and Kathe's. They have 3 kids Anna and Julia's ages: Madeline, Melanie, and Michael. It was Play Central! Nona and GG brought dinner Wednesday night. Olive Garden! Yum!
Thursday, we went to the zoo with Nona and GG. When we lived near Atlanta, we used to go to the zoo a lot. So, it was nice going again. It was mostly the same, but there were a few changes. We saw pink flamingos, elephants, giraffes, lions, gorillas, sea otters, panda bears, kangaroos, monkeys, cool birds, etc. We rode the train and the carrousel and pet the goats and pig in the petting zoo. It was a fun day! Then, we went back for more Play Central!
Friday was a slow day until the cousins came home from school for more Play Central. We met them at the bus stop. Then, all the kids in the neighborhood gathered in the yard and it was Play Central Times Ten! Fun! There was a wrestling match and everything. Well, mostly fun... Laura started getting really goopy eyes on Thursday and it just kept intesifying through Friday. She looked so miserable! Poor baby! But, we all have been coughing and having runny noses and sore throats, too.
Saturday was leaving time because we needed to get to Asheville for my friend, Holly's wedding! So, we left around noon and drove forever and barely made it for the 5:00 wedding! Luckily, we weren't late, but it was close! We changed clothes in a rest area! That was fun!
The wedding (Holly and Justin) was actually just north of Asheville in the middle of nowhere. But, once we got there, it was just so beautiful! It was at a farm and the ceremony was on a field in a valley surrounded by mountains in all directions! There were some surrounding fields with cows, goats, llamas, and miniature horses. The cows added their own music to the ceremony. So did the birds. It was pretty. They had a violinist playing. She played some Sound of Music, which seemed fitting. The reception was in a barn that was used for events (as opposed to horses or cows). They had white Christmas lights wrapped around the rafters. There was a blue-grass type band playing. There were real bathrooms, which was nice. The location was just perfect! And, of course, Holly looked so pretty and happy and Justin seemed very nice. So, it was a really nice wedding. Unfortunately, Laura's goopy eyes just seemed even worse and she started getting a fever. So, we had to leave the reception a little early. Anna and Julia were sad (especially Anna). So, when we stopped for gas on the way back home, we had to get ice cream as a consolation prize. Here's a picture of the 5 of us from the wedding...
We got home around 10:00 last night. I gave Laura a bath, gave her some tylenol cold medicine, and put her to bed. Our doggies were very happy to see us. Shelly took very good care of them. Today, I took Laura to the doctor and she has a perscription for amoxicillin. Hopefully that'll clear up her poor eyes (and ears, too).
Well--that's about that... I hope you enjoyed our adventures. We did! I took way too many pictures. I haven't developed them yet. I need money first! haha! The picture from the wedding is actually from Holly's snapfish account. I'll see if I can put some more pictures on here after I get them developed. Talk to you later!
~Mme Teall~