We always split the time between Mom's family and Dad's family. This trip was a little different. We started with Dad's family, then went to Mom's family and then back to Dad's side. The girls did so well on the airplane. A special thanks to Marmee for traveling with us. I think it was harder on Mom and I than it was on the girls. We were human jungle gyms for 4 hours each way. It is hard to keep them busy, but they are such good travelers. I can't complain a bit!
It was so nice to let them play outside. I feel like we have been cooped up inside for the last couple of months with all of this heat. They loved being outside in New York. Also, they did amazing sleeping. Since we were on vacation, they weren't on too much of a schedule, but they napped and slept when I put them down.
We took more pictures than I thought. I took over 50 just on my iPhone that we sent to Daddie during our trip. We got the suitcases out to pack and the girls got right in!
We went to Grandma's first. It was so nice to just lay outside on a blanket.
The girls with cousin Haley.
Look at those girls go!
Grandma had a pool all ready for them to swim!
When I say the girls were spoiled by all of our family, it is an understatement. They got so much love the entire time we were there! Just an example...Aunt Karen gave Presley her own piece of pizza.
Since the weather was so nice, we put Kiley's magic shoes on every morning and had her walk with a toy up and down the street. She did so well!
When I put Presley in the grass to crawl, she didn't really like the feel of it, so she took it upon herself to stand up by herself and she even took a few steps. I was so proud of her!
She crawled right up to Nonie! Nonie gave the girls presents everday! Again...spoiled! I should also mention that while we were up there both girls learned to climb stairs. They can both climb an entire flight of stairs!
Presley reading a magazine with Marmee.
The girls having lunch outside at Nonie's.
Kiley laying out by the lake with Marmee.
Dinner down by the lake in the little house.
Kiley loved driving Nonie's golf cart!
On the way back to Grandma's, we stopped to get ice cream. They only had big girls swings and Kiley did great. She loved it, and she loved the ice cream!
We got Grandma's digital frame out and put it on the window sill. Kiley LOVED it! She would sit in the rocking chair and watch it and tell us who everyone was (in her own language of course).
Presley and Grandma.
Silly girls.
Look at those teeth!
So most people who have kids and have taken them out of town know that it is a "trip", not a vacation. Having both girls by myself was quite exhausting at times. I had very few breaks from them the entire 10 days. On Saturday night, Dad took me to a Steve Earle concert in Ithaca. It was so much fun! Thanks for the fun date Dad!
My other two breaks consisted of hitting two wineries with Mom one day while the girls were napping and I got to go to the windmill for a couple of hours with Haley one morning!
On Sunday morning we woke up to some noises outside. My Uncle Paul and Aunt Karen recently moved down the street from Grandma in one of the houses Paul built. They are putting in a back patio. Preston brought his excavater and dump truck over to help Paul move dirt. It was so fun to watch them. Mikey would have loved to help drive the dump truck!
Kiley and Presley got to get up in the excavater.
Presley loved playing in the suitcase!
The girls loved playing with Karen and Paul's dog, Maggie. She is so good with kids!
Kiley and Presley got to go for a ride in the Rhino with Karen and Paul.
Haley had some fun toys for us to play with at night. The first ones were these flying lanterns. They are so cool. You set the cardboard inside the lantern on fire and the lantern floats for miles!
The other cool thing was this stuff that you sprinkle in the fire and it changes colors. So cool!
The girls still got into EVERYTHING, just like at home!
One day, I had the girls all dressed and they were playing outside. They kept showing me that they really wanted to go swimming.
Grandma tried distracting Kiley with bubbles.
But it didn't last long...in Kiley went.
And then Presley...
When Presley swims, she swims. She gets wet from head to toe!
My cousin, Josh, brought his kids, Kaleb and Maci over to play with the girls. Kiley had so much fun swimming with Kaleb.
And Presley crawled right out of the pool and gave Maci a kiss!
The girls played in a blow up boat by the lake at Aunt Kathy's.
The water is usually pretty cold, but this year it was in the high 70s which is warm for Seneca. Kiley swam in a tube and loved it!
We took Grandma to lunch one day and the girls thought they were so big with their big girl cups!
Grandma taught Kiley how to ride a tricycle. She doesn't use the pedals yet, but she did learn how to make herself go forward. Thanks Grandma!
On our last night, Aunt Kathy and Uncle John brought a big dinner over to Grandmas. It was delicious! Uncle Paul reading to Kiley.
On our last day, we went to lunch at a weinery. The girls got dog chow which is macaroni and cheese with hot dogs in it. They served it in a dog bowl!
It is a lot of work to pack two little ones up and fly to New York, but it is worth it. I cannot describe how much it means to me to have my precious girls bond with our family in New York. Everyone is so good to them and gives them so much love. They had so much fun and they learned so much in just the 10 days we were up there. The worst part about making the trip is saying goodbye. It is so hard to say goodbye to everyone because we love you all so much. We hope to see you soon!
