I Need A Vacation from My Vacation!

Are you ready for picture overload?  AND I'm even going to do posts over the next few days because there's so much to share.  Sorry.

So after a 3 day trip up to Michigan we spent about a week and a half with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle James and Uncle Jeff (my single brothers who were home for a little while).  We had a great time and what we did can pretty much be summed up in one word:  OUTSIDE!!!  While Texas sweltered in record drought-inducing triple digits with no rain in sight, we enjoyed 70s and 80s with nice cool nights and some rain.  It was fabulous.  We took full advantage and went outside A LOT.  My girls are going to go into shock over the next week or so when they realize we're back to being mainly indoors at home . . . 

So what did we do?

 We cuddled with Uncle James (ok maybe not we, just Abby).

 We played Barbies (and that one really is we although I only got a picture of Abby -- and Barbie's bum!  Sorry people!  I try to be G-rated here . . . ).

 We enjoyed Grandma's stash of cool things that aren't really toys but should be (and looked good in the process, thanks Grandma for the very cute dress).

 We colored the driveway (and ourselves) with chalk several times over (thanks to the rain).

We dug in the garden and picked vegetables.  Megan got really good at picking green beans, Abby was a pro at putting dirt in the bowl, and I excelled at avoiding all garden work at all costs -- after all, James and Grandma need to bond with the girls right?

 Oops, sorry about the bum shot mom -- this really is G-rated, I promise!

 We played at the park -- slides, swings, climbing -- we did it all!

 Look at the joy on that face.  This girl LOVES to swing.

We played in the rain -- it has been a very long time since the girls have played in the rain and they were in absolute heaven.  And when the clothes got too wet . . . 

 it was perfect weather to be naked in the rain.  My parents live in the middle of nowhere so it was fine.  

We picked flowers and stuck them behind our ears.  Sorry mom about your bushes . . . 

We went to Dow Gardens again so I won't post too much because we've been there before and I think I did a gazillion pictures then too.

 But they did have these glass flower sculptures all around the gardens which were really beautiful.  And for sale.  And way out of my price range.

 This is a nice picture huh?

Oh and of course Megan kissed rocks.  Lots of rocks.  Many times.  We came through this area more than once so there was a lot of kissing involved.

 Hey, she loves rocks.

 We played in the sand and got pretty filthy but I wasn't complaining.  Megan's sensory issues slowly get better and better so she can play in the sand all she wants!  Abby doesn't have sensory issues, she enjoys being dirty I think.

 Abby did a lot more walking (mostly after crawling to within 2 feet of what she wanted).  She still walks with her hands up which better not be good practice for a future life of crime.

 She also tried on Uncle Jame's shoes.  She loves shoes.  All shoes.  She is such a girl.

 Of course there was cooking involved -- homemade pizza, zucchini bread and zucchini cookies.  And mom and I canned relish (ok she did that one by herself), pickled green beans (well, she did that one by herself too actually), and dilly beans (which I actually helped with -- I promise!).

 Abby learned that Uncle Jeff is really good at flying.  I'll post video of this in a few days because it's really cute but I've got to download them all first and I am really exhausted because I spent a total of 40 hours in the driver's seat trying to keep two small ones happy.  For the most part, they were good.  But I did learn some fabulous ways to prevent or put an end to a melt-down . . . 

 One of which was the box of tissues. 

Look at those things fly!  My car was a DISASTER area (I considered applying for federal aid and then remembered that I am a Texan . . . ) but it was totally worth it to entertain Abby.  You should have seen the look on her face when I actually GAVE HER a box of tissues instead of taking it away.  It was like Christmas.

But now we're home sweet home and as much as I love visiting my parents, it feels really good to be back. Now if I can just get a few days of peace and quiet before the normal routine starts again.

Oh stop laughing.