Filson's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Filson's birthday yesterday with him in Wilmington. It was a great party! Once he finally tasted his cake he loved it. It took awhile for him to try it, but he finally did. He wasn't sure about the singing and all that. The video was taken by his cousin, Riley. Today we are all going out on the boat for an excursion. It should be fun.

Another Adventure

The kids and I are leaving today for another adventure. This one will be much closer to home and not as long. Today we are driving to Wilmington, NC to celebrate my nephew, Filson, first birthday. We will drive to Myrtle Beach, SC on Sunday so Riley can attend a Dance Caravan camp through Thursday. The Clarks are going with us. It's going to be a blast. I will try to update soon.

More Garrett's Birthday!

 

 

 

 

I am stilling trying to figure out pictures, so bear with me.

Garrett's Birthday!!

 

 

 

 

"The best birthday EVER!" This is a quote from the birthday boy himself. I remember those birthdays. He started off the day by opening his presents from his family. He loved everything. Garrett received two different Lego things to build so he started with the biggest one from Nana, the Lego Police City. He did legos most of the day and only took breaks when I forced him to eat breakfast or lunch. The birthday party took place at Blackbeard's Cove, a family fun center. The birthday group got to play on the poop deck (an indoor jungle gym), climb the rock wall, have water balloon wars, eat pizza and cake, and play arcade games for tickets. Everyone enjoyed themselves especially Garrett. When we got home, it was back to the legos. He did finish the whole police city a little after 9:00pm. Overall, it was a great day!

Garrett's Birthday!

 

Countdown

Every morning when Garrett wakes up his first statement is "only __ days until my birthday, mom!" Today there are only three more days until the big day. He is having a party at an family fun type center called Blackbeard's Cove. It is one those places that drives parents crazy, but the kids love it. Actually, I do love it for a birthday party because they do absolutely everything from pizza to cake to entertainment, all I have to do is show up with a checkbook. Garrett is doing a camp this week with some buddies from school. It is a combination of tennis, kayak, and golf camp, although yesterday they went to see a movie. He is having a blast and is getting so brown from being out in the sun. The girls and I are having a great deal of mother/daughter time this week. We went saw a movie yesterday too and did some shopping for Filson's birthday. Today we are either finishing the painting of the downstairs den or going to Sam's, quite a choice. Aaaah, summer rolls on!

Normal

We all are starting to settle back into a normal routine, somewhat. The girls are off at camps this week. Riley is at an intensive dance camp and is sore everyday. Jensen is at a soccer camp and also feeling sore from all the physical activity. Garrett is at home with me. I am watching a friend's children during the day and it has been great because he keeps Garrett company. After tackling a mountain of laundry, I am trying to check things off my long to do list.

Our Great Adventure-Day 18

We made it home at one o'clock this morning. Most everyone slept in this morning. Needless to say we are all tired today. I had to make the mad dash to the grocery store so we would have some food to eat. And I finally got to add pictures to my blog entries! Ashley came home today and we were all SO excited to have her home. I think she was excited to see us too. Our Great Adventure is now over, it was a memorable trip. Now we are excited to stay home and get into a routine. Both girls start a summer camp tomorrow. Life is never dull around here!

Our Great Adventure-Day 17

Today we left for home. We all had a wonderful trip, but were ready to be in our own home. After we said our goodbyes, we hit the road. We spent the entire day driving. Not to exciting, but necessary.

Our Great Adventure-Day 16

Happy 4th of July! Most of the Haldrup family attended a brunch at the Propylaeum in downtown Indianapolis. This is an old, beautiful home that Nana is a member. The food was delicious. Riley, Emma, and Jensen led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and they all did a superb job. After we all sang some Patriotic songs, we had some rousing games of Bingo. All the kids and most of the adults won prizes. When we finished at the Propylaeum, we went over to Nana's for a cookout. The boys put a new flag pole for Nana which was a real treat for her. The kids as always had a great time swimming in the lake and playing together. Everyone left fairly early to go to different celebrations. Riley, Jensen, and Garrett with home with the Vowells to spend the night. Uncle Robert treated them by buying fireworks which they had a good time setting off and watching. Garrett thought the coolest thing was when Luke would shot a bottlerocket down a piece of pvc piping to the bottom of their pond and when it exploded bubbles would rise to the surface....so cool! He was really impressed. Nana and Neil sat outside to watch the different fireworks. Since we were leaving the next morning, I stayed inside and got everyone packed up for the trip home. All in all it was a great 4th!

Our Great Adventure-Day 15

After the big celebration, we took it easy today. It was also raining so us and some cousins went to see the movie Wall-E. We all enjoyed the movie. Luke and Emma spent the night with us at Nana's. We did some returns in the evening and went out to eat. A very pleasant day.

Our Great Adventure-Day 14

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENSEN!!!
The morning was spent getting ready for the party that afternoon. Including family, Jensen had around 30 people at her party. The weather cooperated with us and was nice. The kids swam in Nana's lake and the adults enjoyed watching them and catching up with each other. We had pizza and cake! Jensen made out like a bandit with many, many gifts from a lot of people who love her. I think she won't soon forget her 10th birthday! It was good seeing all the folks that Neil grew up with and their families. What good friends to show up and help us celebrate! And how good of a Nana does Jensen have to let that many people come to her home. It was a great day!

Our Great Adventure-Day 13

We all slept in this morning so we got a late start. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel and then headed out. Of course, we had to go back to the American Girl store for some additional purchases, not to mention the fact that Jensen had received a gift certificate from Brittany and Mason and cash from Aunt Eva that she had to spend. When the girls were finally satisfied with their purchases and had spent all their money and mine, we went to the Apple store. All I can say is WOW! Neil went to the hotel to check us out and the rest of us went to see the Crate & Barrel store. When we met back up we decided to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo, where we enjoyed a nice lunch and looked at some of the animals. By the time we left the zoo it was after 5:00pm, so we decided to head back to Indianapolis. I think everyone enjoyed the city and will have many memories from our trip.

Our Great Adventure-Day 12

We got an early start this morning and the first thing we did was head to The American Girl store with dolls in tow. Riley and Emma's dolls got their hair done and facials, it was quite special. The girls shopped the store and made many purchases. They then would plan what outfit their doll would wear and how they were going to do their hair. This discussion went on for awhile. Neil and Garrett got bored with the doll stuff so they headed to the Lego store, where we caught up with them. We took a bus down to Navy Pier and enjoyed the sights and lunch. Next it was a water taxi ride to the Planetarium. It was incredible how blue and clear Lake Michigan was to us. After a taxi ride back to the hotel, Neil left to pick up Aunt Eva for dinner with Brittany and Mason. We enjoyed a nice meal and a local restaurant. Brittany and Mason took us to see their adorable loft. They live in the same neighborhood as the Oprah Winfrey studio. It is the perfect place for them and Brittany has done such a nice job decorating.

Our Great Adventure-Day 11

After a wonderful night of celebrating Aunt Eva's birthday, we all enjoyed a nice brunch at the Oscar Swann Inn in Geneva, Illnois. The grounds were just beautiful. We departed around noon and gave Aunt Eva a ride home to a suburb of Chicago, Arlington Heights. We finally got to see Eva's nice home and enjoy all her treasures. Then it was off for the big city of Chicago. We checked into our hotel, The Omni, and took in all the sights and sounds of the city. We grabbed a quick dinner at the Weber Grill restaurant and then headed to see The Blue Man Group. What a show! The kids absolutely loved it. We got to keep our cousin, Emma, with us to enjoy our trip. My favorite part of the show was watching Garrett's reactions, he would continue belly-laughing even after everyone else in the theater had stopped laughing. It was hilarious. We then took a taxi back to the hotel where we found a piece of birthday cake for Jensen from the front desk. I still cannot add pictures because there is no wireless connection here, but I will as soon as we return home.