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Memorial Day Weekend/ 40th Wedding Anniversary

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We had  two incredible weekends in a row! Matt's parents celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary with a trip to Mexico. They said it was the most relaxing and fun trip they have ever taken- and they deserve it! Happy Anniversary to them! We wanted to join in on the celebration and helped book a house near the beach in Holland, Michigan for the weekend. Emily, Great Grandma B, Aunt Mary Jo, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Pat all joined in on the festivities. Thanks to Mary Jo we had a feast at every meal- I'm pretty sure we all went home and directly to Costco to pick up a bag of the delicious super salad!  This was Savvy's first time at the beach.  Cassidy is my little fish and jumped right in to the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. Grandpa joined in too. I did not :-) We strolled through the downtown farmers market and enjoyed the remaining tulips from the previous weekend's festival. It was at that park where Nancy and Pat surprised us!
Grand adventures were had by all and we look forward to going back one day to explore the hiking trails we missed this time around. 

Next weekend was nice as there was ample time to lounge at home and finish projects there. Like laundry. Grocery shopping. That is when you know you are a grown up. When doing chores is fun and you look forward to it! You still enjoy other fun things like going out and concerts and traveling and whatever else suits your fancy, but doing chores ranks in the top 5 activities that makes a Friday night a good night. On Memorial Day we marched in the Elmhurst parade with Kidz Drop In, the daycare I trust my Savvy to attend till Tuesday when I get to be home with her, and Cass, all summer long. (Like the subtle hint dropping? I promise there is more to come next week about the transition of Team Smith) 

After the parade we spent the rest of the day with the WTs! Our girls are growing up so much. Usually Julia and Cass play with each other for 2 seconds before venturing off to do their own thing. I've read it's part of their development to do so. But on this day, they passed one of those milestones I'm so fond of reading about on various what-your-child-should-be-doing-and-when websites ( as if there wasn't enough to make me paranoid?) and played together. For hours. 
Lots of laughing, lots of sharing, lots of good times.







I know, these pictures are way out of order. But the element of surprise can be fun, no? And I cannot get over this pink striped swim suit! I snapped up for $2.99 at Once Upon a Child. Can't get enough of that place!
















Savannah did not like the grass. Not one itty bitty bit! We put her down thinking she would pick up blades of grass, gleefully throw them in the air, then chew on them for a minute. Nope. She was not having it!





















Great Grandma Paula Benninghouse will be 92 years old next week. How exciting that Cass and Savvy (and the rest of us) got to spend real time with her!


 Aren't these gorgeous! I'm very glad the homeowner did not find me creepy as I stopped to admire their garden. It was spilling out onto the public sidewalk so really I technically wasn't doing anything wrong by taking pictures :-)








And how adorable are the WT kids?? 





This was a moment! They were making small talk when Owen decided he wanted to take Savvy's binky for a test drive. She was not having it, and screeched one warning out before yanking it out of his hand and popping it back in her mouth. Then they both cracked up laughing, causing the binky to fall out! Just when you thought you couldn't put anymore in a container of cuteness...time for a bigger container :-)

Savannah has started crawling! Nothing too big mind you, but she can move forward a couple of steps. Do you call it "steps" when she's not using her feet, rather her knees? Whatever, we have movement! It's pretty amazing. She is uber mobile and we may need to invest in baby gates this time around.

And finally, here is my feeble attempt to capture the four of them! Yeah, that did not work so well this time. This is why I like taking pictures of buildings and landscapes and nature...they don't move! I am not a portrait person and the rare times I get a really good shot...well those are just lucky anomalies. And while I do enjoy volunteering for event stuff once in a while, I really just like the free food aspect given as payment :-)  We'll try again next time I'm sure! 











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