IU Sleepover with Natty

Let me preface this posting by saying we have the Best. Nanny. Ever. It's a true story. And here's why...

Yesterday Mike and I met nanny Natalie halfway between Westfield and Bloomington to hand off the girls for a much anticipated sleepover at IU. We had been planning this for a long time and I'm telling you it's an understatement to say the girls were excited.

Natalie sent me all the pictures from their adventures...and I just know one day when the girls decide to go to IU, we'll look back at these pictures and remind them of their first visit. And that we'll have Natalie to thank for our Hoosier daughters

First thing's first...opening birthday presents!

 Natalie had a packed day planned for the girls to see all the famous IU spots. The Sample Gates were a must...

 And of course Wells House

 Visiting mommy's Delta Zeta brick

 Mr. Wells statue

 Dipping their toes in Showalter Fountain

Natalie made these tees for the girls last year...the front reads "GO IU" and the back reads "PU Purdue." Love.

 Light display at the art museum

 After dinner with Natty and her boyfriend Jake (who the girls couldn't stop talking about) they saw a free showing at the Union of Brave. Perfect.

 This morning the girls had breakfast with Natalie's parents Granny Panties (Miss Kay) and Mr. Dave. The girls have missed them!

 Snuggling with GP

 Izzy showing off her 4 silver teeth. This brave little girl went under anesthesia this past week to get 8 cavities filled and/or silver crowned. I'm not devoting a post to this experience as I'm simply glad Izzy did so well and that it's behind us. Phew. (And Izzy has pointed out that the pirate on Peter Pan also has silver teeth. Awesome.)

While the kids were away Mikey and I had a date night with friends at a new restaurant in town. And the best part? We slept in until 7:30...that hasn't happened in ages and felt so good.

We drove down to Bloomington early to have lunch at my favorite IU stomping ground, Nick's! No Sink the Biz was played...sad story. But ate my fave stromboli and relived some memories. Counted the years since I went down to IU as a freshman...17 years ago. Sick.

 Of course we had to take a few pics in front of the Sample Gates

Soon we met Natalie and the girls at her apartment (which is directly across the street from the football stadium). Izzy and Laney were so excited to tell us all of their adventures; what they did, who they saw, and how Izzy wants to go to IU for college. I'm going to go ahead and say Natalie's mission was accomplished!

We are so fortunate to have Natalie in our lives and are still in awe that a college student (a Senior, no less) wanted two toddlers on a Saturday night. Thank you, Natalie, for all you do for the girls. They adore you. We love you. And this weekend will be one none of us will ever forget!

Walk this way...

The weather has definitely taken a turn to Fall (70's instead of 80's) which means we are spending a lot of time in the evenings taking walks around the neighborhood. Exploring. Playing at the park. Walking Katie. Hot air balloon watching. You know, the usual.

 We often times see hot air balloons in a distance but these were just so close and fun to chase!

 And Buggy...ugh, she is just so much fun and I can't get enough of this smile

 She's getting stronger and stronger peddling the trike

 The girls take turns walking Katie...all of a sudden they have an interest in her. Not sure what sparked it...maybe because we used to live on such a busy street that we wouldn't let the girls walk the dog.

 Swingin' at the park

 Punky Brewster's Izzy's turn

 We learned that Buggy is quite the climber. She has mastered all of the ladders, climbers, and poles to get atop the playground.

Saturday morning the girls did a little jumpin' on the bed before we packed up and sent them on a sleepover at IU with their nanny Natalie. More to come on that adventure!

 A few years ago Izzy went to preschool where a teacher made silhouettes of all the kids at the end of the year as a gift. It's been a cherished possession ever since. The girls don't go to this pre-school anymore so I only had the one silhouette of Iz. Well a friend of mine just started as a teacher's aide for this pre-school teacher and she offered to get a coordinating piece made of Laney. I'm over the moon that I have a set of my girls at the same age (3) in silhouette art. Plus, I now know how to create these little gems so watch out! Can you tell which one is Iz and which one is Lane?

 The girls' birthday shirts arrived a few weeks ago and I can't wait to show the girls. This is the year of Disney, after all!

 Our couch finally arrived last week and here's a shot of it in the living room. It's really warmed the space up and we love it.

Stay tuned for a recap of the girls' IU sleepover!

Grandparents, Golf & Girls...

Happy Grandparents Day!!!

We had a house full of grandparents this weekend...our first house guests! Months and months ago Mike bought tickets to the BMW Golf Championship for both of our dads for father's day and the weekend finally came around to watch some golf.

After a little shopping Saturday morning, I dropped Dad, Anna, Bob & Mike off at the course where they stayed for 6 hours. Was fun having the tour in Indy, especially seeing the Goodyear Blimp all week long around town.

Dad snapped a picture of Tiger and quickly got poked by a security guard scolding him. Too funny.

 This picture wasn't from the weekend (obv) but I just thought it was cute of them and had to include it.

 The player board.

 Meanwhile, Laura, Laney and I spent some time on the soccer fields watching this little cutie kick around.

 Izzy runs around the field chasing the ball but doesn't get much contact with the ball. But she is having a lot of fun...chit chatting with friends, waving to her cheering section, and especially the snacks and water breaks.

 I got to hang out with this little nugget...

 And one of Izzy's best buds played against her to boot!

 Izzy's biggest cheerleader, Grandma Laura

 Two peas in a pod chair.

 Buddies!

 This morning was beautiful so we put the pedal to the medal and toured the neighborhood.

 Laney's getting pretty good!

 Few house pics...don't you just love our yard? Mike. Is. Chomping to get a lawn instead of a rock garden.

 Front room became a nautical theme with a sailboat pic, 2 nautical maps, a model ship my Grandfather started to make years ago and all of his books on boats. Love.

 Izzy Lou doing what she does best...serving us cupcakes with a smile.

Happy birthday to my dad and happy Grandparents Day to all the grandparents in our lives!