Talk about late getting this posted - better late than never I guess. My sister and her two girls came to visit us, and we were so excited! We had been looking forward to it for awhile, and when the time finally came we were beyond thrilled. I couldn't wait to just hold and squeeze and kiss and snuggle and love her two girls. Because skyping just isn't enough, ya know?
My sister had found a screaming deal to get here. The only downside was they arrived super late. Emma had several tests she needed to be in school for while they were here visiting, including their first full day here, so Emma didn't come with me to the airport because she needed to get her sleep. When I saw them by baggage claim, Eliza just ran to me and gave me a big hug. It was awesome!
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| Carrying Eliza in from the car when we finally got home from the airport. |
We mostly wanted to work around Abby's nap schedule, Emma's school schedule, and the girls' needs in general, but we didn't care what we did since we'd be able to be together doing it. And we ended up having lots of fun.
We did get out to do a few things, including story time at the library, going to the museum and taking the girls to the Jelly Belly store and taking the tour there.
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| Abby kept wanting to climb over the seat to join the girls in front of us, and she wanted to take her hat off. But every time the train started moving, she instantly had a huge smile on her face and was perfectly content. |
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| This was Abby's content face while the train moved. |
We went to a smallish nearby zoo (I had never been there) and the weather was perfect! The girls had so much fun riding the train, seeing the animals ( I was actually impressed with the number of animals they had considering they were rather small), and playing at the two different playgrounds, the second of which was fantastic!
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| There was a hippo on the ground that kids could climb on. What did I want? A picture of Emma looking like her head was about to be eaten. Emma was only too happy to oblige. |
My sister wanted to stop by the lighthouse. When we got there Abby was asleep in her seat, so I stayed in the car with her so we wouldn't have to wake her, while Jill took Emma and Eliza with her.
The girls loved dressing up and trying on every hat we could find. It was not surprising that when we went to Charming Charlie's the girls went nuts with all the hats and scarves and purses and necklaces.
Unfortunately Abby got sick while they were here, and spent a couple days creating quite the mess. I guess she thought my place was just too clean (ha!). It was sad seeing her feel bad. It also made her even more clingy for mom and less her happy self, which was understandable. Emma and I both became sick after she did. Luckily it didn't last too long, and no one else got it.
Some of the best times were just spent playing at home. The girls adored Eric, and enjoyed playing hide and seek with him, and just being silly with him. They also liked his ukulele.
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| Eric had been "hiding" under the piano bench. We obviously had to cover him with a blanket to actually hide him. |
The day they left we stopped at a huge park I love the play with the girls for awhile and help them expend some energy before getting on their plane.
It was sad seeing them go. I love these girls so much (and I'm counting my sister as one of "these girls"). It's sad not seeing them more often. I look forward to seeing them all again soon!
I think my favorite part of their visit was just seeing how much the three girls love each other. Everywhere we went they couldn't get enough of each other. There were so many hugs, and snuggles, and loving moments - more than we could keep track of. Come visit me again Jill. You know you want to! :)
