Together again...

Greetings our beloved family and friends! I thought I'd let you know that we have all returned safely to our humble Maryland abode, and are very happy to be together again as a family!

Miles successfully completed all of his travels, and is looking forward to spending some time with the family before the insanity begins again. He took a week of leave and we are really loving having him around!

The girls and I have also successfully completed our travels. Madelynn and Emma are becoming quite the seasoned travelers. Emma enjoys the "faster, faster" that comes right before the "up, up, up"...however she does NOT like the "down, down,down"! Maddie loved making lots of new "best friends" and trying out every elevator, escalator, and moving sidewalk we came across. The girls did such a tremendous job handling all of the adventures inherent in air travel these days...everything from a 3 hour delay, to an hour spent on the tarmac waiting for a thunderstorm to blow over. My secret? A portable DVD player, coloring books, and lots of snacks!

Maddie and Emma also really enjoyed having an opportunity to play with their cousins...especially since last time we were in Missouri they spent most of their time sick in bed. This time we had not one single sniffle! The girls loved playing in Nana's "water park" ... which includes a small pool, an Elmo sprinkler and a slip n' slide. They also enjoyed playing in Aunt Carrie's "park". (Aunt Carrie has a swing set and a trampoline in her backyard) Aunt Kristi took us for a walk through "Aunt Kristi's park" ... the wetlands area that Kristin has been working on for the last couple of months for the Blue Springs Park and Rec ... and we saw a turtle, a butterfly, and even crossed a couple of bridges! All very exciting for our little girls! Additional highlights included swinging on the hammock with ALL their cousins, eating at Red Robin with the WHOLE family, and getting lots of attention!

One quick Maddie story ... during our stay in Missouri, I took the opportunity to take a day to get my hair and nails done, so leaving the girls with Nana, I slipped out during nap time. As nap time wound to its inevitable close, Nana went upstairs to retrieve her precious granddaughters ... as she traveled up the stairs a distinctive smell assaulted her senses, and as she followed the stench to its origins, Nana found Maddie ... Maddie had apparently neglected to make it to the potty during nap time. Nana knowing exactly what needed to be done, took Maddie to the bathroom and started running a bath. Madelynn immediately began protesting, "I not take a bath! I not take a bath! I not take a bath!" Nana proceeded to undress her, and then picked her up and placed her in the bath tub, seemingly oblivious to Madelynn's very vocal protests. Maddie, standing in the bath, turned to her Nana and said, "Are you a Mommy?" Nana replied, "Yes". Having apparently established Nana's credentials, Maddie "allowed" the bath to continue! :-)

While there is ever so much more, it is quickly approaching dinner time and my services are required by the masses downstairs! Enjoy the pictures! We love you all!