Nolan and I headed out to Indiana last week by ourselves. Not a big deal, he's flown before, right? Well, we had a connecting flight this time on Southwest instead of a direct flight like usual. And it's much different when he wants to get down and crawl around! We stopped in Kansas City on the way to IN and Nolan was a perfect angel on both flights. I think I may have jinxed the return flight by bragging about how good he was to everyone! On the way back we connected through Chicago Midway, so the last flight was a little longer. He spent about an hour and fifteen minutes screaming, crying, pooping, spitting up all over me, you name it!! He finally fell asleep for the last hour or so. Not that I didn't miss Brad while we were gone, but I'd never been so glad to see him than when we got back to the airport at Denver! As soon as I saw him and gave him a hug and a kiss, I handed him the diaper bag and the stroller and was able to finally relax a little bit. I'll be flying out in just a few weeks with Nolan by myself again.....I must be crazy!!
In between the crazy airports and flights, we had a great visit with my family and friends. Wednesday after my dad picked us up at the airport, we headed to Clay City and stopped by Ryan & Rhiannon's (brother and sister-in-law) to see everyone. Molly was excited that she got to spend some time with Nolan before Kylie and Nicolas got home from their last day of school. When my mom got off of work, she picked up Cary & Mark's (sister and brother-in-law) kids, Collin and Mackenzie, and brought them over. It seems like they've all grown up so much since I saw them in February! The boys always give me the biggest hugs - I think the girls are more interested in holding Nolan! haha We stopped by Cary's house to drop off the kids and then we headed back to my mom and dad's.....I was pooped!
Nanny had the day off on Thursday, so we went shopping in the morning and ran some errands with her and then just hung out at home in the afternoon. Nolan LOVED her swing in the front yard! The weather was not typical Indiana heat and humidity - it was perfect! At least on Thursday and Friday....Saturday and Sunday were a different story!
Thursday night we headed over to MSA (Miss Softball America - I hadn't been there in YEARS!) for Kylie's double-header. She pitched the first game and did a great job! She played 3rd base during the second game and made some good plays. She must take after her Aunt Cary....haha Nolan stayed for the first game, then Nanny took him home (with Nicolas and Molly) to play and get a bath before bedtime.
Miss Molly Mae coloring at Kylie's game - with Nic's markers - talk about drama with the sharing! haha
Friday morning Kylie, Nolan and I headed to Princeton to visit my friend Susan and her daughters Kaitlyn and Kendall. It was my first time meeting little Kendall and she's an absolute doll! It's about an hour and a half drive, so it was nice to have Kylie along for company - she was also a big help when Nolan decided to throw a fit on the way down! We had a nice visit with Suz and her girls, I just wish we could have stayed longer. Maybe one of these days when our kids are grown up, I'll be able to all get away with all of my girlfriends for a grown-up weekend!! Probably still a few years off though.....but we can dream, right??
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Friday night Cary, Mark, Collin, and Mackenzie came up for dinner and to hang out. We cooked out and then played in the back yard before it started storming. Here's Nolan on one of Nanny's many yard sale deals! I love the expression on his face, it just cracks me up!
Nolan swinging with Papa
Collin and Mackenzie playing - don't be fooled, they fight like siblings most of the time!
Friday night it stormed like crazy! It was so loud that it woke me up and I was sure it would wake Nolan up too. I guess when that kid is tired, nothing will bother him! He slept really well the whole time we were there and kept his Denver schedule, so instead of going to bed at 8pm, he went to sleep at 10pm. I was glad for that, it made things easier when we got back home.
Saturday afternoon we headed down to Clay City and went to the park. Mom had invited some friends and family to stop by to see us while we were home, and Clay City was more of a central location for everyone. We saw Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Pat, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Dick, Granny Ruth and Lyle, and Jennifer, Meghan, and Olivia. It was SUPER windy that day! Nolan played on the swings and the merry-go-round at the playground and had a great time. It was nice to see everyone and enjoy the nice weather while the kids played.
Abby, Nolan, Olivia (3 weeks older than Nolan), and Meghan
Nolan with Aunt Lucy - can you tell she's related to my mom???
Nolan and Granny Ruth
Saturday evening we headed over to the baseball diamonds for Nicolas' game. This is his first year of coach-pitch baseball. He played catcher for awhile, and then moved to 2nd base. He did a great job and had a couple of good hits! Ryan even coached 1st base during the game....I have to say I got to tease him a little for that!
Nolan playing with Rat-Cat....her real name is Patches, but Dad started calling her Rat-Cat and it stuck with all the kids!
Nolan held his bottle for the first time - of course, for Nanny! He's only done it one other time since then. I don't think he's too interested in this yet!
Kylie - holding Nolan every chance she could! She's going to be a great babysitter, just a couple more years...
Nolan LOVED the hearth that runs in front of the fireplace at Nanny & Papa's. He stood against it and was almost cruising along it the whole time. Too bad we don't have one at home!
When I told Cary and Rhiannon that I wanted to get a picture of all the kids, they laughed at me. It was so easy! Everyone came up for brunch Sunday morning before we left for the airport, and I noticed at one point that all the kids were in the living room and I just said "Everybody get on the couch for a picture!" After we got them all on the same couch, it was a piece of cake. They even sat like this for probably 8 pictures! My mom was video-taping the whole thing too, so I'm sure that'll be pretty funny to watch when they're all grown up. :) Left to right: Nicolas (6 1/2), Molly (3), Collin (3 1/2), Mackenzie (almost 2), Kylie (11 next week), Nolan (7 1/2 months)
Here's Nolan playing horsey with Nanny at the airport before we left.
It's always nice that we're able to get back to the good ole' Hoosier state to visit as often as we are. Too bad Brad couldn't go with us, everyone missed him, and I know he missed us too. But he kept himself busy working in the yard at home and at our rental house in Aurora. Oh, and having poker night with the guys too. :)
Everyone got to say hello to Brad Sunday morning - I hooked up a web cam at my mom and dad's house, and Brad had set one up at our house the week before. It was surprisingly easy to install and figure out, so I think it'll be great for Nolan to get to see everyone more often. If we can just get my mom to understand that she doesn't have to yell for us to hear her.....hahaha
Our visits always seem too short, but we'll see the fam in just 3 more weeks. Our annual July 4th trip is coming up - Gatlinburg, TN with the whole clan! Nolan and I will fly into Indy on the 27th, then drive down to TN with my mom and Cary on Sunday morning. My dad and Mark will pick Brad up at the airport that Sunday afternoon and head down straight from there. Ryan and Rhiannon will be leaving somewhere in between. We'll be there the whole week, then head back to Indy and fly home that following Sunday. I'm excited! It will probably be Nolan's first time swimming, and I'm sure a lot of other things!
I didn't get to take many videos when I was in IN, so I'll try to get some of our little man doing his best to keep us on our toes. He's gotten to be such a fast crawler now, we can't even believe it!
Hope this finds everyone doing well and having a great start to your summer!
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