Kalahari

Last weekend Robert got to go to the annual statewide Neurology Conference, held at the Kalahari Resort. His registration included staying at the hotel and 4 waterpark passes. We got there about 11:00 Saturday morning. Robert went to his conference and I got to figure out how to conquer this waterpark (just so we're all clear here, it is an indoor waterpark) with 2 little ones in tow. Our room wasn't ready yet, so the girls and I went to the nearby outlet mall so I could see how many times I could tell Mary Ann we would just go into the store really quickly. Then we went back to the hotel, the room still wasn't quite ready, so we ate lunch and decided that we could go to waterpark anyways and use the locker room as a home base. (Mary Ann and Rose were both very helpful during this conference). I've never been to a water park myself, so I didn't know what to expect, but all three of us were pretty excited. The park was very child friendly, lots of slides and pools for the girls to enjoy. I discovered that Rose has no qualms about crawling into water, in fact she doesn't stop after the water submerges her face. Mary Ann was a little more cautious, but after seeing all the other kids make it down the slides in one piece, she was good to go. Sunday was especially a lot of fun, since Robert could be with us the whole day and we could trade off who was with the girls while the other one got to do the more "exciting" rides. It was a great weekend and a nice change of pace for us all!

Ella's

We went to a crazy restaurant yesterday for brunch. It's called Ella's Deli and it's very kid friendly! It has tons of flying toys in there, and the tables are all boxes with glass tops with things to look at inside. If you've been to Madison, it's the place on East Wash that has the big carousel out front. Rose was the quietest she's ever been; she just stared at the ceiling the whole time. Unfortunately they don't have the best food and it's just a tad pricey, but maybe worth having 2 quiet kids...

Washington, ABC

The weekend of October 6-7 I got the chance to go to Washington, DC for my friend Sara's wedding. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law I got to go out a bit early and see some of my friends from high school who have made DC their home as well. It was a fantastic trip to catch up with these people and enjoy a little vacation. I got to visit the International Spy Museum and learn that I may not be spy material, navigate the DC area via the Metro (thank you to Darren for the tutorial), eat Greek and Turkish tapas at Zaytinya, and attend a beautiful wedding and reception (Sara and Frank I'm so happy for you).
It is good now to be back at home and settle back into our routine. The girls had a fabulous time with Grandma, what a blessing family is! This week cooler weather has settled in, at least for now. (In all honesty we're ready for it--please remind me of that when it snows in April next year). Next on our list is the Rose Walk Watch. Happy October everyone!

SWiit Success

Happy 28th Birthday to Robert!! We had the big celebration on Saturday, so Mitzi and Scott, who surprised Robert when he arrived Friday night, could be here for the action. After a breakfast of Bubblebread and bacon (sorry Mitzi) Robert opened the present of his dreams. Then we basically played all day with the new toy. It is pretty cool, especially the boxing game. Mitzi and I woke up actually a bit sore because of the action. Thank you to everyone for helping to make it happen!!

Pulling an Eric

This post has nothing to do with our children, so if that is the only reason you check our blog, stop reading now.

The following is my new favorite dialogue from a movie:

Dr. Jules Hilbert (played by Dustin Hoffman): Aren't you relieved to know you're not a golem?
Harold Crick (played by Will Farrell): Yes. I am relieved to know that I am not a golem.
(http://imdb.com/title/tt0420223/quotes)

The movie is "Stranger Than Fiction" and I give it 2 Thumbs up! (Do golem's have thumbs? Wow, thank goodness I'm not a golem!)

Construction

We burst through today. For those that don't know, we have a plan to turn the unfinished part of our basement into a guest bedroom, and kind of open up the living space in the basement into that bedroom. We don't have the final plans yet, but we've started on deconstruction. I tore down the workbench several weeks ago and reconstructed it in the garage. Then, when my parents were up, we tore down the ceiling and the wood paneling on the wall between the unfinished part and the walk-in closet. For the last week I've been working on tearing down the shelves in that closet. Today, Katie and I broke through the drywall; now we can walk between the closet and the unfinished area. It's pretty rewarding to tear through a wall. Hopefully it all works out the way we want; either way it will be a learning process. Hopefully rewarding both mentally...and financially =)

Rose Updates!

The month of September has been a big one already for Baby Rose! First, the most impressive news, she gained a whopping 2 and 1/2 pounds during August, boosting her weight to 16 pounds, 15 ounces. She's now in the 7th percentile for weight and the pediatrician was pleased too. Thank you to YoBaby Organic yogurt!

Also in the last couple of days she has figure out how to go up all of the stairs from our basement, going down is still a big dilemma, but I'm sure she'll figure it out in no time at all. (Mary Ann would like to say as well that she too can go up all of the basement stairs.)

And yesterday Rose figured out how to clap her hands. She did it for the first time on accident a couple of days ago and looked at her hands in bewilderment. Then Friday she really figured it out. Now she'll clap her hands no matter what her mood. (Mary Ann would again like to say that she can clap her hands too).