Indiana Vacation 2008

We had such a good time visiting family in Indiana. We saw my friends, Karen, Aneisa, Suzan, Jan, and Ann. But, unfortunately, the weather wasn't great for travel and I really didn't want to get my kids out in the cold more than I needed to. So, I'm sad we missed a lot of my friends, but I'm thrilled we had so much fun while we were there. My Aunt Barb was so sweet she baked a few of my Grandmother's cookies for us to ice. As you may remember from my cookie recipe post, the icing of these cookies is over half of the work! I love that she was able to do this with my Grandma. If you follow this blog, it's probably redundant to say this is one of my favorite childhood memories. But, it really is important to me! :)





Of course, sprinkles. Suzy LOVES sprinkles.

Suzy also enjoyed playing her cousin, Andrew's, guitar. She liked it so much, it inspired me to get her very own guitar from my mother this year. My little country star....

This is how poor Andy spent much of our vacation. I preach about not letting babies hang out in these carriers, but it was so dang cold! He's my little papoose...
Grandma Carolyn just couldn't get enough of this little guy.
It was soooo much fun seeing Suzy's reactions to all the snow and the wonderment that snow provides for toddlers.
Here she is tasting her cookie and playing the guitar (a little out of order, but oh well...)

My sister, Emily, has kids that bookend mine. So, we spent a lot of time at her house. After we tried to injur them in the snow, we decided indoor activities might be better for the remainder of the trip.... Here's our gingerbread house.
The kids had SOOOO much fun with this.
We gave them a bowl of candy and a bowl of popcorn in hopes that the popcorn would go in the bellies and the candy on the house... it worked out moderately well. Better than can be expected anyhow. ;)
I love this shot of Suzy on the snow-covered slide.
Here's my sweet sister, Emmy, with my little Andy.
Here's Emily's Andrew and Suzy doing "turtle races". I just love this age of make believe and creativity.
My brother's little girl, Sophie, was very intrigued with Suzy. She wanted to do everything Suzy did. Suzy isn't used to being the "big kid", so it was fun to observe. She was surprisingly sweet with her. It seems like a big difference now, but in a few years, the six months difference will be so minimal and I hope they are great friends!
Lyn had a great time with Andy as well. He's such a charmer. He just LOVES this little Sophie the girrafe.
Suzy had lots of birthday celebrations. This one at my brother, Jeremy's, house was her actual "cake" birthday. She played more in the frosting than anything else. I was fine with it. I'd rather it be on her hands than in her blood stream!
Here's Andy with my dad, "Dopadop". I'm not exactly sure how this name came about. But, I think it was Suzy's first attempts at "Grandpa Doc". I heard some of the cousins calling him that and I'm guessing that's what it's from. It originated after our last visit a year ago. At first, he was, "Noah", and then he became "Dopadop" after I explained that he was her Grandpa.
Andrew was fascinated with Andy and I think the feelings were mutual! Andy just "lit up" around him.
Here's Suzy's first birthday party. Emily and her kids came over for some cupcakes at my Dad's house.
Here are some shots my sister, Vickie, took of Andy. She's got a great eye for photography and I love her photos! I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of our trip. We sure had a great time!