all good things must come to an end

We're home...our little mini vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's is over.  As with any trip, I'm sad it's over, but it's always good to go home, too.

Here are some wrap up pictures....

Rebecca ramped up her walking another notch yesterday, walking all the way across the floor over and over.  She was so proud of herself!  She raises her arms up for balance, making it even cuter to watch.

Rachel wanted to go back to the lake, since it was so hot and crowded when we went the first time, so Grandma took her yesterday.

Rebecca isn't the neatest eater, but she sure loves food!

Great Grandpa enjoyed spending time with the girls, and they enjoyed seeing him, too.

Rachel and one of her very favorite people in the world....

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for a great visit!  We'll miss you!

fun at grandma's--part 4

Today is our last full day at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Tomorrow morning we head back home, Rachel has a birthday party to go to in the afternoon, and Daddy will be home late tomorrow night!  We're looking forward to seeing him.  It's been a fun visit, though, and we'll miss getting to see Grandma and Grandpa every day.

Yesterday was a long but fun day.  We went to "Grandma's Zoo," expecting to stay only a couple of hours, but both girls behaved SO well that we ended up staying a lot longer than we had planned.  We were all worn out by the end of the day.

Here are some pictures from our fun day.

Rachel and Rebecca in the beehive

Looking at the new baby elephant with Grandma

Rachel the Elephant....Rachel the Dog.....Rachel the Giraffe

Rachel the Zebra (she loved these costumes in the kids area)

fun at grandma's--part 3

Yesterday we went to the science museum.  Rachel remembers it well from last year when we went there.  She had a great time again this year.

We spent a lot of time in the grocery store area, as you can see.  Most of the food wound up in Rebecca's mouth.  Gross!  And she loved pushing the grocery cart.

This firetruck was Rachel's favorite last year.  This year Rebecca got to join in on the fun (last year I was wearing her in the baby bjorn on my chest the whole time!).

And here's a bad picture of Rebecca walking, though I somehow got the video to load yesterday, so you don't really need the picture, but here it is, anyway.

Oh, and Rachel gave me a harp performance on the string-less harp.

Today was a more relaxed day.  An old friend of mine came over with her little boy for a little while, and while Rachel talked her ear off I got to get a word in now and then to my friend.  Then Rachel and Grandma went on a picnic at the park while Rebecca napped and I got a little break, which was nice.  Rebecca's been SUPER fussy while we've been here, so I needed it!  Tomorrow I think we're going to "Grandma's zoo" (that's what Rachel calls it).  I haven't been since Rachel was about Rebecca's age, so I'm sure it will be fun.  Rachel's excited to see the giraffes, since we don't have them at our zoo.

walking!

fun at grandma's--part 2

Yesterday Rebecca REALLY started walking!  Many times during the day she took a bunch of steps in a row.  It's so fun to watch and she gets so excited when we cheer and clap for her.  I don't have any pictures because the camera was never close by when she'd attempt it, but I'll be sure to get some in the next couple of days.  I'm sad her daddy is missing it....but he'll be so surprised when he comes home!

So yesterday's fun was going to the library to get Rachel some books for while we're here and jumping on the trampoline at the neighbor's house (my parents' neighbors are on vacation this week and they told my mom that Rachel could use their trampoline and swingset whenever she wanted while she was here.  Isn't that nice?)

Rebecca hung out nearby under the climbing toy, just being cute!

fun at grandma's--part 1

The girls and I are at Grandma and Grandpa's house this week because Daddy is gone for the week.  Here are some pictures of the fun things we've done so far:

Rebecca's first ice cream cone of her very own!

She kept trying to eat it from the bottom!

I think it's safe to say that she enjoyed it!

A trip to the lake

It was 100 degrees this day, so the beach was PACKED!  The sand was too hot to put Rebecca down, so she spent the whole time like this:

And in other news, Rebecca took four steps all on her own yesterday!  She's sooooooo close to walking, and could do it if she wanted to, but she needs a little more confidence before she'll let go of whatever she's holding on to.  But she's getting there, and I was so excited to see her take those steps yesterday.  She had her hands full, so she didn't notice that she wasn't holding on to the wall or furniture or anything before she took off.

Who knows what other fun we have in store for us this week!

outside

Playing outside is one of my girls' favorite things to do.  Here are some pictures from a recent morning on the deck.  Doesn't Rachel look so tall???