Family Visits

September brought family and that made me happy.  Darcy came first in the middle of the month.  We enjoyed a lazy afternoon and then prepared for nachos and watching the Bears vs. Packers game that night.  The game was terrible, but the company was great ;)

On Friday, we all squeezed (and I mean squeezed) into the Civic for an all day outing to the Outlet mall in Aurora.  We first drove through Batavia so Darcy could see where Ryan will now be working.  Ryan was also able to get his TB test done so he didn't have to drive back to Batavia a different day.  The outlets were great!  We scored several good deals and just had a great time shopping for the kids.  We learned on this visit, though, that Reagan's feet require EXTRA WIDE shoes!  His fat little feet make me smile!

I read Holly's facebook status about going to a U-pick apple orchard and I thought that would be a fun thing to do!  So, Saturday morning, we again squeezed into the Civic and drove up to Heinz Orchard and picked a peck of apples.  We had a really nice time.  Reagan actually ate a whole apple while walking through the orchard!  He was really into it :)

The rest of her visit was very low key and absolutely wonderful.  It was really hard to say goodbye, as it always is.

My mom came two days later and I was so excited to see her!  This was a very different trip than in the past.  She came as a big favor to us because Ryan and I were going on a camping trip with our small group for the weekend.  We needed a babysitter, so my mom helped us out!  I tried to take advantage of the short time we had before Ryan and I left.  Thursday afternoon was low key before we headed to P.F. Chang's for dinner.

On Friday, the kids didn't nap on the same schedule, so it was a little difficult to get out of the house.  Katie came over in the morning to visit (mom always wants to see her when she's in town).  After Katie left, it was time to feed Reagan and get him down for a nap.  When he finally got up, we made a quick trip up to Babies R Us to pick up a lamp for Kyleigh's room.  Unfortunately, the wrong lamp was put on hold and we left with only a few pairs of socks!  Before I knew it, we needed to get home and ready to leave for the trip.  I was packed up and just needed to feed Kyleigh before we met the group at Photo's for dinner.

I was incredibly nervous that Kyleigh wasn't going to eat and that she's cry the whole weekend and make it a horrible time for my mom.  Everyone kept telling me that she would be fine.  She wouldn't starve herself and she would eventually eat from the bottle.  I wasn't convinced, but then again, what could I do?  Ryan insisted that we needed this weekend together and everything would be okay.  I knew he was right.  So, off I went with the rest of the small group.

Camping was fun - cold, but fun.  It was nice to just get away for a little bit and be with adults and have a conversation without worrying about swaying back and forth to keep Kyleigh happy or picking Reagan up because he wants something!

It was pretty cold this weekend.  I climbed into my sleeping bag Friday night and really hoped I wouldn't have to pee because I didn't want to get back out of it!!  I must say, though, I slept really well Friday night.  On Saturday, we went canoeing.  I wasn't sure I still wanted to do this because it was chilly, but I went anyway.  I'm glad I did.  The day was beautiful (no rain as forecasted) and canoeing down the river reminded me of floating down the Deschutes River.  We had a few scary moments on the river.  Anita got caught on a log and her kayak flipped.  We barely missed hitting her head as we floated by.  The Oakley's were also trying to miss her and got caught on the same log.  Their canoe completely flipped.  And of course, this happened at the deepest and narrowest part of the river.  Despite the very cold water, everyone was okay and we continued on our trip.  Saturday night brought yummy dinner and s'mores around a great fire!

Greg gave a great devotional on Sunday morning after we ate breakfast.  We then packed up and headed home.  Again, I was very thankful to get away.  It was great time come home, see the kids, and give my mom some relief!  Even though she said she'd do it again, I know it was a tough weekend for her.  Reagan woke up at 3:45a Sunday morning and wouldn't go back to sleep.  Needless to say, she was tired when we got back Sunday afternoon.  We went to a different Babies R Us Sunday afternoon and then came back to Lou Malnati's for dinner!

Unfortunately, Monday morning came and it was time for mom to head back to CA.  The visits from family are always welcome, but it is always hard to say goodbye.  I am doing my best to enjoy each moment they are here.

Thanks mom and Darcy for your visits this month!  I love you!