We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in Whitefish Bay. My cousin Jen lives 5 blocks away and she has 3 kids. Charlie was born the day after Carter, Ava Grace is about 2 months older than Rylan, and baby Henry is 4 months old. My cousin Amy is living in a duplex about 10 minutes away with my grandmother so she can help take care of her. My other cousin Mike lives in Chicago and came up for the weekend with his girlfriend to see us.
When we arrived, Jen and Ryan were at my aunt and uncle's house with their kids. It took a few minutes for all the kids to warm up to another, but once they did, they had a blast.
There is a toy box in the sunroom and the favorite toy that all the kids sought was this old pink phone. It's always the things that aren't toys that are the most fun!
After pizza and playing some more, it was time for bed. Carter and I shared a bed and Rylan slept in the room with us in a playyard. It's hard to sneak into the room and not wake up the boys so I just kept them up a little later than normal each night and went to bed when they did.
On Saturday morning we went to the Wisconsin Club to go swimming with my uncle, Ryan, Charlie, Ava Grace, Mike, and his girlfriend (Madra). Before going, we went to Jen's house and tried out their new playset (my uncle is pushing Charlie).
The pool at the Wisconsin Club has an awesome little waterslide. Carter tried going down on his butt at first but quickly learned from the other kids that if you go down on your stomach, you go a lot faster and don't get stuck.
Rylan took awhile to be convinced to go on the waterslide, but I eventually forced him to go with me and he LOVED it. He would never go alone but he rode on my lap over and over again. And he got brazer each time (he started off holding my hands but eventually started reaching his hands out to touch the sides).
It was good that my dad was there to always watch one of the boys because they don't allow any flotation devices at the pool (like Carter's vest) so Carter wasn't able to really swim on his own (though he was trying some and doing pretty good).
There was also a kiddie pool there that was a good break for us where we could just sit and watch the kids.
Rylan:
Ava Grace:
Charlie, Rylan, and Carter:
After the pool we took the kids back home for naps. I eventually had to wake my guys up because they were so exhausted from traveling and playing so hard.
When Jen and Ryan came over to my aunt and uncle's house for dinner, they brought baby Henry. He is such a good baby - we never saw him fuss or cry at all!
Carter and Charlie:
Rylan and Ava Grace:
Ava Grace looks SO MUCH like her mommy (except Jen has dark hair and eyes, but they have the same face).
Saturday was Amy's 40th birthday so we had a wonderful dinner to celebrate and then made her wear these silly glasses while we sung to her.
I loved getting to cuddle a little one for a bit!
We pulled out the miniature air hockey table for my boys and they played it for at least 30 minutes (which is forever for them).
My aunt and uncle have two King Charles Spaniels. Carter loved giving them hugs and petting them. This is Carter with Brody ...
Sunday was a gorgeous day - it only got up to around 80F. The boys were antsy in the house so my dad and I took them for a walk around the block. I usually try to make Rylan walk instead of me always holding him. So he learned quickly to just go to Papa Mike instead of me and he got picked up right away.
Carter with the other dog, Jack ...
The boys discovered another toy that they become obsessed with ...
Even though it was cooler, we decided to go to the pool again. We made it about 1 1/2 hours before most of us were frozen (the breeze was just too much). Rylan fell asleep on the way home and I was able to move him to the bedroom to sleep but Carter skipped his nap (along with the Charlie and Ava Grace). We played in the front yard of my aunt and uncle's house for a little bit.
And then came in to play drums on the chairs.
Eventually we took a break and let the kids watch a cartoon.
After another great home-cooked dinner, my cousins and grandmother headed out. My dad and I got pictures with my grandma on her way out.
On Monday we got up early and got on the road at 5:45 am. This time we took the loop around Chicago and hit no traffic. The drive was uneventful and we got home at 4 pm.
The most exciting things were the windmill farms in Indiana ...
And Rylan deciding he wanted to suck on his toes?!?! (He never even did this when he was a baby!)
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