Rochester!

Excitement anticipating the ride on the airplane!

Sitting like a big boy on the bus

Two words of advice on how to survive a plane trip with 2 2-year olds...DVD PLAYER(s)!

and earphones give one more way to distract them!

So we survived a great trip to Rochester! The kiddos could not have been any better on the flight up. It went much better than I could have imagined. We won’t go into all the details on the return flight, but let’s just say it was about the opposite of the flight up there! They really enjoyed running in Grandma’s backyard and pointing out the birds. We even coined the phrase “bird dance” for Ryan. He went crazy whenever he saw any birds and danced all around. I think I got it on video – if so, it’s a must see! After we arrived we had dinner and then went out to see the ducks (there were a whole lot of them) and then played on the playground. I think Grandma was very surprised to see how well they got around on the playground.

We were able to experience some early Fall weather!

Ryan doing his "bird dance"

One of my all-time-favorites!

Lots of ducks at Perinton Park

Watching the ducks in the canal

On Friday we started the day at the Strong Children’s Museum. They loved the museum in Atlanta, so we were excited to go to this one. It was much bigger than the one here and had a lot of great things for them to do and see. They had a huge area dedicated to Sesame Street, so the kiddos were in heaven. Elmo everything! They had a train we all rode, computers, grocery shopping, race cars they could sit in, balls, puppets and just about anything else you can imagine. With it being a weekday it was not crowded at all, so we took our time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After lunch and nap, we headed to Lollipop Farms to check out the animals. Ryan kept saying “horsey” the whole way there and the first thing we saw were horses! They were thrilled. There were ducks, llamas, pigs, goats, sheep and cows. We also went into the see the puppies and kittens. Fun times! The weather was chilly, so we got to sport some new fall clothes and even a light jacket!

"Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street" ...look familiar?

Riley carrying around her pretend hamburger

an early start to becoming computer geniuses

She took her grocery shopping very seriously!

Horsey's at Lollipop Farms

Watching the animals

GQ!

Sporting the new PJ's

Drummer in training

2 of my favorite guys!

Saturday, we snuck off to Joe & Julia’s wedding at noon. Rena and Jackie came to help Grandma and they all had a great time playing. I think Riley served everyone “ice cream” from the pretend dishes. We came back before the reception and spent a little time together before heading out again. We had a fantastic time with everyone Kevin grew up with. Lots of food, fun and dancing!

Sunday morning we went over to Jon & Beth’s house to get everyone together with the kiddos. It was so much fun to see them all interacting. I think it was as much fun for the adults as it was for the kids! We headed to the airport and had an already-very-tired crew, but we survived the flight and made it home safe and sound. It was a tough day, but we were all very glad to see our house and sleep in our own beds! I love trips, but I also love coming home!

Matthew (3 weeks old), Morgan, Kendall, Lilliana, Riley, Ryan

Saying goodbye to Grandma at the airport

Cutie Pie Smile - ready to ride the airplane one more time!

It took less than 5 minutes for them to pass out once we made it to our car in Atlanta

Snoozing away... dreaming about a great trip!

Web Albums Added:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090924Rochester#

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090927VisitAtTheRussellSHouse#

Rochester Bound

This is my "money shot" from the weekend...makes my heart melt!

I snapped this this morning before they left for school. One of their very favorite things to do is look at the pictures on my computer. It just happened to be on the floor, so they settled in right beside each other for a quick viewing. Kevin and I literally giggled out loud when we saw what they had done


Not a lot of time to write tonight, but I did want to post the photos from this past weekend and also record a favorite moment...

We head out for Rochester tomorrow for Joe & Julia's wedding. We will be staying with Grandma Hutchinson who hasn't seen the kiddos since Christmas! Man is she in for a treat! I was thinking about it and the last time she saw them, they were not even walking. Riley took her first steps while she was here. What a difference 9 months can make! She has seen pictures and video along the way, but I think she is going to be amazed at how different they are now than then.

In preparation for the trip, I had to try on a few new pieces of clothing to see if their new Fall clothes would fit, so we were trying on shirts and shoes. All the while I was talking up a big airplane trip - not once did they even acknowledge this fact! We tried on backpacks and had to see ourselves in the mirror and giggle hysterically. When it was time for bed, Ryan burst into tears. He usually cries a bit a bedtime, but this was different. He ran to the gate at the top of the stairs and kept saying something over and over. I couldn't make it out until as clear as day, he pointed outside and cried "airplane". He was ready to go tonight! He might be ready, but I am not! The first thing has not made it into the suitcase...very different scenario than the last time we flew...I started packing weeks in advance. I just haven't had the energy to do it, so tonight is cram time! Since the kiddos are 2 weeks away from their 2nd birthday, they can still fly for free...so we took advantage of that. It saved us $500 and my thought is we can endure anything for 2 hours, right? I hope those around us think the same thing. Please (no really, please) say a prayer for us (and those around us) tomorrow - we take off at noon and return on Sunday in the 2 o'clock hour. Watch our Rochester - Here We Come!!!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090919Weekend#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090920KatSBirthdayLunch

Happy Grandparents Day & S'mores!

Happy Grandparents Day! We had Mee Ma and G-daddy over for a nice dinner tonight to celebrate Grandparents Day! The kids had a blast playing with Mee Ma before dinner. They showed her how they can dance and play peek a boo throughout the house. We are busy getting ready to leave for Chicago on Tuesday morning. Kevin is joining me for my work trip and the kiddos are staying with Mee Ma and G-daddy until Friday. It should be a nice getaway for us, but I think I'm going to be super busy working. Kevin is the big winner in all of these plans. He gets 4 days to do nothing at the Ritz Carlton in Chicago. What a terrible life he lives! He's earned every bit of it with how busy I've been. I'm just happy to get a few nights of dinners with him instead of being away from him. We had a fun weekend. Started with an impromptu get together at the Fenzls on Friday night with the Coles and Castelos. It was a nice night and we had a great time catching up with everyone. On Saturday, we went to story time at Barnes & Noble and then had lunch at Moe's - kids eat free on Saturday, so that was a nice surprise. We cooked a nice salmon dinner (the kids kept calling it chicken and couldn't get enough) and then made s'mores in the fire pit out back. I've been wanting to do it for quite some time, but wasn't sure how the kiddos would do. They loved the s'mores and had tons of fun playing in the rocks. Looking forward to a fun weekend next weekend after being apart for 4 days!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090911FunWeekend
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090913GrandparentSDay#

Riley

I wanted to go on record with this one... We were sitting at the table and Riley walked over to me with something in her hand. As I looked up I saw she was holding her shirt and was completely topless...in front of our company! She has never taken off her shirt on her own and boy were we proud to witness this first time with our dinner guests. I know one thing...she will never cease to amaze us!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend began early for us. Aunt Heather arrived last Monday morning from California. She was due to come in on Wednesday for Brad’s sister’s wedding, but due to the fires she headed east early. The air quality was so poor that she decided it was best to get out of town. She spent a few days at our house and I was able to take Thursday off to spend with her and the kiddos. We went to IKEA and Aunt Heather treated us to chick-fil-a ice cream. Riley & Ryan were so big and sat in the booth without the high chair or even a booster seat! They were a total mess by the time they were done, but they thoroughly enjoyed it and I could tell they were proud there were no high chairs.

Totally out of the blue on Friday night my friend Sheli called me and invited me to go to the Britney Spears concert. It was 7:00 and the concert started at 8:00, so I threw on some clothes and headed to Philips Arena. We were about 20 feet from the stage – it was an incredible experience to sit that close to anything and Britney still can put on a good show. She is definitely a performer!

On Saturday we started with a private swim lesson at the pool in our neighborhood. They did great, but again they showed me how big they are…we left them there! She wanted us out so they would pay attention to her, so we left and came back to pick them up. Kevin and I looked at each other when we got in the car and were amazed at how far we’ve come in just 2 short years!

We joined our friends Angie and Scott and their son Jacob for dinner at Nuevo Laredo and then started up the fire pit when we got back. We pulled the tv out back and watched football by the fire. We were the ultimate red necks, but it was so much fun! It felt like we were tailgating!!! I’m so glad football season has started…

We had a low key day on Sunday and just relaxed most of the day. Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad got back from the wedding festivities and we had dinner with them and Grandaddy. Kevin made some ribs on the grill. Today we got some stuff done around the house that has been way overdue! Aunt Heather and Uncle Brad took the kiddos for a while and let us get organized. It felt so great to get some of the projects complete that have been on our to do list for months! We had a nice cookout today with the newlyweds. Grandaddy brought some of the salmon he caught in Alaska over and we had a nice spread. Right after an early dinner, Uncle Brad took Aunt Heather to the airport. Brad is staying until tomorrow since he’s flying out for a business trip. It was a great long weekend with the kiddos. They are still becoming more and more independent each minute and saying more and more words. They are even starting to tell me about their diapers which makes me think that potty training might be here sooner than we know. Looking forward to a nice short business week!

Web Albums Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090831AuntHeatherVisit#
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090905LaborDayWeekend#