1st picture is Sylvia today, 2nd one is Olivia at about the same age-roughly a year and half ago. How time flies! I was struck, as I snapped the pic, by how similar she looked to her big sister. They are our precious babies and I get choked up reminiscing about the joy they've brought us.
We've recovered from a whirlwind trip half way across Iowa, into Minnesota, then back home again. The girls fared pretty well in the car-movies during motor vehicle travel is a wonderful invention!! Also, living far away from our family is a blessing in that the long road trips give Matt and I a chance to "catch up".
While visiting Grandma Lola, we had a successful garage sale and got in some chill time with Laura, Brandon, and their boys. Olivia loved hanging with the "big boys" and playing "chase". Her giggles are priceless! Mom put in so much work for the sale, she was not surprisingly a bit disappointed in her mere $40 profit:( Hey Mom, at least someone bought the rubber purse-hee hee!!
When we finally arrived at the lake, we were greeted by a cheerful crowd. Papa and G-ma, Nick and Julie, Courtney and Jesse, Drew, Logan, Lucas, and Gracie all met us in the driveway with a big sigh of relief that everyone was finally there:) We enjoyed sun, sand, water, and of course great food! Olivia took an unexpected plunge into the drink right off the end of the dock. Lesson learned: always make your child wear his or her life-vest near the water, even if they don't like it! Yes, she was wearing hers and was easily plucked from the 60 degree water after only a few seconds. Needless to say, she was pretty cold and frightened after that swimming lesson. Slowly but surely, she warmed back up to the beach and got some good sand-play in with the other kids. Other highlights included a refreshing walk with Matt and Mom R, and another gardening project for the kids. Olivia picked out a purple petunia to put her "dragon-fly" by. This was profound to me because Olivia shares her middle name with her Grandpa Keith and his favorite flower was the purple petunia...my heart smiles.
On the way back home, we got to have lunch with Great Grandma Evelyn and Aunt LeeAnn and Lonnie. Nothing like dropping in unannounced right at lunchtime:) They were gracious with a meal and were genuinely happy to see us. The girls behaved themselves and all was good.
What a wonderful weekend!! Hope yours was great too.
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