Family, fun and Smiles

We have been doing a lot of smiling, hanging out together and having fun over the last two weeks. My mom, sister, BIL, and wonderful new niece Taylor have been visiting from Seattle. It has been so great to have them here and just being able to be together and have fun. Each day we have done a little swimming, sightseeing, eating all kinds of things from local farm stands, ICE CREAM way TOO much, and some road trips to see even more relatives! It has been a wonderful couple weeks and I am very sad to see it coming to an end in a couple days. My mom will be back in the fall, but we won't see Karyn and her family until CHRISTMAS in SEATTLE!

It is way too fun to have Taylor here and great to be able to try things on her!

We have had lots of fun family times including a trip to a Petting Zoo in Williamstown which is always a favorite with all the kids. Sam started off a little shy, but in the end was feeding the bunnies and loving it. The larger animals are not his favorite quite yet. Ellie ran around in her squeeky shoes and was a wild child running from animal to animal. Max loved holding all the little ones and really loves this place. Having Uncle Eric with him made it super fun.

During our family visit to Erie, we stayed at a hotel connected to a large indoor waterpark, which was great to spend time in every am and before bed each night. I think a few hours at a time in a waterpark is enough! All the kids (big and small) loved it. Max had both Aunt Karyn and Uncle Tony and Daddy to go on the big slides, while Ellie and Sam loved the kiddie pool. They both were not into the slides, but Sam loved the water. The first day back home Sam swam really swan and starting enjoying the pool. Will have to mark his swimming with some photos and a blog post soon!

Finally a little sewing. At some point this blog might actually have some creative content! A good friend just had twin girls who are joining their two older brothers to make one awesome and gender balanced family! These dresses were so fun to make and I love how they turned out. The tutorial is here.