Sesame Place May 2010

We took another trip to Sesame Place this past weekend on Saturday. Now that we have season passes, we can do it as a day trip, and really have a great time, and do it all in one day. We drove down Saturday morning, despite warnings of thunderstorms. We agreed that we could have breakfast and do inside things until the storms were gone, then go on rides. Apparently, because of the threat of storms, no one else decided to go to Sesame Place so we had the whole place practically to ourselves! There were NO lines for rides, and we were able to ride many rides many many times. Elliot's favorite, the carousel, we rode 3 times! And she insisted on the roller coaster twice. If we weren't leaving she would have ridden that many more time, too, I'm sure. Happily, there was NO rain to be seen all day, and the weather was perfect. Also, Jack Hanna from the Columbus Zoo was there to do some animal shows. It was great!

Welcome back! (To me...)

Wow! It's been over two months since I've posted. Guess I've been busy!

Well, since the last post was about Vikki's baby shower, I'll update that baby Lily is here! She and Mama are doing well! I've had the lucky opportunity to hold Lily and I assure you that she is beautiful and a great baby.

Showering Babies

Aunt Vikki (Mommy's BFF Vikki) had her baby shower for baby Lily Victoria due May 9. Okay, those details are a little fuzzy, but I think they're right! Vik's BFF Melissa hosted the party at her home, her son Tanner joined us halfway through so Elle had a playmate. Tanner is our friend who is CANCER-FREE now!!! (And Melis and family will be bringing home baby brother Chase today! who was born 9 weeks early!) Anyway, Elle and I went of course, and got Vikki and Lily adorable clothes, three pair of shoes, and cloth diaper needs! Here are pics from her shower:

Melissa, Vikki, Steph (blogger) and Elle - who decided on her own to jump in the picture!:
Vikki - of "Vikki's baby shower" fame:

Elliot and Tanner playing with a truck:
Daddy Dennis ("Uncle Fuzz"):
See those cute boots, Lily? Awesome Aunt Stephie got those for you!
Elliot had an important call to take on her fake Blackberry:

The Bat Show

Yesterday, I picked up Elliot from Ronnie's house and brought her back to my school. We actually picked up a Wendy's lunch, and ate it at my school. After lunch, we went to an assembly my school was offering, showing Chinese culture, a Chinese acrobat show. Elliot was very excited to see the "bat" show like the bird show at Disney World. As the acrobats performed, she kept looking at the ceiling looking for the bats. Once she realized it was just going to be people, she got very excited by what she was watching. Between the two performances, she got to meet, talk to, and high-five the performers. I wasn't sure how much attention she was paying to the show, but she came home and told Daddy and later Nana by phone what she saw in quite a detailed account! I wish I had had a camera and could have gotten a picture of her with the acrobats, but alas, no. :)

Sledding - Great Family Fun!

We spent the day before Valentine's Day on the slopes. Or the slope. At Camp Tupper, right across the street from PopPop's boyhood home, Uncle Jamey and family, Me (Steph) and family, Nana & PopPop, and Aunt Cheryl, Angie, Uncle Mike and Nathan all went sledding. We had such a great time, despite the fact that we were freezing!!!

Robot Day

(On our way to Ronnie's house for daycare:)

Elliot: "Mommy let's make this a fun ride today."

Mommy: "Okay, Elle - what's up?"

Elliot: (in a monotone) "Let's talk like robots today."

Holidays 2009

Well, after our craziest holiday season ever, which David and I have sworn to each other will NEVER happen again, we have survived and have even begun to recover. We left Dec 23rd, right after work, to drive to Ohio - a crazy tradition that we will be keeping up - to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the Amrine/Pabst sides of the family. On the 26th , we all packed up, Jamey & Constance and fam headed north to Michigan, while Mom & Dad, Phil, and Dave, Elle, and I headed way south to Orlando. We arrived late afternoon on the 27th and checked out the timeshare we were staying in with Bill & Betsy. Mom & Dad agreed to go on a timeshare talk, and ended up purchasing some timeshare there at Bonnet Creek. It was truly lovely, and we look forward to spending more time there with both sides of the fam. We all headed to the Magic Kingdom on the 29th, and spent a great day together. The following morning, Phil flew off to the Air Force's bowl game - the Armed Forces Bowl, Mom & Dad relaxed around the timeshare, and the rest of us went to Animal Kingdom. We spent the following day recovering from that day and resting up for our big drive home. Dave, Elle and I and Mom & Dad started our trip home on New Years Day, driving part way together. After having breakfast then lunch together, we split off toward our homes. Dave, Elle and I continued on toward Long Island, and stopped for the night in Falls Church, VA at Diana & Bruce's house. We enjoyed our quick visit with them (they are such great hosts every time we visit!), then drove the last 6 hours to our home on Jan 2. We celebrated our "real" Christmas when we arrived home, it turns out that Santa had stopped here and left our presents while we were gone!

We finally have survived a week of work (quite a busy one at that! - Dave conducted the NMEA division I concert!) and are trying to recover sleep, catch up on housework, and find a bit of time to spend together!

Elliot sleeping on Christmas Eve:

The whole Amrine gang (I love this photo more than any other ever!)
The Jaks:
Elliot and Uncle Phil at Magic Kingdom: (and that rash on her face that just wouldn't quit in FL!)
Dumbo:
New ears:
New kitchen:
New drumset:
Mommy, Daddy, Elle, Cinderella's Castle and a full moon!: