Connecticut trip for the 4th of July

So summer has proven quite busy, which I guess you deduced if you have been checking my blog recently, as I have not updated since almost a month ago! AHH! Our second half of June was filled with doing odds and ends around the house...mostly organizing, discarding, and selling things we no longer needed...a lot of baby stuff in that.

Also, one of Michelle's good friends, Camille, had her baby on June 25th, so the last few days before our departure were filled with a couple quick visits to her and her new bundle of joy, Elena. Admist all the running around, I did manage to pack for our adventure to CT and Holland. It's hard to pack when you will be gone almost an entire month.

I flew alone out of Tampa on Sat evening, June 27th, with Quinn and Leyla. I must say I am delighted I had a portable DVD player with me along with some movies. In addition, I also packed a bag FULL of snacks and new toy trinkets, but in the end, I believe the DVD was the lifesaver of the day. The biggest problem of the flight was they both constantly tried kicking the seats of the people in front of them. (Even though they are a little over 2 now, since I was traveling by myself, I placed them both in their carseats on the plane, because I could envision one of them climbing out their seat, trying to contain them and then being double-teamed.)

Our stay in CT was delightful. In the beginning, Q & L were both clinging to me quite a bit because they are more aware of people they do not recognize. It was a bit saddening for everyone because they so wanted to play with them, but they understood it was something that happens at this age, especially when you do not live near family. After 2-3 days though, they warmed up to family and started interacting them and letting them hold them. Quinn was really taken with "Nonni" (his pronunciation of Nana). He would wake up at times or just walk around the house at other times, and say "Where's Nonni?" Then he would continue walking around looking for her and calling her name.

Q & L also had a photoshoot with their two little cousins, Stella and Savannah, while we were there. Trying to get 4 children to cooperate, look the same way, ansmile is no easy feat, especially when two of them are 2 year olds. We had 6 adults to help with the 4 kids and it still proved challenging. We did manage to get a few cute pics; however, I think we could have had more if the photographer would have snapped her camera more instead of "waiting" for the perfect picture. I will post some of those pics here soon.

The 4th of July was a lot of fun too. We celebrated it at my cousin's, Heather's, house. Luckily, the weather cooperated and it was a perfect day. Leyla and Quinn enjoyed spending a lot of time in the kiddie pool, coloring on their driveway, looking at the dogs, and letting Christopher (another cousin of Michelle's) chase them. It was exhausting keeping an eye on them though, so fortunately, my mom drove them home around 6:30, so I could enjoy some adult time. Another great part of the 4th was Tycho arriving. He flew into BDL around 8pm, and then we drove back to my cousin's house to hang out some more.

The 5th was my Grandma's 87th b'day and her first birthday in many years without Poppy. We all attended church with her that morning, then visited my Poppy's gravesite nearby. After that, we drove to her house for a light lunch. It was a lot of fun; however, we did not stay more than 1.5 hrs because her house is obviously not childproof and Q & L manage to find every single thing that is not childproof. ;)

During our time there we also managed to visit the Trolley Museum, some parks, Chuck E Cheese, and my brother's (Paul's) soon-to-be new apartment. It was a fun-filled time. I promise some pics are coming soon. :)