Go Sox!

This past weekend, our family took a mini-vacation to Baltimore to see the Red Sox play the Orioles at Camden Yards. We went with a group of 26 family members and friends from VA and CT. We've made this a yearly event for about 4 years now and the group size increases every year. Everyone had a great time! We had a great seafood dinner on Friday night, spent the day at the Inner Harbor on Saturday, and saw the game on Saturday night. Madelyn was a real trooper and lasted for almost the entire game. She loved the music, cheering, and yelled "Go Sox" all night long. Here are some pictures from our weekend:Our family at the Inner Harbor on Saturday morning!The group that went to the Inner Harbor on Saturday which includes the McGuires, Pickels, and the Rays!

The McGuire Family!

Watching the game with Daddy!

Lil Miss Red Sox watching for some fly balls!

Lil Miss Red Sox sporting her Boston hat from Cousin Nikki!

Yeah Sox! Madelyn insisted on having her own seat so a lot of us played a lot of musical chairs. Next year she's getting her own seat!

Nana and Pop enjoying the game with Chris Kren on the right!

Amy and Lyndsay enjoying the game. Cousin Cora was sick so she stayed home with her Daddy!

Hangin with Cousin Jack

We had a fun week and weekend hanging out with Aunt Kristen and Cousin Jack. They flew down to Richmond for 5 days and we did lots of fun things with the kids. Bill was out of town so it was very nice to have some company while he was away. We started cocktail hour around 4:30 every day which made the end of the day go by a lot quicker!

During the week, we took the kids to water play at the Children's Museum, went to the pool and park, visited the butterfly exhibit at Lewis Ginter, and did the water play at Lewis Ginter. Madelyn and Jack had a great time together. The honeymoon ended on Day 3 so we had to referee some fights, especially over the stroller, baby doll, tea set, and shopping cart. Overall, they are best buds and played awesome together!

On Saturday, we had some friends over for a cook-out. It was beautiful weather and we were able to have everything outside with yard games, pools for the kids, and lots of food!

Madelyn and Jack playing in the sprinklers in our yard! They had a blast!

More sprinkler fun!Water play at Lewis Ginter. Madelyn didn't know what to think about the shooting water. Jack was just fascinated with the mechanics of the system. He's not in the picture because he's in the corner staring at the drain!Flying like a butterfly with Nana at the Butterfly exhibit!Missy, Julie, and Aunt Amy hanging out with the babies at our cook-out!

Jack spent two hours eating at the picnic table. He was obsessed with Kelly Connor's corn dip! Madelyn and Adeline playing together in the house!

Madelyn, John Grayson, Jacob, and Judah eating popsicles. Madelyn had already dropped hers on the ground!

Day in the mountains

We spent the day in the Shenandoah National Park for one my high school friend's wedding celebration. Kelly and Emily were married a couple of year's ago in Canada and had a celebration yesterday at a picnic area on Skyline Drive. It was so much fun to spend the weekend with some of my high school friends that were in town. The food was delicious and the mountains were beautiful. Madelyn had a great time playing with some of my friend's kids, walking around the park, and blowing bubbles. We all had a great time!

We have a fun week ahead of us because Aunt Kristen and Cousin Jack are coming to visit. We have all sorts of fun things planned and will post pictures from the week. We are so excited to have them visit!

Madelyn asleep on the way to the wedding. She is obsessed with her sunglasses and has to have them on at all times, especially in the car. Notice that they are upside down in this picture!

Braving the thunderstorm under the tent!

Hanging out with Veronica Simms who flew in from Chicago and Kathryn Bertoni, my cousin.

Two little redheads!

Blowing bubbles with Roland and Eliot!

Flirting with Eliot for his snack!

The JRT gang at the wedding!

Fourth of July Fun

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We spent the long weekend at the pool and cooking out with family in town. We had two sets of visitors from CT pass through town on Saturday night. Bill's Aunt Meryl and family were heading home from a vacation in Charleston and Bill's Cousin Carey and her boyfriend are moving to Charlotte. We had a cook-out with our out of town guests, Meme, and Nana and Pop. Everyone had a good time and we were even able to see a couple small fireworks from our back deck!

Madelyn has a new favorite toy. We bought her a baby stroller and feeding items for her doll. She is obsessed with her new toys so we had to take some pictures. Tonight, she wanted to eat with her baby so we put the baby on the table. Madelyn kept telling us during dinner to feed the baby milk and that the baby needed "more" food and was "all done" at the end. It was very cute!

Posing with Cousin Cora in their 4th of July attire!Madelyn loves to hold Cora's hand! The gang from CT hanging out on the deck!

Meme and Nana enjoying their food! Madelyn playing some soccer in the yard. She also loved playing with the baseball glove while the guys were playing catch.Eating dinner with her baby! The doll is on the table to the right.
Taking her baby for a stroll!

Trip to CT and Birthdays

We had a great time in CT visiting family and Nikki and Nick's wedding. The wedding was a blast with all the food, dancing, and great company. It was awesome to see a Greek wedding and I personally loved the Greek dancing. During our visit, we also celebrated Grandpa's birthday and attended the Travelers' Championship celebrity pro-am. The golf tournament was awesome and we loved the hospitality tent and stalking the celebrities. I'm already planning a trip to CT next summer around the tournament!

Last night, we had dinner over at Nana and Pop's house and celebrated Pop's birthday. Madelyn has learned how to sing "Happy Birthday" this week and is getting quite used to helping people blow out candles and eat cake!

We are very excited about being home for a while and getting back into our routine. We have a fun July planned with lots of company visiting, cook-outs, and pool time!

The McGuire cousins and significant others at the wedding!

Marc, Mary, Tom, and Amy hanging out at the wedding!

Jack and Madelyn helping Grandpa blow out the candles!

Marci and I with Luke Wilson at the celebrity pro-am, the highlight of our day!

Madelyn helping Pop blow out his candles!

Summer Fun

I've been really slack about blog posting over the last month or so with everything going on in our family. I wanted to post some pictures of some of the fun things we've been doing in May and June. Our pool opened Memorial Day weekend so we have been going to the pool very often, especially in the afternoon after naptime. Madelyn loved the water at first but has decided during the last couple of trips that she would rather play outside of the water and explore. We're hoping that she soon decides that the water is fun and will be a little fish by the end of the summer.

A couple of weeks ago, one of our playgroups took a trip to the river for the day. We had a great time, but Madelyn hated the sand and sat on the blanket the entire time and ate muffins. She decided that she wanted to watch everyone else play in the water. Madelyn hates having her hands dirty so sand isn't her favorite thing to be around!

Tonight, we went over our friend's house for pizza and drinks. Madelyn and her friend John Grayson had a dance party and Madelyn had a blast. During her bath tonight, she couldn't stop talking about dancing with John Grayson. We're looking forward to when Delia can join in the fun in a couple of months!

The first day at the pool Memorial Day weekend!

Blowing out the candles with Daddy on his birthday!

Trading hats with Daddy at the pool!

Eating muffins at the river on the blanket while the other kids played in the sand!

Madelyn and Cousin Cora at the pool. Don't they look like they are having a blast? They decided they wanted to be lifeguards that day.

Madelyn and John Grayson having a dance party!

John Grayson, you are so funny!
What a cute little couple!

We'll miss you Grandma!

As many of you know, Bill's mom passed away last Sunday from complications from chemotheraphy. It was been a very long and hard week for all of us. We thank everyone for all of their kind thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We arrived back home last night and will be here for about 11 days until we go back up to CT for Nikki's wedding (Bill's cousin). We are looking forward to celebrating a happy time with the family!

Here is a picture of Madelyn with her Grandma during our visit at Christmas: