The not so great bike ride

This weekend was a gorgeous weekend so we decided to take a bike ride on the Monon Trail. We loaded up the bikes and the girl's trailer and headed off (10:00am). Ryan got directions from his blackberry and it took us the most ridiculous way right through the ghetto. We finally got there at 10:45. I have to admit I was at this point annoyed. Another 30 minutues passed as we hooked up the girls to the bike and wondered around trying to figure out where to get onto the Monon. We finally figured it out and were making our way down the busy street when Ryan's peddle fell off. So we pull over into a parking lot and spend another 15 minutes trying to fix it only to figure out it is not fixable and we have to go home. I now am beyond annoyed and may have thrown out something about Ryan being thrown into the White River. We finally make it back to Broadripple park and decide to go ahead and eat our picnic lunch and let the girls play on the park. Abby wondered why we chose to drive so far to get to a park when there was one so close to our house. Excellent question Abby!! I am wondering why there are so many people dressed in unusual outfits at the park. As we venture further we discover that it is Indy's pagen pride day. Great!! Ryan asks if I want to check it out. He obviously did not know what it was and after googling it he changes his mind. The girls ended up having fun at the park and it was beautiful out so it was not totally wasted, but seriously, next time we will stick to riding around the neighborhood!!

Ryan's a celebrity

Here is a picture of Ryan that was in the Indianapolis Star this week. It is not the best picture but we are proud of him so I thought I would post it. He is at school serving kids Qdoba for an awards program. Any request for autographs should be emailed to him :)!

Claire LOVES chocolate

Tonight we went over to my mom's house to celebrate my sister's birthday. We ate chocolate cake then we all went outside to play. After a few minutes, we realized that Claire had gone back inside. Ryan went in to find her and she had climbed on top of the table and was digging into the chocolate cake. She was absolutely covered in cake. He did not have the camera on him so he could not take a picture, but how funny!! Here is a picture of all 5 cousins playing in a tub of sand.

Apple Orchard

We took the girls to Anderson Apple Orchard this weekend to pick some apples. This is the first time we have ever actually picked our own apples. The girls had a good time and were amazed at how many apples there were. It is always so funny when they get to see food from where it actually comes from. Doesn't all produce come from Meijers? I think we will save the origin of meat for another day!! :) After picking apples we got a treat from the store there. They have the best apple dumplings and caramel apples ever. We got so many apples I am not sure what to do with them. So if anyone wants any apples, come on over!

Cute Pictures

Here are some cute pictures from the week...


The first one is of Abby playing in the rain. After a couple of minutes, she was literally rolling in the puddles. She was absolutely soaking, but she had fun! Claire and I were under the front porch. We are wimps and did not want to get wet.

Claire does not like to get her hands dirty, so this is how she eats corn. Hey, I don't mind, it is less mess for me to clean up!!

Abby got this outfit from our neighbor. She will not take it off and I am sure there are many more pictures to come in it!!!

The girls love to help me cook. They pull up a chair every night when I cook dinner. In this one we were making animal pretzels. Ours did not come out looking much like pretzels more like blobs of dough.

Sick Girls

Yesterday Abby spiked a temp of 102 at her Nana's house. Then when she got home she threw up and didn't quite make it to the bathroom. She threw up all over the carpet and the wall. Conveniently, I was at work and it was cleaned up by the time I got home. (I love when it works out that way!) This morning she woke up complaining of a sore throat and Claire woke up with a temperature. This is the first time Claire has ever been sick. Ryan took the morning off to take them to the doctor. (yes, it is very impressive that he took two sick girls to the doctor by himself...good job Ryan!) It ended up being a virus that usually lasts 10 days. Oh the fun of going back to school. I should use the day to catch up on laundry but there is something about sick kids that makes you lazy. So the day is going to be filled with movies and naps (for me too!) Pray that the girls recover quickly!

While Ryan was at the doctor, I went to my follow up appointment for my foot. It still is infected so I get another round of anibiotics and a follow up next week. I am still grounded from running. It feels much better and it does not hurt to walk on it anymore. It just looks nasty still. I think I will consult another doctor at work tomorrow.

Just a little side note: Claire randomly counted to ten yesterday. I have no idea where she learned to count. I don't frequently walk around the house counting to ten! Maybe Abby taught her when I wasn't paying attention. Since we all made such a big deal out of it, she thinks she is the coolest thing ever and counts nonstop. We are going to get it on video tape when she is feeling better and we will post it.

Girls, Girls, Girls

Labor Day weekend was spent watching my two nieces. My sister moved into her insanely nice house this weekend and so the girls all stayed here. They were actually good and all got along very well. Olivia is 4 and Carmen is 20 months, so obviously they make good playmates for Abby and Claire. My dad and grandma also stayed at my house all weekend so they could help paint and move. I tried to keep them busy with lots of fun activities. But, I have to say I am worn out. Ryan and I have decided that we do not want 4 kids! Whew, it is alot of work!!

I could not get them to go to sleep last night. They giggled in their beds for hours. One would do something as simple as yawn and it would send them into a fit of laughter. They woke me up at 6:15 this morning ready to go play. They talked Ryan into pitching the tent in the front yard to eat their breakfast in.

The picture below is Erika, Abby, and Olivia playing in the water.

It is rare that I can get them to stand still long enough to get all of them in one picture. But how adorable is it. They are so lucky that they have cousins the same age to play with. Holidays in our family are crazy(My brother has a girl that is almost 3).

The girls wanted to dress up in their princess costumes and go get some movies. They thought it was the coolest thing ever to wear this out. They danced and giggled the whole time. They did manage to pick out some movies. One of course was the Hannah Montana concert.