Easter in Indy

We celebrated Easter in Indianapolis with my family (lots of them). The day was beautiful ... the food was good ... and the kids were plentiful.

Everything but the horse

When in Rome, act like a Roman. When in Nashville, act like a ... actually, the pictures probably do a better job of explaining this than I can. For some odd reason, we ended up in a cowboy boot store. And then, for some odd reason, we started trying on cowboy boots. And then, for some odd reason, things just got out of hand. Anna was having fun acting a little crazy, which got Kristin acting very crazy, which made Emily and I wonder what we were doing hanging out with these crazy people. Believe it or not, we left the store without buying anything! Just lots of pictures and a really good laugh. Oh yeah, and finally - a nice family picture from our trip to Nashville.

Hanging out at Granny's

On Saturday during our trip to Nashville, we spent the day with Granny. We had a great time eating, playing, eating, playing ... and eating some more. Granny had lots of fun things for the girls to play with, and as always, we enjoyed the beautiful spring weather outside.

Hanging out (in Nashville)

Since it was a family trip - we hung out with family ... which meant fun with Uncle Joe, Aunt Suzi and cousin Mary. Always interesting things, like turkeys in the backyard, reading books, yard fishing, and just plain fun.

Fun at the Nashville Zoo

We took off for Nashville last Wednesday afternoon to spend a few days with our "Nashville family" (Granny and Uncle Joe and Aunt Suzi). Of course, for us, there isn't a visit that doesn't include a zoo. So, off we went with Aunt Suzi to the wonderful (and warm) Nashville Zoo. The girls didn't remember much (since we have been gone now for 3 years - almost exactly - can't believe its actually been that long).

Dr. Sleep

A little background: a month or two ago, I (Kristin) talked to our pediatrician about the fact that Anna snores through the night every night and can never really breathe easily during the day. At that visit, Anna was diagnosed with strep throat. Both the nurse and the doctor were horrified at the sight of her enlarged (and infected) tonsils and adenoids. So, the DR. made a referral to the Illinois Neurological Institute for a sleep study. We reported for an initial consultation last week. There, it was determined that Anna was, in fact, a good candidate for a sleep study.

Last night, Anna and I packed a duffel bag and headed off for OSF Hospital in downtown Peoria. We reported at 8:00 p.m. and were ushered into a hotel-like room. There, Anna changed into pj's and was then hooked up to "a million" nodes, which were attached to her body and then hooked up to monitors. She also had belts around her chest and waist, and tubes inserted into her nose. Suffice it to say, she was pretty uncomfortable, if stoic. She settled onto a big double bed, we read some books, and then she made a heroic effort to fall asleep in the dim light. I burrowed into a cot beside her bed. The study concluded at 5:30 a.m., at which point the nurse asked, "Was this night's sleep better, worse, or fairly typical?" Uh, well, considering that she was shorted three hours sleep, had wires surrounding her head and body, and was interrupted by persistent beeping (a malfunctioning CO2 monitor) and tube adjustments by the nurse, and was in a strange bed......I guess it was fairly normal?!? Good grief!!! She was such a good girl, though--very cooperative. The nurse complimented her, saying that she was much better than many of her adult patients! That made Anna smile, and she repeated the compliment to Aaron when we returned home this morning.

The culmination of the experience found us at Dunkin' Donuts (by 6 a.m.), picking out delicious rewards for her cooperation. She even got her own little cup of coffee to sustain her through the morning.......buzz, buzz! We sent her off to school, bless her little heart. She also wants to go to Bible class tonight, but we'll see if she can make it that long....

Trip to the zoo

On the nicest day of 2010 so far ... we went to the zoo at the request of 3 little girls. We had fun, although it was still a little cold .... as you can tell by Emily's face. Not all of the animals were out yet, but we did see Siberian Tigers, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, lions, turtles, snakes, camels ... and several others cool things that I can't remember. We always have a great time seeing the animals and just hanging out together. Maybe next time, just a little warmer as well.