Vacation, all I ever wanted...

We just returned from a holiday in Indiana. We traveled there for my cousin Joe's wedding, but we also had the chance to visit a lot with family. And, REST!! It was my first extended time off since Christmas. I love my new job, but everyone needs a break! And while we rested, we also did a lot of exciting things. Ema went to TWO ZOOS! We visited the Toledo Zoo and dodged downpours and we also visited the Fort Wayne Zoo, meeting up with Carrie, Justin, Noah and Shawn. That makes four different zoos for Ema this year alone (and maybe a new one next week). Whew. I think we have seen every animal known to man now! But the kids definitely love the zoo and there are much worse places you can spend your time!

The wedding was a good time as I was able to visit many family members I haven't seen in quite some time. And, it was almost all of the Bellis family there....I think we counted just five people missing! That's pretty amazing. Almost all the cousins were there too. It was fun to see everyone and for Ema to hang out with some of her cousins. I know she had a good time visiting with Nicole...the two of them spent a lot of time together. Ema even gave Nicole one of her rubber ducks when it was time to say goodbye (she gave one to Skylar and Lizzy too!). Hopefully we can see Nicole and her family more in the future. Nicole was adopted from Vietnam and I'm sure many people probably thought she was Gage's daughter! It will be fun as she grows older and Gage can share what he does know about the culture with her. It's amazing to me how old she is getting...almost 10! And her brother, Brian, is about to drive. How time FLIES!

Ema really enjoyed playing with Skylar and Lizzy. For the most part, the three play together very well. It will be interesting to see how a new kid will mix into it all...Alyson is due in November, but will likely have her c-section in late October (maybe even on Dad's birthday).

We are now recovering from it all and unpacking. With the bigger vehicle, I seemed to pack even more! Yikes!

Big news....Ema is almost fully potty trained! She was even using outhouses during the vacation while we were at the air show! Still need the pullups during the night and we haven't quite taken the fulltime leap to the underwear, but she is staying dry during the day! Now, Gage is going to have to pony up a bike for her. He promised her once she was trained, she would buy her one! I'll be glad to finally be done with diapers!

Enjoy the photos. There's also a few photos from the weekend before vacation.