Quick- Before the Rain Starts Again! - SUNDAY (DAY 5)

Aubrey took the kids for a little stroll this morning to enjoy some fresh air.

The girls cozied in the wagon, while CJ went Heelys style.



This morning Ari & CJ wrote about their favorite parts of the trip.

Took a little journey to Appleton to partake in some mall time-- CJ was soooo excited!

Christion gave me bunny ears... Elie showed us where her brain is... and Mike had fun with Aubrey's Nascar driving!

There was time this eve for a little hose & Sandbox action!!! Yeahhhhhh!

Snuggle Time with Ari & Elie-- CJ got his later (just missed the picture)

Uncle Mike gave CJ an old camera to play with & the girls took a few pictures too!

Evening "DogPile on Uncle Michael!"

The night concluded with some individual "Sudo-Daddy Time".

LOUNGING - SATURDAY (DAY 4)

LAZIBUGS!!!!
We lounged the whole day!!
More fun of course, but we did stay around the house again today.
They are having some big nasty storms here this week, so we are staying indoors more than we thought we would. CJ & I stayed up late last night watching our bedroom light up like a strobe light and listening intently to the roaring thunder booms-- it was fun getting a little spooked.

Elie & Ari have had a few "MINE" moments & Ari is working on keeping her hands to herself.
Other than those few occurances-- they are getting along wonderfully! (Especially for 2 yr olds!)
Lots of sweet moments of hugging and sharing snakes--- hee hee.

Christion & Michael played an entire game of HALO today!!!!!! They only broke for water and bathroom breaks! CJ felt sooo accomplished and loved bonding with his Uncle Mike!















Later in the day it stopped raining for a few so we called on Michael to put a few dogs on the barbie!

The girls blew bubbles and did some chalk art,

while CJ played a little kick-ball.

Christion says he is loving it here, but misses home too.
He says it would be perfect if dad was here!
We miss Chris A TON!!!!!!
The week is going fast and we know we will be reunited again soon.
For now, we are really enjoying our time with family and
truly cherishing these days!

More Fun Please! - FRIDAY (DAY 3)

Sistas!
Aubrey and I enjoyed another day together... just enjoying being sisters! We did venture out for a general purpose run to Target, but most of the day was spent indoors (due to the rain we brought with us). I bought the girls each a rubber snake and Aubrey got them each an echo microphone & of course let us not forget that CJ received yet another Bakugan to add to his collection. It has been nice just hanging out and watching the kids bond with their Aunt, Uncle, & Cousin.



Cousin Elie was such a good mama to Ari today-- she even gave her a ride in her stroller & gave her a tour of the basement.



The girls ran around empty cardboard boxes that Uncle Michael stacked up several stories high.

WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Ari loved riding Elie's 4 Wheeler around.... but it was even MORE FUN with THREE!!

It should come as NO BIG SUPRISE that CJ most liked playing more XBOX today!

Ari and Elie are still enjoying having eachother as playmates 24-7!

Today they especially giggled over riding the inflatable dolphin in the basment. They attempted to hang on while Uncle Michael kept it rocking for them. Soooo fun to watch!!

The trip has really been wonderful!

It feels fabulous to reconnect with Aubrey & Michael--

& getting to know Elie is a delicious treat!

Looking forward to savoring each day.

First REAL day! - THURSDAY (DAY 2)

Didn't wake up til almost 11 or 12 noon on the Wisconsin Clock!
(Not too bad! Only 9 or 10am, Oregon Standard Time)

Today consisted of some random house playing, a bit of grocery shopping, and of course our first ARIANA INJURY!!!! Can't believe we didn't have one to document from DAY 1- AMAZING!

Okay, so you must be wondering about the injury.
Not too bad!
She decided to jump off the dining chair and land on the kitchen floor with her top lip!!!!
YEAH ARIANA!
The judges scored her as follows:
* 2 on CREATIVITY- lots of kids have jumped off chairs, think outside the box next time.
* 8 on STYLE- as she did attempt to land froggy style on all fours.
* 4 on TECHNIQUE- she stuck the landing, but choosing the lip resulted in an iced injury.

Beside the small injury, Ari has been pretty sweet so far.
Hey Tami... it's as if Ana (Miss Sassy Pants) was some how left at PDX- will see come DAY 3!

I got high hopes, but I'm also not holding my breath.
Having a WONDERFUL TIME visiting with Michael, Aub, and Little Elie.

Aubrey is getting the cutest little "baby bump" at 4 months along.

Christion's favorite things today were:
* Playing XBOX with Uncle Michael
* Hearing his DS over the Living Room Surround Sound (Uncle Michael is good with Electronics)
* Playing Club Penguin with Uncle Michael
* Hanging out with Uncle Michael
WOW- see a pattern with Uncle Michael!!!!!

They are having a BLAST!

Ari and Elie are so cute running around together. Elie has a favorite pig named PIG & Ari has a favorite teddy bear named TA BEAR & at times they were seen exchanging them with one another, learning to share.

The cutest moment had to be when ALL THREE kids were on the Chase Lounge-
CJ laying across it playing DS, while Elie sat & let Ari brush her hair out.

OHHH SOOOOO CUTE !!!

We Made It! - WEDNESDAY (DAY 1)

Finally....the trip has been made and we have arrived in ONE PIECE!!
Well, acutally, THREE PIECES! (Autumn, CJ, and Ari)

Experienced a strange reaction when we left Chris curbside at the airport-- I actually started CRYING!! Weird, since we used to leave eachother for 9 months at a time when we were in the Navy & this is only 2 weeks. Then I found out later on the phone with him, that he was carrying a great big lump around in his throat too! I think what makes this trip so different is that we have 2 kids involved-- & it's going to be really hard on Chris to be separated from them for so long. To that I can only use the ole adage... "absense makes the heart grow fonder" and "it'll be over before you know it!"

As we soon embarked on our journey, we found ourselves on a trek through three different airports , atop many states, and through quite a few cloud formations. Our first flight departed at 1230am on Wednesday morning. Christion was designated a Junior TSA Officer & told to report any suspicious activity-- he loved it! He played like he was a secret agent and we bought him a pair of sunglasses in the airport to make it official!

We even made a stop for play in the Minnesota Airport & the kids enjoyed flying a BIG JET and driving a tram truck. The flights went smoothly and the kids even got to sleep a little bit! (maybe 2 1/2 hours)
As for me... I may have slept an hour or so (with one eye open, watching Ariana!!!!)

* I pictured her making her way to the plane bathroom on her own, while I drooled away sleeping!
* I could also see her wandering the isle, looking for someone or something interesting!
* And maybe even finding her way into the flight attendant's quarters and helping herself to a snack or two!
But NONE of that happened!!!

We arrived Wednesday morning and hung out at Aubrey's house while her & Michael worked all day. We definately needed the down time, but unfortunately the kids we simply delirious!! That evening we enjoyed meeting Cousin Elie for the first time!! She is too cute!

We finished off the evening with PIZZA & COOKIES. CJ enjoyed some acrobatics (consisting of jumping off the chase lounge & onto the ginormous beanbag) and then it was time for BED!

Ari didn't find the setting as comfortable as I would have hoped and kept me up pretty late tossing and turning with a mixture of whining and crying!
Eventually she passed out, and I was finally able to get some rest.

Felt pretty good in the morning, but my eyes looked like I brought TWO EXTRA BAGS of luggage!!
That concludes day 1 of Trip de familia~ Chow

Countdown

... and so the countdown continues!

but why am I feeling complete ANXIETY?!!!!!

feelings can be such a complicated matter---- i should just embrace where I sit at the moment and stop agonizing on what I might feel in the very next moment. However where I'm sitting at the moment feels VOMITISS!!!

So... the kids and I will be traveling solo come Tuesday night.

I can not express in words how WONDERFUL it will be for my sister, Aub, and her family to finally meet Ari-- as well as the rest of my extended family. That part I am soooo excited for. The five to six hours on the plane alone with Ari I am NOT looking forward to!!!

Also, for different reasons I am feeling added anxiety surrounding our travels. I just need to get things clear in my head I suppose. This is making no sense to anyone but me right now & that's okay because I'm typing my way through these HORRID feelings I am engulfed in!

I'm hoping I feel better as it gets closer. If it gets any worse.... well let's just say that I will be in the bathroom a lot more!!!

S.O.S