By Geri Imler on 3/26/2009 6:58 PM

So it has been a week since my last blog, and the reason behind that is that we have been out of town.  We left last week and got back into town last night.  Even though we were gone about a week, Tim got to see the girls on and off during that time as he made his way to different GI Fellowship interviews.  Overall, it was a wonderful week away from the normal routines we have grown accustomed to here at home.  While in Lima, Abigail and Emma played and played and played with family.  And all of the cousins were able to get together as their cousin Aubrey was in town for a few of the days while the girls were there.   The girls loved playing with Austin's big train table and all of their other toys, as well as having "dance parties" in their room when we played jammin' music on their CD player.  They watched fun movies together, took wagon rides outside, played on various playgrounds at my sister's house and at parks, and even got to spend some time with all four of their grandparents.  We did some shopping, lots of hanging out, and basically had a great week together.  Here are some highlight photos:

    

Playing at the train table in the boys' room.  And cousin Aubrey looking oh-so-cute!

Watching movies together after the girls' bath time:   Austin, Emma, Tim, Abigail, and Ethan

   

Ethan, Abigail, Austin, and Emma loved taking wagon rides together.  Here is Uncle Ryan pulling them around the house and yard.

    

We went to several playgrounds and parks, but this one is at Aunt Mimi's house.  Here all four kids are swinging together as I push them.

   

Fun filled days often made everyone sleepy!  Here are Austin and Abigail falling asleep on Uncle Ryan.  And of course, Emma being silly and hiding in the bedding, as usual.

By Geri Imler on 3/17/2009 6:21 PM

"Do You Know What Day It Is?"

    

Emma & Abigail asked you a question...do you know the answer?

 

It's a day for laughs, hugs, and good friends!  HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

The girls just wanted to wish you all a Happy Green Day!  Hope you didn't get pinched! 

On another note, we had fun on our bikes again....check us out!

    

Emma (She is checking her helmet and then striking a pose on her bike for you!)

    

Abigail (She is saying, "Cheese!" in the first photo, and yup, that is chalk all over her from playing outside all day.)

By Geri Imler on 3/14/2009 6:32 PM

So whenever we ask the girls where they want to go or what they want to do for the day, they tell us, "I go zoo!"  It amazes me how they never tire of seeing the animals and walking around there.  So today, with it being a bit warmer, we all went to the zoo for a little while in the afternoon.  It is great having a membership there as we can just go for a few hours at a time.  Today when we walked around the girls enjoyed the fish, the shark touching area, and the dolphins, saw a horse eating and got to pet it, saw a lot of farm animals at the petting area, and got to feed some hay to the goats, a llama, and some chickens with a rooster.  They also spent some time on the playground that is there, though it was a bit crowded with older kids.  It was just a nice few hours together as a family.  On a side note, the girls thought it was hilarious to keep stealing my sunglasses so they could wear them and look just too cool.  Check them out below. 

   

The girls watching the fish and the sharks.  Can you spot the shark in the second photo?

  

Walking hand in hand with their Daddy, and them feeding the chickens. 

    

Emma, looking just too cool for words.  And Emma saying hello to a penguin her size (and probably asking for its ice cream).

    

Abigail thinks she is so cute (and she is!).  And Abigail asking, "What?!? Do you have a problem with me?!?"

By Geri Imler on 3/14/2009 6:22 PM

Though the weather outside has gotten cold again, that has not kept us from having fun on our new bikes!  The other day the girls played inside on them for a bit, looking oh-so-adorable in their helmets!  Then yesterday their twin friends came over to spend the day with them.  The all played outside, inside, and just about everywhere!  The even took a tub tub all together after dinnertime, which was pretty funny.  After that, they settled down on our couch together to watch a movie.  It was so cute as Abigail and Emma shared their blankies with them by covering up their friends' feet.  It was a fun day!

  

Abigail & Emma on their bikes, and Emma smiling for the camera.

A tired bunch of girls!  Look at how they shared their blankies with their friends.  Too cute!

By Geri Imler on 3/10/2009 6:30 PM

Tim was off today so we took the girls to the Children's Museum.  I had not been there with the girls since they were really little and could only crawl in the infant area.  This time around they could do so much more and really had a FABULOUS time!  The museum itself has SO much to do that we had to limit ourselves to a half a day there as they were so stimulated (almost overstimulated) the whole time!  I think just one or two of the things they did today could last all day for them if taken out of context, but since we were there, we tried a ton of stuff.  They had a bunch of new experiences, and we didn't even make it to half of the stuff there!  So we ended up getting a membership so that when Tim is off, and the weather is rainy or too warm this coming summer, we can head there with them since we now know how much they enjoyed it.  Needless to say, they were exhausted!  So, take a look at the photos below and see just some of the things we did (I didn't even take pictures of everything!).  Just FYI -- In all of the photos, Abigail is in pink, and Emma is in brown. '

     

Our first stop was a first for the girls...a carousel ride!  They absolutely LOVED it and kept asking for more!

     

Next up was a playhouse just their size with furniture in it. They decided to have a tea party.  The individual photos are taken through the window outside of the hosue.  Abigail was checking out the fake food while Emma poured her tea. 

     

After other playhouses, and a science center, we made our way to a place called "Playscape," which is designed for kids age five and under.  They LOVED this area.  Here is them playing in the water table section where they got to where aprons. 

   

We spent a ton of time at the large sand table where they enjoyed pouring sand in and watching the wheels move on the toys there.

   

There was a coloring area where they could rub imprints of different things with the crayons, and a large playhouse.

  

At the garden area, the girls put on gloves and pretended to plant flowers and vegetables.  Funny that they knew to put the gloves on without us telling them to do so.  Wonder where they have see that before?!?

  

Anyone feel the need for speed?!? The girls pretended to drive this real race car.

     

In the Dinosphere area, the girls got to dig for a dinosaur!  Check out those goggles and dig tools!  Quite the little paleontologists!

     

The girls got to ride a real caboose, or what is called a tool car.  They played in other fake trains (first photo), as well as danced on a mat that showed them on TV (second photo).  And they put on a dinosaur puppet show with Daddy. 

  

And in the Egyptian area, they built towers with building blocks. 

Overall, the day was jammed packed with fun activities.  It was so neat to see how the girls played and interacted with various situations and experiences now that they are older.  I am sure we will head back as we all had a wonderful time!

By Geri Imler on 3/8/2009 8:22 PM

We had a great weekend with the warmer weather here!  The girls played a ton outside in our backyard and in their sandbox, as well as in their playhouse that we have on our porch.  We also all went to the park several times to enjoy the slides, swings, and merry-go-round.  We played with bubbles in the kitchen, making a mess and having a great time.  And we hit the zoo for a while on Saturday, where even though it was really crowded, we got to run around and see a bunch of the animals.  This morning, even with the sporadic rain, we took the girls over to a park by the water and let them throw in stones for a while, which they loved doing.  We have just had a busy, but fun, weekend.  Now hopefully day light savings time will not mess up their sleeping habits too much!  Hope everyone got to enjoy their warmer weather weekend as much as we did! 

  

Abigail and Emma enjoying some Bubble Time

    

Emma is "painting" Abigail's hair with bubbles as Abigail tells her where to put them.

    

Abigail & Emma All Bubbled Up!

   

At the zoo, the girls looked at animals together. 

    

Later, they pretended to be asleep, covering up with a blanket.

By Geri Imler on 3/6/2009 7:33 PM

So it has been a little bit since my last real blog, so I thought I would write one.  We have been busy updating the blog with recent photos, as well as hanging them around the house.  I will include a photo below that was not posted on the blog yet.  Otherwise, the last two days have been wonderful here with the warmer weather, and the girls have gotten to play outside both days for numerous hours.  This has really tired them out by the end of the night, as well as made them so hungry!  They definitely have eaten more the last two days for dinner than usual!  I really hope this weather sticks around because the fresh air is so good for everyone.  Overall, the girls have been doing well and keeping busy with going to the YMCA as well as various playgroups.  A funny thing that happened today was that when Emma got up, her hair was just absolutely crazy!  She doesn't have a lot of hair, but the hair she has was sprayed out like a peacock on top of her head, as well as in the back.  I thought it would go down as the morning went on, but it stayed just as it was, almost defying gravity!  I showed her what it looked like in the mirror, and she thought it was so funny!  We had to use a little water and mousse today before heading out anywhere to try and control it a bit, but it was a fun little thing that happened this morning.  Well, I will post a few photos for you to view...nothing too exciting but a glimpse into our lives.

Our Family - Abigail, Tim, Geri, & Emma

Sleepy Girls After Playing Outside

        

Emma's Fun Hair This Morning

Abigail Wondering How Emma's Hair Looks Like That

By Geri Imler on 3/4/2009 7:53 AM

Please stand by for technical difficulties as we are experimenting with different layouts and looks for the blog.  It may look different each time you check it until we settle on a finalized version.  Thanks for your understanding and patience! 

By Geri Imler on 3/1/2009 2:20 PM

Keep an eye out for new photos on the blog!  The girls got their two year portraits taken yesterday so I will be uploading new photos for the background (of each girl and of the family), as well as putting some in a blog.  So.....let the suspense build........