For weeks Ava and Quinn have been so excited for what they like to call " the big car trip". They thought that "camping" in the car would be the coolest things they have done so far in their little lives. So Thursday June 16th at around 4:30 p.m. mountain time we started heading East. All three of them did an awesome job of keeping quiet and content. They slept until 5 a.m. Central time. Brent and I were tired but we thought that it all went quite well. We arrived in Madison at 8 a.m. to a very relieve Nanee Sylvia and Papa Art. Later that day we went to Gigi's and Uncle Amjed where we met little Sami for the first time. Sweet little thing. The cousins were so happy to be together again. The next day we went to the Zoo, spent some time on the Terrace and surprised Jeremy by showing up to his rib fest.
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| Ava practicing her cheer leading moves |
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| all the little monkeys |
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| what are they talking about? |
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| Haithem, Quinn, Sahra and Ava |
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| Nanee Sylvia and all the grandkids |
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| at the Terrace |
After Madison we drove to Kenosha. Carter looks great and was feeling pretty good. We swam at the Y, had dinner with the cousins, relaxed and had a great time. Nolan planned an excellent birthday party for Quinn. He pretended he was a bad guy that stole the presents. Nolan had clues throughout the house that the kids followed to find the presents, then they put Nolan in jail. Quinn thought it was so much fun.
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| there's a new sheriff in town |
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| searching for clues |
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| Nolan in jail |
Bedtime at the Hellwigs...
Kathy and Dean's friends Bill and Ginny arranged for Quinn to have a visit with a couple of Kenosha's finest. Quinn was so excited about being with the police officers.
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| Quinn with Officer Zielsdorf |
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| Officer Torres and his dog Chico |
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| Baker was trying to get in as well |
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| Quinn in the bulletproof vest |
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| Our man Carter looking awesome after his spinal fusion surgery |
After Kenosha came Indianapolis. The Bruce's came down from Michigan and all the neighbors were ready for a party. Heather, Trisha and I took the kids to the Children's Museum.
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| Cleopatra with the girls |
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| Quinn and Baker enjoyed the new exhibit "Treasures of the Earth" |
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| the kids put together one of the terra cotta soldiers |
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| Quinn and Aiden in the Captain Kid exhibit |
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| Aiden, Quinn, Hailey, Baker, Caitlin, Ava and Julia |
Friday afternoon we met at the park to see the Muellers, Hemmerlings, Hollemans, O'Connells, and Cliffords.
Heather and I made a tea party for the kids. The girls worked on decorations and we worked on the food.
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| only at the Lamb's would we do crafts with two bottles on the table |
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| Quinn's best buddy, Jessica |
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| with Julia, Clay and Carson |
The ride home was not as smooth as the trip out. But the other kids did great.
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| Green Lantern |
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| All he said for 18 hrs was Mama |
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| our almost teenager, eating chips and listening to the iPod |
