Family Time

On Friday, Jim and I played hooky (took personal days) and headed south to Indianapolis. My sister, Marcia, her husband, Derek, and their daughter, Ava, flew in for a travel group reunion. We had thought they were only going to have Friday free so we just made plans to drive down there for the afternoon/evening. They ended up being free until late Saturday afternoon. I wish we'd known earlier and could have planned to spend more time together. We didn't have enough time.

But the time we had was wonderful. We picked them up at their hotel and headed downtown for a big Italian meal. Ava is the happiest, smiliest child, but you'll never figure that out from my pictures. I only captured her smiling in one.

A Happy Family

Sera was very excited about getting to see "my Ava"

Chicken Saltimboca
Spaghetti with meatballs as big as your head
Daddies and Daughters
Daddies are smiling
Thomas the Train is pretty fun
The toy that was the hit of the day

After lunch, we headed to the Children's Museum. We were worried they'd close since we had a really late lunch, but the guard at the parking garage told us we had an hour. We figured an hour was about what our girls would last. When we got inside, we learned it was already closed for the little ones. They were getting ready for their haunted house, so we never left the lobby area. Both girls have been obsessed lately with stethoscopes and making their own out of various toys. Marcia found these in the museum store. Both girls were thrilled. Sera's was amazing. It will also take your temperature and doubles as a phone, microphone, and television remote.

The museum is amazing. I was expecting a small place with some basic interactive exhibits for kids. This place is about five stories. We can't wait to go back and actually see some of it.

I think Sera summed up our outing best. Saturday afternoon she was playing when she looked at me and said, "mommy, play Ava fun."

"You had fun playing with Ava yesterday?"

"Yes," with a beaming smile.