F-U-N!

Not all of Mum and Dad's visit was work, work, work. We did have time for some fun in there! We celebrated Iain's birthday (twice!). We made lots of good meals, including some new things (Alton's from-scratch shrimp cocktail and seared tuna steaks!) and some old favorites (kebabs and steak au poivre, of course!). Dad and Neil went golfing a few times, and got to see the last two games of the Clark Cup Finals. Mum and I enjoyed pedicures (thanks Mik!!) and browsed around nurseries, garden stores and Target to our hearts' content, and the boys were just thrilled to have Grammie and Grampy here. But by the end of the trip, we all agreed it would be fun to take a little break! So we planned a fun Memorial Day Weekend getaway as the "last hurrah" of their trip.

Mom and Dad decided to take the "Lake Express" ferry home, which sails right across Lake Michigan, and cuts Chicago out of the trip. So we took off on Saturday for Milwaukee, with a stop on the way in Madison for breakfast, the Farmer's Market and browsing on State street. We stayed in a Staybridge, so we got to cook our own dinner that night (shrimp Alfredo pasta!) and didn't have to worry about dragging the boys out to a restaurant. We spent lots of time in the pool;Mom and I showed off our pedicures, Iain got to use his new "birthday snail" pool toy from Grandma and Grandpa, and Liam's swam for the first time! He took to it "like a duck to water"! He loved it! A lot more than Iain actually, although he was alright too once he got in, and both of them loved the hot tub! It was nice to just relax together. It was a great ending to the trip.

We were all very sad when we had to say good-bye to them on Sunday, and watch them sail off on their "big boat". It was a cold, dreary day, perfect for good-byes and moping, so after they were gone, we headed back to the hotel, took a nap, ate leftovers and went to bed early.

On our way home on Monday, we stopped at the Madison Zoo which Iain loved this time, as evidenced by the clapping and pointing in every picture he's in! Liam was not so hot on the zoo yet...and he was just plain hot, as it was the hottest day we've had this year. We went directly to the Pitmans for a Memorial Day BBQ, and it was fun to be able to be together...although we sure missed Stu and Becky and their crew. This was our first Memorial Day without them!

Here are some photos of the fun we had over the past few weeks!

Handy-Man Iain

Alton's Shrimp Cocktail-Made by Neil and Dad

Round Two of Iain's Birthday-with Mom and Dad P

Fun in the Pool!!

Saying Goodbye...

Memorial Day at the Zoo

All Worn Out...Drop the Apple...Hold the Guitar...!