Fun with Grandma & Grandpa!

I got some great photos of Melanie playing with her Grandma & Grandpa Worzala so I wanted to share a few here. She really enjoyed the longer stay with them! Thanks again for having us out, Grandma & Grandpa W!!

The Great Worzala Cook-off 2009

While in North Carolina, each couple had one night that they were in charge of the meal - appetizers, meal, dessert, clean-up, etc. As I shared, I wasn't in it to win it, I was just in it to survive. Charlie drew the names to determine what order we were going in, and my hopes were fulfilled, we went first! So we made dinner the very first night (Friday), and Cory & Randy went Sunday, while Ron & Diane went Monday. I'll spare the details on the scoring system, but suffice it to say that Randy & Cory won with their fish tacos & steak tacos! They were very yummy, as were Ron & Diane's steak kabobs. It was a great idea for division of labor!

Melanie's Big Adventure

We went to North Carolina for five nights to vacation with Jeff's parents, Randy, Cory & the kids. It was Melanie's first airplane ride, and she did a GREAT job! On the way out there, she got fussy a few times, but loved playing with stickers, and then slept during the landing. On the way back, she did an even better job, not really fussing at all. You know that feeling when they start crying and you don't know how long it's going to last, so it feels like it's going on forever? There were a few of those moments on the way out there; but retrospectively they didn't last long.

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While we were there, we had great weather for the first couple of days/nights - including the 4th. Melanie ended up sleeping through the fireworks, as keeping up with Charlie and playing with Sammie just wore her out! Above are several highlights of her trip, including the view of the lake from our back porch.

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She was up each morning at 7am, but, other than the day she was with Daddy all day, she took great naps, and she was in a great mood the whole trip. She started calling Grandpa Worzala "Paw-Paw" - and had a name for Charlie - "Char" or something similar - and got to spend a few days at the pool, some time at the park, and just generally loved playing with her cousins.

Lions & Water & Beasts, Oh My!

We had a great weekend at the Worzala house - Made even greater by the fact it was a three-day weekend for me! It was kicked off Thursday evening by attending "Beauty and the Beast" at the Clinton County Youth Theatre - another fantastic performance! I'm amazed that each show gets bigger & better! Julie is truly living her dream, as she has wanted to direct childrens' theatre for years. This was their ninth performance (I believe), and was fantastic!

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Friday, I "helped" at the 5th annual Matt Smith Family Golf Outing. I don't think I did much helping, but once again, it was a great reminder of a wonderful man's relationship with God and his family. Needless to say, Laura & I had some fun cruising the golf course all day. Melanie & Jeff joined us in Frankfort for the dinner portion of the golf outing.

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Saturday, Mel took a trip to West Park for some water fun, and then she & I went to see the Flying Toasters at the Lebanon park. We met up with friends from Frankfort (yes, and Whitestown, Ali!) - but Mel also got to dance with cousins Lily & Bella. She was fast asleep before we even had the car headed south to go home!

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Sunday, we went to the zoo, but quickly realized Mel was too sleepy to enjoy the animals. We still got a good lap around, and then headed home for nap time. Pepper in some running-through-the sprinkler time and a trip to the outdoor water park at Monon Center, and I think it can safely be said that everyone had a great weekend! Melanie loves water so much that tonight (Monday), on our way home from our walk, she ran through Tom & Paula's sprinkler with all of her clothes on.

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This week, we're in prep mode for our trip to North Carolina! It will be Melanie's first airplane trip - wish us luck!

Melanie's "si" faces

When Melanie is told she's "silly" she repeats it back - missing a couple of letters. It's fun to hear her vocabulary develop. She probably doesn't have 10 real words, but she sure can talk! I just liked these photos showing a bit of her personality. She has been meeting lots of kids in the neighborhood, going to West Park - the "water park" around the corner from us - about twice a week - and loves being outdoors. Her new bedtime is close to 10pm (!!) and let me tell you, she does NOT like mornings lately! (maybe due to the 10pm bedtime!) However, she is napping better at school.

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The above pictures just make me smile, so I wanted to share them; Diane's caption on the top one captures what is surely going through Mel's mind: "Ok, so tell me why this cat won't use this straw!" - she was having so much fun with that straw & Grandpa Worzala!

Happy Fathers Day!

Melanie is very blessed to have such a great Daddy! Jeff played golf on Fathers Day (and shot par!) while the girls hung out by the pool - maybe there's a pattern here?! We enjoyed dinner with my parents, and so Melanie & I both got to celebrate our fantastic fathers!

Weekend with Grandparents Worzala (aka, Golf Weekend)

Jeff's parents came down over the weekend of June 12, for a boys' golf weekend. The guys played on Friday, twice on Saturday, and again on Sunday. The girls had some pool time, and Mel loved hanging out with her grandparents - AND her Uncle Randy, who stayed with us for the weekend, too. She & Uncle Randy enjoyed eating each other's "piggies," and Mel loved getting undivided attention from him (see middle picture). Melanie loves getting to hang out with her Grandparents Worzala, and is looking forward to North Carolina with them next week!