Vincenzo Alan Mangini has arrived!

Vinnie was born yesterday at 8:06 pm December 5th, 2008 weighting 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 inches long. He is a great baby, we have only heard him cry once! Susie is recovering nicely and loves her new baby! Thank you everyone for your phone calls and texts.

Put a Fork in Me...

'Cause I'm done! (Can you not tell??) That's right. I go into my doctor's office at 2 then head to the hospital for my c-section. HOORAY!!! Giovanni's wound up so tight, I sent him off to Tot Lot with Jeanette this morning and he'll probably end up spending the rest of the day with her family. Thank you SOOO much Jean!!!

Next time I post it'll be pictures of Baby Vinnie!

An Attitude of Gratitude

We had a pretty good Thanksgiving. The running joke for the day was that we were all ruining Ryan's Thanksgiving. We took it easy, for the most part. Ryan and I spent the morning putting up Christmas trees at our house. This year, we went over to my mom's for our Thanksgiving feast. She made the most delicious turkey! My own contribution was a pumpkin cheesecake made from scratch. It turned out pretty good - Ryan thinks it might be the best dessert I've ever made. It's interesting to me how much things change over time. Growing up, Thanksgiving was a pretty huge party with so many friends and family in attendance we'd bring in several extra tables. But so many people have moved. This year, it was us, Jim & Amy, Matt & Resa and my mom - much smaller. This was also our 2nd Thanksgiving without my dad. I miss him so much. Rather than dwell on what and who is lost, I'm trying to focus on what's here. I'm grateful for so many things at this time. I'm grateful for my loving husband who also came with a great sense of humor. I'm grateful for my crazy three-year-old whose antics I don't usually understand but who has the ability to drive me up the wall and make me laugh at the same time. I'm grateful for the little miracle I'm about to meet next week (and for the heartburn, backaches and leg cramps to end, too). Especially at this time of economic hardship in the world, I'm grateful for a roof over my head and Ryan's employment. I'm grateful for food in my cupboard and leftovers in the refrigerator. I'm grateful for a grandmother who listened to the missionaries and my dad who wanted to know what made the pretty red head in the office (my mom, duh) so different and special. Without knowing it, they both made the same decision that has had a vast impact on my life by enabling me to be raised in the gospel. I'm grateful for my mom and all her encouragement. I'm also very grateful for my sisters and girlfriends who are always there for me.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Uh-Oh

Tonight, I was explaining to Gio (who's 3) that if he didn't start being a good boy I would have to call Santa and tell him not to bring him his Polar Express Toy he's been telling us he needs (every minute of every day). I furthered explained, once again, that Santa only brings toys to good boys and girls and that it wasn't mommy's job to do so. Gio gave me this puzzled look and replied, "Wait, you're not Santa???"

Insanity

Seems the closer we get to delivery of our little guy, the more insane our lives get! We're just 3 weeks (and a few hours) away from meeting Baby Vinnie and the list of things to do just keeps piling up. I've nearly finished painting the changing table, an brilliant idea I had when my mom bought us the crib from Ikea I wanted/needed (Gio's was just too tall for me) that's white, not cherry stained. This project has turned out to be a literal pain in my rear! Ryan has successfully rearranged the boy's room but every time I turn around there's more baby stuff to launder. Today we ordered a new swing from Babies R Us (Gio's died & the one we got from eBay fell through) and, also today, I had to get all four new tires on my car. Aside from all this, my watermelon-sized womb has rendered me pretty immobile and there's Girl's Camp/Stake Young Women's Nights '09 to prepare for....wish us luck!

What do you think?

Last Saturday, I was officially 34 weeks pregnant. I get SO many comments from people that I was wondering, am I bigger with this pregnancy? So, in the picture on the left I am exactly 34 weeks pregnant with Gio and on the right I am exactly 34 weeks pregnant with Vinnie, wearing the same shirt. What do you think?

Halloween Adventures

I cannot believe I let the entire month of October go by without putting up a single decoration in my home, baking and decorating sugar cookies (for friends, neighbors, visiting teachees, etc.) and not starting "the Phantom Ghost Treater" in our complex! This baby must be sucking the life out of me.... Without these things, however, we did end up having a pretty good Halloween:

One week before Halloween, our good friends, the Machado's, hooked us up with tickets to "Mickey's Halloween Treat" at Disney's California Adventure. It was so much fun! There were, I think, 16 of us total and we all dressed as dominoes. It was the easiest costume (almost, keep reading) I've ever worn. We all wore black and our friends, Joey & Gabbie, provided strips of paper for our center lines and cut out circles for our dots (we taped it all on). I was really blown away by how many moms of young children wore skimpy costumes. Honestly, one mom's outfit looked like it came from Fredrick's! Only two rides were not open that night (Grizzly Run Rapids & the Sun Wheel) and they handed out SO much candy that we put it out for the trick-or-treaters Halloween night rather than buy anymore. Gio & I actually only rode one ride that night (Toy Story Mania) while everyone else also got to ride the Tower of Terror. Thankfully, our friends also provided a wheelchair for Ryan to push me around in or I would not have made it through the night. The event is supposed to be from 7:30-11:30 only but I'm pretty sure we didn't leave the park til way past midnight 'cause we didn't get home 'til after 1! Thank you again, Machado Family!

We don't usually give Gio options when it comes to what he's going to be for Halloween, we just choose for him, but this year we at least ran the idea past him before assembling the costume. He was THRILLED when I asked him if he'd like to be Charlie Brown. We spend a lot of time watching Charlie Brown DVDs around here. When I pop popcorn and tell Gio we're watching a CB DVD in the afternoon he knows mommy's not gonna stay awake for the viewing of it (a frequent occurrence). He's very good at sitting right next to me and even occasionally will fall asleep himself.

Halloween was a very busy day. We started off with a party at Tot Lot. There was story time, 5 or 6 different"projects" (crafts), and viewing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." For snack time they had pizza and mini cupcakes - definitely not the norm. It ended with dancing to Halloween music until all the mommies picked up their kidlets. Each kid also got their own pumpkin bucket full of treats and goodies. Gio followed a girl who was dressed as Jasmine from Aladdin all over the place, asking her to dance, take a picture with him and even come to his house! He has been asking to watch that movie every day for the past week or so.

Later, we attended our Church Halloween party. Here, I took off my shoes, making my costume "being barefoot and pregnant." Ryan dressed as a Disneyland tourist/annual passholder. There were lots of game booths, karaoke and sweets to eat. Ryan won me a soda at the ring toss soda booth. He's so thoughtful! They had trick-or-treating in the hallways and didn't mind when the kids went through multiple times. My friend, Cathy, handed out glow-in-the-dark earrings (not pierced), bracelets and drop necklaces. Pretty cool!

After that party, we headed to Nana's to trick-or-treat on her block (the only real trick-or-treating I let Gio do). I was pretty sad to see how many people weren't handing out candy and how few kids were out. Gio had a great time, though. Several people, throughout the day, asked how we even thought up his costume, much less found it. A big "thank-you" to my friend, Aaron, for printing it. It was actually amazingly difficult to find a yellow t-shirt and black shorts. Must be the time of year.

OFF with her HAIR!!!

I don't know if this happens to all pregnant ladies, but when I'm pregnant I notice that I shed a lot less hair. Consequently, I end up with thicker-than-usual hair that poses a problem. For the past 8 months I have been dealing with more headaches than usual and, strangely, a very sore scalp. Being as slow as I am (when I'm pregnant), I finally made the connection between my thicker-than-usual hair and scalp-soreness last week. It's been 6 years since my last drastic chop and, thanks to Wendy (for her encouragement) and Cathy (for her talent with scissors), today I will donate another 10 inches to Locks of Love. Honestly, I felt relief as soon as she made the first cut. She even told me my scalp truly looked red and irritated. Guess I made the right decision!

"Tot Wot" Diary

Giovanni's doing very well at Tot Lot. About 3 times a week, however, we have to call Daddy for a pep talk to get us out the door. Gio says, "I not going to Tot Wot today," or, "No! I stay home wif you!" Thankfully, Ryan always boosts his confidence and we get there in no time. When we get to the check-in gate, Gio stands there (not even looking at me), waiting for his kiss good-bye from his mommy (on the forehead, 'cause he doesn't make any more effort than that) and doesn't move an inch until he gets it. I think Gio's favorite day so far was when Ryan took the day off work and volunteered to be Mr. Tot Lot. A group of boys flocked to him and they all played ball together. Pretty cute.

Nearly every month there is a Tot Lot Excursion (like a field trip, but all the mommies attend and drive their own kids). In September, we had a meet-&-greet pot luck at a local park that had a train. Gio rode it twice and tried to sneak on it one other time without me. This month we went to a pumpkin patch that also featured tot-sized carnival rides. Once again, there was a train and Gio rode it twice, also. This time he got to sit in the engineer's seat. He also road some cars (like a merry-go-round) and visited the petting zoo. Here, he seemed to really like the little chicks. My favorite part was the pregnant goat. Gio pointed at it and said, "Oh no! What's wrong?" I explained that this goat was going to have a baby, like mommy. And then, of course, I had one of the attendants take my picture with her.

One Mrs. Tot Lot told me last week that Gio's the only kid there who comes up to her every day that she's there and has a conversation with her. She said he talks about whatever's on his mind. He's made a lot of friends and doesn't usually participate in the projects, preferring to ride the bikes ("motorcycles") at this time, instead. He seems to eat a good amount at snack time, at least when I'm there. He's had only one time-out. It was the 2nd day and he had pushed his best buddy from church! Not normal for him!

Overall, I think Giovanni's really enjoying Tot Lot and making the most of it. I'm really grateful that he doesn't scream and cry when I drop him off. I was worried about that, him being a mama's boy and all.

Oh, Baby!

Yes, this is me, in my maternity swim suit (today I go to aqua aerobics). My apoligies to anyone who may be offended by the pic. Yesterday was my OB visit and, boy, did I get great news! First of all, I haven't gained a pound since my last appointment 2 weeks ago (and I had lost a pound at that visit) and, drum roll please, they'll be taking him out of me a week before my due date. SO: ONLY 6 WEEKS TO GO!!! In other news, he's still moving around quite a bit and, while he was head down during the visit, he's still pretty high and isn't anywhere near being "engaged," which is why I'm pretty sure he was laying sideways (transverse) the other day, wreaking havoc on my hips and legs (MAJOR sciatica pain). At this point, I really can't wait to meet little Vincenzo and have my body back.

The Mind of My Gio....

Just before dinner last night, Giovanni was touching my belly, asking more questions about Vinnie. "That's Baby Vinnie's bed, Mommy?" and, "That's Baby Vinnie's room, Mommy?" I shouldn't have been surprised by his last question, "So, where's his toys?"

Bye for now, Disneyland!

Tomorrow my Disneyland annual pass expires and from what my aching legs and hips are telling me (other than: "get that baby off of us!"), we won't be going one last time. I'm pretty darn sad, too, and will miss it greatly. We do plan on renewing our passes once I heal from my c-section, but who knows how long that will be. Thanks for the memories, Mickey!

The Mind of My Gio.....

Today, we had to explain that his little brother won't be here for a little while longer when Giovanni asked me if we could "take out Baby Vinnie and put him in the stroller." I wonder, how long after Vinnie's born will Gio be asking to put him back in?

Yuck

It feels like it's been FOREVER since my last post. There's a very simple, yet disgusting, explanation for this: the stomach flu. Yes, the stomach flu has, once again, shown it's ugly face in our house. It has viciously attacked poor Gio & only slightly smacked me down (comparatively). Ryan, well, his lucky butt has managed to come through this one unscathed. Thank goodness or I'd come completely unglued. My wonderful husband has been caring for both Gio & me without a single complaint. Thanks for pulling us through this one, babe!

Freakishly Large

It's true, I'm finally in the 3rd trimester. Hooray!!! Aside from the numbers (I'm approaching 29 weeks) I can tell I'm there because: I seriously cannot remember ANYTHING, especially conversations and important information (Ryan keeps saying, "I can't wait for my wife to come back!); people have been making comments, like, "Any day now, huh?" and, "Looks like you're next" (when friends are in labor or very close to); I feel the urgency to set up for the baby (nesting) because I'm pretty sure I'll be immobile really soon; I can't sleep 'cause my hips hurt so bad; I am having the worst ligament pain, which I don't remember having with Gio; & I have so much anxiety about my delivery!

Gio & Vinnie

Every day, Giovanni talks to his growing baby brother, Vincenzo. He tells me, "Mommy, I want to see Baby Vinnie!" Then he addresses his brother (slowly), "Oh, Bay-bee Vinnie, I wub you!" It finally occurred to me, last week at Disneyland, to take a picture of this. I think it's so adorable!

My Wicked Birthday!

My fantastic husband took me to see Wicked at the Pantages in Hollywood on my birthday last Friday. It was awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I absolutely love musicals, especially live, and this one did not disappoint. In fact, it exceeded my expectations. :) It was really nice to be alone, on a date, with my sweet Ryan. We dressed up for the occasion and everything. Everyone was really nice to us, too. We were guessing that everyone thought this was probably our last date before our new bundle of joy arrives. Little do they know, I have nearly 3 months to go! One lady sitting next to us kept smiling at us, especially when Ryan would put his hand on my belly to feel Vinnie kicking. And, of course, all the women in the restroom moved aside when I came in to use it as one of them said, "Oh! She's really pregnant! Let her through!" So thoughtful and definitely appreciated after a three hour show!

The Mind of My Gio....

My mom and I took Giovanni to Disneyland this past Thursday. While riding on the train around the park, Gio spent time checking out the pictures of how to sit properly. First, he pointed to the person on the left then pointed to my mom and said, "Nana!" Next, he pointed to the middle person on the pic and said, "Gio!" Last, he pointed to the person on the right and said, "Mommy!" He then moved on to:He pointed to the picture on the left, then he pointed to the picture on the right. Immediately after, he imitated the kid, raising his hands in the air! It was so funny! It cracks me up when he does this stuff and he's not even trying to be funny.

Happy Birthday Jim!!!

I am lucky enough to share my birthday with my older brother (of 4 years), Jim! He will probably fall of his chair when he reads this as usually today is all about ME but today I wanted that to be different for him, so........HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!!!

6 Random Things About Me

So, I was actually tagged to do this by 2 different friends who live in 2 different states and don't even know each other. How funny is that?

These are the rules:
1. Link to the Person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people & let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
5. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I was born with really abnormal teeth. I had braces for almost a decade, 2 expander's, a bridge and even wore a head gear for a short period of time. After all that, I had 3 different retainers then two different night guards (I called them my grinding plates). I have had 7 different oral surgeries on my teeth over the course of my life. I was actually scheduled for at least two more this year, but Vinnie decided to come a year ahead of schedule so now I only have half a mouthful of teeth.

2. I LOVE pink electronics. I didn't even want a cell phone until Motorola came out with the pink SLVR, which I recently replaced with a pink Sony Ericsson Walkman cell phone (the camera died on the SLVR). I have a pink Memorex iMove to play what is now my 3rd pink iPod that I'm on (first a pink Mini, then a 2nd generation pink Nano and now a 3rd generation pink Nano Video). Thankfully, my husband fully supports me in this quest as evidenced by my new pink Sony Cybershot digital camera I got for our anniversary.

3. I am very much into routines/schedules and very much dislike interruptions in whatever routine/schedule I'm on. It's kind of one of my favorite aspects of being the Girls Camp Director: figuring out what can be fixed from the previous year's schedule to make it better.

4. When I am upset about absolutely anything, I HAVE to clean. I could be literally crying about a friend's tragedy, or even my own, and you would find me picking up around the house, dusting, doing the dishes or even scrubbing the toilet. When my dad passed away last year, my sister-in-law and I spent all four days before his funeral deep cleaning my mom's house. We even dragged every piece of dirty laundry and bedding down to the neighborhood laundromat. I really appreciated her support in my neurotic grieving needs. Seriously, if you ever see my house completely spotless, feel free to ask who died.

5. I share my birthday with a ton of people I know: my brother (Jim), Wendy's sister Michelle, my good friends Sarah & Shawntel, my friend's son Brandon, a guy I went to Jr. High with (Adrian) and a few other people who I can't think of right now (see #6).

Which brings me to.....

6. I am a total mindless idiot when I'm pregnant. One of the first things Ryan said to me after I told him I was pregnant with Vinnie was, "You're not going to get all dumb this time, are you?" If you tell me something important and you don't see me write it down in front of you, ask me to. If you tell me a secret, it's surely safe with me as I'll forget it the minute we walk away from each other! Fortunately, this problem goes away a few months after the baby comes out of me.

So, now I tag: Kellie C, Alie B, Rebecca M, Becca B, MaryJo V, & Julie C!

Tot Lot

Giovanni began Tot Lot this week. It's actually going pretty well. I stayed the first day for about 40 minutes 'til I noticed he was playing with his good friend from church, so I ducked out. He caught me. He ran to the gate and yelled, "Mommy! Where you going? Come back!" I told him I'd be back in a bit and he'd be fine. He was. At home, he was an absolute nightmare. According to one of my mommy magazines, this is totally normal. On Tuesday, he told me he didn't want to go. As attendance is optional/not mandatory, we could have stayed home, but we didn't. I figured, why start that the first week, especially the 2nd day? By the end of the week, he was asking to go in the morning and telling me, "Thank you for Tot Lot, Mommy," the rest of the day. It's a total parent co-op program, so I work it every Friday. It's kind of nice that way. I get to be involved but not overly-involved. A good friend of mine is training Gio to call all the mothers "Mrs. Tot Lot." We'll see if he takes to it. I really like this program and think it will be a good introduction to the idea of pre-school for him.

We Were There

It's true. Last night, we had the great opportunity of attending the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim game where Francisco Rodriguez broke the record for most saves in a season. It was pretty exciting. We sat in a VIP suite that was awesome!

The Yard Sale Fairy

Last weekend, it was time, again, for our annual yard sale. This year, we included Chad (not for sale, just his stuff). Giovanni was so excited, although I'm pretty sure he had no idea what a yard sale was. He was walking around all Friday saying, "It's for my yard sale? For my birthday?! For my party?!?" I really don't know how he associated a yard sale with his birthday (which is not until April) and a party, but he did. He WOULD NOT go to bed Friday night, he was so wound up. So, finally, at 10:30 Ryan told him, "You better go to bed or the Yard Sale Fairy won't come." It worked! He went right to bed. Saturday morning he woke up at 6 a.m. with the same enthusiasm. No matter how many times we explained it to him, throughout the whole yard sale, Gio kept asking, "Where's my yard sale?" Oh, well. We tried.

Aunt Becki's

I cannot tell you how many times a day Gio tells me, "I wanna go Becki's!" It's absolutely ridiculous. So, we finally went....and it was great! Gio got to spend time with his cousins, Katie & Bailey, while Ryan worked outside with Chase & Ash (prepping for more construction) which left Becki and me to cruising in her Porsche and visiting the Coach Outlet down by the border. Thank you, Wolters, for a great time! :)

6 Years of Mr. & Mrs. Mangini

Six years ago today, Ryan and I became "Mr. & Mrs. Mangini" (we both look so young and well rested!). It has been quite an adventure. Over the past six years, we have lived in 6 different homes, Ryan has attended 3 different junior colleges and 1 university while I have attended 3 different universities.....and we're still not finished! Five years ago today we were in AZ at family reunion. Four years ago today we learned I was pregnant with Giovanni. Three years ago today we purchased our first Disneyland annual passes. Neither of us can remember what we did for our anniversary two years ago.....probably went to Disneyland. :) One year ago today we were on a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico (Giovanni stayed with my sister & her family). Yesterday, Ryan took the day off, spent the morning with Gio while I was at a Dr.'s appt., got a massage (my present to him), then we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Disneyland. Today, Ryan surprised me with a new pink Sony Cybershot digital camera I've had my eye on, we cleaned the house and attended Wendy's birthday party. We were supposed to go to dinner tonight, just the two of us, but we're both still so full from Joi's delicious enchiladas! As crazy as life has been for us so far, I look forward to our future together with excitement. I am constantly amazed by Ryan and truly believe that he is meant to be my eternal companion. He is such a wonderful husband and father. P.S. I stuck the pic of just my flowers in 'cause I just miss my waist so much! HA HA!!

Mother-Daughter Overnighter

Friday night I had the pleasure of taking Giovanni to our stake's mother-daughter overnighter. That's right. He wasn't the only boy - there was a baby boy, too. He was so excited to "go camping in a tent" that as soon as Ryan had it all set up (he came just to set up for us), Gio climbed right in and told me, "Mommy, I tired. I go sleep in a tent." I didn't let him. There were games that night that Gio was too young to participate in but it didn't stop him from hanging out on the stage anyway. His favorite was the hula hoops. He tried pretty hard to make it work. He said, "Mommy, I wanna shake!" Too funny. At the campfire, he climbed right on my lap and cuddled in my arms. He fell asleep by 9:37 (I asked Cathy & Jessica what time it was)! He slept all the way in to 7:05. :) I figure this means I won 'cause when Ryan took Gio to the father-son overnighter he didn't fall asleep 'til almost midnight and woke up at 5:30 a.m.! ha ha. The priesthood, including the stake president and his 2nd counselor, cooked & served us breakfast in the morning that was delicious. There were more games after that but Gio was more interested climbing on the rocks in the campground. Overall, we both had a great time. Giovanni was so worn out he fell asleep on the ride home, only 4 1/2 hours after he woke up! It's moments like these that I realize how blessed I am to be Giovanni's mommy. I never thought I'd space my kids 3 1/2 years apart, but I'm actually very grateful that we did. I have had the last 3 1/2 years with Gio all to myself. When this next child is born, I expect that I will be sleep deprived and my patience tried, but I also know that I will love him instantly. I have no idea what to expect when it comes to sharing my attention with Giovanni. His feelings have actually been my number one concern since learning I was pregnant. He is such a mommy's boy and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Sisters

Last week, Ryan's sisters, Hollie & Chelsea, came down from Sacramento. We had so much fun! Giovanni immediately roped them into playing Mario Kart on the Wii until Auntie Hollie let him play with the hose in our front yard (something I never do). Ryan barbecued shrimp that night that was soooo delicious! We went to the beach on Wednesday where Auntie Hollie & Auntie Chelsea helped Gio build a sandcastle. They only played in the water a little bit as Gio's still pretty afraid of the big waves. We spent the rest of the time showing them around as they are thinking of moving down here after the fall semester. It was really great spending time with them!

The Mind of My Gio....

I spend many Sundays wondering what the heck Giovanni is getting out of Church as he spends the entire sacrament meeting playing with toys, eating snacks or being placed in time out for his disruptive behavior. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of hope. Like, when I was the lucky recipient of a great big box of unfrosted cupcakes, left over from Girl's Camp, and he informed his "Tunko Matt" that, "Those are Jesus' cupcakes.....from church!" Well, today, we were lucky enough to capture such a moment. On the way home from Church, Gio said, "Thank you for going a church today, Mommy," and then, "Thank you for going a church today, Daddy." Such a sweet boy.

Nor Cal

No, this post is not about Gio's first trip to Hooters - we visited Ryan's family in Northern California last week. We left Wednesday around noon and arrived at Ryan's dad's in time to celebrate Chelsea's birthday (the sister on the right, Hollie's on the left). Ryan spent hours and hours fixing everyone's computers, I finished reading Breaking Dawn while Giovanni had a blast playing with all his aunties and uncle Nate-dawg. Friday night, Ryan's mom and Jess took all three of the grandkids camping and had a birthday party for all of them complete with a cake, presents and singing "Happy Birthday" to each of the kids. Ryan and I fully appreciated the night off. He went to some old friend's house to fix their computer while I visited the bra section of Motherhood Maternity in the mall to solve a persistent upper backache. When we met back up, we visited our good friends, the Boothes. It was SO great to see them! The boys played cards while Becca & I hung out. She even gave me a massage (she's a professional)! The last time we saw them, Gio was still very much a baby but they're finally residing in Cali so we really hope to see them more often now. Saturday, Ryan and I drove up to his mom's place in Jackson and spent the day there. He cleaned their carpets and fixed more computer problems while I continued reading. We also walked around downtown Jackson (Main St.). It's one of my favorite places to visit when we're up there. We were saddened to find many of our favorite shops and even one of the best pizza places were either closing or already closed due to the recession. Giovanni had a blast with his cousins and grandparents at the campground. They played miniature golf TWICE, tossed horseshoes and swam for FOUR hours. Yay for Horsey Grandma who kept up with all of them! Sunday we attended church and just lounged around 'til it was time to drop off Alex & Samantha. We also spent quality time with our pride and joy, Emma (our cat Maine Coon kitty who lives with Ryan's mom). She was definitely loving life as Ryan fed her wet cat food twice a day every day that we were there to keep her around. We headed back home Monday morning but are sure grateful for the time we had up there with family and friends. Amazingly, we saw 5 out of the 7 sisters (Kellie, Hollie, Benia, Chelsea & Geena) - a record considering nobody got married or died!