Indiana 2009

ere's our Indiana trip, 2009. We had the best time again! It was just our family this year, my sister couldn't come; but it was still amazing!

Our favorite family was back again; their kids, Katie, Emma, Lily and Jack stay at their grandma's house, which is right next door to my mom and Rich's. The kids range in ages from 7-3, perfect for my 3 and 6 year old! They are the sweetest kids and I know my munchkins had so much more fun because they were around to play. You will see them throughout my pictures.

We played outside, took boat and jet ski rides, ate and ate and ate. I read magazines and books, laid out when the sun was shining, watched my kids play in the soft green grass and light sparklers. It's all good! This is our favorite vacation every year (though Tahoe is a pretty close second), it's so relaxing being there, no need to think really hard about anything! :) So here are some of my fav pics from our vacay.

Airplane rides are getting SO much easier. My kids were rocking the MacBooks and IPhones the entire way there!



I LOVE sleeping in! Oh my, it is the BEST! I was so lucky that my mom and husband let me sleep way too late every morning and helped with the kids. This is why I love Indiana! There is nothing to do, and it is FABULOUS!


My mom took Ella and I to a Farmer's Market. It was so cute! Lots of fruit, flowers and chocolates!

The flowers in Indiana are AMAZING! I have never seen dark sunflowers before!


Homemade chocolates! Yum!




Oh the jet ski! Mark is in LOVE with the jet ski! Check out his hair after a ride . . . it was flat when he left the house, sticking straight UP when he came back! Ella and Karsten had so much fun riding with Daddy too. He would let them do the throttle and drive.

Unfortunately, Ella and I took a trip out to the lake and got lost (well, I got lost) and it ended up where a small search party was looking for us. After that trip, Ella was so nervous to go too far away from the channel; I felt so bad that I made her scared to take trips out on the jet ski! I'm hoping she will forget by next year.





My Love . . .


Karsten passing out on Me-la. See him in full sleep mode below.


Ella playing with her new Barbie fishing pole, then hanging out with Rich before taking a little snooze like her brother!



Both the kids didn't take naps and fell asleep before dinner was served! Karsten woke up later to join us having s'mores (see below), but my little La-La didn't wake up until the next morning! I think this is the first time she's missed dinner, EVER!



This was our night of s'mores and sparklers with the neighbors. This is one of our favorite things to do. We all gather around a fire and hang out in the nighttime. It's so wonderful!




I love this picture because it so defines what Indiana is to us; freedom, relaxation, happiness. And everything is so beautiful and GREEN! Run Karsten, RUN!


The neighborhood kids caught a turtle and a frog. Of course my kids wouldn't touch either one, but they liked to look at them!




Eating dinner with our friends . . .


Lola and Ginger, the puppies of Indiana . . .


More Sparklers!



Coloring with our friends . . .


This year was much colder than last, so there wasn't a whole lot of swimming. This was the only time Karsten jumped off the diving board into the channel. But, what a difference from last year! Last year, he would barely step off the board and fall into the water; this year, my boy is JUMPING!


Marky got to go fishing three times with Rich and his neighbor, Tom. They went twice, super early in the morning and once in the evening. The first morning, Mark came out dressed in a blazer! Rich took one look at him and threw him a sweatshirt to put on! What a city slicker!




One last family photo outside the house . . . Goodbye sweet Indiana, til next year!