Amy - 25/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

It's the birthday girl :) Today is Leila's 2nd Birthday and she had a great day! The morning started out with eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast and a big feast for dinner with our friends. It was weird, because I barely took any of the pictures from today ... which is great ... so there are actually a lot of ones with me in them as she opens presents, blows out the candles, etc.

Here are two that I took and love what they represent about her at this age:

- Not sitting in the chair correctly, since she got herself in it and probably sat in all the other spots before this

- Food all over her face and cramming her mouth while holding the spork, but not using it

- Licking the ice cream to test it out

- That crazy messy hair, since she won't keep any hair clips or rubber bands in

Nancy - 25/365 - Cleveland, Ohio

May 14

Day 8 of Vacation

Crazy thunderstorm overnight. Tons of wind, rain and lightening. It appears that I am the only one it woke up.

• BEAUTIFUL weather. If Ohio could always guarantee this weather I'd visit much more often :).
• Pedicure with Aunt Nanny this morning. So nice to catch up with her.
• Lunch outside on the deck.
• Owen took a 1 1/2 hour nap. WOW!
• Total and complete chaos for about an hour as we packed up.
• Drove to Cleveland. John slept. Owen fussed. No surprise there.
• Rehearsal at Fenn Tower. Can't believe they'll be married tomorrow!
• Tasty rehearsal dinner at Dunham Tavern Museum. The children had a blast running around the beautiful grounds. It was nice to catch up with family. Friends and family shared special stories of Doug and Davelene. Such a nice evening.

Nancy - 24/365 - Kent, Ohio

May 13

Day 7 of vacation

• Owen has discovered avocado. CAN'T. GET. ENOUGH. more more more.
• We baked and baked and baked and baked for the cookie bar. Lemon squares, mexican brownies and alfajores. YUMMY!
• More gardening. The yard looks fabulous.
• I took a long walk. Alone. It was such a nice break.
• The weather warmed up and we opened all the windows and doors. It was delightful.
• The boys were fitted for their tuxes.
• Picked up Jana at the airport!
• Tasty dinner with the family, Jana and Melanie (lovely neighbor).

What a great trip this has been.

Amy - 24/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Games are a big hit in our house ... for all ages :) Even when something might be above or below our children's age, they usually play together and have a blast (for the first five minutes and then it's a free-for-all)! Today, I went to "the shops" for Leila's birthday present and picked up Scramble for all the kids. It was a hoot watching them figure it out!

I included three pictures today:

1) Five seconds left on the timer and the anticipation is thick

2) Right after it popped - I love Logan's face (he was a little scared of it) and Lynsie's, too!

3) A close-up of Leila trying to figure out a piece - she tried really hard and enjoyed herself.

Amy - 23/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Here the kids are doing a science experiment (camera obscura) that they learned watching a VHS tape of "Beakman's World" that Daddy bought years before we had kids. Chad reminded me the other day how long ago he bought the tape in hopes that his kids would love it as much as him. Of course, they do!!! They show it to all of their friends and want to recreate every experiment on the show :)

Here is the DVD version of it at Amazon - The Coning family highly recommends it!

Nancy - 23/365 - Cleveland, Ohio

Mom H & Owen

May 12

Vacation Day 6

• Weather is still crappy. 50ish degrees, but no rain.
• Scouted locations for wedding photos in Cleveland. Found some fabulous places on CSU campus and the West Side. So. Very. Excited.
• Owen tagged along for the ride and was a total trooper.
• Visited Mom H's office to show off the perfect grandchild.
• Tasty vegetarian lunch at Tommy's on Coventry.
• Shopping at Nordstroms. Purchased new Camper shoes. !!!!
• Shopping at Trader Joes. Why can't we get one of these in Orlando?
• Read a few chapters in front of a roaring fire tonight.
• Finally downloaded photos from our trip.

So enjoying this time away.

A few more favorites from today:

Amy - 22/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

Chad received his iPad in the mail yesterday (thank you, Mom) and finally found a moment to play with it today. I'm trying really hard to not want one ;)~ Here is a comic book that he downloaded, it zooms in like the iPhone and shows each scene individually on the screen, too. It is so cool and the screen size is amazing.

Nancy - 22/365 - Kent, Ohio

May 11

Day 5 of vacation

Very, very, very ugly weather. Rainy and in the 40's. So not the springtime weather we'd hoped (and packed) for.

Hung out with the fam.

Completed some wedding preparations.

Spent a lovely few hours with my hubby in Hudson. Lunch and a little shopping in my favorite stores including The Learned Owl bookstore. I so love independent booksellers. Bought two books and made note of a few books I want to read:









Ordered Jeff's birthday gift.

Watched an impromptu concert of jeff and doug on the horns (decorative) and John on the piano. It was, in a word, hilarious.

Enjoyed a fabulous dinner and conversation with Doug, Davelene, Mom, Dad and Jeff. So looking forward to their big day and grateful for times like this.


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Amy - 21/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

I've barely been on the computer the past few days and have spent most of today cleaning. We have a rental home inspection tomorrow and they always stress me out! My hands hurt from my effort; however, it always feels good to see everything spick 'n span (even if it only lasts for hours with three kids)!!!

Now it's time for a little reading and then bed...


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Nancy - 21/365 - Kent, Ohio

May 10

Day 4 of vacation

Slept in. Again. (though Owen was up 3 times overnight).

Finished my book. Woohoo!

Owen took a 1 hour nap this morning!! Other two naps were over 30 minutes - a trend?

Weather was GORGEOUS.

Accidentally let the cat out. Oops. After many hours he came in. For food. Not like he needs it.

Hiked 3 miles. John hiked some of it. Owen napped in the ergo. Good prep for Aspen.

Worked in the yard.

Ate an amazing dinner made by my hubby!

D & D fly in shortly. Can't. Wait. For. Their. Wedding.

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Nancy - 20/365 - Pennsylvania Pike

May 9

Day 3 of vacation ~ also Mother's Day

Slept in til 9:00!

Tasty brunch of French toast and fruit salad with Grandma Hanniford, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Neal, Aunt Nanny, Bizzy and my sweet boys.

Drove 6 hours to Kent, Ohio. Only two stops. Owen continued to prove how much he hates the car seat. John was a model rider and was treated to his first Happy Meal. Jeff and I chatted and dreamed.

Encountered ridiculously cold weather for May. Hard to believe that just last week we were in 90+ weather at home.

Arrived at my in-laws with two happy boys. Unpacked, bathed and put the boys down.

Delicious dinner with great wine and greater company.

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Amy - 20/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is posted out of order (posted on 12 May and backdated for flow), but I didn't want to miss the day, even though I was away from my computer...

Here is Lynsie completing her homework on Monday (shocker, since it's not due until Friday) about months and seasons of the year. I was aiming to get a picture of her grip and handwriting, when I realized how weird it was to help her with the worksheet ... all the months are opposite to the USA!!! So, "Winter" is June, July, August, etc. We had a little talk about funny it is for me to see this, since America is opposite. I love opening her eyes to the differences and educating her.

Amy - 19/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This is a picture of the new candle and hurricane from my family for Mother's Day. It is so beautiful and I thought it would make a great picture for today to represent the light that our three children bring into my life ... so much more than this flame, my life would be dark without them.

Amy - 18/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

This picture is (a censored version of) what you get when the boys are alone with the camera! Logan had a boo boo and needed a band aid, so Chad took him inside to get one. When I came in the house with the girls, he laughed and said, "Check out your camera! I had to get a picture of it..." Of course, there are about twenty in the series and a few of them are straight forward middle finger action! BOYS!!!!

Amy - 17/365 - Perth, WA, AUS

It was a busy day Friday (that's why I'm finally posting on Sunday night) with a birthday lunch for a friend and then the afternoon up at school for Mother's Day Tea. There will rarely be pics of me on here, so I thought that would share one from lunch today taken by Simon. Here I am with Sam, Kristy, Annette, Brooke (BD girl), Sarah (Host) right before we splurged on yummy cakes :)

At school, both Lynsie and Logan's class hosted a Mother's Day Afternoon Tea for us. There were handcrafted presents, singing, eating, drinking, and socializing. Tons of fun! One of the moms from Lynsie's class took our picture and I snapped a self-portrait with Logan :)
Leila was with me during all of this and was miserable to share the attention - LOL! She is coming down with a cold and wanted to be carried all afternoon. Hopefully, she will feel better soon!