D is for Dixon

Aunt "Ramia" and Uncle Josh flew out to Illinois for Fourth of July weekend, so we took small roadtrip back that way to spend time with them at Paca's house.
Much of the weekend could be summed up in two activities: tennis and swimming--both of which Ramona was eager to join.

By the time we left, Ramona could "swim" by herself, as long as she had the floaties on her arms.
Pool frogs--yummy.

For nap time on Saturday, Ramona chose the carpet at the foot of Paca's bed . . .
. . . but only after she had reached up to dump out Teresa's entire jewelry box, as evidenced by the trail of necklaces and bracelets leading from the dresser to where she fell asleep.
After she got re-charged, she was ready for more swimming and a ride on the lawnmower.
Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church, Ramona kept asking where her tie was. Paca let her wear one of his so she wouldn't feel left out.
Maria and I are both expecting, with due dates only about three weeks apart, so we had almost matching bellies on display that weekend. We snagged some obligatory (but fun!) baby bump shots before church.
We are thrilled that the little cousins will be so close in age.
After church we went to Grandma's house and then to the hospital to visit Forest's grandmother Rosanne, recovering from a stroke. She looked amazingly good and even had a present for Ramona: a princess nightgown that she insisted on wearing right away.

On the car ride back to Paca's house, we successfully got Ramona to fall asleep for a much-needed nap. For some reason, taking pictures of sleeping children never gets old for me.
That evening we all participated in the creation of another giant Dixon apple pie, baked in a 12" cast-iron skillet.


Monday morning we dropped the boys off to do some canoeing on the Sangamon River
In addition to the tennis and swimming that happened that day, we also heated up the old Dixon brand from Grandpa Dixon's farm and made some decorative wooden plaques.


Oh yes, and Ramona played with some bubbles from Aunt Cheryl, too.

Thanks for coming, Maria and Josh! And thanks for having us, Paca and Teresa!

On the drive back we stopped by my parents' house in Bloomington for a few hours, where Ramona enjoyed some more rice mounds with flags on top. Perhaps not the most patriotic flags, given that it was Independence Day weekend, but festive, nonetheless!
Happy Fourth of July!

Roadtrip 2011: Louisville, KY and HOME

After our visit to Durham, it was time to circle our way back toward the Midwest. Once again, we stopped at Jessica's in Louisville on our way back. She let us share her birthday morning with her and her girls. (You haven't aged a bit, Jess!)

We had a doughnut party
And an indoor sledding party
And, eventually, a farewell party on the walk out to the car

It was sweet to see our girls become such instant friends.
After all of this roadtripping, Ramona has come to be quite the champion traveler. Hope you had fun, Mona-pie--thanks for going on an adventure with Mommy and Daddy!

Roadtrip 2011: Durham, NC

Our North Carolina trip would not have been complete without a visit to Durham to see my long-time friend Brittany.
Ramona's version of "Brittany" tends to come out closer to "Barney," so we encouraged her to just call her "Aunt B," which she happily did.

And we called Britt's sister Taunja "Aunt T." Both aunties completely showered Ramona with attention all weekend.
Saturday Aunt B showed us around the local farmer's market


And walked us through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens that afternoon
She showed Ramona how to make a wish in one of the ponds there


Red-faced and sweaty, Ramona was eager to explore as much of the gardens as she could. While she marched ahead of us, she frequently stopped to strike this dramatic pose (as she often does when she is in an adventuresome mood):

She also insisted on laying out her blanket on the lawn for a "picnic."


Sunday morning:

While visiting Brittany's church, we got to listen to her give a Father's Day-themed talk in front of the congregation. She was amazing.

Thanks Aunt B and Aunt T, for having us!

Roadtrip 2011: Craggy Pinnacle, NC

For our last hike in the North Carolina mountains, we chose a little trail up to Craggy Pinnacle, just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway.





For as short as the trail was, the views were incredibly rewarding.



While we were up there, we talked to a couple from Wisconsin. "I'm glad we skipped the Biltmore for this," one of them said, and I had to share the sentiment.