Monday, October 20, 2008

Twins Tour Part IV (featuring the Green’s, the Leppla’s, the Brenneisen’s and the Shorts’)

This is the fourth and final segment of the Twins Tour 2008 series. Yay! Better late than never!
We left Bethany Beach early on Sunday and traveled approx. 4hrs to Harrisburg to have lunch with Angie and Jeff Green who are pregnant with their first baby, a girl.(update: They gave birth to baby Avery May Green! She was a little bit early, but she's doing great and Mom and Dad are great as well.

We can’t wait to meet her some day soon! Angie and Jeff had a short period of “baby practice” during their time with Bryan and Jonathan.
Our conversations were full with “Can you believe it’s been a whole year!?” and “Do you remember when..?” We had a great time catching up. When lunch was over, we got back in the family van and drove another 4hrs to Pittsburgh. We stayed with my Aunt Bridget and Uncle John.
They have a beautiful puppy named Jasmine. She was great with the boys even though they tugged and poked with all their might.
The next day, Monday, we had lunch with Bill and Wendy Brenneisen - They are the parents of the newborn William John. We’re proud to announce that Will is doing really great! He’s gaining weight (he's already 12lbs!!) and he’s steadily improving his breathing. We're so proud of you Will!!
Here we are at Quaker State in Pgh.(great buffet!) The twins were having a great time throwing their toys everywhere while we fetched. That needs to stop.

Bryan didn't want anything to do with the camera, but he did love nuzzling in Wendy's shoulder.

Look, Bill and Jonathan match!

After lunch, Me, Matt, the twins, and my cousin April visited my Grandma Bryan's gravesite. Next week will mark the 2nd Anniversary of her passing. We also visited other relative's sites while we were there. My Grandma never got the chance to meet the twins - I got pregnant just two months after she passed. It might seem strange, but I plan to occasionally bring the boys to the site so they can see that they shouldn't be afraid of graveyards. It's a place to remember the ones we love.
That night, Bridget and John invited friends and family to come over for a party for us. It was great being able to see everyone in one place!
From left to right, my cousin April's husband - Geoff, my cousin Derek's wife - Tracee, my cousin Malissa, my cousin Derek.

Our friends Tim and Amy...

Playing in the living room with April...

Here's my cousin April's two boys Jacob and Nathan and my other cousin Derek's girl Payton
We had a picture taken of all the cousins' kids that were there. From left to right, Bryan, Jacob, Payton, Jonathan, Nathan.

A bunch of us just talking...




Here are some pictures of the kids playing in the yard.





At the end of the party, we piled all the boy cousins into the tub for a bath. We won't do that again.

After the party, Matt and I tucked away to visit baby William in the hospital. It brought back so many hospital memories for Matt and I from when the twins were still in the NICU. It's not fun, let's just say that. When we walked in, we could tell that the hospital facilities were top-notch. There was a separate "cube-like" area for each baby there and there were maybe 2 dozen babies. We got to tickle William's little tootsie-toes while we were there. What a delight!
The next day, we packed up the van and drove home with no stops. Yikes! I don't remember much from that trip home other than the relief that the Twins Tour 2008 was over and we'd all be sleeping in our own beds that night. It was an adventure!! Thank you to everyone that made the tour possible and for all the wonderful gifts that you gave us along the way. We love you!

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