Chase Visit, Week 1

This week has been a busy week for us. Our nephew, Chase, is visiting, so almost everyday has been a busy one, trying to keep a little guy from the busy city of NYC entertained in suburbia.

Today was pretty low key for us. We watched the Tour de France in the morning and caught up with some much needed rest after the busy week. After naptime for Keira and I (Ryan went on a ride at Maybury at this time), Linda and Chase came over to swim in our pool for a bit. Keira really enjoys being thrown up in the air and from person to person in the pool.

Chase also really enjoyed being thrown. He is quite a bit bigger than Keira, so he didn't get as many turns in the air as she did.
Keira also enjoyed laying out in the sun. Doesn't she look so cute? Good thing we used sunscreen.
Friday started off with a Presidency meeting for me, so Keira got to play with Lizzie and Elise all morning. It was Lizzie's actual birthday, and when we told Keira this, she just said, "Cake". It is funny how at the age of 2, both little girls already know that birthdays mean cake. Later in the day, she did say, "Happy Birthday" to our neighbor, Ariana, because it turned out to be her birthday too. We met up with Linda and Chase at Maybury in the afternoon so we could take them on stroller rides while Ryan rides. Keira and I were fortunate to be able to be at the point in the paved path where the mountain bike trail goes along side it at the same time as Ryan rode by. Keira was very excited to see her daddy riding.

On Thursday, I wasn't feeling 100% (and am still not), so Keira took every toy she owns out because we didn't do much at all until Ryan came home from work. We did do a short walk at Maybury while Ryan rode before heading over to Kris and Linda's to enjoy a dinner and relax with Chase. The weather was slightly cooler today, so it made it a great day to enjoy outdoor activities without being miserable.

Wednesday morning, we had initially planned to go to the beach as part of our church Park Days, however, when we were getting ready for the day, it was only 65 degrees, not super warm for the beach, and it was a far drive to just play on that playground. After making a few phone calls, the majority of the Park Day participants were planning on seeing Bee Movie at a local theatre for $1. Keira, Chase, Linda, and I changed gears and met up for the movie. Keira seemed to enjoy it, as she could sit and watch TV all day some days, but Chase didn't seem as interested, so they left early to hit a park before his naptime. After the movie, Keira entertained herself for about an hour playing on the steps outside the theatre. I hadn't planned to take pictures, but she actually asked for the camera, so I went to the car and got it for these shots.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with Linda and Chase at the Novi Sports Park for some more fun outside.
Keira and Chase on the bouncy bridge. This is one of Keira's favorite things to play on at this park. She is a big fan of bridges. She gets really excited in the car when we drive under or over them.
Keira finally got over her fear of enclosed slides, and slid down this long spiral slide by herself today. I went with her the first time, but I felt as if we barely fit, so she had to do it by herself if she wanted to do it again.
At the bottom, success!
She also attempted to walk across the tightrope/chain. She really enjoyed being able to do it by herself. She could only take a couple steps, but she was very excited about that.

On Tuesday, Minde was in town for the morning, so we went to Rainbow Recreation. It is a showroom for the Rainbow Playsystems and they have open playtime in the mornings on Tues, Wed, and Thurs for free. It typically gets very crowded on days with bad weather, but it was pretty empty today. We will probably never own one of these, you can see a price tag in some of the image below if you enlarge it. They do have some cheaper models, but also some for much much more.

Keira climbing like Daddy.
On Monday, we went out to see Lisa and Dominic, and play in their pool. Ryan noticed today how much it looks like our pool. it is funny, because we had initally wanted to move into their neighborhood, but are now unsure with the current housing market. Keira and Dominic had a really great time splashing together.
Here is a shot of the two of them running around outside the pool. They coordinated so well with each other in their babyGap swimsuits. Chase and Minde arrived later in the day, so once Ryan got home from work, we went over to see them at Kris and Linda's. Chase was pretty worn out from a long day of traveling. Here is is with his blanket.
Here is Keira, taking after her mother, with chocolate all over her face. Like me, she rarely turns down chocolate, and is not always the neatest eater. Usually, it is only on my lips and corners of my mouth, and not my whole face.