Summer Vacation: New York!!!

MattGwynne, MattGwynne and Ben!!! (Eric has named both Matt and Gwynne, MattGwynne!)

Ever since we found out MattGwynne, as in Gwynne, was expecting, we couldn't wait for him to enter the world and become part of our family!!! We had fallen hard for this little man, and we hadn't even met him yet!!!

To say the least, we were beyond excited to know the day had finally come for us to meet him!!! The most precious little boy ever!!!

One of the things we miss most about living in New York, our Wednesday night dinners with MattGwynne! Yes, the pizza and butter sauce were amazing, but the company, man do we miss the company!

Once the kids were asleep, it was Wednesday night pizza all over again! Boy did it feel good! And tasted good as well! :)

The next morning we decided to head to the park across the street! It was here that Ben got to go down his first slide! Weeeeee!

Love seeing them as Mommy and Daddy!!!

We thought it would be fun for Eric and Sara to play on their old playground as well. So we headed on over!

We were happy to see they (as in Eric, Sara was a bit too young) remembered it! He also remembered our apartment, so we visited that as well :) Great memories!

A little comparison of them at the park when we lived there, to them at the park during our visit! :)

When we got back, it was cool off time! I mean seriously, can he get any cuter!!!

Our first family photo! Gosh we miss these guys!!! We love you!!!

NEXT STOP...ERIC AND SARA'S OLD SCHOOL!!!

They got to see most of their old teachers, who we love so much! And Eric got to see his first girlfriend, and she presented him with a huge bag of gummy bears! Does she know him or what!!! Hahaha!

NEXT STOP...THE BRUNO'S!!!

Since Eric and Sara recently had a visit from Taryn, Jake, and Jarrett, they were SUPER excited to see them again! Needless to say, it didn't take long for them to start having fun! And what's more fun than being blown by a leaf blower! NOTHING!

Hmmmm, something tells us this isn't going to end well...

and, we were right!

Another thing we were excited about, we were going to get to see Nick and Ally's new house! What a perfect time for a visit, we got to see their new house, but we got to stay in their old one, one last time!

BBQ TIME!!!

This was one of our most special BBQs! It felt so good to see everyone again! We had such good laughs and all the kids have grown so much!

It felt so good to be surrounded by so many friends! So many, great, great, friends!

Thank you so much Nick and Ally for making this possible for us! And thank you to everyone who could come out, it meant the world to us! We miss you all!!

RISE AND SHINE!!!

The next morning was spent hanging out with one another, and texting one another! Hahahaha!

Taryn, Jake and Jarret's Uncle Jim is always so very thoughtful! Once again, he proves this to be true!

He showed up with bags full of goodies just for each of us!!! They were filled with things like...

books...

crayons...

whistles...

and CANDY!!!

As always, thank you so much for thinking of us!!! It was so great seeing you again!!!

Afterward, we headed outside and had some more fun flying through the air off of the deck!!!

This is what having a baby every year looks like!

4 years old, 3 years old, 2 years old, 1 year old, months old!!! Hahaha!

What a laugh we got when looking through these family photos! Either every child's face was covered in one way or another, or Eric was attacking poor Jarrett! One was funnier than the next! Good times!!!

Another thing that cracked us up...watching Daddy and Uncle Nick try to jump the jumpy house! Hahaha! Neither of the two were able to fully clear it, but it was a ton of fun watching them try!!!

A sight we saw and loved each time we'd arrive/leave the Bruno's house. Seeing their family grow through the waves of hello and goodbye through their front window has been priceless. Starting with the days it was just Cooper waiting our arrival, to us heading out this past time and seeing this waving back at us! We love you guys!!!

There really are no words to describe just how blessed we feel to have the opportunity to live close to family. That I am now able to spend more time with our kids, and that Paul is loving the work he does so well. We feel equally as blessed, that that same opportunity allows us to spend an amazing summer vacation with our family and friends back North that we miss so very much! Not a day goes by that we aren't grateful and thankful!

From Chicago, to Massachusetts, to New York! Thanks to each and every one of you for giving us such an amazing summer! We miss and love you all!!!