Teen!!!!

This was what Alex called Christine when she was here to visit 2 weekends ago. Obviously, he was getting this from the last syllable of her name, but I couldn't write Tine! Because, that would be pronounced, well, just as it is spelled - Tine and then you wouldn't get it. So, we're going with Teen.


Christine came into town two weekends ago for probably her last visit before moving to Amsterdam and becoming Mrs. de Vries. We had a great weekend and in keeping with our true "groundhog day" like tradition, we pretty much did the exact same things we do every time she comes into town. Friday night, dinner in Providence by ourselves (and, this time we found a GREAT cheese, meat, bread and wine shop/restaurant!).


Saturday was spent taking the kids to gymnastics, walking Deacon and taking the kids to the playground.





As you can see - Christine was kept busy with Alex and was given the very important job of holding Avery's baby while she played...

Saturday night, we drank wine and made dinner at home (two of my favorite things to do).

Sunday, we walked! 10 kilometers to be exact - for Multiple Sclerosis. The original plan was to take Deacon and to leave the kids at home with Josh. However, Avery overheard us talking about the walk the night before and did not approve of that idea. So, Avery came and Deacon stayed home (not because Avery took his place - more because we weren't sure if he could handle 10 km's and then what in the world would you do with a dog who decides to just stop mid-walk??).

Mind you, I must have said to Avery, "Avery - this walk will be very long and you will have to stay in your stroller the entire time" about 500 times both the night before and the morning of. I will take bets as to how long you think it took her before we heard, "Mom, when can I get out of the stroller?" Approximately 2 mins would be the correct answer. But, I quickly realized that letting her out of the stroller was actually a preferable approach, as she pretty much had to run to keep up with Christine and I and then almost immediately got too tired to walk and wanted to climb right back into the stroller. It worked out nicely, actually. Here is Christine and Avery after the walk (just before Avery knocked over her entire cup of juice, but whatever...)



The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing at home and then Christine and I were able to sneak away for about an hour prior to me taking her to Providence to enjoy a cup of coffee at a coffee shop on the water before leaving (and while there, witness a seagull eat an ENTIRE starfish - whole, but that is a story for another time).

It was a bit more of a sad good-bye than normal knowing that this would be her last time here for a while, but the good news is, Josh and I just booked our tickets to go to the wedding in Amsterdam, so we will be there to witness the grand event! We can't wait (and are already starting to mentally prepare Opa and Grandma for what is in store for them during those 5 days of babysitting!)....