This week has been nice and relaxing. This was the first of three weeks that I get to call my summer vacation and I have to admit that it's nice to not have any reason to get up in the morning. A lot of our week was actually spent doing some organizational projects around the house. Also, Rachel started some projects for new decorations. As she says, she just can't let go of that "nesting" instinct.

Speaking of Rachel, the twins are growing great- meaning that Rachel's belly is unbelievably huge. Her back has been causing her a great deal of agony, so the doctor recommended a physical therapist for her. There, she discovered that she has a slipped disk in her spine. No wonder it's been hurting. She has some exercises that the doctor prescribed, and they seem to be helping because she is doing a lot better now.

Evelyn continues to be super cute. She is getting her molars right now and apparently she doesn't like the way they feel as they rip their way through her gums. I can't say that I blame her. As long as we give her Tylenol she is pretty happy and content though.

Since it is my break, we have had time to play a little bit too. We have gone on walks and bike rides, and we took advantage of my break to go to the Cleveland Money Museum (hours there are sort of difficult to work around- like 10-2 on Tuesdays every other week on odd numbered months...or something like that). Anyway, we have wanted to go for a while. It was actually pretty cool to see the history and necessity of money, as well as the printing process.

Today, in about an hour, my parents, grandparents, and sister are getting to our house. They have driven for the last 2 days to get here. We will hang out with them, doing all the "back East" stuff, and then they will fly home, leaving the van here for us to have with the babies. We are excited for them to get here and are looking forward to a busy fun-filled couple of weeks.

I think this is a good picture of us at the money museum in front of the "Money Tree"

The new One Dollar Bill!

And here is Rachel. Just 7 weeks to go! (or...we still have 7 whole weeks left- arrrrgggghh)

Vacation Time!

Vacation time! Yay! For those who don't know, I just finished summer session of my third year of dental school. That means that I have sort of started working as a dentist. I go to only an hour or two of class each day, and then I work the rest of day in my "office" (a cubicle). I see my own patients and basically I do everything a real dentist would do. Of course, I have to clear everything with a licensed dentist before I actually go forward with the work. It has been fun getting to see what all this education is leading to, and I really enjoy working with my patients. I definately think that I chose the right profession because I am loving it.

But I am still really excited for this vacation. I have three weeks to relax and hang out with my family. My parents, grandparents, and sister are all coming to visit us in a week and we are really looking forward to that.

Anyway, this week has been a fun, busy week. I was busy getting things tied up with my patients. Rachel had a baby shower that her friends put together. She also went to the children's museum for a couple of days with Evelyn. We are both ready to relax now.

Here is the set-up for Rachel's baby shower. The theme was "2 peas in a pod" as you can see from the sign. Speaking of our "2 peas," Rachel just announced to me that she was dribbling Jackson's head inside her belly. That's sort of wierd.

Here's Evelyn at the Children's museum learning how to take care of babies. She will be a great sister... as soon as she learns not to chew on their heads.

The museum also has a water table- a big table (like the size of a large room) with waterfalls, fountins, and spouts for the kids to play in. Evelyn loves it!

This is Eva's "Hug." I think she does this because this is what position she is in when we are hugging her. Funny girl!

Camping

Last week we went camping in Pensylvania with our friends, the Homers. The original plan was to go to Slippery Rock and do some kayaking- there is a class III run on the creek there. Unfortunately, the water was way too low for a good run, but we still had fun camping, swimming, and kayaking on the reservoir there. Here are some pictures:

Good Morning!

Here is Rachel's latest baby belly picture. She is already bigger than she ever got with Evelyn, and the babys are only about half of their expected full size. Since we are having twins, that means that she still has a whole baby to fit in there! (Two halfs). She is standing next to the alter of sacrifice that I made on our fire pit. On top is a golf ball.

We had a good time playing at the lake. About half way through our day it started raining, but that didn't stop us from having fun.

Going on a walk

Where has the Week Gone?

Where has this week gone? 3-day weekends sure make the time fly. Logan had Pedo duty this week at the clinic and was able to come home early some days. As it turns out, the Pedo clinic is not very busy.

This week was full of fun bike rides. Logan and I rode around our neighborhood and looked at the mansions nearby, and we took a bike ride on a path by Lake Erie. Tonight we are planning a BBQ dinner out by the lake where we make sure we get our fill with a little bit more bike riding.

On Friday night Logan and I had a great date night. We went and tried Dave's Cosmic Subs and had a picnic at the park after a rousing game of tennis. That night, the Tippetts were kind enough to 'babysit' Evelyn (we have a grand new system of using baby monitors after the kids are asleep to sneak out of the house). We take turns 'babysitting' for each other.

The Fourth of July was full of BBQs and good friends. We had a wonderful BBQ brunch at the Homer's house and we had an amazing BBQ dinner/party at the Mirci's. Joe did an exceptional job at the BBQ. He took our personal orders and made mouthwatering burgers from his home made menu. My Aloha Burger was better than what I could get at a restaurant! In between the BBQs Logan, Evelyn and I took a bike ride to help us digest all of the extra calories!

Our babies are growing very well. I am now at the point in a twin pregnancy where you measure 40 weeks pregnant! I can definately feel it. I already feel like I am as big as a house! I wonder how big I can get........ We now officially have a due date for our babies. The big day is set for 09-09-09. I love this date because it coinsides with our anniversary of 05-05-05! I will be 37 weeks by this time and hopefully the babies will hold on until that time (half of all twins are delivered before 37 weeks).

Logan has been working hard to get his motorcycle in tip top condition. It was in great shape when we got it, but there were a few things he fixed up. He woke up early on Friday and took a leisurely 2 hour ride, then on Saturday he polished it up and now it looks better than ever. The two of them are developing quite the close relationship. He loves that bike.

I think this is the only picture we have this week. Evelyn loved this stroller that was at our friend's house. She pushed it all the way up and down the street (with Logan close behind, of course)