These are pictures from our recent trip to Illinois. We had a great time, and as usual, the week went by way too fast! We stayed at Lake Bloomington with my parents, so it actually felt like a little vacation! While the weather wasn't the best for swimming and boating every day, we did enjoy the cooler weather. It was just nice to actually be outside during the day!
Ben enjoyed helping Nana and Aunt Kimmie cook and he loved all of the cool hiding places and play areas in the lake house. Even climbing the stairs was something new and fun for him since we don't have basements here in Florida!
Because of the wet summer, this was the first time that Dad was able to meet Ella. She grew to appreciate Grandpa's singing! Ben and Grandpa spent time looking for turtles and goldfish on their walks at East Bay camp. Ben had fun crossing the bridges and playing in a the water fountains! 
It was so nice to have my mom around to help out with a newborn and toddler. She spent a lot of time holding Ella and crawling around on her hands and knees while playing boat and turtle with Ben! They also did countless loads of laundry together!
Ben could have spent the whole summer at the lake and never run out of things to do! He loved playing in our old turtle shaped sandbox (although it looked brand new after Grandma Myers cleaned in out!), swinging, playing with the gravel in the lane, throwing grass and rocks in the lake, and of course, boating. It was so fun to watch Ben enjoy all of the lake activities that we used to do when we were growing up! 
Ella enjoyed soaking in her new environment! We are happy that she finally got to wear this onsie in a place where it is appreciated - Go Illini!
It was also nice to see old friends while we were home. Ben and Jude had fun playing in the water and driving the boat. Luckily, they each had their own "coffee maker" and tub of water to play in!
Teaming up to see if they can figure out how to start the boat!
Kristin and Sadie also drove down for the day! I am so glad that I was finally able to meet Sadie and Olivia - better late than never! It was so fun to get the little girls together, they are all within 2 months of each other!
Sadie and Ella immediately became friends when we put them on the floor together. They were so cute and actually had a little baby conversation. Usually, just one would talk at a time while the other one appeared to be listening! Just wish we knew what they were thinking!
Ben didn't know what to think about all of the babies. He called all 3 Baby Ella, but by the end of the night he started calling Sadie Baby Ella Sadie!
We also had fun with the Drake's in El Paso. Ben thought that Great-Grandma had pretty fun toys and he had fun swimming with his cousins Connor and Lucas. He was very excited to see his Grandma Drake again and she indulged him with lots of Tide playing! 
Ella loved her Uncle Matt - he definitely had the magic touch with her!
Ben was a little bit of a Grandma hog while we were back! I believe that Connor was in time out, but had managed to score some people to help keep him company! 
Allen was nice enough to do a campfire for us one night so we could give Ben a little Fall experience! He loved the campfire, hot dogs, s'mores, and singing! Thanks again to Connor for the awesome Go Fish cd that he burned for Ben. I think of you each time Ben requests it over and over and over again! 
Rita and Ella got some quiet snuggle time in while the boys went for a pontoon ride. If Ben was in the house, he would have never let this happen (oh, the jealousy!). Connor was a great captain and took us all the way around the lake without incident!
Ben made doing the laundry look like so much fun that all the kids were doing it before we left!
Making homemade ice cream was definitely a highlight of the trip to Ben. It was a family affair!
He loved making the batter with Nana and Aunt Paula 
And helping Uncle Denny add the salt and ice to the ice cream maker
But the best part was eating the finished product! 
These are pictures of Ella meeting her Great-Grandpa Myers for the first time. It is so awesome to watch him light up when Ben and Ella enter the room! It is pretty hard to communicate with Grandpa these days, but no words were needed when we saw his smiles while watching Ben play or the way he looked at Ella when he held her for the first time. I have so many fond memories of time spent at the lake with Grandpa and Grandma, and I am so happy that Ben and Ella had the chance to spend some time out there with them as well!
Ben could have spent the whole summer at the lake and never run out of things to do! He loved playing in our old turtle shaped sandbox (although it looked brand new after Grandma Myers cleaned in out!), swinging, playing with the gravel in the lane, throwing grass and rocks in the lake, and of course, boating. It was so fun to watch Ben enjoy all of the lake activities that we used to do when we were growing up! Ella enjoyed soaking in her new environment! We are happy that she finally got to wear this onsie in a place where it is appreciated - Go Illini!
It was also nice to see old friends while we were home. Ben and Jude had fun playing in the water and driving the boat. Luckily, they each had their own "coffee maker" and tub of water to play in!
Teaming up to see if they can figure out how to start the boat!
Kristin and Sadie also drove down for the day! I am so glad that I was finally able to meet Sadie and Olivia - better late than never! It was so fun to get the little girls together, they are all within 2 months of each other!
Sadie and Ella immediately became friends when we put them on the floor together. They were so cute and actually had a little baby conversation. Usually, just one would talk at a time while the other one appeared to be listening! Just wish we knew what they were thinking!
Ben didn't know what to think about all of the babies. He called all 3 Baby Ella, but by the end of the night he started calling Sadie Baby Ella Sadie!We also had fun with the Drake's in El Paso. Ben thought that Great-Grandma had pretty fun toys and he had fun swimming with his cousins Connor and Lucas. He was very excited to see his Grandma Drake again and she indulged him with lots of Tide playing! Ella loved her Uncle Matt - he definitely had the magic touch with her!
Ben was a little bit of a Grandma hog while we were back! I believe that Connor was in time out, but had managed to score some people to help keep him company! 
Allen was nice enough to do a campfire for us one night so we could give Ben a little Fall experience! He loved the campfire, hot dogs, s'mores, and singing! Thanks again to Connor for the awesome Go Fish cd that he burned for Ben. I think of you each time Ben requests it over and over and over again! 
Rita and Ella got some quiet snuggle time in while the boys went for a pontoon ride. If Ben was in the house, he would have never let this happen (oh, the jealousy!). Connor was a great captain and took us all the way around the lake without incident!
Ben made doing the laundry look like so much fun that all the kids were doing it before we left!
Making homemade ice cream was definitely a highlight of the trip to Ben. It was a family affair!
He loved making the batter with Nana and Aunt Paula And helping Uncle Denny add the salt and ice to the ice cream maker But the best part was eating the finished product! 
These are pictures of Ella meeting her Great-Grandpa Myers for the first time. It is so awesome to watch him light up when Ben and Ella enter the room! It is pretty hard to communicate with Grandpa these days, but no words were needed when we saw his smiles while watching Ben play or the way he looked at Ella when he held her for the first time. I have so many fond memories of time spent at the lake with Grandpa and Grandma, and I am so happy that Ben and Ella had the chance to spend some time out there with them as well!
Ella is lucky to have Matt and Nico (Carl's brother and sister-in-law) as Godparents.
Ben was delighted to find Tide bottles waiting for him in Illinois. He told Gina all about Tide and she was a good sport to play "Tide" with him!
