This picture Brad took really makes me smile; it is so real. I love that Annika is trying to cheer up Elise by feeding her a peanut butter sandwich.

For the benefit of any of you out there who are wanting to take a growing family on a long vacation, here are some of the things we learned (mostly through trial and error):

1. If you can con an unsuspecting couple without children to join you on your vacation, you will not regret it. They might, but the addition of four extra hands will make your life much, much easier and might just save your sanity. If your toddler is absolutely in love with these friends it makes having them around that much better. Thank you, thank you, thank you Paige and Andy.

2. You might plan really cool trips to see things like Roman arenas, gladiators, medieval castles, giant catapults, and rolling fields of lavender. That’s great, as long as these are things that you want to see and you are willing to deal with crying, hot, tired children along the way. Just know that your kids will be much more interested in playing with rocks at the beach, watching ants, climbing on (and through) rocks, jumping on the hotel bed, eating ice cream, and riding carousels. Most of these things can be done without driving all over France. Also, the lavender may not yet be in bloom. Lesson learned.

She hasn't stopped talking about this ride - she felt just like Cinderella

3. Eating dinner at a nice French restaurant might sound like a good idea. Your mouth might water at the thought of all that fresh seafood, local herbs, and summer vegetables roasted to perfection. Your husband might warn you repeatedly that eating out with all the kids is just going to be a hassle. But, eventually your husband will give in, because he is a great guy and wants to make you happy. As you sit at the restaurant with two crying babies and a toddler who keeps knocking over her glass and getting spaghetti sauce everywhere  you will realize that you would have been better off getting a baguette, a quiche and a slew of pastries and eating at a park. It’s a good thing we only ate out once. It left us more money to spend on pastries with raspberries and pistachio cream, decadent chocolate eclairs, treats in various animal shapes that Annika was happy to devour, and plenty of fresh local produce from the markets.  Eating has always been a prominent part of our traveling. That didn’t change this time, but we did learn to avoid restaurants.

4. If you are traveling with three children, only one of whom can walk (and not very far), ignore manufacturers’ safety recommendations and do whatever you have to do to get them around. Creativity is essential. One time we even tried to cram both babies into one seat in the stroller. They weren’t particularly happy about it, but it worked.

5. Spending time at the beach is the perfect vacation with kids. We could have stayed there forever. Annika was hesitant at first, but she warmed up quickly and never wanted to leave. We swam, splashed, built sandcastles, played catch, ate sandy food, and then did it all over again. No matter what the local pool says, water wings are amazing. Annika was so proud that she could swim by herself, and even though we always kept a close eye on her, those water wings gave us a couple of free hands and enough peace of mind so that we could give the babies more attention. It also helped Annika feel more confident and made playing in the water much more fun. The babies were content to lounge in the shade with an occasionally salty dip. There were a fair share of topless sunbathers, but it was more a curiosity than a scandal. I don’t think Annika even noticed. She sees me nursing so often that it probably didn’t even strike her as odd.

Elise is in pink, Lucy is in green

6. Besides the beach, we decided to go to Provence because it was supposed to be beautiful. Though it was different than we thought (more desert, fewer rolling hills of purple lavender) Annika loved pointing out flowers, castles, birds, trees, boats, mountains, and “peoples.”

7. She also loved her DVD player. We wouldn’t have survived without it.

Our family, 4 hours into an 11 hour drive that should have been 8.

(Elise is on Annika’s right, and Lucy is on Annika’s left)

The twins are now three months old. They both roll over, coo and babble, smile and occasionally giggle, and tolerate a lot of “love” from Annika. They are sleeping from about 9 to 4:30 or so pretty regularly, so I guess I can’t complain. They are so easy going that sometimes I think the two of them together are easier than Annika was all by herself.

Annika talks and talks and talks. We planted some seeds and plants out on our patio and she waters them everyday and checks to see if her flowers are growing. I told her the sun has to come out to help the flowers grow, so every time the sun appears (which is not very often) she runs outside and says “The sun is shining! My flowers are coming!” She then stares intently at the dirt, waiting to see the sprouts appear. She loves her friends, princesses, the park, singing, making cookies, and playing soccer. We don’t do a whole lot lately besides hang out together at home, but I think I can safely say that we are a happy family. Life has treated us well. Now if we could just get the sun to stay for more than a couple of days . . .

Little Logan is the same age as my twin girls, so I was impressed with how good Mom was looking. I feel like I have big bags under my eyes from lack of sleep and most of the time I am feeling pretty frumpy. Tiffany, on the other hand, looked beautiful! Katelyn was tons of fun and will make a great photographer someday. She had all kinds of good ideas, was a natural in front of the camera, and even carried my gear for me a couple of times.

Thank you, Macmanus family! I am sorry this sneak peek was a little long in coming, but I hope you enjoy it. I enjoyed our session together and hope I see you around!

This was such a fun family to work with; they were troopers, even though it was freezing outside. We took lots of warming breaks in the car, ate cookies and skittles, and played in the snow. You could tell that they all really love each other, and I love when that shows in the pictures. I couldn’t decide which pictures not to include in the post, so here is a little more than a sneak peak. I’ll try to get the rest of your gallery to you soon. Thanks again guys!

Annika was nice enough to model for me when we went out to scout for locations the other day. (Uma, if the rain ever clears up, we found a great place for you!)  She has generally been a great little helper lately. Yesterday we scooped pumpkin seeds out of a pumpkin together, and the day before she helped me measure out ingredients for the soup we were making for dinner. She loves to push around the swiffer when I am moping and she is diligent about smearing water around with a rag when she spills it on the floor. She can throw a mean tantrum these days, but she loves to give hugs and is free with her kisses. Have I said before how much I love this age?

. . .  and all done now . . .

So just because I posted twice in the same day, don’t think I’ll do it again. I don’t want everybody raising their expectations. However, I really am trying to take more pictures of Anni. I am accepting that sometimes that means taking pictures when the light isn’t great (or is even non-existent) and being ok with pictures that are a little grainy and have that unflattering tungsten glow. It bugs me, but it is worth it to capture this little monkey with that big gap-tooth smile and spaghetti in her hair.

P.S. Thanks to Daddy for doing something behind my back to get her to grin like that. He sure knows how to make her smile.

Today Annika’s cousin Andrew came over to play while his sister was in a doctor’s appointment. Annika was so excited; all morning she just kept asking “Anchoo? Anchoo?” She had eaten one bite of her cereal when Andrew got here and promptly declared that she was all done and refused to eat any more. The weather was nice today so after pulling out every toy that Anni owns, we ventured down to the duck pond. Annika and Andrew threw bread in the duck’s general direction while I tried to make sure the neither of them fell (or ran) into the water. I think they may have eaten more bread than they threw. We walked the rest of the way around the lake while I tried (and failed) to take pictures in the beautiful fall colors. Oh well. Annika really does love her cousin and we had a great time together.

And here is my brown eyed, chubby cheeked girl in all her glory: Harry Potter scratch on her forehead, dirt on (and in) her mouth, and the look that says “Mom, please get the camera out of my face!” She will be excited when she has a couple of siblings to split camera time with.

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRISTINE!