The Life and Times of James, Chiara, Norah, Luke and Susannah Hemsley
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Just one week
She had a blast hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles, cousin Jacob, and Zoe the dog. I am so glad she had the opportunity to spend some time with everyone--it is difficult to see much of each other when we live so far apart.
She also had a blast on the airplane rides there and back. James said she was really a good girl, which is very fortunate for him!
All in all, I am glad she (and James) went. I just missed them a lot, and was so glad to have them back home!
Videos from Norah's adventures in Reno/Sacramento will be uploaded soon!
I just had to blog this
I tried to get a family pic of Alessia and Jim and Ethan, but he was struggling the whole time, and the sun was in their eyes. Not the greatest pic, but it proves they were all here!
Two pregnant ladies
Alessia is expecting (a girl!) in late July; she is almost exaclty 10 weeks behind me. It is fun to be visibly pregnant at the same time (but it's not fun having the aches and pains associated with pregnancy....). here we are showing off our baby bellies!
Easter Egg Hunt 2
Ethan took time from his busy day-trading schedule to join in the Easter Egg hunt. He was quite the hunter!
Easter Egg Hunt
Here is Norah with her prized purple egg! At first, whenever she found an egg, if it wasn't purple, she would just throw it back on the ground. We had to convince her that it was worth her while to pick up the other eggs--some of them had candy hidden inside!
Easter Visit 3
Here are Norah and Ethan in their Easter best. Getting them to take a photo is still like herding cats. They just chant "Cheeeeeeeese" and look down at the ground or in different directions! Argh!
Easter Visit 2
Here are Norah and Ethan with all the Easter Eggs they decorated. They had a lot of fun dipping the eggs. The next day we had a hunt for them in the backyard.
Easter Visit 1
Alessia, Jim and Ethan came for a long weekend over Easter. It was really fun to have them come visit. Norah and Ethan have a somewhat tenuous relationship; they laugh and giggle one minute, and then scream and fight the next...it was quite the roller coaster ride!
Here they are enjoying lunch on the patio. Do you like Ethan's bib?
Trip to Minneapolis 6
The best part about Como Park isn't the zoo, it's the Conservatory (seen in background). It is a beautiful glass building with several rooms and galleries. One room was all ferns--it was really neat. Another room had all plants that are used for spices or foods--like a nutmeg tree and an allspice plant.
Here are Norah and I in front of the Conservatory.
Trip to Minneapolis 3
Norah and Karen at the less-inspiring Como Park Zoo, where space is clearly an issue and the animals are in much smaller habitats.
Trip to Minneapolis 2
We spent St. Patrick's day at Karen and Mike's. Here is Norah tormenting their very patient cat, Knute.
Trip to Minneapolis 1
Norah and I tagged along with James while he did a training in Minneapolis. We spent a lot of time hanging out with some friends who had recently moved from Iowa City to the Twin Cities, Karen and Mike. Karen and I took Norah to the Minnesota Zoo, where they have large, outdoor enclosures for the many animals. It was a beautiful spring day. Here is Norah checking out some camels (in the background).