1st Trip to Indiana

I know this post is out of order b/c we visited Indiana prior to the twins turning 6 months, but I've had a hard time getting all the pictures to upload properly. So I'm just now publishing it. For the last 2 weeks of July, me & the twins drove up to Indiana to spend some time with family & friends. So much of my family still had not had the chance to meet the twins & of course I always love the chance to spend time with great friends! Nick & I had planned for a quick visit to IN the last weekend of July, but the night before my Mom, Boo, & Josh were going to head back from their visit at our house, I decided to beg my Mom to stay a little longer so that she could ride to IN with me. I have drove back & forth from SC to IN numerous times without Nick, but never without Nick with the twins. Having them go along would turn a 5 minute gas stop into an hour ordeal. Thankfully, my Mom had already taken time off from work, so she had extra time to stay. It normally takes us 9 1/2 to 10 hours to drive to my parent's house, but with the twins & stopping in TN to pick up Trista's boyfriend, our drive ended up taking 12 1/2 hours! I drove it all & the twins did excellent with the exception of about 30 minutes while we were driving through the mountains with road construction. Needless to say, when we arrived early Saturday morning, all I could think of doing was nursing the twins & heading to bed. I managed to get 3 hours of sleep & we rested most of the day at my mom & dad's.
Sunday was my Granny's birthday, so we decided to visit her before heading to Grammy's for Sunday dinner. Tera, Alex, & their girls were also visiting Granny so it was great to get a picture with them....too bad Emi & Ely weren't there.
Grammy was having dinner for everyone at her house b/c my cousin, Tomi and her husband Brad & son Noah were home from Texas. It was the first time that most of them got to meet the twins. It was emotional for me, as I couldn't help but regret that Gramps never had the chance to meet the twins! Here is a super cute picture of Grammy getting to hold Hadlee for the first time!
My brother, Travis and his wife, Heather & my niece & nephew (Emi & Ely) had also never met the twins. Nick & I both love spending time with them b/c they are so much fun & have lots in common with us. Heather was taking advantage of loving on Hadlee while Kooper was passed out in my cousin Tomi's lap.
This was the first time that all of Grammy's great-grandkids were together, so we had to try our best to get a picture of her with them. It wasn't easy, but here are a 2 of the hundreds we took in attempt to get a good one of everyone.
From left to right: Ely, Emilee with Kooper, Grammy with Hadlee, Luke, Lane, Noah, and Brynna & Braylee sitting in the front.
Tera's girls go to the same gymnastics gym that I trained at, so we met up there to watch them Tuesday morning. The gym looks the same & my coaches are still coaching! Afterwards, I went with Tera & her girls to meet Abbie & Max for lunch. Abbie was one of our college roommates & Tera & I both love spending time with her. Of course Tera does this a lot more often than I get to. Here is a picture of all our kiddos together at Abbie's mom & dad's house.
On Wednesday, we all headed down to Evansville to run a few errands...mainly shopping stuff. We went to Busy Beads to make Hadlee a few adorable bracelets and of course we had to eat at Hacienda. Yummy!! Hadlee was nursing, so she missed out on this photo.
Then on Thursday, a few of my BFF's from college met up at my parent's place for lunch, conversation, & a short dip in the pool. Kastonia's little girl, Addison was born in January, so she is only a few weeks older than the twins. Erin brought Whitney with her, but her son Reece stayed at his Papaw's for the day. They were so sweet & brought me balloons, cupcakes, & a birthday gift! They are all always quick to remind me that I'm the oldest....but it was still such a sweet thing!
Hadlee with Erin's daughter, Whitney
Erin loving on the twins before we headed out to the pool! By the way, Erin is expecting her 3rd baby in December!
A few of the days that I was home, Emilee & Ely stayed at my mom & dad's too. Emi was a great help with the twins. Ely watched them while I took a quick shower once and he let me know that it was a lot of hard work, ha ha! Funny since this is coming from a 10 year old boy who knows how to run my Grandpa's farm.
I also got the chance to have dinner a few times with several high school friends, but some how we did not get any pictures!?! One evening, the twins & I met my friends Sarah & Patricia along with their husband's & kiddos for Mexican in Linton. We had a great time catching up & Jake did a wonderful job putting Kooper to sleep. Then another evening, we all met up at the Lyon's Mexican restaurant. My friend, Autumn wasn't able to meet the first night we had dinner, so she was glad we were able to get another nigh planned. She was so happy to meet the twins! Autumn, Anthony, Sarah & Nathan and their daughter, Audrey, Nathan & Angie and their boys Hayden & Jackson, along with Patricia & Jake all had a wondeful dinner together. It is just too bad that we don't get to meet up more often!