Back Home Again in Indiana {Part 4}

After visiting my aunts in Versailles, we met up with David {who had spent the day visiting his cousin and aunt & uncle in Indianapolis} and spent a little more time with his family before going up to Noblesville for one more night with Diann and Mike.  

We packed everyone up the next day because David and the girls were catching a flight back home to Arizona that evening {on the same flight as my parents}.  I was lucky enough to spend an extra week out there visiting friends.  I got to go see my bestie and her baby boy in Chicago, I visited my friend Cole back in Indy, and then spent the weekend with my bff from college in Bloomington!  And then to top it off, I got to see my buddy Casey on my last day there.  It was an amazing trip.  Hoosier Hospitality is seriously the best!

Back Home Again in Indiana {Part 3}

I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before, but our girls did such a great job of being pulled every direction, driving all over Indiana, and meeting new people multiple times throughout the day.

The morning after Sarah's wedding, we got up and packed our bags, piled into Nana and Poppy's rental car, and drove down to Versailles where my grandparents used to live so that we could meet up with three of my great aunts.  I hadn't seen two of my aunts in about 8 years, but I was able to see one of them when we were in Indiana about 5 1/2 years ago.  It was so great to see them, and the girls did such a nice job of talking with them while we were there.

After having lunch at the only sit down restaurant in this very small town, we went to one of my aunt's house to catch up some more.  Her house is two houses down from the house my grandparents lived in, and when Sydney and I walked down there, I so desperately wanted someone to open up the door and invite us in.  

➹ My brother and I used to play on that porch and in that yard for hours! ➹

My aunt's house was virtually unchanged from what I remembered.  The kitchen, the bathrooms, the yard, all looked exactly the same as they did when I was a child. 

It was such a great day there, and I'm so glad we were able to spend time with them.

Back Home Again in Indiana {Part 2}

Part 2 of our Indiana Adventure had us driving down to my old hometown of Columbus for a fabulous wedding weekend.  Believe it or not, I am old enough to have babysat for someone {a very young someone} who is now old enough to be a full-fledged lawyer and bride.  Holy smokes, I'm old.

And, holy smokes, do I love Columbus.  And the Caldwell family.  So, what a perfect weekend, seriously.  With no house to call a home in Columbus, we stayed at the Hotel Indigo downtown.  It is such a cute little boutique hotel in the perfect spot.  Downtown Columbus has grown SO much since I lived there.  There were really two bars downtown and a handful of restaurants.  They have revamped the mall there and so there are tons of little restaurants and pubs right downtown.  What used to be a really cool play area in the mall when we were kids, but grew to be a little outdated, has now become a state of the art indoor playground.  We had a great time exploring some favorite stomping grounds {I'm looking at you Zaharako's and 4th Street}, and checking out some new ones!

➹ My heart could explode! ➹

➹ Zaharako's selfies! ➹

➹ Chaos! ➹

➹ It's kind of hard to see...but David and Olivia are at the top of those sails. ➹

➹ Olivia and me in the dress I wore to the ceremony.  It's also the dress that someone else wore to the ceremony.  So, I had to go back to our hotel and change into my Plan B. :( ➹

➹ But first let me get a Becker's. ➹

➹ The girls fell in love with Jeff's brother's kids.  They had so much fun dancing at the reception with the older girls.  ➹

➹ Dress number 2 with my Sydney girl. ➹

➹ The bride and groom! ➹

➹ And, yeah, I used to babysit both of these little rug rats! ➹

➹ Thanks to our girls staying on AZ time, we closed down the reception!  No joke.  Took the shuttle out with the bride and groom.  And my husband was awesome enough to put both girls to bed in the hotel and sent me out to the after party at 4th Street!  What a dreamboat. ➹

Back Home Again in Indiana {Part 1}

This time last month, we were flying out the desert and into the great Hoosier state!  It had been over five years since the last time I had been in Indiana, and boy did I ever miss it and the hospitality of the wonderful people who live there.

While David and the girls were only out in Indiana for five days, I was lucky to spend an extra week out there by myself visiting some of the greatest people the Midwest has to offer up.

The first of our adventures {as a family} had us flying into Indianapolis and meeting up with my parents and a former classmate of mine who flew into Indianapolis on the same connecting flight that my parents were on.  You've got to love the small world we live in. It was so cute watching his two kids interact with my two kids.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the little Mini-Mes hugging each other as we left the airport.

We stayed the first night with my very dear friend, Diann, and just had the BEST time catching up with her.  Sydney was absolutely smitten with her...and that is really saying a lot.

When we landed at the airport, I texted my friend Julie to see if she would want to meet up with us at the Children's Museum the next day on our way down to Columbus.  We got a later start leaving Diann's because David had some business to take care of, but I'm so glad we were still able to get together.  Julie is the sweetest thing, and it was so nice hanging out with her and her daughter even if it was a short time.

The Indianapolis Children's Museum is such a cool place for kids.  Our girls had an absolute blast at every exhibit.  We were lucky enough to go back up a few days later after our trip to Columbus for Sarah's wedding and explore some more exhibits.  

{Pictures below from a few days later when we got to meet up with Cole and her daughter, Victoria!}

➹ Is this picture not the greatest?! Secrets of the Sewer?  Pretty sure the secret is that it stinks! ➹

A trip to Indianapolis with my girls would not be complete without visiting my friend Natalie and her two super spunky kiddos!  Natalie won the Hostess with the Mostest award for making us homemade Strawberry Shortcake {with homemade vanilla ice cream}, loaning David a screwdriver to help him fix his broken laptop, and having matching Indiana shirts waiting at our AZ house when the girls got back home!  Love my Hoosier friends! 

I was so proud of Olivia and Sydney the whole trip -- they met so many new people and were never in one spot for too long and they just adapted so well.  I'm thinking we may need to go back to Indiana sooner than later....

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3...