Dimino Family: We're Back and Our Suitcases Are Heavier

That's because we brought back two extra teeth, a bad cold, and a cough. Matt started sneezing and sniffling the night we arrived in WI and Maddie started to cough the day we were leaving! The only one not sick (knock on wood) is mom!

First things first, the question everyone has for us "How did she do on the plane?".. she did great! On the way there we had lots of snacks, a little bit of sleeping, and a Wiggles DVD to keep us entertained. The way back was an evening flight and Miss Maddie slept the entire way. Oh, we were in business class on the return flight so we had cushy seats and the extra room was nice.

We stayed at my grandma's house and had a great time with her dog Schatzie (means "my sweetheart" in German). Maddie loved having a puppy around and finally stopped screeching and crawling after the dog after the first hour or so. She was very excited!

Grandma Behling and Schatzie

My grandma was certainly surprised as we walked her into her 80th birthday celebration on Saturday. She was so touched to see all of her friends and family there, especially my Aunt Mary who came down with her husband from Northern WI. They don't see each other very often but talk on the phone all the time and are very close. She looks just like I remember!

My aunt Mary and her fur-babies.. BJ and Bailey

Here we are at Grandma's surprise party

Unfortunately for all of us, Saturday was the worse day for Maddie. I noticed two new teeth on the bottom coming in on Thursday and by Friday night she was running a fever. She was pretty miserable during the entire party and only wanted Mom. That meant Matt was the photographer. He did a wonderful job and helped out so much with everything! Reason # 510 I love my husband more than anyone! I didn't even ask.. he just did anything and everything.

Poor Maddie was the only one not having a good time at the party

The cake was from Delicately Delicious in Cedarburg, WI.. so yummy.

The weather wasn't so great... it was 45 degrees each day and rained several days we were there... it actually started snowing one afternoon as the freezing rain changed into snow. It wasn't enough to stick on the ground but still... brrrrrr!

It may have been stormy, but the leaves were absolutely gorgeous. The middle of October is not traditionally that cold in WI (guess we just got lucky!).. the changing leaves are something everyone should see.

Another highlight of our trip was having photos done by Trisha Faber... Maddie's 1st Smash the Cake session went great and I was so excited to see the photos... here are a few from her blog http://blog.faberphotography.com

I'll post a slideshow of the photos once I receive the CD in a few days.

I was able to visit with my childhood friend Tina and her family while we were there but unfortunately unable to see my friend Heather and her family. They were all really sick so their house was off limits. I did get a quick chance to see her kids and husband when we dropped off a gift on our last day.

Heather your kids are getting sooo big and Miss Isabel is just darling! She's sooo tall. You said she was but I wasn't expecting it. Gorgeous!

Tina was glad we were able to spend the extra time with her and her family. We've been friends since the fourth grade. We used to play with our Cabbage Patch dolls and even had a birthday party one year.. They gave Maddie a Cabbage Patch Newborn doll, perfect size for her!

She made a great lasagna from scratch and they got Maddie a Winnie The Pooh birthday cake. Her kids are so big too.. I guess that happens when you only see people once a year, if that. Seeing them makes me wish we lived closer but I'll tell you, after a week away, it was very nice to be back home in our own bed.

Now if only everyone was feeling better!

Here are some more photos from our trip.

Grandma Behling gave Maddie a soft doll for her 1st birthday.. notice the excitement in her eyes?.....