Samantha: 14 Months, Week 1

I cut my last post week shorter so that I can get back on track with when Samantha turns another month old.  We don't have any pictures from the actual day that she turned 14 months, but the next day, July 17th, we went to the Indianapolis Zoo to celebrate my birthday.  We had a wonderful day.  It was probably the best birthday I've ever had.  The weather was a bit on the warm side, but we still had a great time looking at the animals, seeing a dog show, and letting Samantha play around in the the splash park.  Then, we had a picnic lunch outside before heading back home.  I don't think we even made it out of the parking lot before she was asleep in her car seat.  She really loved the dolphin pavilion and the shark tank where you could try to pet a shark.  I think she enjoys animals that live in the water more because they move a lot more, especially in comparison to many of the other animals at the zoo.

The rest of the week didn't hold too many exciting events for Samantha.  We were mainly just hanging out at home, I had a meeting at school, Ben was getting work done at school, running errands around town, and getting ready for our family vacation on Saturday.


Every year we go on a trip with Ben's family to different destinations, and every year we look forward to this time.  It's more fun now with Samantha and Alaina being so close in age.  It's relaxing, fun, and a great reunion with the family, especially Uncle Tim who we really only see a couple times a year.  This year we went to stay in a vacation house in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, which is near Lancaster, in the middle of Amish country.  We decided to make the trip in two days since the babies can only handle so much time strapped in their car seats in the car.  We left Saturday morning around, stayed the night at a hotel, and drove the rest of the way on Sunday, arriving at the house around four in the afternoon.  The house had a great pool and hot tub, along with plenty of space for the girls to run around and play.  We had two baby floating devices to use so both girls could enjoy the pool together.  Samantha loves water, and we got in as soon as we could that Sunday we arrived.  I will continue with our adventures on family vacation in the next post!