This is

THE END

of

A FOOD FESTIVAL in the PARK

blog album.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page and work your way up to view the events in the order in which they happened. To see a photo in a larger format, just click on it. Also check out my other blog albums by clicking on the message to the right that says, "View my complete profile." Thanks for looking!

Well, everyone has left, the clothes have been changed, and the make-up is removed, so this is how you feed two hungry babies when you're alone: You resort to the old double feeding technique of which I became an expert back in 1971 with Todd and Troy. Here I've got Justine on my left and Lauren on my right. Don't ask me how I was going to burp them! (Actually Troy came down and took this picture, then gave me a hand - and thank goodness because I was in over my head this time!)

It was also time for Amy and Trent to leave too. They had driven three hours from Madison the night before and had been visiting friends they hadn't seen for some years. Amy was also doing a lot of studying as she continues to work on her advanced degree in nursing.

Well, this was the end of a very busy day - especially for Todd and Stephanie who had run the Chicago triathalon that very morning. What that means is they swam in Lake Michigan at 6 AM, then left the water and ran to their bikes and rode for several miles, then dropped the bikes and sprinted the rest of the race. They both did well, but oh my goodness! Stephanie's about to fall asleep in this picture and I don't blame her! They definitely needed some rest!

This is what poor Connie faces each and every day: BOTTLES, BOTTLES and more BOTTLES! I'm sure she sees them in her sleep! It's a never ending job of dismantling, rinsing, washing, organizing, assembling, measuring and filling! Then its cooling, (freezing some), and warming before giving them to the babies. And after all that, it's recording every ounce. But I can sympathize - this was my life too 34 years ago! (Aren't the Purdue bottle warming mugs cute?)

And there was plenty to do when we got back: Passing around babies and getting them ready for their bottles.

We leisurely walked back to Connie and Troy's.

The booths began to pack up, so it was time to leave for home. Lexi would be happy to see us and the babies would be glad to have their bottles.

A fun time in a park on a Sunday afternoon.

The next several photos are candid shots of the kids in the park with the babies.

If you peeked into the stroller, this is what you saw: Justine who was sleeping and Lauren who seemed to be enjoying every minute. The babies were quite the hit - Connie was stopped by people who wanted to see them and to ask questions. And why not? They were the cutest things in the park that day!

The babies were so good. I was surprised because the ground was uneven and they got jostled around a lot in the double stroller. Justine slept and Lauren seemed to take it all in. Here Connie, Todd and Trent make sure they're doing okay.

No one in the family really likes to pose for my pictures, but Amy was very cooperative this time - doesn't she look great??!!

The samples were wonderful and in some cases, because it was the end of the day, vendors were giving away dozens of packaged and frozen things. Here Stephanie and Troy see what they can find.

Here's our very cute Todd sampling some tasty goodies from one of the Whole Foods booths.

Two cuties in the park: Amy and Connie.

Well, we finally made it to the park. Here are Stephanie and Trent, with Amy in the background. Trent, in true form, is being a little goofy for the camera. Stephanie and Amy look great, though.

Lexi, Troy and Connie's little Bischon, who you can barely see in the upper lefthand corner of this picture, can't go with us. So she'll stay propped up in her spot on the sofa arm watching out the window until we return. Troy gives her a glance before leaving.

Here we are all ready to go. Lauren is in front in pink and Justine is in back in orange.

It's not easy to get seven adults and two tiny babies ready to go anywhere, so we got a little later start than we wanted, but Justine and Lauren are all ready to go now.

Amy takes her turn with a very happy and sweet Justine.

We just kept passing Lauren around - now Stephanie is working her magic - and she seems to be successful!

Now it's my turn with adorable little Lauren, who is not so happy in this picture - she's squirmy, fidgety and fussy - but she's a joy just the same.

Todd tries his hand at cuddling tiny Lauren. Look at her little hot pink booties - so cute!

Troy's taking it easy before gathering everything up to go to the park.

Here's Connie still holding Justine.

This is a cute picture of Trent holding Lauren with Amy in the background playing a game on her cell phone.

Troy also got in the act. Here he is with Lauren, trying to get her to burp.

Before leaving for the park, though, we had some "baby tending" to do. Here's Amy, Trent with a sleeping Lauren, and Connie with a sleeping Justine. The babies are wearing their little bright colored Oshkosh B-Gosh outfits given to them by their Aunt Carrie, Connie's sister.

Welcome to "A Food Festival in the Park", a blog album to record Sunday, August 28, 2005, the day we went to a Whole Foods sponsored food fest at the park near Connie and Troy's house. The gang who went were: Todd, Stephanie, Troy, Connie, Lauren, Justine, Amy, Trent and me. Bob was not with me on this 2 1/2 week stay with Troy, Connie and the babies from August 20-September 6, 2005.