Spring break week began with us saying goodbye to Daddy for a few days. Joe traveled out of town to serve at a weekend marriage conference, so the ladies (and Oliver) held down the fort for a couple of days with the help of Grandma. Before Joe left, he took Ollie on a nice long walk and Ella insisted on spending every last minute of quality time with her daddy.
We all miss daddy when he is away, but let's be clear. No one misses daddy as much as this little guy. Oliver works himself up so much when he sees Joe leave with a suitcase, that I worry he is going to send himself into cardiac arrest. Once the dog finally settles himself down, he follows me around the house for about an hour with pleading eyes and desperate cries for me to bring his dad back. Then, he usually leads a 24 hour food strike before he relaxes enough to settle back into normal life. This dog has some serious separation anxiety.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBSlSlv6w5Y
That night, the girls had some friends over for pizza and fun. We ate on the deck and the kids ran around the yard until it got dark.
Evidence of a fun filled Friday night!
The next morning, Grandma arrived right after breakfast. Everyone was excited and quickly fighting for all of Grandma's attention. My turn! My turn! Grandma, look at me! After just five minutes with Juliet, Ella tapped my mom on the shoulder and said, "Hey Grandma! Juliet wants my mom. You can give her back now."
When Grandma is here, the dollhouse comes out pretty quickly. I've never seen anyone enjoy setting up and playing with a dollhouse as much as my mom. Of course, the girls love every minute of it.
In case you think I exaggerate about Oliver's needs! He waited his turn, but about to miss out on some sweet Grandma time.
With an empty spot next to me in bed, this little love found her way into my bed both nights. I love waking up next to this sweet face.
My mom knew I had been spring cleaning and purging lots of things, so she somehow convinced me to have a spontaneous garage sale while she was there to help. It was kind of crazy and not something I really wanted to do without Joe because let's face it...he does all of the heavy lifting, the putting up the signs and the retrieving of our traditional donut breakfast on garage sale morning. With Joe out of town, I was left to organize and set up the sale myself, lift lots of heavy things and go get the morning donuts. My mom took care of the kids and put up the sale signs around the neighborhood, which was definitely helpful. For some reason, the girls and I watched my mom from the car as she struggled with the tape and the signs in the wind and I started laughing uncontrollably. It was like watching a really funny silent movie and I couldn't stop. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't even drive. Abby was a nervous wreck in the backseat ("Oh no! How are we going to have a garage sale without Daddy? Grandma can't get the signs up! This is a disaster!") and I was laughing so hard I was crying. I think you had to be there, but I never want to forget how good those laughs felt.
Juliet took her first ride like a big girl in the Target cart.
The garage sale was all set up. Abby was ready and waiting for customers.
The best salesman
I was so glad my mom could come keep us company and help while Joe was away. We had fun and lots of silly memories were made!
I just can't get enough of this sweet little peanut. Juliet loves bath time. All those baby rolls and that smile...I could just eat her up!
Monday morning vibes after Daddy has been away all weekend. Daddy needed all the hands for all the girls who missed him so much. I needed all the coffee. It was a good weekend. I was just a little tired. Pushing the cart in the back and hanging behind felt like a mini vacation. I was enjoying my treat, taking in this sight and wondering how I ended up at Sams with the whole crew!
When Joe and I were first married (9 years ago!), our Saturday mornings were typically pretty lazy. We rarely had much we had to do, so we would wake up late, watch some TV in bed and freshly baked cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Almost every time, Joe would say..."Can't you just imagine what it will be like when we are woken up on Saturday mornings by a bed full of kids? I can't wait until we are all piled up together spending Saturday mornings watching cartoons and eating cinnamon buns in bed! I remember it so clearly like it was yesterday and I love that it is our reality now! Minus the sticky buns in bed part, because clearly we weren't thinking through that one! Fast forward to now...
Look at all those sweet babies in our bed!
Sometimes when you are having a rough time and you are sent to your room for a time out, it just means you need a nap! This is how we found Abby when we went in five minutes later to talk it through.
An after dinner walk around the neighborhood unexpectedly put Juliet right to sleep.
Last Friday, Ella informed us that Grace's birthday was during spring break week, putting a doll birthday celebration on our high priority list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL8afz8_54Q
I'm thankful for friends (and doll friends) to celebrate with. It made Ella's day! Even Chewbacca made an appearance.
The spring break fun continued at a special tea party with friends, complete with French Macarons.
We had such a fun and refreshing visit with Ms. Anne and Mr. David. There was lots of jewelry making, donut eating, garden digging, hair cutting and hose playing fun to be had. Thankful for our friends!
The girls enjoyed story time with Mr. David.
How we feel about Fridays...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amuwdtzJaYY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDgFXq3pNuA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TPdP9nNoMw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6o0RUZUNfc
Pretty much how we all feel when it's time to get out of bed in the morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YidKRqog7fo
