Leftover Thursday

I'm debating not putting a door on the pantry because you can't see it from 90 percent of the kitchen and I think it would just get in the way. The only thing that makes me want one is that it would keep little fingers out of the food! :P

Mood swings! 

This little one gets SO mad if she wants something and doesn't get it quick enough. She screams so hard she makes her eyes all red and puffy in the time it takes me to wash my hands and get upstairs to get her out of bed. :P

Peek-a-boo laundry helper!

Noni has been coming on one of the dance days and taking the girls to church to alternate piano lessons between their classes. All three of the girls are showing huge growth and can play many songs! They're doing awesome!

Sweet sisters!

Happy Thursday! :)

While the Cats are Away

The mice will play. Literally. We had been in the house for four months with not a single sign of a mouse and then one night in January T and I were talking in the schoolroom after the girls went to bed when my eye caught something...a mouse running down the hall! YUCK! We set up traps and caught him that night. And his brother the next night. And his sister the next. 

Yuck. Yuck. Triple yuck! But then we didn't get anybody else for the next week. We put poison all around the outside of the house and hoped that we had got them, but then we left for Arizona and Noni found new mouse droppings while we were away. Grr. 

But we haven't caught anything since so I'm not sure what's going on. Had they been in the walls this whole time and just came out four months later? Did they find a new spot to come in? I mean we have filled every single crack and crevice we could possibly find, but I know they can get through a hole the "size of a dime" so it's definitely possible. I'm hoping that we have seen the last of them, but T says not likely and that it's something I'm going to have to learn to live with being out in the country. :(

Anyway. The girls had tons of fun with Noni while we were away! We got some picture text updates. This is Peaches at church. "I'm so pwetty!"

I absolutely love our little "time outs" to Arizona, but this year I almost wished I wasn't going because my good friend Jami was here from Russia and I missed her! BOO!

She and her sweet daughter got to come to our church and then to our house for lunch and I missed it. :( But I'm glad the girls were able to enjoy them. They love A! 

 

Love these faces!

While we were gone Noni cleaned the house top to bottom! She even cleaned out the toaster oven! Haha! 

It was literally the cleanest it's EVER been. :)

Noni kept them going on their school work and got them to all their Class Connects. I think the girls and Noni spent three nights and our house and one at theirs. They got to play games with Mama.

 

They put on shows for Noni! 

And generally had a wonderful time.

Thankfully they were happy to see us after all that fun with Noni. Haha! Thank you thank you thank Noni for making our little getaway possible!

Arizona - Part 2

We got to go to Top Golf again! It is such a cool place!

 

Maybe we'll get one someday...it would be the perfect thing to do for birthdays!

There are a bunch of games you can chose from...I think 16 or 17? First we played just the plain one where you can hit it anywhere.

The CEO and CFO from another hospital got to come with us this year. 

 

D slept long enough for me to play two rounds and eat some dinner. :)

 

The second game we played you had three balls to hit in the red targets, three for yellow, and three for green. You'd think that would be harder, but it was actually easier to have something specific to aim at.

I did pretty poorly. I think only golfing twice a year is making my skills worse and worse. :P We were also on the left side, so being left handed put me hitting the ball at an awkward angle. It was still really fun though and such a cool place!

Then D and I had to head to the car for her feeding. It was so noisy in there I didn't think she would eat well if we stayed. We came back in at the end and got a group picture. :)

 

Since it was rainy we only went for two walks around the resort this year. We had to grab a quick picture with the palm trees before we left. Such a gorgeous place! 

The sun finally came out the day we left, but it was only 50 degrees. At the airport shuttle the guy working was wearing a face-mask to protect him from the "cold". LOL! I didn't have the heart to tell him we were heading for 10 degrees! 

Baby girl did an even better job on the way home than she did there! I wrapped her up and she slept through the whole airport shuffle.

She woke up as soon as we got on the plane and ate. She fell asleep eating and I started to wake her up and then thought, nah, I'll see how long she sleeps. She slept for two hours straight! She kept shifting lower and lower in my lap, but every time she started to wake up I just patted her back and she went right back to sleep. She woke up again just before we landed and I started feeding her again. We did one side, got off the plane, and did the other side while Daddy got the bags. Such a good girl!

Unfortunately when we arrived (already late because of the weather) it truly was 10 degrees and the pickup was dead. D and I stayed in the airport where it was warm while Daddy got airport security to come give us a jump. By the time we got home the girls had already left for Awana, but I was so happy to see them when they got home! I always miss them so much and consider taking them with us, but at the beginning of February it's always hit and miss. Some years it's sunny and warm and you can sit by the pool the whole time, and other years it was like this one - rainy and too cold to swim.

Daddy didn't get to see them until the next day because there was a problem at the hospital and he ended up missing Awana and staying there till 10PM. We gave them their souvenirs the next day....clothes, prickly pear taffy, and a new book - Cactus Hotel. Now every time I read it I'll remember our fun, little getaway and sweet one-on-one time with little baby D. :)

Arizona!

Last fall I decided that going to Arizona with T would be no problem with a two month old. I figured she would be sleeping 8 hours by then, and would be easy peasy. Little did I know she would only be sleeping 4 hours at a time, and not be the easiest baby. :P 

Thankfully she actually did MUCH better than I thought she would! She fell asleep just before we boarded the airplane and slept for an hour and half before waking up to eat. She ate and then had some happy wake time and then we were on the ground.

She was tired and ready to sleep when we landed so she got fussy while we were waiting, but I put her in the Moby wrap and she fell asleep on the way to baggage claim. She slept all through waiting for the bags (the airport was crazy crowded), the shuttle, and getting our rental car. Good girl!

We actually went down a day early so T could enjoy Arizona a little. Normally he is busy with the conference the whole time. We got to relax and go shopping...like actual shopping where you get to try clothes on and spend more than five minutes dashing in and out of a store grabbing what you need. Haha. Both of us got some new clothes...that hasn't happened in ages! We also hit the going out of business Gymboree sale and got $600 worth of kids' clothes for $110! Score!!

We took this picture for the girls...180,000 Legos were used to create this cactus sculpture! 

Baby girl was pretty easy-going and for the most part she just went along for the ride. Of course that included lots of sitting in the car for feedings or making sure we got back to the hotel for her next one, but she did really well.

I think she was loving the undivided attention from Mommy and Daddy! :)

 

The first night was rough as she went to bed at 11 and woke up at 1:30, 2:30, ate at 4, and woke again at 6:30. But then the second night she slept 8 hours straight!!! And of course hasn't done it again since. :P 

Our bathroom looked like this the whole time and I actually used the entire bar of hotel soap! I "did laundry" in the sink twice a day to keep her in clean bibs and burp rags,

We were on the other side of the resort for the first time and the view of the golf course and pond were beautiful!

Unfortunately it rained on and off the whole time and I think 62 was the warmest it got but compared to freezing temps and snow at home it was great! We also got a couple of gorgeous sunsets!

 

Thankfully D slept through the fancy dinners we went to with Daddy's coworkers!

  

Sink bath! She wasn't overly impressed. :)

I'm glad it was rainy because I didn't mind being stuck in the hotel feeding this little cutie. 

She was all the Arizona sunshine I needed! :)

More pics tomorrow!

Happy Baby

Smiles for Daddy

Leftover Thursday

Before we went to Chuck E. Cheese for the double birthday the girls made their own Chuck E. Cheese in the basement. For some reason I didn't take pictures, but they made games out of cardboard and paper and actually did a pretty good job! Boo dressed up as Chuck E. :)

Grandma bought Peaches a make a fairy crown kit for Christmas. :)

 

Bug's friend A made a quick visit back to the states with her mom because her grandma was having surgery. One day she and the girls all got to have a playdate with Noni and then she even got to spend the night! The girls loved it! 

The girls' cats are so friendly! They come running any time we are outside and if we aren't careful they try to get in the house! Their names are Smokey, Pumpkin, and Cottonball. :)

Mama love! :)

Happy Thursday!