{memorial day and more}

The past week and a half has been packed full, mostly because we had the pleasure of having Rick's brother Robert and his wife Toni visit us from Utah for a week. We had such a great time...we miss them already!

~Beach~

One of the places we knew we had to take them was our favorite beach about an hour away. We LOVE it there, and spend as much time as possible there during the summer months. The day was a little chilly, but the sun was out, and we were hoping for the best. We had no intentions of getting in the water, but thought we would build sandcastles, walk along the beach, and enjoy the sound of the waves. The girls insisted on wearing their "soups" underneath their clothes, so I acquiesced, thinking there was no possible way they would really want to get in water that had ice in it just barely a month or two ago. I was proved wrong. It started with rolling up the pant legs twice. Then I rolled them as far as up as they would go. Finally, off came the clothes, and there my girls were, in freezing cold water, having the time of their lives. Robert also was crazy enough to dive in, saying he had come this far, he might as well try it. It was a wonderful day, and I'm so glad they got to see one of our favorite places.

~Memorial Day~

The Memorial Day Parade is a tradition in our community, and in our family. I love having everyone dress in patriotic colors, wave flags, and celebrate our country and those that have fought for us over our history. We met up with our friends there, and enjoyed being with them too. The kids always bring their grocery sacks for the crazy amounts of candy that are thrown, and all-in-all it makes for a great morning.



~Just Because~

One of of my favorite time to take pictures of my kids is right before we leave for church. They are usually at their cleanest, and their hair is generally closet to the way it was when I actually did it. Sometimes you just need all the advantages you can get!

~In other news~

1. Our garage sale is over! We prepped on Thursday, then held the sale on Friday and Saturday. I'm glad we did so well on Thursday and Friday, because Saturday was much slower due to an antiques festival that was in town. Our girls (my friend and I each of 2 girls--one of her's is only 6 weeks old) did amazingly well, playing outside most of the time with occasional movies inside the house. They were filthy at the end of each day--black feet, Doritos cheese covering their mouths (and eyebrows in Emma's case), and otter pop juice splashed down the front of their shirts--but they they were happy and tired, and so were we! We will definitely be doing it again, hopefully making it a yearly tradition.

2. We sold our van! It only took a week, and showing it to two potential buyers to seal the deal, and we couldn't be happier. However...we don't have another vehicle yet! Good thing we can still (barely) fit in Rick's car, so we have something to drive until we find what we're looking for.

{no need for loincloths...}

The babies finally have clothes to wear when they arrive. I honestly don't know how the time has escaped me---and when I realized that the girls were born less than 8 weeks from the point I'm at now, I kind of panicked (okay, I REALLY panicked).
I'm usually much more prepared than I feel now, but I have to keep reminding myself that I also have two additional children, and have been extremely busy over the past few months. Still, it wasn't settling well with me, and I now have a plan.
So, when Rick had the day off yesterday, I seized the opportunity to head down to our nearest outlets, which are about 40 minutes away. We don't have much shopping available in our small town, so usually a trip is necessary to find everything you need. I totally lucked out, and found nearly all the items on my list, and on sale! Can I tell you how much I love the Gap?

Here's the rest of my to do list:

1. Garage sale this weekend! My good friend and I decided to do one together for several reasons--much more fun, and much more fun. :) We also didn't really have enough stuff separately to really have our own. So, I have one more day to mourn the fact that I am selling all the girls' headbands, hair bows, handmade toddler beds, and other items that I feel really sentimental about.

2. Next week/weekend: Paint nursery (chocolate brown), paint cribs (white), make canvas boards with initials and ribbon for nursery walls, put up vinyl lettering (my favorite nursery saying), find a lamp and ribbon to run through shade, re-finish end table. I totally scored, and found the most adorable brown gingham (it reverses to sold chocolate brown with the gingham around the edges) bedding on clearance.

3. Mid-June: Buy new car seats! Since I went all pink with the girls, we are starting from scratch. Also make sure bottles, liners, formula, burp rags, and diapers are squared away.

4. Ongoing:

-Continue to advertise our van (went up for sale 5 days ago), and look for a Sequoia (which we finally decided on, but is not available within 100 miles...)

-Keep plugging away on the basement--which is to be the new family room/playroom. Electrical is almost finished, and drywall should be going up soon. Hopefully we can really push ahead and finish quickly, since I need all the stuff out of the current playroom (new nursery-to-be).

5. Not go on bedrest. :)

Oh yeah...and decide on NAMES (details, details...).

{epiphony}

And I've been wondering why I haven't been able to get things done lately? I only cried a little.

{echo}

Overheard this week:

-"I am not happy!"

-"Too bad, so sad."

-"Calm down."

-"Take it or leave it."

-"That is dirty, we need to clean it."

There's nothing like hearing all my own words, especially when it's not even directed to me, and it's one of my girls talking to the other. At least when I hear "I love you", or "You're my best friend", I feel somewhat redeemed!