Papa & Face Painting

Yesterday the girls got a visit from Papa over lunch!  My dad adores his grand kids and loves to spoil all three of them whenever he can.  He called to see if he could bring us lunch which was a welcome change from what we've been doing all week.  He called to see what we wanted, and at first Parker said she wanted McDonald's, but Brecken wasn't agreeing to that..then we decided on Jimmy Johns and everyone was happy...well..when Papa showed up at the door, he had both!  He never wants to disappoint, and always wants everyone happy!  The girls would have been fine with our final decision, but they got a smorgasbord for lunch..ham and cheese, B-B-Q chips, chicken mcnuggets and french fries!  Not my kind of combination, but the girls were happy, and ate a little of everything! 

Parker got ahold of the camera, and started taking her own pictures of Papa..this is becoming a trend with her!

Papa of course likes to be silly for Parker!

I just loved this one of Parker

Last night we had the opportunity to get together with some friends for dinner at their house.  It had been a while since we had gotten together, and it was so much fun seeing them and letting the girls play.  The adults chatted outside in the fresh warm air, and the girls played, and played..until finally we realized it was 10:00!  Yikes it was a late night.  They did great though, and had an awesome time! 

Parker slept in this morning later then usual..of course Brecken was up and ready to go..After everyone had breakfast, we decided to venture out to the Farm and Art Market in Old Town.  It was fun walking around, and looking at everything..The girls got their faces painted, which they loved and it killed our morning with something a little different.  The weekend is off to a great start!

Brecken got a frog

Parker got a butterfly!

Vacation is Over

Well....the newness of my new "job" has worn off..I'm not complaining, I feel like we've settled into a new routine only to have it be jostled in the next month, but hey, that's the way it goes right.  My mom asked me recently "if I liked staying home with the girls?"  I don't hate it..and I don't miss working, so I guess I like staying home, and I'm guessing that my decision was the right one, even though it was a hard decision to make.  I do miss everyone that I worked with, and I miss the adult conversations and contact with other "grown-ups".  I think that's been my hardest adjustment..I was worried that I wouldn't have interesting things to talk about with Chris, and I still have those concerns..when I'm not able to get out and about, I don't know what's going on, so I feel a little left out..I personally still have some adjusting to do, and far as my attitude, and boldness in asking others for help, are biggies for me right now...I'm starting to feel stuck at home a little, which I knew was a very high possibility of feeling this way..Part of it is Parker was sick off and on last week, which followed a weekend of home activities, and visitors, so we were more home bound than usual, so by the end of the week, I was ready for some adult, out of the house contact..Chris was planning on taking Parker to a birthday party by himself but when the mom let me know that Brecken could come too, I jumped at the chance to get out of the house..It certainly makes me appreciate my Monday night bible study group, and the opportunity to socialize and get out..I really need that right now...
Anyway, the girls are still doing swimming lessons, we've made a trip to the park a few times, and we head to the mall, and Target just to get out.

I thought this summer would be more structured, but it has worked out great to have the flexibility and freedom to do what we want, when we want it.

I've also learned that staying home is much easier than I thought it would be and that I didn't give myself enough credit that I could do this and be ok...

I'm realizing now that I need to put forth more effort into my relationship with Chris....we're not in a bad place by any means, but it is a subtle nudge in my soul that something needs to change... before we were both so busy with work, and then rushing home to be with the girls, and getting them to bed, that we just fell into a routine that worked for us...now that I'm home, and I see the girls all day, every day, I've noticed that I don't put forth the effort that I should...I can keep the house clean, and the girls fed and dinner on the table but I need to do more to nurture our relationship..

I've learned that flip flops are not an appropriate walking shoe...my feet are killing me, and I had to make the hard decision to spend birthday money on a not so cute new pair of summer walking shoes, instead of a new pair of jeans this fall..

I've also learned that you still can take naps while the kids are napping, cause they still wear you out even though they are 2 and 4 and sleeping through the night, and even if its only for 30 minutes it rejuvenates the body!

It's not all that I thought it would be, but I do love the constant hugs and kisses from the girls, and the sweet notions of watching out for me, and the "I love yous" and the little things that I would have totally missed out on otherwise..so the vacation is over, I still have a lot to learn, adjustments are a constant thing, but I'm still grateful for this opportunity~

From The Mouth Of A 4 Year Old

Mommy, do you know whats the best ever in the whole wide world?..."Loving God"

Good answer..This was our morning conversation during breakfast today!  I love having the time to take to eat rather than rushing around, which is what we did every morning for the last 4 years!  This question/comment came out of nowhere..aren't those the best!

Happy 4th of July

The weekend had promising plans, until the rain...it's rained and rained...I don't remember a year with this much rain for the July 4th holiday..We tried to forge ahead anyway, and yesterday headed out to Sante Fe Lake to spend the afternoon and evening with friends.  The kids enjoyed being outside regardless of the damp weather and at times downpour, and it beat being at home doing nothing, but by the time evening came, we were ready to get into some dry clothes..although Parker did say that she was disappointed that we were leaving so early.  With all that rain, they called the fireworks show that was supposed to happen...This morning we woke up to more rain!  We all took great naps this afternoon, and finally it stopped long enough for Chris to take Parker to buy some fireworks to do in the driveway!  We had grandma and grandpa Rick over for a fried chicken dinner from KFC, and then enjoyed brownies and fireworks until bedtime.  We also introduced the girls to lighting bugs, and the girls and Chris enjoyed catching a few!  All in all it turned out to be a decent day.  I'm glad that we ventured out on Thursday night to catch a big fireworks show in Bradley Fair, as it's the only show we got to see this year!  Below is a few pictures from the last few days!  Happy 4th of July!

The girls got in their jammies to head out to watch the fireworks on Thursday night

They thought it was fun to sit in their chairs and in the back of daddy's car waiting for the show to start

They were pretty good, and the picture would have turned out better without the light poll in the way~

Daddy helping the girls light the smoke bombs...

The grand finale...

Parker watching daddy!!

Family photo

Parker took charge of the camera and took this photo..not too bad!

Ahh, the memories of catching lighting bugs!! So Fun!

The Eagles

Chris called me randomly last week and asked if we could find a sitter for Wednesday night..I thought it wouldn't be a problem, and then he informed me that we were going to the Eagles concert!  I knew I liked the Eagles, but I couldn't remember what songs they sang until last night.  It was a great concert, and they played all the hits including Hotel California, Boys of Summer and ending with one of my favorites Desperado! 

Chris' job has perks, he has worked for the Bank for years, and he finally has perks!  The bank has a suite, so the seats are up high, but the seats are comfy, and its fun to watch everyone below!  This is the second concert I've been to with him, and I feel fortunate that I was able to experience the Eagles.  My first thought was that they were old!  They also commented several times that they were old, but the music sounded exactly the same from when I remember years ago listening to them in high school!

It was a great night out with Chris!