Don't Tell ME Not to Jump on the Bed!

Duly Noted. But Grace, sweetheart, it really isn't nice to use those hand gestures. Especially to your parents. Love, Mommy.

Fiesta Night!

Our neighbors have been feeding us so much for movie nights or other get-togethers lately that tonight we decided to take a turn at hosting and we had such a great time! We called it fiesta night and the food had a Mexican theme.

We had 4 families from the neighborhood over (Cortney, we missed you...next time we will pick a weekend you are in town! :)) In total, there were 10 adults and 10 children age 6 and under. I made shredded chicken in the crock pot, Aaron grilled beef brisket (with a kick!) and we laid out all the fixin's (homemade guacamole and pico de gallo, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes). Our friends brought homemade salsa, watermelon (Grace's favorite item of the evening), veggies, tres leche, and pecan pie. I ate soooooo much I think I'm good for the next month or so!!

We ate out on the newly poured patio and then the adults got to chat, while the kiddos played on the swing sets and with the sand table. My ONLY regret is that I forgot to bring the camera out and take some pictures. Oh well, maybe next time!

I am pretty sure I have already spent more time outside this spring than I have in the last 5 years combined. It helps to have kiddos who are now all old enough to find fun things to do outside (and to not be pregnant and miserably hot!!) We also joined the pool this year. We went a couple of days ago and Grace and Noah both LOVED it!

I used to be a big fan of Fall, but Spring sure is winning a spot in my heart this year. Summer (which brings NC humidity) is just around the corner though, so we'll enjoy it while we can!

The Great GOOSE Outing

Grace just turned 2.5 and man oh man, what fun and creative stage this is!!

For background, nearly every time we leave our house, we pass my parent's church. There is usually a church bus parked outside and when we pass Grace says "There's papa's bus!"

One of her favorite things is seeing the geese in the neighborhood across the street from us. Quite often, they're just standing around as we ride through but if they are not, she says "I wanna go see gooses!" (We are working on "geese" but it just hasn't stuck yet). Let me just say that Aaron and I now totally understand the phrase "wild goose chase" because we have scoured that neighborhood time and time again for geese.

One particular day, as we went through the neighborhood we were completely unable to find the geese. Grace was really sad and kept saying "Where did the gooses go?" We explained that they were probably taking a nap (we use this one to account for anyone and anything that suddenly goes missing and that usually satisfies her curiosity). As we continued down the road, she noted that papa's bus was missing from the church parking lot. "Where's papa's bus?" she questioned. When I told her I wasn't sure, she said...."The gooses took papa's bus!" Amused by her creativity, I said "ohhhhhhh, is THAT where they went?" "Yep" she confirmed. "They got on papa's bus to go out to eat pizza!"

The mental image she created at that moment still makes me giggle! Ah, it just gets better and better! :)

Missing Daddy

Aaron has been in Los Angeles all week and we are all missing him. So I can keep my business going when he's out of town, the kids and I always spend most of our time with my mom and dad. They are a GREAT help (thanks mom and dad), but that means changes in routines, lots of running back and forth and well, I'll admit it, I miss my sweetheart.

Luckily, these week-long trips only come around a few times a year. It's been about 9 months since the last one (I totally lucked out!) and this is the first time Grace has really "noticed" her daddy was missing. It's been a good opportunity to work on days of the week with her. Starting Monday morning she woke up with "Where's Daddy?" to which I responded "He is in L.A. He will be back on Friday. Today is Monday, so we have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then Daddy comes home." We've been through this multiple times every day and she now tells everyone she sees "my daddy is in L.A. He'll be home Friday." It's really very cute, but not as cute as the conversation I overheard her having on the phone with him last night....

Hi Daddy...you in L.A.?
You coming home on Friday?
I gonna see you and give a BIG HUG to you!
I love you.

Aaron thought I had prompted her, but that was straight from her sweet little heart.

The kids have been so well behaved -- I've been so thankful and so proud of them. But we are ALL ready to have Daddy home with us. So hurry home, Aaron! We love and miss you!!