Lucy's birthday

In some ways I can't believe that our sweet Lucy is already 4... and in other ways I can't believe that she is ONLY 4.  She is so full of life and personality... it just doesn't make sense how all that can fit in that little body.  She has the funniest sense of humor and definitely can hold her own.  We didn't do a whole lot for her birthday this year because it we were trying to fit it in a weekend that wasn't already busy!  We went to my parents house for that part and the weather was gorgeous.  Holly and her crew weren't there so it was pretty mellow.  Mom, of course, made a great cake for her that had little lego girls on there so she could have them for later.  They also got this Melissa and Doug Chef dress up with accessories that they thought was great!  She was pretty excited that there were balloons in the morning for her (they suspiciously look a lot like Jordyn's... haha) but she was happy about them nonetheless.  Ingrid had sent her a package with a bunch of stuff and she loved it.  She made her a headband, knitted a purse to match along with some sandals.  There was a stuffed animal that she had embroidered and a book.  Lucy thought she was hot stuff ;)  Our dear friend Jane gave her something too which was ever so sweet.  Some sidewalk chalk, Hello Kitty lipgloss! (She really thought she was cool now) and some coloring stuff.  I love that they are happy and content with simple things and that they don't seem entitled that they should have a big deal on their birthday.  We try to make them feel special every day but it is always nice to do a little extra on their birthday.

























































JVG

Jordyn's birthday surprise

Jordyn (Ms. Nancy's son)'s birthday is a day before Lucy's.  She wanted to do something nice for him but had to work all day so I told her that we could totally help her out!  He plays baseball so she wanted to decorate his car before his game... haha.  We got the balloons from her and put them on his car for her.  It was a lot of fun and the kids thought it was hilarious to drive in the van while it was filled with balloons.  I thought that I was going to have to wrestle Norah for a balloon because they all wanted to hold a few but she was reluctant to give hers back.







Happy birthday Jordyn!  We are so glad we have gotten to be apart of your life.

JVG

Easter

Easter snuck up on me this year!  Admittedly I thought that it was in April but it was at the end of March.  We had all just gotten over the plague and I was just starting to land back on my feet.  I wasn't planning on doing anything, honestly, because the thought of adding one more thing to the pile that was my life just seemed so overwhelming.  But, I kinda took an afternoon to just feel sorry for myself and then I got over it.












We went to my parents house and hid eggs again.  My sister brought a lot of jelly beans and then they came over early in the morning for the hunt.  It worked like a dream last year to have them find their basket and their own chocolate bunny.  That way it gave the littles (AKA my kids) a fighting chance against her huge kids!  We confined it to one room and it seemed to work out great!  We had a lot of fun and it's been so good having all the families together.

JVG

Our backyard snake friend

Now that the weather is starting to get a little warmer we have been able to go outside in the backyard and enjoy the freedom that is a fenced in backyard.  :)  Its nice that I am able to send them out in the backyard and I can see them from the kitchen window.  Tristan and Lucy are really good back there but Norah can get a little wiley and try to go play in the woods that are on one side.  While they were outside they did find a little garter snake and at first they were not pleased with it. But... I told them that if they touched it I would give them a cookie haha.  There isn't any reason they should be afraid of it and I was trying to make sure I didn't project my weird phobias on them.  The second time they saw the snake though they weren't afraid at all and just went and picked it up!  Norah grabbed it and it was fine until it started to move.  Then, it was classic Norah and she screamed and just dropped it and ran off... It was really the funniest thing I had seen in awhile.









I'm glad that they are enjoying their time outside and like being out there.  :)

JVG

Meeting Leela

We were lucky enough to be able to meet up with a friend who lives overseas and meet her darling little girl.  We met in college and have been keeping in touch a bit ever since.  It seems like such a lifetime ago when we first met but they are beautiful souls and I am so glad that we got to see them!

I made a fatal error in thinking that we were supposed to meet a week before we actually were.  We were supposed to meet up at a delicious breakfast place that she is good friends with the owner in GR.  And after a few scheduling things we decided that we could meet up that day instead of next week.  Her twin sister (someone who was also in my classes) and her family were with her so it was a double extra treat to be able to see them and see her family as well!  Luckily my parents were good with everybody crashing at their place for the afternoon so that we could meet up and hang.  :)







While we were at Marie's (the breakfast place) I didn't know it but I ran into a user from SOH!  It was hilarious and a little sad that I didn't know that he and his wife were there... but maybe next time.




Uma and Leela have since gone back to Switzerland but I'm glad that we got to see them and I got to snug that sweet sweet babe.

JVG

Ingrid Visit

I have to admit that the last handful of visits that we've had with Ingrid have been really good... like what I would expect every visit to be like.  Unfortunately, we have had this happen before so we think that things are getting better and start to give her a second chance and then she gets all crazy on us again.  So, we are crossing our fingers and hoping that's not the case!




She did visit while I was in Seattle (which will be a different post) but that one went well too!  This time she came for a visit and the kiddos got to show her what they've been doing and it was really good.  We got to have a yummy sushi lunch and then I had to go to work but G and company ran around and did fun stuff.  It's been really nice not having to worry if she is going to behave or not :)

JVG

Final Touches for being a bridesmaid

Ever since I was asked to be a bridesmaid for this wedding I had been stressing out about it.  I'm not entirely sure why either... but I was always semi stressed.  The bride is super laid back and she let us do a lot of things on our own which was really nice, so again, not sure why I was stressed out.  However, I did learn a lot of new things and got to spend a little quality time with Lucy.  We went shoe shopping together after I had this dream that I was supposed to be ready to walk down the aisle and only had flip flops...  She had a lot of fun picking out different styles for me to try on!  She is such a girly girl and I kinda like that she likes to do these things with me!  :)






Then, for the finishing touches I had my friend Jane help me with make-up.  I can't even tell you how many different tutorials I have watched online about how to do asian make up.  It honestly seemed very easy but then when it was time to try doing it I was nervous.  Jane went with me to the make up store and helped me out big time because there are so many different things to choose from and I don't know when a knock-off brand is just as good as the really expensive stuff... so I was really grateful that she was willing to share her wisdom with me about that!





After that I was ready to go and felt less stressed about it :)  (more on the actual wedding later... but spoiler... it was beautiful)

JVG