Staycation

I occasionally have a good idea. A few months ago, I suggested to Matt that we ask my parents to watch the girls at their house in Des Moines so that we could have a few days at home together to get stuff done. We love our children greatly, but it is truly hard to do any home projects with them at this stage. Matt liked the idea, my parents were all for it, and suddenly we had ourselves set up for a 5-day "staycation" that just so happened to encompass our 11th anniversary. Could this really be as great as it sounded??? The answer was YES! I met my parents halfway (in Clear Lake) on Thursday for lunch, then we switched cars and they took the girls to Des Moines. We met again today, and while I think the girls were glad to see me, I really think they would have stayed longer! Jillian has had several episodes where she fights back big crocodile tears because she misses Grammy and Grandad, and Adrienne keeps asking for the kitty. I am sure my mom and dad had a quiet ride home.
 This time was such a gift for us all, for different reasons, and I am so grateful to my parents for being willing (and even enthusiastic) to do it. I know they created precious memories with the girls that they all will cherish forever. That makes my heart happy.

May 31, 2002....11 years is worth a celebration!

We spent our actual anniversary at 6 dealerships in Rochester and Minneapolis, and after TWELVE painful hours, it was time for Matt to say a final farewell to his 'old buddy'. While car shopping is not romantic, doing so without children was much, much easier.

Matt picked me up in his '97 cavalier while we were home on Spring Break in 1998--our sophomore year of college. This car has been a part of our story ever since. It was odd and kind of emotional that after we walked away for the last time to sign papers on the new car, Green Day's "The Time of Your Life" came on over the loud speaker at the dealership. Super weird.

Momma was not very sad to say goodbye to the Cavalier, in all honesty. This means that Matt is now going to drive my CR-V, and I will be hopping around town in my new Tahoe

I decided to call her "Afternoon Coffee" since she is the color of my beloved  latte.

Saturday morning shopping at Costco was SO much easier--lots of space for storage shelves for our projects!

We spent the entire day on Saturday cleaning out the basement storage room and installing shelves

This really makes me happy

Rhubarb was harvested...and the garden was officially planted on Monday (no pics of this)

And I enlisted the help of 2 physicians to dust my chandelier. I'm kidding. Sort of. Thank you, Michael, for having a ladder tall enough so that Matt could actually replace our light bulbs...and for being willing to hold it steady. This scene totally scared me. That is a 22 foot ladder.

So while you can see that Matt and I actually did some real work, the girls did nothing but play. Here are some pics that my parents texted me over the days they had the girls.

At the zoo. I also was sent a video of Jillian and my mom riding a camel!

Backyard swimming

A is getting pretty brave in the water these days.

Mom had to buy Adrienne some pull-ups because she refused to wear a diaper. She pretty much potty trained her while she was there.

Stories and naps

Big girl tea parties

Sleepy morning snuggles

Ice cream

Lots of ice cream. And hot dogs. Jillian asked for them repeatedly. Guess she really doesn't like this vegetarian-ish year at our house.

Princess dress up...are those tired, spaced-out eyes I see, Adrienne??

Petting calves at the creamery

At the creamery--more ice cream was had here, too! My little treat monsters were in heaven!