Summer Fun--Week 1

We started off summer with a bang. The very day after school was out, the girls and I packed up and headed to Des Moines for a few days. The homemade cream puffs were chilled and waiting on our arrival.

Later that night, Aunt Mal and James came up for the weekend. James was asleep when they arrived, but woke to see his cousins. Apparently all the female love was a little overwhelming.

He warmed up quickly, and the girls loved doting on him in any way they were able. This really means they manhandled him all the live long day. He was a good sport. And so cute it is just plain ridiculous.

We spent a lot of time just hanging out at home, swimming in the big little pool, eating popcorn, Aunt Mal and I hit Nordstrom Rack for some retail therapy, and then we all went to Jordan Creek to help Grandad pick out some new shoes for his birthday. Grams and A caught a snuggle in Scheel's.

Little shoppers. Looking unusually angelic.

Grandad with 60% of his grandchildren. We missed Jack and Bryce!

We decided to take Grandad out for an early birthday dinner and he chose PF Changs. It was a little bit of a circus act with my hyper girls, a tired baby, and the piece of plastic (!) in my noodles that I choked on. Should I be grateful they gave us free dessert after that?

The oldest grandchild and the youngest.

Oh yeah, I've still got the baby nap magic...it only works with other people's kids.

Monday was Grandad's actual birthday and I caught this sweet shot of the girls wrapping the little gifts they picked out for him at Target.

That's one crazy candle atop the Boston Cream Pie! Seriously, my mom and her desserts...in addition to the cream puffs and this cake, we also had homemade ice cream sandwiches, and homemade turtle ice cream pie that weekend. Worth all 4 lbs of gained weight!

Jilly and I hit the mall for a little more shopping and coffee talk at Starbucks. Having 1:1 time with her is so rare and it is great.

I hit the road early Tuesday morning, and left the girls behind for a few days. Matt was off the rest of the week, and we enjoyed our annual "staycation". This is code for doing home improvement and/or landscaping projects that are hard to do with the girls around. This year we re-stained, re-mulched, and re-sanded the playset. Lots o work, but we rewarded ourselves with grown up dinners out every night. I have no pics of any of this or our kid-free time together, but it was so nice just to hang out and talk and go on our own pace at home. Meanwhile, the girls were living it up in Des Moines. A few pics my parents sent me...

Lounging at the pool on the deck

Movie time

Taking Urban to the vet

Dinner at Subway (this is code for eating Cheetos and chocolate milk for dinner--Matt takes them there when they bike on the trail and that's all they really eat)

Some driveway drawing of Elsa

Picnic and play at a new park...yep, I see more Cheetos. They are their father's daughters!

Love this one of my little princess. Adrienne can almost always be found wearing something from the dress up bin, both home and at G and G's.

Matt and I drove down Friday night to get the girls. We took everyone out to dinner, and then to the favorite game store. Adrienne and I found the perfect opportunity to take a pic outside the store with my personal hero, Wonder Woman!

We drove home Saturday after lunch with tearful girls. They had so much fun, and did not want to come home with us! I found Adrienne in her bed at 9 that night sobbing away because she missed G and G. Thanks Mom and Dad for all your love and care and for taking the time to make these sweet memories with the girls!

Sunday was Father's Day. Matt said he really just wanted to stay home, and so we did. He had a couple of food requests--fancy burgers on the grill and homemade ice cream sandwiches. Easy enough. He went for a run that morning and then we had a  big brunch. I made my own version of a breakfast burrito, with plenty of sausage of course. They were delish!

The girls doted on him with some funny cards and carefully selected gifts.

Ever the comedian, Adrienne of course picked out a card with a monkey picking his nose.

And she also thought Matt needed a Darth Vader bobble head for his office...because why not?

The girls seriously thought we should get Matt a motorcycle for Father's Day. It's kind of a joke--he says he wants one (he doesn't), but the girls always freak out when he mentions it because they think it is too dangerous (they are right). We talked about it and thought it would be funny if we gave him a toy motorcycle. And it was!

We had some game time that afternoon, playing a new one--Spookies.

And for dinner, as promised, a "fancy" burger. I crafted the toppings to match some of his favorites...blue cheese pesto, sauteed onions and mushrooms, melted cheddar, and bacon. Plus those buttered, toasted buns. Fit for a king! Matt is the king of our hearts. An awesome dad for these girls and we appreciate him so much!

I wrapped up the week by discovering Jillian had left me a note in our 'just between us' communication notebook. I told the girls we were starting a new chore system (using little buckets and clothespins) on Monday, and I guess my type A first born was a little anxious about how it would work...apples don't fall far, people.