How's about you sit down with a nice big cup of coffee and maybe even a bagel...I've got a feeling this is going to take awhile.
To say that we have been busy the last month is an understatement! After spending over a month remodeling our new house, we finally got to move in on the 5th. Unfortunately, not
everything was completed on move-in day, so moving, unpacking, cleaning, etc., was a lot more difficult than it should have been. Once the moving in, and the cleaning up and out of the old house was done, we frantically unpacked to get ready for Christmas and a holiday visit from the grandparents. I am so thankful to my own parents who have worked just as hard as we have these last two months watching the girls, packing and unpacking boxes, cleaning, painting, decorating, carpooling, cooking, shopping, wrapping, doing laundry, and just about anything else you can think of every.single.day. We could not have done this without their help!
Amazingly, we still managed to have our regular lives going on in the process of all of this {see above two sentences to understand how we were able to do all of that}. And so, here's all the random happenings that went on....minus some of the bigger events that are going to get their own post {because otherwise you would need to have your diet coke and some chick-fil-a lunch brought to you}.
▶︎▶︎ I put my dad to work! He built me some shelves for my pantry and then put together two additional pantry cabinets for my mudroom. He was handsomely rewarded by having one of the best week's of golf, complete with a hole-in-one, AND with a breakfast treat at Liv's Donuts for Dads one morning.
▶︎▶︎ I managed to squeeze in some one-on-one times with my girls. Even if it was running errands or popping in for lunch at school...
▶︎▶︎ Liv danced in a winter recital for her musical theatre class. The recital was outside on probably the coldest and windiest days of the year. Of course the girls were scheduled to be one of the last groups to perform, so we kept the girls in the car until it was close to their time to perform. The girls had fun on stage and probably didn't even mind the cold once they were up there performing!
▶︎▶︎ The afternoon before their recital, I took the girls out for manicures and hot chocolate. Oh man, these girls are so grown up!
▶︎▶︎ Sheri, Angie, and I organized a little activity for our girls' first grade classroom. We put together elf kits for each of the kids, including print-outs of the kids' faces. We went in one afternoon and helped them put together their elves and rewarded them with cookies. ;) Sydney and I got to elf her a couple days later!
▶︎▶︎ Liv's school had a Reindeer Run and a family picnic right before school let out for Christmas break. Even though David had to leave for a work trip that afternoon, he made sure to be there for the run that morning. I am also super proud of Olivia because she originally didn't want to do the run, but changed her mind the day before and ended up doing great!
▶︎▶︎ We had a gift exchange with Riley and Ava at Bosa Donuts the day after school let out. Note to self, sugar the kids up at a bounce house, not a place where other people want to enjoy breakfast. 😳
▶︎▶︎ I had promised the neighborhood girls that once we got moved into our new house, we would have a slumber party. So, that's what we did. We painted ornaments, decorated cookies, ate pizza, watched a Christmas show, and then went on a four hour road trip to find the best Christmas lights in a 20 mile radius. No joke, we went less than 20 miles away to go see an entire street of homes decorated in Christmas lights and set to music. Apparently this street won a televised competition and, to my surprise, we weren't the only people wanting to see it on a Friday night at 7:20. OY. Girls said it was the best car trip of their lives though, so....
▶︎▶︎ Despite the craziness of the month, and the fact that we didn't do some of the usual things we do in December {I'm looking at you Golf Cart Parade and Polar Express train}, the girls still managed to get into the holiday spirit.
▲ She came downstairs and said she was trying to be like the Grinch! ▲
▶︎▶︎ I found a picture of my dad when he was a young boy waiting for his turn to see Santa Claus. When I saw the picture, I immediately saw Olivia. I had to do a side-by-side of him with both girls. I did my best to get the picture the same, but need to work on it some more. Genetics are wild!
▶︎▶︎ Liv spent the night with Riley a few nights ago, so Sydney and I took Poppy out for some ice cream... She had so much fun kissing him with her cotton candy mouth! Love those two together!
▲ TWINS! ▲
▶︎▶︎ It had been on my to do list for MONTHS, Olivia got a new bed! David and I spent half the day at IKEA and then David and Dad spent half the night assembling....but it looks so good! She loves it and her room is starting to really come together! {I'm glad she looks tiny in the picture because it just made me tear up to see her in such a big girl bed last night!}
▶︎▶︎ And, last but not least, how's about a cute picture of a girl and her best dog?
▲ He's a good sport with her. She loves him a little too much sometimes. ▲
Stay tuned for some more posts about our month. Olivia and Sydney were in the Chandler Parade of Lights, we saw Santa at Bass Pro, Sydney had her preschool Christmas performance, our elves came to visit for a few weeks, and, HELLO, we celebrated Christmas!
