Of course, getting your hair done in the summertime comes with it's own set of problems-- I took ALL the kids with me and Anna took about a million selfies and various photos along with other acts of terrorism during the session- fun times. Had plenty of girls nights out and friends in town visiting. Loved seeing my Mom and Sis, The Stallings, the Romneys, Jessica Dahlquist and kids, Rustands, Perrys. Invited SO many over for swim dates throughout the summer. It was fun having a great pool to invite people over to! Lots of beach days and camps. The kids spent time up at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we moved, Grandma came down to tend the kids while I packed! Couldn't have done it all without her and my Mom. Grammy came to town to help me unpack, organize and get settled! We about killed ourselves putting together my bed and working our fingers to the bone! I spent a lot of my energy thinking of creative ways to hang pictures and bring to our new home a lot of what I loved about our old home. I've spent countless hours on craigslist trying to find pieces of furniture to fit in the new house that we can actually afford! I'm pretty much a second-hand furniture pro by now and I love the pieces I got and the way they fit into our home.
To keep the kids in line, I started a system of Mom Bucks that I had read about on-line. The kids earned bucks to spend on all sorts of things like staying up late, video time, treats, etc. The system was 100 % and I LOVED it. Will definitely do it again next summer... or maybe keep it up during the year.
We adored having cousin Adam come home with us for a week to help take care of and entertain the boys while I packed up the house! It was seriously so great to have him around. The kid made dinner a few nights, helped with the boys from dusk until dawn and even helped me with putting together boxes and packing books! Loved spending that time with Adam.
So exciting to start thinking about Catie and Troy's wedding coming up in the Spring. Ev and Anna about died of happiness when Catie presented them with their own special box and necklace asking them to be a part of the wedding. Seriously, they are SO excited for this special honor. They adore Catie and would do anything for their Uncle Troy!
Another highlight was celebrating Sara's 39th birthday as a last hurrah in our old house! Greg, Rachel, Sameen and I threw together a dinner party for a TON of people the very day I arrived back from our big trip. I was EXHAUSTED but it was a blast. The men grilled, Greg bought the sides from Sara's favorite Urban Plate and we had tons of Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert. LOVED this night so much because we love Sara and Greg and were so happy to be a part of the festivities. I'm pretty much a huge fan of party planning so this was right up my ally. Too many memories to name... it was a wonderful summer of 2017 and I'm so grateful for all of the blessings this year has brought.
