August 5

I only have phone pictures for today because it turned out to be the first in a long line of REALLY busy days. I ended up going all day today and the next three days without even having my computer on.

Today we took NanaGrampy to the airport as their visit came to a close. They were able to stay with us for about a month, and although Aaron didn’t need the intense home rehab we were imagining, they still did loads to help us out. Groceries, dishes, house cleaning, laundry, shuttling Courtney, watching Aaron, you name it. They also bought every piece of Aaron’s new room and helped with all the painting and wallpapering, replaced our washing machine and in general spoiled everyone rotten with their limitless generosity. Because the arrival of Baby Sister will prevent us from going to CA at Christmastime, this visit was very important, and we are all really fortunate that the timing worked out for everyone. Here are some sad goodbye pictures from the airport.

 

As soon as we got back from the airport it was time to start doing work on the house. We made a trip to Target for some things and then got right into working in the house to get two rooms empty for the carpet cleaner and getting Aaron’s and Courtney’s rooms switched.

August 4

I got some nice pictures of my mom today in the backyard. We are working on making new profile pics for ScrapMatters, so she wanted a good one. Her eyes are super light-sensitive, so it is a challenge for her to have her eyes wide open in any kind of bright sunlight, but I think we definitely got a keeper! Here’s my favorite.

August 3

Today was mural hanging day! This thing was no joke. We tried it once a few days ago, but it didn’t go well because unlike regular vinyl wallpaper, it is truly PAPER and so it acts differently when it gets the paste on it. Lots of stretching and expanding. The instructions were…kinda helpful, but there is a lot more they could have included to let us know what to expect in the hanging process. So first attempt down, second mural ordered (thank you NanaGrampy for getting both) and here we are more experienced and ready to get it done. It really did take 4 people to get the darn thing up, but it looks SO AWESOME. I have never seen anything like it! Here’s where we got it: http://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Graphics-GATHERING-PLACE-MURAL/dp/B0012VL8QG

For the love of Pete, if you ever happen to get this or something like it that is more paper-ish than vinyl and haven’t hung one before, send me an email first for some tips!

first two panels…

third and fourth panels…

put up some more border…

and here is the little man in front of the whole wall! There were still some fit and finish things to do in this pic, namely trimming the excess off of all four sides. Nana did ALL of that work while Chris and I were out for a date night! 

When Aaron’s room is all done, this is the wall where his bed will go. Looks pretty awesome, right????

August 2

We all went on a little outing today, because we had promised Aaron a trip to Chik-fil-a and out for ice cream (thanks to the Cold Stone gift card the Stones sent Aaron!!). First we had our lunch and ice cream, then we headed over to the mattress store where NanaGrampy bought Aaron a twin sized mattress for his new room, and then we went up to Babies ‘R Us to check out strollers. My parents went WILD buying stuff for Baby Sister, as we are calling her. My dad looked at gear with Chris and I while my mom headed straight for the clothes. Here’s the clothing portion of what we came home with. Pretty cute, right? :)

May 12

Aaron’s butterfly garden from NanaGrampy is starting to come alive! His cocoons have started to hatch, and he now has two painted lady butterflies to watch!

April 22

Today was our last Disney day and we hit both parks to do the things we didn’t have time to do on our first two days. We headed STRAIGHT for Peter Pan, which is forever long all day, but at least a teeny bit better in the morning. I guess I’m not the only person who loves this ride as a favorite.

Aaron gave the sword a hearty pull…

and I got Cameron to pose for some carousel shots.


love this one…

Love the Storybook Boats

and found some adorable ducklings to watch!

Aaron is not quite ready for Alice in Wonderland, it seems.








 


But he loved this knight! 





Then we headed over to California Adventure to get a little more time in Bug’s Land.


Flik’s Flyers


and Cameron is ready for a nap while Aaron and Chris give the bumper bugs another go round.

told ya.



All Disneyed out. We are exhausted!

But after we got back to NanaGrampy’s the boys had a great bath in Nana’s huge tub.

March 20

It’s PARTY day!!! And what an amazing day we had!! Kelly arrived overnight and Caleb will be here mid-party. It is so wonderful to have everyone here. Our school friends all make it down for the party too, and it is so much fun to get everyone together.
Here are the little men playing with cars while everyone else is flitting about working on party prep.

This was a Toy Story party, so we tried to max out the theme! Here are the alien cupcakes we made. Cute, right? :)

Alien popcorn (a white chocolate covered popcorn recipe I learned at ScrapMatters, you can dye your chocolate for any occasion, and it is truly sinful!)

Cameron LOVED playing with “Mr. Tato Head” during his visit and now has a collection of his own at home!

Courtney gave Aaron a little Lotso bear and we had him in a dump truck for the festivities.

Notice the March Madness on in the background…poor kid will have that on for every birthday party he ever has for the rest of his life. Lily and I are playing “The Claw” for some small prizes.

And there is Grampy himself.

Love these shots full of people, reminds of how noisy it was and how much fun we had.

We moved outside for another activity, the soldier search! We had a bunch of green army men scattered about and the kids got to keep all the ones they found. Very fun!

Once the soldiers made it back inside, Chris was helping Aaron line them up…

…which drew a crowd!

A quick moment for a family photo of Ash, Aaron, Chris and Sarah. (courtney was asleep on the couch at this point…so…she couldn’t join the photo. yes, the party was still going on.)

And now it’s time for Hamm painting!

Here’s our cool food tags.

and all the finished pigs drying. The kids LOVE painting things that they will get to keep!

After the party, the boys are checking out some sort of iPad fun with Caleb.

Look at this series of pictures that will break your heart. Cameron and Aaron didn’t have a nap on party day…and poor Cameron buddy was still adjusting to the time difference. Here he is trying to have a snack, but he’s not quite able to get through it! He was just exhausted!



And to close out the day…a funny picture for a hilarious story. Mom was looking for croutons in the pantry…and Ashley told them they were at belly button level. But Ashley is REALLY tall and Mom is a shorty…so…Mom was looking at her OWN belly button level, and that was a two shelf difference! HA!

Okay, I’m tired just making this post! Back for more catch up in a bit!