We tried to squeeze in a lot today.
And thus, we ended the day with some very tired kiddos.
But it was a fun day with Nana and Papa. So thankful for them.
And we will get our date night…a very long date night tomorrow.
A month early.
We have 4 birthdays coming up at the end of the month.
We happened to have both sets of grandparents in town.
So we celebrated early.
Because we can.
And it was fun.
Nana Landers made a fabulous Italian Genovese dinner. I’ll link this Genovese article/recipe…but it’s not exactly the same. Hers is better. And you should be jealous. It’s so good.
Then we had cake.
Hilarious cake.
I’m no Holly Panter.
And apparently Holly doesn’t work at our local King Soopers either.
(I added the little extras…the balls for Gabe, the cars for Zeke, the “guys” for Quincy, and the princess pendant for Kora)
But the birthday kids didn’t seem to mind….
We’ll have a chance to celebrate them each more as their actual birthdays come around.
But for today, we were all together…and it was fun.
Had a girls night out last night.
We saw a movie (not all that impressed with Eat, Pray, Love….although I did appreciate all the cute clothes Julia wore…the other girls thought they were kind of ugly…I loved them.)
And then we just ate. And talked. And sat. And laughed.
Another friend of mine wrote the below last week after her own night out with girlfriends. It fit for our night as well. She captured it beautifully. (So I can will just copy it here and you get the point without me having to think too much. 
)
“and i was struck by what happens when we try to just lay it down. and put it out there with each other. and invite each other in. as much as we can in those moments. to just be women. and be together …….without competing and with lots of honesty. the thing that’s supposed to happen with sisters coming together happens………..you leave feeling inspired. and like you have pretty hair. and like you did something right this week. and like you have something to offer.
all the things us women need to feel from each other over and over again. all the things that only women can give to one another. when we lay down the expectations, the comparisons, the competition and just really try to see one another.”
(r. hicks)
So in the end, It was FUN. And awesome. And the best night ever. (OK, so that was totally exaggerated but the girls wanted to make sure it was represented fully on the blog… Was that good??).
*So remember we had these Starbucks cards that we got with credit card rewards…that’s how we set our coffee budgets. Andy and I each had one. They were intended to last until Sept. 1. When it was gone, no more coffee.
Well, it’s August 31—here’s the update:
My card: $2.36 left.
Andy’s card: gone on August 3.
Now before you all pat me on the back for my restraint and responsibility….Andy did use his twice to buy drinks for a bunch of other people. And then it was gone. So in reality I am selfish and predictable. Andy is not.
*I took Andy’s parents up to the mountains today to spend the night with my parents. I’m a full believer now in the healing powers of the mountains…or the healing powers of the Creator felt intensely there. I’m confident they will enjoy the peace and quiet and beauty.
*And a very important news flash: I got my hair cut. It looks the same. Like always.
I did text Andy to tell him I went with a “black pixie.” Of which he was thrilled. Or not. And didn’t believe me for a second.
Because refer to randomness number 1—I’m predictable.
*Kids are doing so awesome. We are enjoying them much.
They are settling into their classrooms and eating salads for lunch.
The bunk beds did collapse on top of them last night. Pretty sure there was some fowl play involved there. (Everyone is fine.)
*Andy and I…so good. So good. Holy cow. Gratefulness.
*Current Colorado weather: perfection.
*How do I clean my computer screen??
Love, love, love his still chubby little hands…
Andy’s parents are here for the week.
So fun to have them.
We let them wake up bright and early to the peaceful sounds of piano banging playing and then straight to a beautiful breakfast spread of Fruit Loops and burnt toast.
We entertained them with a walk to the bus stop this morning:
And then home to a death-defying bike show:
Later, for drop-offs, we will give them a fascinating tour of local elementary and preschools….
It’s not the appropriate term.
It’s not even close.
But for some reason today, I laid down for a second with Quincy and thought about the week-end…
I wanted to say, “Holy cow. Holy cow, He has been so good to us.”
But it’s obviously falls so short of suitable words to accurately describe my heart.
Daily right now, we have this amazement. Amazed…at His goodness and His provision and His love.
It’s a reality that I had yet to really embrace in my adult life.
And I am weak in awe as the Truth of it becomes alive to me for the first time.
He’s been so good. So good to us.
So today, Psalm 126 and Psalm 145 became the prayers from this thankful heart.
Because “holy cow” is just not sufficient….
Had the unusual opportunity to take all 6 kids to Elitch Gardens today. We got to go because we have friends with connections. And we all got in free, complete with VIP treatment.
Luckily for me–and my kids–we had a really great group of friends with us. They all filled the adult to child ratio gaps and rode the spin-ey rides with my kids.
Would not of survived without them. Mommy alone at an amusement /water park with 6 kids generally would equal disaster.
But in the end, I got them all home safe. And we are all exhausted. And we all had fun.
These pictures were at was the beginning of the day.
At the end of the day, we were almost literally running to the car so the melt-downs could at least be contained in a small environment.
Even still…not cooperating for group picture:
I decided to try the “1-2-3 Jump” picture.
Not quite:
Another try.
Hmmm….looks like they were all right on target this time and Mom was too slow with the camera:
A really good week here.
Headed into a crazy busy week-end.
Family coming to town tomorrow.
“Friend Friday” is in full force.
Which just so happened to follow cleaning day today.
Might need to adjust the schedule on that one….
