Matching Girls

 We all matched - that deserved pictures, yeah?

Park!

Yeah, so we discovered as summer was ending that there is an elementary school around the corner! The kids rode their bikes and we had a blast!

 I can't imagine my life without these adorable kidlets! They bring so much joy!

 And life without this amazing man would hardly be considered a life... I love you, Eric!

Caught Red Handed!

Audrey scared us so bad when she came upstairs looking like this!

At first, we thought it was blood... You can go ahead and say it, I already know you're thinking it...

She looks like she murdered somebody!!!

 I followed a trail of hand prints on the wall down the stairs (one or two prints per stair)

The trail led me to smears on the carpet ... and the barstools ... and the couch ... 

I eventually found this was all for a rousing game of color the banana with food coloring... 

She had climbed on the counter, gotten into the cabinet, and created art.

 I haven't gotten the coloring out of the grout on the counter yet, but it all came out of the upholstery and carpet using a hand held carpet cleaner and a combination of shout/carpet cleaning solution. And off the walls as well, thank goodness!

Does art ever become less messy?!?

More Family to Visit!

My cousin, Drew, and his family had an outing that took them within 45 minutes of us, so they decided to come for dinner and spend the night!

 Yeah, Anders is 11.5 weeks older than Adelynn. He has the chunk to prove it, but not the length!

Aaron and Alden had a great time with the trains!

 We spent the night, after the kids went to bed, playing Star Wars, Epic Duels. Eric and Drew won, but Kirsten and I were super close behind (within 2 hit points)!

 

 This morning, the kids played trains again, but this time they used the motorized train without the tracks! They loved jumping over it and creating "bridges" for it to go under.

 

 

 Aaron and Audrey were sad to see them leave, but found comfort in knowing at least they have each other.

 See you again, soon!

The Best Big Sister

Audrey LOVES to take care of Adelynn.

She makes sure Adelynn feels included in everything we do!

 Here are the creations that came about from our play :)

A Bit of Catching Up...

This morning, Eric got up to take care of Adelynn so I could sleep.

Instead of just going back to bed afterward, he chose to get up, do the dishes AND make me breakfast in bed!

He knew I had lots to get done today and wanted to help out!

So, thanks to him, I'm able to catch up a bit on the blog!

So, here's a bit of the odds and ends of what we've been up to lately!

First of all, my work with the Divas is going FANTASTIC! I absolutely love all of my editing!

But, I just got a new position with them - I'm now the Reclaim Your Marriage Program Manager!

And let me tell you ... this program is FABULOUS!

 Eric and I are going through it and while our marriage is already rock solid, we can feel it strengthening even more! I love working with the couples in our Beta Group and learning how to grow the program!
Got any questions about it?!? Send them my way! This program is changing lives!

I'm so lucky for the opportunity to work with these amazing women and help spouses better their marriages!

 Ok, now on to the kiddos:

 

We miss Daddy when he's at work, drastically.

So much so, that Aaron continually moves the "what day is it" star to Saturday "so that Daddy can stay home today."

We also try to recreate the closeness we feel when Daddy is home by trying on his shoes while he's gone.

 When Daddy leaves, it's a family affair as we wave good-bye. Then, sometimes pictures of the family are drawn for him to see when he drives back home. (I love how we are all "holding hands.")

3 sleepy kittens...

 My MIL, Ane, took me shopping and out to lunch for my birthday last week. So much fun!

Sometimes, I feel like I'm not parenting so much as I'm disaster management...

Trying to keep these kids from killing themselves is hard work!

Here's what happens when they get to my craftroom/office - they create a minefield of pins and beads...

And sometimes when they put their own dishes in the sink, they launch them because they are short, rather than gently push them over the side... whoops. Lesson learned. Glass things don't go in the sink.

 

 Adelynn is so cute - she loves to be Mama's helper... sitting on my desk while I work.

 

When this poor girl gets the hiccups, it's an entire body spasm.

 Aaron and Audrey have been getting along better and better... I'm amazed, really!

Usually, when Audrey wants to play with something Aaron has and runs off with it, Aaron freaks out. This time, when Audrey ran off with a piece of chalk, Aaron started to get upset, but then he stopped and reevaluated. He said, "Audrey, would you like to color with me?"

I am often amazed at his maturity. She happily came over and together they colored.

Make-Up WAY Too Early!

I had my first experience with a child getting into my make-up this week... Not surprisingly, it was Audrey! When she watches me get ready, I have to pretend to put deodorant on her, spray her hair, and pretend to apply make-up. So this morning, Eric walked in to find this... Oops.

I couldn't quite get all of the eyeliner off her eyes - with it she looks so much older! It's crazy!

No more make-up for you! Stay young a little while longer, please!

 

Hornibrook Talent-Show Shindig

Every year, the Hornibrook Clan does a talent-show of sorts for the grandkids to perform in.

This year, we expanded it to include the adults too!

Rachel was in town so we all got together (here she is holding Adelynn when she came over to our place to play games).

Our little family headed over early to get in more play time!

As always, that means swings and tractors!

  

Never too old to play on the trampoline ... am I right?!?

 

 All of us "kids" played a fun new game Jon got called Flick 'em Up and it was a blast!

 

 Then the talent show began. Many of the grand-kids put on skits or other fun things.

(My kids were content to dance to the music in between other performances -- we tried to have them actually perform and neither child was feeling it...)

 The adults also participated. We did a lip sync battle! Boys vs Girls. We each did the ending song from the movie Pitch Perfect (gender specific). Oh my goodness, it was so much fun!

However, the video documentation of it will not be put on the blog :)

So, Aaron, Audrey & Adelynn, when you come across this post in the future, just ask and I'll play the clips on my computer for you. (p.s. Eric did AMAZING!!!)

Now, I know you're sad ... but, how about this?

Eric played his Irish Drum as a precursor to the talent show after Adelynn's blessing yesterday.

(It was totally improv, not planned, and it's been quite a long time since he's played ... but he's still amazing!)

I'll give you a clip of that.

Yeah, he's fantastic, I know. Look at how fast his fingers fly!

Man, I am so grateful to have these ladies (my sisters) to call my best friends!
And I'm so glad Eric has his brothers close by!

Eric and I both felt like this was one of the funnest family gatherings we've attended!