Here and There

Just a little synopsis of what happened while Marc was in California with Brother, 

and I was here at home with the girls.

HERE: I wish I had a picture of me and the girls relaxing... but there wasn't a relaxing moment.

THERE: Relaxing in the hammock after a long drive

HERE: Spending time with friends and cousins. 

Baby love's Uncle Joel's dog, Gunner... there's a special bond there.

MrT had to get on the goggle act with Sister this time around. One of my favorite pictures from the sleepover.

THERE: Spending time with cousins and waterfalls.

THERE: Viewing the grander of the Yosemite National Park Mountains

 HERE: Making mountains out of mole hills...

HERE: Fishing in the water

THERE: Swimming in the water.

HERE: Playing in the park with cousins

THERE: Playing in the pool with cousins.

And this picture is neither HERE nor THERE, but I thought it was funny 

to see Baby putting 2 suckers in her mouth---one for each cheek, I guess!

HERE: Moving Aaron and Chelsea into their new house

Sister was one of the best helpers and made sure to remind me , with a huge smile on her face, that she is, "so sweaty cuz I I'm workin' so hard!"

THERE: Working on the front yard of the California home.

HERE: Wearing some else's (Sister's) dress

(MissB came one night and slept over and she was such a helper. 

We took her straight from moving Aaron and Chelsea to sleep at our house so she got to raid Kelsey's closet.)

THERE: Wearing some one else's hat. 

(This is Grandpa Gary's hat)

So, you see, if you were feeling bad about me not being able to go to California...

But you can see it was all very "comparable."

POP QUIZ: There is Baby in this picture?

 She's underneath that big quilt in the center of the bed. I "lose" her when she does this kind of stuff, she just LOVES tight spaces that she can feel secure and surrounded in.

Sleeping at Grandma's House

Last week, while Marc and Brother were out in California, I stayed one night at my mom's just for fun.

Me and the girls shared a bed...

They are so cute, but, trust me they are a nightmare to share a bed with!

I just had to take this picture of them after they had fallen asleep.

This is the moment in which my life doesn't seem so hard...

Then they wake up...

(smirk)

Dust Bunnies and Best Buddies

This is what happens when you don't change out your vaccuum bag for a VERY long time.



Ha!! Seriously, Rachael, how long has it been since you last changed your vaccuum bag? Wow! My sweet friend who was volunteering to clean my house was vaccuuming when it suddenly stopped. She came to tell me, a little worried. I reassured her, "Oh, it's probably no big deal. I may have forgotten to change the bag and maybe it overheated." She left and I finished my project and tended to the vaccuum.

!!!

I couldn't hardly get the thing open to get the bag out! Wow!

I just had to share that moment with all of you just in case you could relate, find it funny, or just love too look at things that make you shutter.

So now that we are over the dust bunnies, I want to show you some fun pictures of best buddies.

While Marc and Brother were gone on their backpacking trip I stayed at my sister's for a few days just so I would have a little down time and help with the girls. It turned out to be so much fun.


These glasses were a hit with all the girls. I mean, every girl needs her pair of Hollywood Sunglasses, right?

I know, I know. I can't believe my 3-year-old is wearing a Justin Bieber shirt either...
but hey, my mom got it for a quarter at a yard sale and Baby seemed to like the green hearts (smile). Moving on...

Sister was loving all the new and exciting "glasses" Aunt Jessie had around the house. These goggles were her favorite... and just in case you are wondering, no, she is not sheilding her eyes from the wind or sun, she is showing me her Power Ranger stance... smile and wave boys, smile and wave.


Night time routines were pretty fun with 5 kids, but I am glad that Uncle Joel snuck this picture of part of it:


On our last day there I got Jessie to paint my fingernails. I haven't had anyone do that since Kelsey lived with us... that's a long time.



and played UNO



I just noticed the little blue creature next to J-man and it struck me as very funny!

Then there's the buddies in the neighborhood...


These two buddies, though, are off again on a Father/Son trip to see Marc's family and have some fun.


Brother is having so many adventures this summer and this is the first time I've ever seen him jump into the deep end of the pool at Grandma's! He truly is changing. Like I told my neighbor the other day, "It's as if when we moved here he was a caterpillar and now he is a butterfly!"