365 Photos in 365 Days: Week 25

On the road again!  This time to Iowa City (first with a day in Omaha).  It was long, but the girls were a thousand times better than I could have expected.  

Next was my college roommate's bachelorette party.  Dinner and trampoline party... pretty epic!

Anni was the flower girl for this wedding, and she was SO excited!  At the rehearsal dinner, she was giving Nicole (the bride) a hug or telling her a new story every time we turned around.  Nicole was so sweet and patient with her.

Wedding day!  Anni had her hair professionally done (quite exciting!) and looked so grown up and sweet in her outfit.  What a darling my girl is!

 

 So, yes, somehow we all (except for the bride, but including the men that were with us), managed to wear black the day after the wedding.  

Home, home, home.  Oh, never has a word tasted so good, and never has a place been more loved than when we finally got in that door.

Just a "work" photo for today... I was too worn out to do anything but what I had to that day!  

365 Photos in 365 Days: Week 24

First item to note: yep, just realized that I messed up my numbering (by using the same number twice) this week.  Unfortunately for anyone who is bothered by inconsitencies, it's going to have to stay that way... it would usually drive me crazy, but after a month of back-to-back trips, I am worn out, and any perfectionist tendencies are sleeping under piles of laundry and editing.  On to the photos:

Miss Anni is getting the hang of her balance bike, and I LOVE it.  I actually can't ride a bike (bad experience with a motorcycle while riding my bike and thus breaking my arm when I was younger), and while it's my hope to relearn, it's really important to me that my girls have as many fun physical activities as possible... so I love when we find one that she loves.  I'm reminding myself to say "Yes!" whenever possible when Anni wants to go play outside. 

The "SO big!" game has resurfaced around here... and it's never been cuter!

 

Colette and I spent a few days back in Kansas for a wedding... so I got to hang out with my nephew.  He's so fun... here he was changing into random outfits and had a name and background to go with each one.

Then came the wedding, a long day, but a good one.  

Okay, full disclosure: I really, really don't like how I look in this photo.  I look more pregnant than the pregnant sister and my arm looks strangely truncated.  That being said: the laughs, and my favorite women trump all that.  So good to get to spend time with them all in one place!

Finally home (for less than 24 hours).  It was the day after Father's Day, but he's a good Daddy every day: 

Anni's skirt looks ridiculously short, but their little feet: so darn sweet!

365 Photos in 365 Days: Week 23

On our Nebraska trip, we stopped by Toadstool Park... yep, this is in Nebraska.  The first half of the hike was a super-easy walking path and the second half?  Well, it was climbing around sharp edges with sheer drop-offs... definitely not for the faint of heart, and definitely a big surprise (unfortunately for those in our party who have a fear of heights). Colette was on my back in the the boba, and we made it with some extra hands here and there to help with the balance... I would definitely do it again (maybe with sunscreen the next time, though!) 

Our last day of the trip we cleaned up, check out, and ate breakfast at the lodge where we stayed.  It was... greasy.  From there, we made the trek home, where we got the longest break from traveling we had had since leaving for Wichita for my brother's wedding!  Almost a week!

Two of Colette's favorite things: standing on the couch and looking out the window, and nabbing and chewing on members of Anni's "zoo".

Anni got some money for her birthday specifically to pick out some fruit she likes. We got to turn that into a "how to take care of your money, pick out fruit, and check out" outing. I couldn't stop smiling at her serious little face as she asked, "How many fruits is this? Will it use all of my money?"

A lovely afternoon rainstorm brought on an awesome song and dance from our little performer... oh, golly, this girl cracks me up!

Apples!!!  Last year, our trees didn't produce any fruit, so these darlings are a delightful and welcome surprise. 

Our sweet friend and her just as sweet daughter came over for a little play date.  So fun!  Anni got to use up the last of the water in the hose (we have a 100 ft hose, so there's always plenty left to play with when we turn the water off), and our little friend got alllll wet (a favorite thing for her), so it was the best of all worlds.  Isn't childhood a wonderful thing?  I love that I get such a fun view of it!

365 Photos in 365 Days: Week 22

 A little watering in our jammies as we saw Daddy off one morning.  

 

 My Anni loves to love on our Mary statue, but Colette?  Colette is definitely St. Francis' buddy.  There are hugs, kisses, and lots of splashing when I fill up his little shell with water.

This was the day Colette learned, "mmmmmmMMMMmmm" (think in terms of "Vroom!").  The big basket of cars at Nonna and Papa's is always a huge hit with my girls. 

Next was another big wedding day!  It was a crazy day!  Daniel was a groomsman (the groom is one of his best friends), I was photographing, Daniel's dad was receiving the vows (he is a deacon), annnnd Nonna was herding my little lambs.  Thankfully, God heard my desperate prayers that Colette would handle unavailable Mommy and Daddy time alright, and she really did!  Woo!  Anni danced until the night was over, and Colette ended up snoozing on Papa's chest.  It was a beautiful, happy night.

We got one recovery day after our four days in Greeley... just enough time to frantically throw together everything we needed (while missing several things of course) for a four day road trip to the panhandle of Nebraska.

Seeing Anni with "her Charlie" definitely made the drive with a vomiting Colette worth it (not sick, well not with a stomach bug, just mad, snotty, and choking on the snot anytime she had a snack in the car).  Charlie is like a big brother (and is her "Godbrother") to my girl, and she adores him to no end.

 At Mount Rushmore, Anni counted every single step we walked up... and, as you can see, there were lots of them!  We had to steer her clear  of other people several times, but there were lots of grins, especially when she got in the habit of skipping eight every time. 

Still here!

Well, I guess I should say:

Back!

After a week in Kansas for my brother's wedding, a few days at home, four days in Greeley for one of Daniel's best friend's wedding, back home for less than 24 hours to clean and pack, four days in Nebraska's panhandle for a family trip, we are officially back home (for a week), with house guests for the next couple of days.  Whewwww. 

When I plan months like this, I always think it'll be no big deal... and then I've actually got to plow through.  For the most part, it has been a blast with some great memories.  This definitely doesn't include the fact that Colette's runny nose made her easily throw up anything she ate in the car, resulting in three or four vomits during the trip (nope, I didn't learn... no stomach bug, and, seriously, a handful of cheerios or the like is the easiest way to distract a baby who hates to travel... unless she throws them up, of course). 

So, yeah, there have been, and will probably will continue to be, some small panic attacks until the next two trips/weddings (including one that requires 13.5 hours of driving to get there) are over.  But, it will all be lovely memories in a few months, right?  Right?!  No, really, it's good stuff.  I'm glad we're doing it... I think.