girly girls

a couple weeks before we moved, our good friends james and jami came to hang out with us.  they are among our kids' favorite people.  you'll see why in a sec.

even jonah, who is sometimes randomly particular about who he likes and who he doesn't, took right to uncle james like a fish to water.  he kept wanting uncle james to hold him and thankfully, james was a good sport with this selectively high maintenance baby of ours.  (mikey was also standing in this picture, but unfortunately didn't make it in since i was already pressed against the wall to fit these three in.  he didn't make the cut.  ha ha.)

so while the boys went out to pick up dinner, my girly girls put auntie jami right to work.

first they asked her to braid their hair.  auntie jami can do such cute things with their hair.  they know this.  they also know their mommy cannot do such cute things with their hair.  which is why a visit from auntie jami is a special treat, indeed.

then they asked her to paint their nails.  not just one color, but five.  one for each fingernail.

auntie jami is also a good sport and not only used all five different colors, but put two coats on each nail.  she says she enjoys doing stuff like this.  who knew?  and see that little sister there in the corner?  she cracks me up.

because while she was patiently waiting for her turn, she narrowed down her nail color choices to just ten.

waiting patiently for one's turn seems to come with the territory of being a little sister.  and i must say she does it well and it is something her daddy and i really appreciate about her.

finally the big sister was done.  and was rather pleased with the results, i'd say. ;)

then came the little sister's turn.

and the little sister was happy.  because auntie jami actually did use all ten colors on her nails.  two coats on each nail.

auntie jami and uncle james?  they're good apples.  especially with our under 4-foot crowd.  can't wait to see you guys again soon!! (because um, the girls are wanting their nails painted again! heh heh...)

mother's day, father's day

hello, hello!  i'm still alive!  we moved in to our new home (YIPPEEEE!!!) a little over a week ago and it's been hectic and crazy and chaotic and wonderful all at the same time.  more on that later.  but first, i gotta catch up and stodgily go in order.  starting with... mother's day!  it wasn't that long ago, was it?

phil surprised us with dinner at the melting pot for mother's day.  it's one of the kids' (and my) favorite places to eat. 

spearing delicious morsels and then dipping them into lovely cheese sauces like this "loaded baked potato"... what's not to love?

me and my girls.

me and my boys.

and then there was this action here.  this was moments before jonah decided to turn around and drop daddy's iphone into the tiny space between the booth and the wall.  did i mention that the booth was nailed into the wall?  or that i had to spend most of the evening (in between the server's visits to our table) crouched down in the booth using a spear to try and coax the phone within grabbing distance?  or that there were plywood bars between my hand and the iphone and it was only through sheer determination and a scraped-up hand that i was finally able to retrieve that now dust-covered iphone?

hmm, i seem to sustain some type of injury each time i visit this restaurant.  maybe i need to pick a new favorite restaurant.  one that's less dangerous to my physical self.

ah, but the cheese sauce... pretty much makes up for the injuries i've suffered trying to get to it.

and the chocolate sauce at the end ain't half bad either.

so while celebrating mother's day feels like it just happened, apparently a whole month has actually flown by.  so here's one from this past sunday.  cuz it was father's day and all.

and a hard workin' daddy like theirs sure deserves a nice dinner out and lots of hugs from his little monkeys, too.  it's hard work being their hero, but he does it with a smile and that's why they love him.

and that's why i do too.  :)