Just Crazy Old Life...

It's official: we sold our home!

We had the closing last week -- money in the bank, y'all.

We are currently packing up for our two upcoming moves.

One across town in two weeks.
And one across country to Cleveland in seven weeks.

Have you ever had to pack up a house with two kids still living in it?!

But enough about packing and never-ending messes.

Here are a few snippets of daily life when we don't have a tape gun and Sharpie marker in our hand...

We have been outside every chance we get!
Mina is not exactly tall enough for the tricycle, but she sure looks cute pretending to be a big girl!

This cutie goes by the name Adventure Girl Aubrey!
Outdoors is definitely her happy place.

While the picture below was taken at midday, this is the same exact face that pops up at 6:58 a.m. each morning (or earlier...) on my side of the bed. Cutest alarm clock ever!
(By the way, she's a drool machine. She has four new teeth to thank for that!)

When Daniel's home, I know where the girls are going to be...

Oh how they love their Daddy!

Aubrey wanted to have a picnic dinner in the backyard one evening, so we did!

Mina was invited to a birthday party at Gymboree and had an absolute blast!

I'm already looking up Gymboree classes in Cleveland.

Daniel flew to Cleveland (20-hour-roundtrip) and miraculously found a rental home for us.

And this is what happens when your husband leans over your shoulder while you're scrolling through recent posts on Pinterest...."WHAT ARE THOSE?! LET'S MAKE 'EM!!" (In case you're wondering, it's a chocolate chip cookie dough brownie bomb, and good heavens above it's delicious.)

And now, to conclude this totally random post, here are two videos that completely encapsulate Aubrey and Mina:

I started videoing midway through Aubrey's latest performance.

Aubrey is full of imagination and dramatic play these days.

Oh how I love this girl...

Mina "SHHH"ing me in the middle of my singing.

She is seriously the happiest girl on the planet. 

I sure do love my crazy life, my crazy husband, and my crazy girls!

Friday Funsies

I know God loves using unsuspecting characters in our lives to carry out His ultimate plan.

I just never thought He would use Gymbo the clown.

{photo courtesy of Jennifer}

It has been a little over one year since Aubrey and I went to our first Gymboree class. Because of that one day...Aubrey and I now have some of the most amazing friends here in Oklahoma.

I will never forget the day at Gymboree when Jennifer asked, "Would anyone be interested in starting up a playgroup that meets once every week or two?"

Those who were interested jotted down our email address on the back of a scratch piece of paper. None of us knew a single person in the group. Total strangers that I'm convinced God orchestrated together.

And since it was Gymboree that brought all the mamas & babies together, Jennifer had the brilliant idea of having a Gymboree Playgroup Anniversary Party to celebrate!

So tonight we rented out Gymboree for just our playgroup. The little ones participated in their private Gymbo class, and we topped it all off with some yummy cupcakes, treats, and juice.

So to those of you who asked me, "What can I pray for specifically when you move to Oklahoma?" and I said, "FRIENDS!" -- Your prayers were heard and answered. These ladies are a godsend...

*******

Have a very BLESSED Friday!

Mummies & Babies

Today Aubrey and I hosted a Halloween Party Playgroup.

We did some light kid-friendly decorating:
Whipped out some paint, pumpkins, hay bales, and mums to make a little photo-op area in the backyard:
Decorated some personalized pumpkins for all the guests to take home:Oh, and of course there was FOOD! {this pic was taken after some nibbling.}Once a couple of guests arrived, the little ones started to wait at the door to greet the others on their way. So hospitable!

Then they did what kids do best: run around and look PRECIOUS:

Our closest attempt at getting a kid-only picture. It was seriously like herding cats.

{Top (left to right): Maddox, Jake & Jack (twins) / Bottom (left to right): John, Aubrey, Lauren, & Grayson}

All the "Mummies" {minus me taking the picture} and their little "Pumpkins":
Aubrey and I both had a BLAST!
I couldn't have pulled it off without my little helper: The Hostess with the Mostess!

Friday Funsies

So not only does my incredibly sweet husband write the most wonderful blog posts, but he also surprises us {Little Miss Priss and me} with a free Gymboree class last week.

Well, we both had a blast and decided to enroll in a class. We can't really afford it, but at the same time, we can't really afford NOT to do it either. We might just have to eat red beans and rice (or as Dave Ramsey puts it: beans and rice, rice and beans...) a couple nights a week.

Today we went to the open gym where you just come and play. Aubrey had the best time figuring everything out and exploring every nook and cranny.

I honestly think she was either squealing or laughing the entire time (as you can see by the pictures below...). She was cracking everyone up! At times she would get to laughing so hard that I thought she was going to explode. It's that priceless giggle that starts from her toes and bubbles all the way up. I'm convinced it's the best sound in the world. Nothing beats it.

I mean if this face doesn't say "I'm having fun!" then I don't know what does!

She is about to explode!Mom, can we live here please?

Hope your weekend gets off to a great start like ours!