spa day/play day

while elissa, logan and the boys were here, us girls got together, left the kids with logan and my dad and had a spa day!

cole was excited to play with his cousins again...

... sharing the "house box" with special cousins is more fun!!

cole seems to understand that he can't play as roughly with bentley.

good- maybe he'll be super gentle with his little brother in a few months too :)

bentley got the giggles playing with grandpa

uncle logan made pancakes for the guys for lunch- yum!!

i think they were a hit- who doesn't love pancakes?

mom, elissa, sarah and i walked over to the apartment for our spa time while the boys were having their pancakes. we took madi with us- she might be small, but she can still enjoy "girl time"!

our little get-away...

... and spa stuff.

everything was natural- in fact, there was nothing in any of the masks, scrubs or toners that couldn't be safely ingested.

what's a spa without a little ambiance?

madison helped auntie sarah get some mood music going.

(we went with enya, in case anyone's wondering)

we had a delicious lunch of swiss cheese quiche, fruit/yogurt salad and sparkling cider.

it was SO yummy- great job on the quiche, elissa!

opening our pores with a lemon-mint steam

followed by a sweet treat.

(mom's exclamation of "ooooh, fudge!" will forever get a laugh out of all four of us. you'd had to have been there...)

masks!

yup, definitely edible :)

miss madi didn't get in on the beauty routine, but she occupied herself so nicely, stopping every now and again to give us an odd look (after all, the concept of purposely smearing food ingredients all over your face is familiar to toddlers, but adults doing it is a whole different story...)

madi and grandma playing with the mirror

sticky cheeks!!

auntie sarah indulged madi in her sudden interest in headbands... the little princess was pretty proud of herself, wearing her auntie's headband like a royal tiara.

we had some awesome bonding time, got to relax AND feel pretty all at the same time- there's nothing like a good, thorough facial routine to make a girl feel rejuvenated.

it was a special day for sure!

girls' day in

it's just madi and i for most of the day today... kelvin took cole to levi's to do some work on the fourwheeler.

(not repairs, thank goodness... just wiring some stuff up.)

some of the things i was hoping to get done were to sort through the toy cabinet (to pack away the things they're "too old" for, rotate what's readily available, etc), start moving the stuff out of the spare room so we can start getting it ready for cole (yes, he's going to have his own room!) and do some general reorganizing and whatnot. i'm afraid i'm more ambitious in my mind than i am in real life... after 2 hours of sleep last night and NO energy left after taking madison outside, some of that's going to have to wait.

we got madi's boots and snowpants at the beginning of december, and i'm ashamed to say that she's not been in them until today!

not that she really minded, since she'd never played out in the snow before.
obviously, since she was fascinated by all the fluffy white stuff on the ground!

"brr, mama... tee-lleeee!!"
(that's her version of "chilly")

i had a wonderful little helper... yes, i used the shovel. it was only a skiff of snow, so it was light enough to not send me into a day's worth of intense braxton-hicks. our little princess pranced along side me, "helping" push snow. and she even stayed on the sidewalk and out of the road! i only had to tell her once to stay next to me.

now it's off to nap (madi for sure, maybe i'll sneak one in too...) while it's still nice and peaceful. i miss my boys, but it's really nice to have a little break too. every girl needs some alone time with her mommy; i'm looking forward to a few years from now when we can go to the mall or something on our girls' days!

happy birthday, madison!

to our dear sweet madison:

in two years, you've changed our lives like no one else ever could.

from the moment you arrived, you've been a unique and spirited little person- you were literally born with your eyes wide open and ever since, you've been curious about the world around you!
your exhuberance gives us the giggles...
and sometimes makes us roll our eyes (but still smile!).

today you turn two, and you begin another wonder-filled year.

thank you for being ours, for filling our lives and hearts with such endless joy.

we love you so very much, sweet princess!

love,

daddy, mommy, cole and baby brother.

*

we did have a small family party for madi today- it was so wonderful to spend time with everyone! she had a blast (as did the rest of us)... and i took entirely too many photos.

over 400.

ridiculous.

(but i should say that a: i'm "practicing" on new equipment and b: a certain lovely sister manned the shutter too, so it wasn't ALL me!)

thank you for sharing madison's special day- we love you all!

the day the cousins came

it was a cold friday night, very late, that the cousins came to town (er, the state) on an airplane all the way from montana.

after all that sitting and traveling, they rode in grandma and grandpa's car for another hour so they could get to grandma and grandpa's house.

then, they fell asleep for awhile!

later in the morning, we went to see the cousins...

and everyone was SO excited to be there!!

auntie sarah and cousin coy played on the "laptop" for a little while

(there were lots of 'new' people, so the smaller beings were a little ovewhelmed)

the cousins bonded over trains, cars, legos and a cowboy backpack (?!)

then more cousins, aunts, uncles and relatives came for lunch.

there was a rousing game of bridge.

no, not cards... in this version, grandpa's the bridge!

there was a minor collision...

... but nobody got hurt and there were plenty of giggles.

then it was time for a nap

(daddy's missed this- can you tell he's soaking up the quiet time with his princess?)

eventually a game of round-robin was organized for the adults

mr bentley had a cold, so he wasn't feeling too perky, but the cute factor wasn't affected at all!

after a few assorted naps (kind of...), the cousins colored nicely together.

all was quiet for just a little bit.

it was back to the laptop for cousin coy... he and bob the builder spent some time learning numbers and colors.

after a long, exciting, nap-less day of running around and having so much fun with his cousins, someone's bound to get a little cranky

hiding from the camera

but still curious enough to peek...

yup, auntie elissa's still taking photos!

grandpa cuddled with bentley...

and then we went home to rest up before another day with cousins!

sunday we stayed for lunch, and in the afternoon, auntie sarah made some awesome caramel popcorn!

cole could hardly contain himself- helping in the kitchen is exciting enough for him, but when the popcorn started popping, it seemed he might explode as well.

oh, it was sooooo good!!

cole will attest to that... it was definitely worth the wait.

some of the grown-ups played farkle...

.... and madison helped grandma keep score.

yes, we were playing with all six dice... one escaped the camera.

bentley still wasn't feeling too hot, but managed a few smiles.

(just not for the camera)

cousin hugs!!

don't ask... hahahaha!

*

yes, the first few days of having everyone together again was definitely awesome... all four of us kids, our spouses, our own little ones, all under mom and dad's roof again- that's pretty special.

each time we go back home, cole exclaims, "i want my cousins!!!". i think he loves them :)

starting it off right...

the nicest thing about the new year is the new beginning...

who doesn't like those?

we started ours off with a small potluck at mom and dad's, where the kids made a new friend and we got to catch up with old ones.

(not old as in age, old as in familiar and well-loved!)

madison and c are about three months apart, so they're the perfect age to be playmates!



cole played so well with her too- he even helped her up and down the steps.

what a gentleman!

grandpa and madi grabbing a bite and having a chat... she's a real grandpa's girl!!



cole and ted on candle-inspection duty.

(or something...?)

 miss madison takes her rocking VERY seriously.

:)

cole's been having a ball with the lincoln logs he got from auntie kandace and uncle duey... it keeps him quiet for a little while.

cole helped me play around with the new camera today- such a big help!

madi practiced her colors with daddy (he got off work early, so we got a little extra time with him today!)

the kids had SO much fun in the box- madison was thrilled this afternoon when cole went with daddy to run an errand and she got to play in it all by herself!

tickle fight!!

(photo credit to kelvin)

 this is out of order, but cole helped me stir the walnuts into the mocha-walnut fudge i whipped up for the potluck at mom and dad's. he LOVES to help in the kitchen when we're at the farm- always helping grandma bake/cook, wash dishes, etc.; as soon as we get through the door, he's already pushing a chair up to the counter. i hope that by the time we are in a house with a nice big kitchen, he hasn't lost that eagerness and interest in working in the kitchen.

anyway, i blame blogger for the out-of-place photo... i'm NOT keen on the new way of publishing. i suppose most fellow bloggers have already figured it all out (or at least made peace with it), but i've been using the old form. i thought i'd give the "new" one a try and nope- still despise it!

aaaaanyway, we're seven days into the new year and so far, it's been great! i didn't make any resolutions this year, other than a very solemn vow to never again let a pull-up sneak into the wash and then into the dryer as well. i don't have time for that kind of mess again. i figure that's a good resolution- it's one i don't have the slightest plan of forgetting and there's not a lot that can sabotage my determination to follow it.

now that's my kind of resolution... ;)