Weekend Wrap-Up: The 65th Anniversary Edition!

Happy Sunday!

I'm going to do my wrap-up backwards, starting with today, because almost all of the Gosselin clan (except for my husband, one great-grandchild and a few cousin-in-laws) got together to celebrate Nana and Papa's 65th wedding anniversary!  It was quite the celebration...including 12 little great-grandkids!  There was a great photo slideshow going, so I got a quick picture of one of Nana and Papa's wedding photos, and had to put it side-by-side with their picture from today.

And then we took pictures of all of the different groups, starting with the littlest ones- their GREAT- GRAND CHILDREN (12 out of 13, with Eliana being represented on Carlos' phone in the back!).

And then their GRAND CHILDREN (with Chris being represented by a seal in the back left corner).

And last, but not least, their four CHILDREN.

A fun time was had by all, including our girls, who hung on Uncle Dan and played outside with all the other kids!

Congrats Nana and Papa!

As for the rest of the weekend...on Saturday while I took Callie to dance, Maya went with Boom, Auntie Mari and Auntie Yoda to visit Elliott.  She "hunted" Elliott, as the kitty kept hiding from her, mostly.

It sounds like she was pretty bossy.


IMG_4315 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Our exciting entertainment for the afternoon was an ANNIE PARTY!  Callie's dance recital dance is "Hard Knock Life" from the musical "Annie," so we decided it would be fun to have a Gosselin/Henderson girls watch party at the condo.  And it WAS fun (though "Annie" really is a strange movie...).  Callie even requested that her hair be curled for the occasion.

Hmm...not much else to report for the rest of the weekend.  I got some Maya cuddles last night before bedtime.

And Chris got home this afternoon (hooray!) so I was able to do a little cross training...like hill sprints.  I pushed myself going up the hill, but got to look at this view each time I walked down the hill.

I actually have one more day of spring break, and then it is back to work on Tuesday.  It has been a fast 10 days, but I know that summer will be here before we know it.

A Picture Update: The Spring Break Edition!

Hi there!  How is it already Friday?!?!?  This has been a pretty fast week of break.

We didn't do anything super exciting (well, I should say the girls and I didn't do anything super exciting...Chris did some skiing in Colorado!), but it was lovely to be home and relax and spend more quality time with two crazy girls who equally drive me crazy and make my heart melt.

I mean, seriously, the drove me a little crazy.  Especially around 5:00.  Daily. Callie had school this week, but came home just HYPED UP every afternoon.  And then she and Maya would inevitably get into it and then there was yelling and hitting and crying and then laughing and running and jumping and rolling and flopping and tackling and everything in between.  Here's some photographic evidence:

Yes, Maya is usually the instigator.  She's a brave and tough little cookie.

Anyway, lots more to get to.

On Monday, Maya and my mom and I went to visit Chris at his new office.  It was pretty sweet, and Maya enjoyed some of their perks...like getting to ride a scooter.

On Tuesday, Maya and I went to get her a haircut (finally!).  Bye bye shaggy head, hello cute little bob!

Then we went to the indoor play place and Maya was a HAM!  She had a blast.

After nap time, Maya was CRACKING ME UP while "reading" to herself.  I got a series of videos, but this one is by far my favorite.  The way she tries to describe how to look like Sylvester McMonkey McBean is just priceless.

IMG_4177 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Daddy got in the fray that evening, and had fun wrestling and playing with the girls before leaving the next day for his fun vacation.  Callie showed that her energy level is unbeatable.

IMG_4185 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

G-ma took Maya to Bible Class on Wednesday morning, as usual.  During my "me" time, I ran 5 miles and then organized my side of the closet.  Then G-ma and Maya met me and Boom for lunch.

All week Callie worked on her first research project about the Canada Lynx.

She spent some time practicing for her presentation on Thursday, and I was probably too overbearing while she was practicing.

IMG_4121 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

And then Maya wanted a turn too.

IMG_4189 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Thursday arrived, and I dropped Callie off at school with her hot pink posterboard.  Her teacher sent me some pictures of her giving her presentation to the class, and said she did a great job!  When I picked Cal up at the end of the day and asked her how it went, she said "I wish I could have done it TWICE!"  She had so much fun with the whole process.  It was fun to see.

Meanwhile, Maya, Pa and I went to morning story time at the library.  Maya was a total weirdo and did not pay attention to anything at story time and was a weird cling-on to me the whole time.  Sometimes she is so much like her big sister, it is creepy.

She also had her first successful pee in the potty!  I'm totally avoiding potty training at this point, but if she asks to sit on the potty, we oblige.  She usually stays on there for about 2 seconds and wants to get off, but yesterday I gave her the ipad to keep her on there longer, and it worked!

My plan is to hold off on actual potty training until the beginning of summer, but it never hurts to plant the seed...

Last night we met Boom, Auntie Mari and Auntie Cat for an impromptu dinner.

Maya hung out with Boom all day today.

I spent my other "me" time running again...8 miles.  I ran in my old neighborhood (including running past the house I grew up in), and the weather was crazy.  There was some serious snow at times, and some sunshine at times.  But I made it, and was relieved to find that 8 miles felt pretty easy.

Then I napped. And then I went to the cemetery.

I picked up both girls and swung by Caribou because...so tired. I proceeded to vie for some parenting awards, clearly.

After dinner the sun was out, so despite the 30 degree weather we went on a wagon ride.

Let's see...I guess one of the things I'm thankful for about this week is the one-on-one time I got to spend with Maya.  I don't get that a lot during a normal crazy workweek.  I loved it.

And Callie's spring school picture turned out adorable.

I'll leave you with some pretty mountains that Chris is enjoying in CO.

Timehop Tuesday

Happy Tuesday!

First up: sweet Callie on Easter.

Then: sweet Maya's face.

Then: sweet Callie's face.

Next: sweet Maya eating.

Last: A different set of sisters.

Weekend Update

Happy Sunday...it has been a BUSY weekend.  At least it was a busy Saturday.

The main event of this weekend was Mari's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party.  Laura and I planned and executed a pretty kick-butt event, if I do say so myself.  We decided on a jungle theme because Mari has slept with a stuffed tiger for as long as I can remember, and has always loved tigers.

So, the theme came to us pretty easily: THE MARI SAFARI.

We held an afternoon shower with all of Mari's friends in the party room of her apartment building.

Laura got all the awesome jungle-themed decorations.
Mari's friend, Elyssa, made the adoraable banner.
Mari's stuffed animal, Tiger, was a guest of honor.

She was in the dark about the theme or anything going on until about 20 minutes until the party started.  She was a good sport and let us dress her up in a tiger onesie for the shower part of the event.  It was epic.

Callie and Maya's jungle animals helped set the mood, as well as a cardboard cutout of a tiger.

Laura, Mom, and I all wore tiger-themed clothes.  Mom was classic and tasteful, with a blue scarf with tiger prints on it.  Laura and I were obnoxious and gaudy, with giant tiger shirts.

We asked the guests to consider wearing animal prints or jungle colors, and everyone did an amazing job!  It was so fun to see all the different outfits. We ate some food, played a game, and Mari opened her presents.

And Jill made an AMAZING tiger cake that we demolished.

I mean, seriously, check out the inside of that cake!  BEAUTIFUL! And delicious.

All in all, the shower was a success!  We even got a group selfie with a selfie stick.

Once evening fell, the party shifted from briday shower to BACHELORETTE PARTY.  We let Mari change out of her tiger onesie and into a blue tiger shirt.  At 7:00 we were picked up by a big party bus, appropriately named the "Cocktail Safari."

We spent the evening being driven around to two different pre-determined locations downtown.  Each place had a section reserved for us, and we were treated to different cocktails and appetizers at each one.  It. Was. Awesome.

The second place we were at had a DJ so we did some dancing, which was so fun.  

I left the young 20-somethings out on the town and rode back on the party bus with one other party goer.  I think it is safe to say (based on numerous Facebook posts today) that everyone had a blast. And Laura and I had a great time planning it for Mari.  We really wanted it to be special, and I think it really was. :)

While I was at the MARI SAFARI last night, my little girls had a sleepover with G-ma, Pa and Auntie Cat!  Thank you for allowing me to sleep in a little this morning (and Chris too, since he had reserve duty until 2am!).

Callie wrote a letter to a local author, who also happens to write some of her favorite books!

I didn't sleep in that late, though, as I was out the door by 7:30am for a 7 mile run.  It was beautiful and cool and sunny.  I felt really strong, and had a good pace going.  Even though I stopped a number of times to take pictures of sunrays.

My 15K race is coming up in less than 2 weeks!

Today was beautiful all around, so we spent a lot of time outside with the girls.

My favorite part of the day was watching Chris teach the girls some golf swings.  Of course, I got some video of each one.

IMG_4108 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

(Maya stopped just before the curb, in case you were wondering. haha.)

IMG_4107 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

I'm on spring break, so this week will be pretty chill.  Callie will be at school, but Maya and I have things here and there. And I have arranged for some quality "Me" time as well.

A Picture Update

Happy Friday!

I am FINALLY on spring break. Until April 12th! 

Maya had more adventures with Boom this week:

She also rubbed grape Chapstick all over her face and thought it was hilarious:

She also wanted to carry Callie's backpack:

The girls enjoyed running and playing outside on Monday, before it got cold and rainy.

Mari and my mom both sent me sunray pictures:

These girls are just adorable:

We were notified by Callie's teacher that she was getting an "Independent Award" at their assembly today.  She was chosen by her teachers because she has shown independence in the classroom and around the school.  G-ma and I were both able to go and see her get it!


IMG_3983 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

I should tell you that she hates the assemblies and is TERRIFIED of the bear.  I was proud of her for walking right up there, past the bear, to stand up with all the other kids who got the award.

Tonight we had dinner with G-ma, Pa and Auntie Cat. Callie learned how to wash dishes like a pro!

Have a great weekend!