party time!

I am exhausted and the house is a DISASTER, but this was the best weekend I've had in a long time! My parents and my sister, Jason and the kids came into town this weekend for Madeline and Claire's birthday party. Madeline absolutely loved every second of her party and poor little Claire was so exhausted from too much partying with her cousins the day before that she slept through almost the entire party and still hasn't eaten her cake :( I thrive on party planning and love having the house full of family and friends, so I was in my glory! The best part of the weekend, though was the time I was able to spend with my parents, my sister and my girls. Life with three little ones (six when you get my sister and I together!) often gets so incredibly hectic that it is easy to go into survival mode and forget to stop and savor the moment. After church on Saturday, Kristin, my parents and I went out to dinner with Madeline while Ryan and Jason had the rest of the girls. It was so special to be able to have that one on one time with Mad and to be able to really enjoy her. (It made me realize that having one kid is a DREAM!). She was so sweet and snuggly and it was precious to be able to really spend the night intent on her. It was also great to be with my family without all of the chaos that normally surrounds us. Sunday was Emma's turn for one on one time, and she came to the beach with my parents and I. She soooo needed this. It was wonderful to be able to give her all of my attention doing something that she loves. The four of us ate bagels on the beach and swam and talked all morning...it was perfect! I spent the rest of the afternoon going out to lunch and shopping with my sister with NO KIDS!!! These moments are few and far between and it's crazy relaxing to just be together doing girly things without the stress and chaos. I am so thankful that Ryan was such a big help with the kids, allowing me to really enjoy my family this weekend...it really couldn't have been better :)

All of this blabbing and I forgot about the birthday party...I'll post some pics when I get them!!