I am a planner, we all know that. I do very few things on a whim. When I say very few, I mean like historically, once or twice a year I might get a wild hair and forget my calendar, and throw my schedule out the window {for a few hours or something}...The only spur of the moment things I ever do are offer to babysit for friends or invite people to come stay with me for long periods of time. Spontaneous is not a word my friends would use to describe me. Maybe my high school and college friends, but I have changed so much since then that I don't even recognize the old me. But, this weekend, I brought that part of me back and it felt good. Em is in Kansas for the summer and her bff Jami threw her a 30th b-day bash that I just couldn't miss. I miss Emily so much since she moved to Orlando and I moved to Arizona and back to Oklahoma. She was going to come here to stay with me for a few days this week, but with the humidity and lack of water play for kids around here I thought we and our collective 9 children might get a little bored stuck in my tiny house with an overworked air conditioner. So we stayed there and made sure to get ourselves and our childrens together as much as we could and, of course, my ultra-spontaneous, laid-back Jenn accommodated us in her usual hospitable manner. At the impromptu birthday party we threw for Makenna there were all 12 of our kids plus Jenn's niece and nephew there all day. Quite a full house! And, once again, it was worth it.
Jami's parents' home was an absolutely beautiful setting for Em's party and Chelsea was in charge of decorating. She is so creative, like a hip Martha Stewart, I swear. Dinner, dancing, lots of laughs and a few pool jumpers made for such a fun night! See more pics
here and
here and
here. Still waiting for Lizz's pics and I will add more b/c I want to remember the all of the sweetness and hilarity of the night.
Sweet little pixie Kenna...She was so surprised that we had her cousin Haley come over and give her and her friends make-overs for her 5th birthday. She had been asking over and over what they were going to do for her birthday and then when her Mommy surprised her with a full-out party she was actually a little shy about it. Very sweet. I love that girl.
The girls were in h-e-a-v-e-n, getting their make-overs. Oh my goodness, we were a little shocked to see our babies all dolled up. It was kind of a preview of what we have to look forward to...trouble.
I hope these beautiful children created memories and friendships that will transcend the miles just like the ones their Mommas have. That will mean many more spontaneous {or well-planned} trips to see one another. We could dig Orlando. I am sure of it...at the right time of year!
All of this bliss and chaos is so worth the exhaustion all of our kiddos are feeling today. So blessed.
