ten smile tuesday...early!

disclaimer....this is FULL of pictures....FULL of fun....FULL of smiles!

the girls i enjoyed four fabulous days at grandmommy and poppy's house...we missed day, but in the meantime we had tons of giggles, visited lots of friends and family, and thoroughly enjoyed the break from the norm. we also gave daddy the chance to accomplish a few long overdue tasks around the house!

1. before heading to the lake, my friend jamie and i had a morning of sewing. she and her little guy came over...bringing along sewing machine, fabric and the ingredients for a yummy sundried tomato and basil pizza for lunch. i taught jamie a few little things with sewing and also managed to finish a few little projects...a stuffed taggie alligator for kate (not pictured) and one crayon tote (still need to do another)--and i will be adjusting the measurements to make it a bit smaller. i also have a pic of the elephant taggie animal i made for kate last week.

i'll be using the big twistable crayons...less need for sharpening and harder to break...

the other side of the elephant is opposite...purple minky with a dotted ear

2. poppy! upon arriving at the lake, the girls were thrilled to spend some time outside running around and swinging with poppy. kate spent the two days before we left for the lake walking around and talking non-stop about "i doh poppy house!" "i doh dah-ma (grandmommy's) house!"...so she was beyond thrilled to actually arrive there!

3. we had a GREAT time...visiting great grandparents and introducing jillian to some of them for the first time!

great grandma j

great grandpa h...we got to see great grandma ethel too!

G.G....so thankful we've gotten to see G.G. so much since she moved up this way!

4. lego fun. elizabeth and kate had a ball playing with grandmommy and poppy's lego stash...leftovers from when my sister and i were little! elizabeth especially enjoyed created flower trucks and garages to park her flower trucks in!

5. grandmommy! i think this is a great shot of grandmommy and her newest grand-daughter!

6. empty coffee cans...seriously...this empty folgers container entertained the girls for hours....as a hat, as a vessel for carrying and dumping legos and other various objects...and on and on!

7. jillian having the chance to meet one of her namesakes...miss jill! actually, this was a smile for all of us...as the girls, my mom and i all enjoyed jill's visit! (thanks for making the drive up jill!). as you can see from the first picture, jillian had lots of grins and quickly fell in love with miss jill! see this post for more on why jillian got her name...

8. a visit from aunt cak and uncle pat...and look at the cool bib (you might have to enlarge the picture to see the bib) my aunt cak knit for jillian...can't wait to try making one!

9. nails...what could be more exciting! more than nails, the girls had a blast running around in the new addition...somehow the wood floors and drywalled walls must seem like a big huge playground. they thoroughly enjoyed running around, giggling, and "helping" poppy...and stabbing dried spray insulation globs with nails. kate was a nail magnet! the white dusty bottom shoes and pants were well worth the oodles of fun the girls had playing in the new addition. (as a side note...mom and dad have made huge progress...the girls slept fabulously in their unfinished lake bedroom (as did jillian and i)....and they are already talking endlessly about when we get to go back to spend Christmas at the lake)

10. building boats. poppy helped the girls build boats and launch them into the chilly lake. kate and elizabeth had a blast helping poppy drill the hole, pound in the mast with a hammer, and even coloring them with crayons. they tied rope to the boats, launched them into the lake and then reeled them in...what fun!

11. the fact that the 2 1/2 hour drive was without incident or need for a potty break on the way there AND the way back!

12. coming home to daddy! it was a gorgeous saturday afternoon...so upon arriving home daddy and his girls did lots of running around and playing in the backyard!


13. a fabulous play-date with a delightful friend this morning. i am so thankful for genuine, willing to admit their imperfections, relying on God's new every morning mercies kind of friends. the girls had a blast playing with their friends....and i very much enjoyed hanging out and having some good, honest, deep conversation about God, mommy-hood--the joys and struggles, and walking in grace with my friend.

14. and since most of the other pics were of the bigger girls...here it is...the obligatory jillian picture. isn't see precious!? hard to believe that in one week she'll be three months old...wow!