Aunts visit!

So I tried to write this post for the last several days, but my phone wasn't transferring photos. Today, it finally did it! Woohoo!!

The day before my aunts came, I told the kids to clean up the house to get ready for them. They cleaned and set up the air mattress, put on the sheets, etc, etc. They were so incredibly excited. It paid off because Aunt Donna got in early the next morning. The kids were beyond excited! (Me too!)

 Here they are....half of them still in jammies...

 The girls were so excited to have Aunt Donna there to play with them and read to them. I was pretty emotionally and physically exhausted after spending the entire summer with these kids. I needed the break of having my awesome aunts in town.

 This girl....<3 p="">

 Swimming with AD. Or "ya-ya" as Maisy calls her. It sounds kind of like "Donna", right?

Bedtime!

 Chi Chi arrived late on Saturday. In the morning, we went to church. We called my cousin Becca, who lives in Germany. This is a picture of the 4 of us.

 We went for a walk one day and noticed that Aunt Donna and I were the inverse of one another. And we like to pose and be goofy.

 Chi Chi was helping Aspen learn her letters.

 Chi Chi made an amazing salad. It was so beautiful and so delicious.

 Wait! What is that? Maisy has a bow in her hair?! It lasted about 1 minute. Oh well. We tried.

 We walked to the beach with all of the kids. It was super fun. We brought sandwiches and stayed all afternoon. Hunter was such a trooper, walking the entire way!

 My aunts took care of the kids for a few days when I had PT. It was nice to not have to worry who would help with them and if it was an inconvenience. My aunts were stoked to play, read and walk to the park with the kiddos. It's times like these that I would really appreciate having family in town.

 Chi Chi took the boys down to the water. She was so much fun with them. I don't know where she gets her energy.

 When we arrived at the beach, it was fairly busy. Within an hour, we had a 15 foot radius around us. Everyone had moved away. I'm sure it's not because of Maisy's shrieking or Aspen/Landon's sand throwing. Right? Right?!

 Maisy was not having the ocean. At all.

 Kisses!

 You can't see it in this photo, but Junior Guards were jumping off of the end of the pier! Wild!

 Walking home - my brave little Hunter and my awesome Aunts! Woohoo!!!! Have I mentioned that we live in an extremely hilly area? This walk is not flat.

 Kinder chocolate from Germany!

 On Tuesday we went to a water park. It was fun while we were there. I was most grateful that I got to hang out with the boys and go on big kid rides and just absorb them. I did spend a little bit of time with Aspen, who is really independent and would probably be perfectly happy to go by herself. I don't know where she gets that from (oops). We had a great time. The next day the dogs were super interested in the towels, and when I smelled them, they smelled like feces. I will not be visiting Soak City again. Yuck!

 This boy <3 p="">

 This cutiepie <3 p="">

 Woohoo!!!! Party time! I didn't take a lot of photos because my phone was in the locker.

 On Wednesday I was too tired to walk to the beach again. Instead, we walked a little in the morning and then took everyone up to Terranea. My aunts had never been and really loved it. Next year, I think we will go up there for dinner.  It was a beautiful day and my aunts saw the magic of that place immediately. We all know how much I love it up there.

 It's an Aunt party!

 Yay! Free hands for Mama!

 The aunts and boys climbed over the cliff (don't watch, Gramma!) and they all came back alive. Usually I let my boys go without me. I stayed with the girls not he rocky beach.

 That night, we decided to celebrate my mom's life. We walked to the beach with the strollers and cute Brian. My Gramma had sent money for us to all go out for ice cream (her favorite) and commemorate her life. We do this every year on August 10th, the anniversary of the day we lost her.  It's been 11 years. Somehow it has gotten easier, mostly because my expectations have changed. I've adapted to not having her and therefore not needing her. I forget how it feels to have someone take care of me, though. When my aunts come to town, they push the strollers so I don't hurt my shoulders. They help with baths, dishes, meal prep, baby holding, etc.  They want me to relax and lay down and enjoy myself. It is such a weird change that I have to get used to it all over again every year.  I appreciate this week that we spend together so much, and so do my children. These kids adore my aunts and in some ways I feel lucky that I lost my mom because I wouldn't have these special bonds with my aunts if I hadn't. Of course, I wish my mom was here and I love her and miss her so much.  Every cloud has a silver lining though, and my relationship with my aunts is more like a platinum lining.

 Aspen thinks she is me in my sunglasses and holding my keys. We were at swim lessons. Aunt Donna was so nice to stay home with the baby and let me and Chi Chi take the kids to their activities.

 On Thursday I think we just hung out by the pool and relaxed.  We were all pretty tired, but I was emotionally a little bit less on edge. I was at the very end of my rope when my aunts came and I think they put a few inches back under me.  On Thursday night the 3 of us went out to dinner while my sweet Brian put the babies to bed. We went to Mangiamo, a favorite of mine.

 And then we went for a long walk, to make sure we got our steps (we are all exercise addicts).

 On Friday morning I took Aunt Donna to the airport and then went to PT. When i came home, Aunt Chi Chi and the kids had put together a scavenger hunt for me. It was so cute and it ended with some sweet notes in my luggage.

 While at PT, Brian took Aspen for a mani/pedi. Throughout the week he had made sure to spend one on one time with each kid so that they didn't miss him SO much while we were gone. He's such a good Daddy.

 I took Aunt Chi Chi to the airport and went home to finish doing laundry and packing. The kids needed some rest anyways after a long week. After all, Brian and I were leaving on our 10 day Hawaiian vacation the next day!!!