& baby makes 3

over the weekend sam & becki went to new york city, so we had 3 under 3.

which went fine. really from thursday on, things weren't going as well as usual. yikes.

bristol was wonderful! cossette was wonderful! ellery? yeah, not so much. elles-a-belle has a nasty cough & runny nose & was a big snot the majority of the weekend. whiney, tired, cuddly, more accidents than she's had in a year... is that a sick thing?! she was really playful & sweet with the little girls just not so much with the parentals. much more high maintenance than usual. & high maintenance kids are exhausting yo.

but we were excited to keep bristol here to hang out with us!

 -after church-

 -in the car- i about broke my hand getting that 3rd car seat in the 2nd row of ike. intense.

-on the metro- bahaha we all liked this pic cause it looks like austin smacked elles in the head but really she hit her head & he was going to help her. she was probably throwing a fit of sorts.

-in the tub-

there's always a lot of dancing at our house but this weekend it was nonstop. all 3 kids loved jamming with the chief & all had very distinctive little dance moves. haha
all week ellery kept trying to hold bristol's hand, which bristol was not into. haha ellery is a little bit of a mother hen sometimes.

bristol & cossette were fast friends. they swapped jabbery stories & coke tried to keep up. i was hoping she would teach cossette to kiss with her mouth closed & maybe increase her vocabulary 100 fold. well we still have our little wordless wonder but she now kisses in the non-french variety. :)

bristol is an easygoing, smiley, funny little thing, a TOTAL chatter box, & swivels those hips like a pro.

& happens to eat carrots like a beaver.

love you bris!

visitors #9

i am so not the formal hostess type but i do loooove having people visit us!

my cousin sam, his wifey beck, & their sweet little bristol came in last week for a work conference of hers & we got to have them at our house & play!

the first day was just sam & me & all our little girlies. we hit the natural history museum for seriously hours. while the kiddles slept, we were complimented on our gorgeous triplets. e's blanket was over her so i could actually see the confusion. hahaha-

i'm kind of proud of myself because i've really compartmentalized these sightseeing locales so there is still new territory/new exhibits i haven't covered & i'm not insane bored every repeat visit to dc. instead i'm excited to show my faves & see something new. i feel like i know washington dc really well. becki met up with us for lunch & the american history museum before calling it a day.

we stayed busy checking out old towne alexandria for dinner & hanging at our house, but our next day in the city, we started at the botanical gardens with our buddy bryce while sam & beck attempted to catch their white house tour. which was disastrously missed. :(

i decided i'll do a separate post on this place. the gardens were amazingly cool.

we all went to the air & space museum just next door. it was austin's first time at the downtown one & there is just overwhelmingly a ton to see.

once they got over any shyness, cossette & bristol were just the best of buds. they're only 3 months apart & it was quite darling.

thanks guys! always fun to see family.

at it again

austin is from idaho falls, idaho.

we are moving to another city named after its state & paired with a water themed term.

not virginia beach, virginia. a longer move than that.

no, not minnesota lake, minnesota.

wisconsin rapids, wisconsin? nope.

nor is it alabama port, alabama.

bored yet?? when looking up others i actually came across the site of unimaginative city names. hahaha

by january 9th we will live in...

colorado springs, colorado!! |ˌkäləˈrädō; -ˈradō|!!

can't wait to hike the garden of the Gods

pikes peak looks visable from just about everywhere in "the springs".

denver is our closest temple. come to think of it this is the farthest away from a major city we've been. :( well about as far as SLC was. 50 minutes. eep. 


we are anxious knowing it's not a short term position & neither of us has even been there but also very, very excited!!!

it is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. -charles darwin

we are nothing if not responsive to change. :)

obx

carolyn & kip kramer were incredibly generous & gave us a weekend at their house in the outer banks of north carolina.

 some of the nicest, most honest people you'll ever know.

the house was legit.

& nags head is just beautiful.

the girls were ecstatic

 & cold.

quite cold.

 well, not just the girls.

but i just had to dip my toes in the water.

so we snuggled, read, played card games, & told stories by the fire

& used their brand new hot tub about 3 x's a day. literally.

 the fences & buildings & wild life were so perfectly east coast beachy.

we also got to check out the wright brothers memorial & museum out at kitty hawk

which was really interesting.

 we got one particularly breathtaking sunrise.

& a very bright, fast sunset.

it was low key, relaxing, bitter cold, & pretty incredible. we all wore sweats the whole time. my kind of vaca. :)

i might share more of the hundreds of pictures later. if if they are in high demand...

bo peep & her sheep

halloween party with brian & renée. helped austin get girlies ready while i helped set up said party. E wanted "lena curly hair" for her costume so we bought sponge rollers. yes, they still exist.

little bo peep's costume is a gramvi original & cousin lena's hand-me-down from last year. it is gorgeous & people gushed all over it all night. cossette's sheep renée bought for her the day before because cousin luke's sheep was gigantic. :)

ellery totally has her mama's luck. i was so proud when she got the cupcake from the cake walk on the 1st walk around the circle AND picked the rubber ducky with a star under him on the 1st try. probably means she doesn't understand how either game is actually supposed to be played but it was awesome.

hey there darlin'!

cossette was the perfect sheepish sheep. that girl cracks me up, it's like she's always trying to hold in her smiles & just can't quite do it. chin down, coy look on her face, & just bursting at the seams.

oh the cheeks!

i loooove the one of the big sister herding the little sister.

my little bo peep & my baby sheep. :)

we also went to a trunk or treat.

of course néenée's trunk was a HIT. she taught me the ropes so that i will forever be a pro.

on actual halloween we had bryce & jamie over to go trick or treating & hang out.

 E adored trick or treating waaaay more than i thought she would.

& particularly liked the "spooky" (aka super creepy, bloody) homes. coke just toddled up to the doors & held her little pail out. haha. funny.

once we got home ellers quickly handed out a piece of candy to each person before taking her first bite. kids that understand holidays sure make it more enjoyable. haha happy halloween!

georgetown

the boys were at work so the girls went out to play!

i hadn't been to georgetown yet & heard it was quite worth seeing.

started at the c & o canal.

charming townhomes left & right.

i particularly like cossette in the back looking over the handle of the stroller to see where we've gone. :)

just turn the corner & you're downtown.

 it has some other really old, cool buildings as well.

tons of posh shopping & fine eateries.

like the brand new serendipity!

which néenée treated us to!

cossette patiently signing for "more". sidebar: she's a mute. have i mentioned that yet?

TWO frozen hot chocolates?!

grandma & ellery enjoyed the classic.

while i scarfed down the white chocolate. wowza. it was bomb-diggity.

& i found an ABE!!! renée didn't see him. she thinks i have an internal homing device set for president lincoln. oh how i hope she's right! :)

we stopped by the university that my grandpa sam attended for dental school.

very cool but they wanted us to pay. i don't know if it's a closed campus or what but yeah right!

you have to admit it is beautiful from afar.

& then we got lost. we had a nice drive past many of the sites downtown dc.

apparently neither of us has an internal homing device set for home. 

girls outings rock. my mother-in-law rocks. frozen white hot chocolate realllly rocks.