The week before the move

This is a quick glimpse into our life, the week before we moved...well and to be honest, a few days after as well.


The week before we moved into our home was a bit hectic. We had a camping trip planned, a 3rd Birthday, a ton of packing (remember how last minute everything was?) Anyway, that didn't stop us from enjoying the simple things in life:

I wonder if Paige enjoyed her ice cream?

Anyway, besides packing and going crazy with the uncertainty of the whole deal - we had a very important day to celebrate. The day before we moved, my sweet Hailey babe turned 3! She has been looking forward to this day her whole life...well at least it felt like it. Why?? Because of this:

My sweet little girl got her ears pierced!!! I may have made the mistake of telling her that she was going to get earrings for her Birthday...just a few months too early though. Let's just say, the anticipation was killing us all! But the day finally came, she picked out the prettiest (and I'll just add, the most expensive) earrings, she didn't cry once, and she may just be the reason why all the employees at Merle Norman are suddenly wanting babies now. Honestly, the entire store was there watching and couldn't get enough of her sweetness...in fact, two of the ladies told me as we were leaving that they would have babies right then if they could have one as cute as her. Talk about making my day!

Hailey was so happy to finally have her earrings (she may have also been a bit stunned that it hurt so much...but she's tough).

Anyway, later that day, Ben and I took the girls to the Stampede. Hailey had been looking forward to the Stampede since last year when Ben took her. So of course I bought the girls matching shirts, and off we went.

This picture should make her Grandpa proud:)

Paige came along too...I don't think she got to experience the stampede quite like Hailey - although she did eat almost an entire foot long hot dog. To some, that is what the Stampede is all about. She's not complaining.

Then the next day - moving day we decided to open Hailey's Birthday presents (after a crazy morning of babysitting for Kyla as her parents went to have their baby, getting locked out of their house, missing the appointment with our realtor and so on). It was a crazy day, but we figured that although the earrings were all Hailey was looking forward to, she might feel a bit ripped off once she realized how much they hurt - and really how boring they are. So we bought her a few things to open. We planned to open them the day before, but we stayed too late at the Stampede. But really, who wouldn't want their Birthday to extend over a few days?

This child - let me tell ya, she is the perfect kid to give presents to. Every present is the best thing in the world!! But in this case, can you guess what she was smiling about?

This beautiful princess dress...with clip-on earrings of course.

Ok...to carry on with the Birthday theme, we decided to have a real Birthday party for the girl the next week. It was totally last minute and really small. My house felt like a bit of a zoo, but I thought I should still do something for Hailey and her cousins and one or two friends. So we had a little Safari themed party.

The best part of the day? My mom showing up in her Safari gear - even though she didn't know it was a Safari party!!

I love this little girl!

Anyway, my cousin Emily came out for the party and brought her two boys. Hailey and Roel hit it off big time when we were in Mexico last year, and it was so fun to see them pick right up where they left off!

This picture is a bit blurry - but you just can't deny the pure happiness on their faces. LOVE IT!

And finally - My cousins littlest guy Thijs. This kid stole my heart when I first met him in Mexico. He was just 8 weeks old and the cutest thing ever. He has these eyes...oh those eyes. They just look at you and plead with you to love him. And of course you do....because really, he's so cute! If you ever meet him in person, you'll get what I mean - when he gives you the look, you just melt!

So that's it for now. I have more picture to post...more stories to share...and maybe a little making fun of myself. But I'll have to do that another time.