What we've been up too...

Hello! It is currently Saturday night, a little after 8pm (it's Wes's night to put the girls to bed!) and I realized it has been a little bit since I have checked in so I thought I would pop in on a random Saturday night to say hi! and let you know what we have been up too.

We have been pretty busy, but in all good ways (work is super crazy busy in August - and sometimes I just can't stand to spend one more minute in front of the computer at night), we got to go on a date last night! and we have spent some time getting drenched in the swimming pool!

^ the Sunday after Everly's birthday ready for a few errands and looking entirely too big with earrings and a cold shoulder dress. ^

 ^ it also looks like she grew into a four year old overnight too! later this particular afternoon we took a killer family nap (birthday parties wear everyone out ;)) and then headed to the swimming pool for an evening swim.  on the way there my phone and the sunscreen had an unfortunate accident in the scooter storage area... booooo! ^

 ^ we went out to dinner on a Wednesday night (in the city!), this never happens to us (Emma is behind us - she didn't want to be in the picture). ^

 ^ we went to a burger place that we had not visited in more than one year and it was so much more delicious than we had remembered! ^

 ^ we happened to be out that night because we were invited to a party that was hosted from a group in Houston that puts on a big light show! Wes loved Christmas lights which I am sure you remember and so we were all excited to go! ^

 ^ they had fancy schmancy ice cream cones ^

 ^ the four of us, plus a person from Houston (who may have been assigned as our escort? he hung out with us the whole time...). ^

 ^ the girls really enjoyed the 7 or 8 performances that they had especially the acrobats, Emma has really taken an interest in practicing hand stands (in the pool) and she was dreaming about what she and Everly could do when they 'grow up'. ^

 ^ Thursday night we went on the most sweltering bike ride. not pictured: me carrying one bike/scooter back because someone decided they were too hot ;).^

 ^ Friday morning, one of our friends texted me to see if they could keep the girls so we could go on a date.  it felt totally rebellious/spontaneous, but we said yes! we have not been on a date in China in a sweet forever and it was so nice to have a night to ourselves.  we took uber to the city - ate bar-b-que and had a great new to us beer (Kentucky citrus wheat) - then walked to another restaurant to have a margarita.  it was so so so nice to have dinner alone knowing that our kiddos were in good hands! ^

 ^ today we went to the global center waterpark.  we happened to be the first people in there - crazy, right? but no less than twenty minutes later this place was packed.  we thought the girls would love love love this place (we went here last summer and had to drag them out), but the water was a little too cold for their liking and there were so many people that they were done in about three hours.  so I would say they liked it, but not loved it :). ^

 ^ after we got changed the girls found someone to give them balloons - this seems to constantly happen in Chengdu :). ^

^ and then we headed out for tex-mex and it totally hit the spot. queso in Chengdu!! ^

Hope you are having a great weekend!!!

Everly Turns Four!

The stars aligned and my sweet girl's birthday fell on a Saturday this year.  I decided well in advance of vacation that we would have a little party for her on her actual birthday (so much easier than explaining birthday party day and actual birthday), but what I forgot is that it sounded better to host a party four days after returning from vacation than the reality of hosting a party four days after returning from vacation ;).  But, major thanks to Wes plus a little bit of list making and we somehow pulled it off with very little stress.  Here are a few pictures of the day if you would like to take a look.

^ I snuck into her room to take the last picture of her at three years old! Birthday eve's are for mama's - replaying all of those memories from the day I gave birth four years ago plus thinking about where the time went.  After this - Wes and I spent what felt like ages blowing up balloons for the party! ^

^ Everly has always been our early riser - girly could not contain her birthday excitement and was up at 6am on the big day! I wanted to be annoyed with her (6am for crying out loud!) but when I heard her screech with pure joy when she saw all of the balloons, it was hard to be annoyed.  She was just so excited.  Not pictured was the cup of coffee I drank before officially agreeing that she could open her presents :). ^

^ the morning light plus those two girls in princess dresses made it for a dreamy present opening session. ^

^ Everly requested Christmas wrapping paper so we went with it. ^

^ her 'my little pony' was a bit hit. ^ 

^ Emma got a few presents too. ^

^ every time we have been at Metro for the past six months, Everly has requested this Barbie that comes with several puppies and kitties for her birthday - I was glad I could make that happen for her, just look at that smile. ^

^ clip on earrings made her look like she was 10 instead of 4 ;). ^

^ after opening presents, Wes and I got busy preparing the final touches for her birthday party. ^

^ a Minnie Mouse balloon for my Minnie Mouse loving girl :). ^

^ the cutest Happy Birthday balloons plus a Minnie pinata. ^

^ All morning long she played with her new toys while we finished preparing.  About noon, everything was ready and the girls had been up early so I laid them down for a nap before the party started. ^

^ The lighting is terrible, but me and my girl before her party! ^

^ and our other girl - side note, I wish birthdays were not so hard on the other sibling.  Emma was so sweet to Everly most of the day, but those few moments of jealousy are just the worst. ^

^ Wes got the grill going. ^

^ and just like that there were three families and seven kiddos that had arrived.  we played pass the parcel - I am not sure if you have heard of this cute game, but every kid gets a chance to unwrap a small present (in our case, stickers and a piece of candy) when the music stops. ^

^ Ev's opened a few presents from her friends. ^

^ with big sis right by her side ;). after presents, we all ate - sadly, I didn't get any pictures but Wes did an amazing job cooking up steak and sausages for a crowd of people.  ^

^ it was our first time to have a pinata at a birthday party and it was so much fun! ^

^ just look at my baby girl go!!! ^

^ pure joy ^

^ wheeee! ^

^ has anyone counted how many princess dresses this girl has worn in one day?? FOUR!! Santa Claus is getting his/her money worth out of this past Christmas ;). ^

^ Emma enjoyed the pinata quite a bit too! and was so proud of herself for being the one to eventually bust it open!! ^

^ we had a small malfunction with the string/twine - I was a little afraid for Wes at this point. but eventually, Emma knocked it open and the kids ran around gathering some candy. ^

^ and then it was time to sing happy birthday and blow out the candles. ^

^ I am not going to lie, this moment was pure chaos - we ended up lighting the candles again so Everly could make a wish :). ^

^ protecting her candles (not just from Emma ;)). ^

^ around 5pm, we all headed to the swimming pool and I know this is me being sentimental, but I swear she grew so much in the last couple of weeks - her little legs look so long!! ^

^ four looks good on her ;). ^

^ swimming with daddy. ^

^ I love love love watching her in the pool - she has come unbelievably far since her two year old swimming lessons :). ^

^ the dads in their kids in the foreground is our party group minus the moms. ^

^ every summer/year, I try to get a picture of Wes throwing the girls up in the pool :). ^

^ I need to put them all together to get a comparison picture. we swam for a long long time and eventually had to drag the kiddos out of the pool around 8pm for everyone to head home. ^

^ My girl, her two new best friends and some macaroni and cheese when we got home (she was too excited and didn't eat a bite during her party). ^

^ We got the girls in their jammies and they played for awhile before we all retired to bed for the evening: exhausted, but so happy to have celebrated our girl. ^