Happy Birthday Maeve! Last year in the single digits for this girl. Hard to believe last summer we were in the mountains on our RV trip at this time. A whole year has flown by & things have really changed. No trips this year but we are certainly making the most of it & celebrating our little love today.

She is so tall, people are still asking if she & Marg are twins because they are so close in size. 

Big sprinkle donut for her breakfast this am. She got hit in the face with a swing after her horse party & has a few little "mustache" marks on her face. Luckily we snapped her bday pics a few days early. 

A few of her neighborhood friends chalked the driveway for her bday. Streamers this year on our bedroom door because that is where she sleeps most nights... on the floor next to me! A little funk & she is most comfortable next to mom. Hoping we can get her back in her room sooner than later, but on the eve of her day, our bedroom floor is where she wanted to be. Annual bday visit from Merry too!

I had horse cookies made for her little stable party the other day & they were so funny. Barely looked like horses, really made us all laugh. The cake was another story. Turned out so great & she was pretty excited about it.

Not the same without a house full of people celebrating, but she had a great day! She's been waiting for weeks for a new Nintendo game & she finally got it so she was thrilled. Such a fun day celebrating our favorite Maeve. We love you sweet girl!!! xoxo

Surprise! Maeve's birthday is a few days away & we surprised her with a visit to the horse stables today with a small group of friends. It was hard for her to choose only a few, but worth it in the end. They had so much fun. Maeve was in heaven, so many beautiful horses & her besties in one place.

It wouldn't be Maeve without some hesitation. She was a little slow to warm up but she eventually relaxed a bit & was able to truly enjoy the horses. Gary had no issues!

Maeve's turn to ride...Insert more hesitation. She got up on the horse but wasn't really wanting to take a lap around. We were a little surprised since she enjoyed the horseback riding so much on the RV trip. Never know with her!

More time with the horse. Our neighbors friends own this horse & they were kind enough to let Maeve enjoy him for a few hours. I was so thankful, it was such a fun, hands on experience.

Loved watching her walk him around. Her smile was priceless.

Such a fun little afternoon for us all. Maeve is still smiling & very excited to turn nine. Can't wait to continue the celebration. xoxo

This makes me laugh. Not our typical cute last day of school pictures... Well, the girls are cute but they were happy not to dress up & laughing at the idea of taking pics in their pj's with messy hair. This is how they looked most virtual learning days. Who doesn't love going to school in pj's.
Marin moving on up to 8th grade. She's looping with her teachers so she'll get them one more year. Also one more year until high school...ugh!

Maeve now a 4th grader. Will be her last year at the elementary school. 

And Marg will be in 6th grade next year & will also be with her same teachers. 

They're looping first time ever & we are so excited.

Today was supposed to be a 1/2 day of school so they were all done & ready to put down their ipads pretty early this am. Especially once the Ice Cloud truck pulled into the neighborhood. Fun special treat to celebrate.

We are all so happy to be done & especially happy to be able to enjoy the day outside. So excited for our summer, even though it will not look like our usual summers. Looking like this virus is around for the long haul. We'll continue to enjoy the nice weather in our small bubble over here. Hoping I don't go crazy all summer at home with these kids!! Wish me luck! xoxo

One more sleep until virtual school is DONE for the summer. These kiddos could not be more excited. They are in need of a break. Celebratory sleepover with our quarantine crew Veraghen's tonight. They are all snuggled into the basement watching a movie & ready for bed.

Tomorrow we all celebrate! A break from virtual meetings. I am equally excited!!
xoxo

Loving this little cutie & his faces in the snapchat filters. The girls just think it is so funny. We did an outdoor/back yard visit with my grandparents the other day. Loving that the weather has been warm now & we can visit with them safely outside. Best time to go is early eve cocktail hour!!!

 We bought a golf cart to cruise around the neighborhood a few days ago. We haven't had it long but it has been fun taking it around the hood & going for night cruises. Two nights ago it got cold! Look how bundled up we are!

 School is almost officially done. So hard to believe but the girls are so ready. This virtual leaning experience has been hard on us all. Girls are doing great, we all just need a break! Yesterday Maeve's teacher popped in for a driveway visit. We couldn't help but break the distance for a quick second for a photo. Maeve is sure going to miss her. We've begged her to move up to 4th grade so they can have another year together. We all just love her & were thankful for her visit. 

Welcome to June! Month 4 of quarantine/covid-19. We are all getting by! Thankful for our health & family time. xoxo

Birthday celebrations for Marin yesterday. She had quite the day... started with breakfast on the special plate. I got her donuts & that wasn't quite what she had in mind. So she opted for leftover mac and cheese instead. Whatever she wants!! 

I arranged for all of her friends to stop over with a fun "How well do you know the birthday girl" survey & a Starbucks drink. By the end of the afternoon she had all her besties here, a bunch of fun answers to the survey questions & a basket full of Starbucks drinks. She was one happy 13 year old.

They decided to get a game of volleyball going & had so much fun.

Small dinner & a Costco cake. Also her requests. Her birthday pal Jolie joined us for cake as well. They love having birthdays a day apart.

And the night ended with a sleepover in the school house. They were sooooo excited. 

Pretty great day for her. Not easy to make a girl feel special during a pandemic. I think we pulled it off & she had a pretty great day. We love you Marin!! xoxo

Happy 13th Birthday Marin!!!
We officially have a teenager, just seems so crazy to me. How can she be that old & how can Gary/myself be so old?!? Crazy how fast the years fly by. Marin was so excited to get out & take some photos. This is her new obsession. She & her friends love nothing more than finding fun places to take photos of each other to post on Instagram. Only thing better is to have mom snap you with a camera vs a cell phone! 

Love her! She has always been so photogenic & loved having her photo taken. Crazy how grown up she is starting to look. Definitely a teenager.

Rylie jumped in for a photo too. These girls will be back in the same school again this year & they'll love every minute of it. Marin will be excited to show her the ropes. 

Happiest Birthday to you Marin. We love you so much & can't wait to celebrate with you today!!!! xoxo

Happy Memorial Day!
Once again, thanks to Covid-19 we've broken yet another tradition. No Memorial Day parade this morning. Our kids were so bummed, but I think they have gotten used to things being cancelled by now. It's something new every day. This morning they all got dressed in their red, white & blue and took the what would have been parade pic by the pool instead! Not a bad place to hang out either.

Maeve had a little time with friends this afternoon too. Pretty low key memorial day.

We are still just doing our best to stay busy & enjoy the days at home. We've shrunk our circle & are socially distancing pretty well. No restaurants, large gatherings & no Tjmaxx!!!!  I barely leave the house, just so much uncertainty... I don't miss the grocery store but I am definitely missing my Tjmaxx runs. haha Real life problems! Next up, a list of house projects that need to be done. May as well get stuff done while we are stuck here at home. Happy Memorial Day!! xoxo

Covid porch delivery for me! This damn pandemic has made it so hard to see my friends & socialize with them. I am so lucky to have friends who still find ways to make me smile. Today I got a bouquet of flowers & an old fashion in a jar for me to mix here at home.

Drink was amazing.. Gary says we need to drop it back on her porch & ask for a refill! haha And the flowers were right next to my computer for me to look at while I sit in virtual meetings all day. A few more weeks of school, meetings are long & the flowers definitely brighten up my space. These porch deliveries are so fun. The girls are getting things as well & it has been so fun for us all to craft/make things do drop off for others. Anything to bring a smile to someone's face during these odd times. xoxo

Happy Mother's Day to me! Another quarantine chill day. We hung out at home all day together.
Nothing crazy, the weather was crappy so not much to do. We did snap a few pics together.

Always so difficult to get one nice photo, but we did it.

Katie & Mike bought a new house this weekend so we were forced to be in each others houses for the first time. Lots of helping with kids during showings and then also when they worked to get their house ready to sell. Needless to say, we all thought it was okay to have a little Mother's Day dinner after being together the past few days.

Also hard to get a good pic of this crew with everyone looking! So funny, there were so many great outtakes that made us all laugh. Nice to be together for the first time in so long. This quarantine is killing us! Also nice to just be out of our house... good change of scenery. xoxo

Enjoying the sunshine & unseasonably warm weather. Hard to believe it is only the beginning of May. The past 3 months have been so odd & definitely not normal, it is so nice to feel the sun shinning & get outside. The girls needed this weather so bad. They are really yearning for time with their friends & some normalcy. Definitely got some this week!

Maeve & her crew definitely jumped right into summer mode. Swim suits, picnics & all.

The bigs have been spending their time taking pics & recording themselves dancing. Whatever it takes. I am just happy to see their big smiles.

Sunshine is just what we needed! Happy May. As much as we are home doing nothing & keeping our distance, the days are flying by. Enjoying our time together. xoxo

Back out for another nature walk today. This time with Veraghens. The girls wanted them to see the new trails we discovered. The sun was shining & it felt good to just be outside together exploring.

After we did the walk we decided to pop in & visit some friends who recently got pigs. Margaux & Hayden were so excited. They wore their mud boots & got right in the pen with them. So many smiles.

Messy, muddy & so fun for the girls. We were shocked that Maeve got so close!

What we thought was going to be a quick stop turned into hours of laughing & running around for the kids. They also have chickens. Our kids were in heaven. Such a fun day... exactly what we needed. xoxo

Happy Easter!

 The only "normal" part of this Easter was that the bunny arrived & hid the girls baskets. All three were happy to find surprises in their hidden baskets. Shirt, led lights & pogo ball for Marg, clothes, led lights & a faux plant for Marin & smelly pens, a Harry Potter shirt & a basketball for Maeve. 

We didn't even color eggs this year. Instead we made Easter egg cut out cookies & delivered to our friends/family. The girls did a great job decorating & delivering.

Easter mass was attended in pajamas at our kitchen counter via an online live feed while we all ate breakfast. SO ODD!!! Nothing about this stay at home order feels normal. When I really sit down & think about it, it's hard to imagine it is all even happening. Needless to say, we attended virtual mass & spent the rest of the day just being together at home. Not our typical Easter, but thankful we are all healthy. xoxo

The girls were begging for an Easter egg hunt but I didn't have any candy. Finally after 3 weeks of being home & not leaving I ventured out to the store. We did pretty great eating for three weeks & not going to the store. Needless to say, my list was pretty long...Eerie feeling in the store. So empty & those that were shopping had masks & gloves on. $350+ and one house plant later, I was on my way home to wipe down the groceries & change/shower. I also snagged a big bag of Easter candy so we could have an egg hunt. The forecast for the weekend/Easter looks rainy & cold. Even a chance of snow! So we opted to do the egg hunt a little early & enjoy it while the weather was still nice today. Invited the cousins over to join in on the fun...

 Maeve really loved it. Her smiles were so big & you could see the excitement in her eyes. So glad we got it in. All three had so much fun helping Sloane & Fitz too. We are missing our snuggles with them. Being outside in the yard just isn't the same. But we are thankful for the outdoor time we're getting together too. 

 Another quarantine violation for a quick photo!  

I know that we are all healthy because we have not left the house, but we are still trying to follow the rules. We're all looking forward to no school tomorrow {Good Friday} and Easter weekend. Even if we are just hanging at home alone, still sometime to look forward to. Maeve is counting down the days until the bunny arrives. She can barely contain her excitement. 3 more sleeps!! xoxo

Covid cut day! 

With the Stay At Home order no one is allowed to go to any appointments unless they are essential. All of our dentist & well check appointments were cancelled as well as hair cuts! Totally fine for the Brown girls, but Gary's hair was getting a little long for his liking. 

Solution... Covid cuts at Katie & Mike's in the back yard.

{We have yet to be in each others houses... still following the rules over here although the 6+ feet rule got broken for the sake of haircuts today}

 We laughed so darn hard watching this all go down, but in the end Mike did a great job. Gary got his shortest cut to date & my dad too. Katie said my dad's forehead got a little bigger! Made us all laugh. Buzz cut boys over here but no one is complaining, smiles for all! We even facetimed my grandpa Bob the barber to get his approval. We also keep joking with my mom that she'll have hair long enough for a pony tail after this quarantine. Makes us all laugh... my grey hair will be out of control too. I may need a visit to the backyard Salon Katie in a few weeks. 

Speaking of grandpa... we stopped over at their house the other day & knocked on the patio door to surprise them. They were so happy to see us in the flesh! They surprised us & wanted to sit outside for a cocktail too. The Brown 5 on one side of the deck... Goessl's on the other. We had a great visit!

During this quarantine we are so thankful for the hot tub too! We've been spending so much time out there. It is especially awesome when the sun is shinning. I tell the girls we pretend it is our beach vacation. They disagree, definitely not the same but the closest we'll get right now.

 Quarantine week three... done. On to week 4! Still praying for an end. 

xoxo

We are still here & still quarantined, but doing great! School days are getting easier {routine wise} and the weather has been better! Hoping it stays this way because it feel so great to see the sunshine & be somewhat warm while outside. Lots of walking & rollerblading. Today we walked to Katie's to say hi to the kids. Still staying away, but Fitz has such a hard time with it. He just wants us to hug him like we usually do which turns into this...

He just cannot help himself. Loves his cousins so much. I am missing holding & hugging them all. Acre is just the worst. He is getting bigger by the minute & I just want to kiss his cute little cheeks. We need this to be over soon or I may just have to cave & break the social distance rule. I need baby snuggles. Bad. For now I am thankful I can see him from 6 feet away. Better than not seeing him at all I guess. Thinking positively!

We're still puzzling too. Here is a shot of the ones we've done so far. Just had to order more. The majority of them are 300-500 pieces but we just finished the cottage that was 1,000 pieces. Took us a few days. 

 We typically sit & puzzle in the evenings after dinner while watching tv or movies. The living room is a mixture of puzzles & board games. All so fun.

 Gary & Margaux were deep into the Packer puzzle the other night & Maeve was already tucked in. She was yelling from her room requesting that we turn the lights off because it was too bright in her room. She was a tired mess! So Gary & Marg compromised by putting our new head lamps on. Worked perfectly!

Sad part is I ordered them to use for crab hunting on the beach. Still so sad that our vacation was cancelled but glad the headlamps got used! Next puzzle is Mickey Mouse. We've just been doing a big puzzle exchange & it has been great. Keeping us all busy. xoxo

Margaux pulled this out of her work pile this morning & it made us laugh. The virus is not at all funny, but the fact that she labeled her folder like this was pretty funny. It is our reality right now.

Also, today is Hayden's birthday & Margaux made this sign for her big 11th bday. She worked on it all day yesterday. We delivered & Wendy hung it on her door this am.

 Tonight we went down to their house & sang Happy Birthday to her from their back porch which made her smile. We all enjoyed watching her blow out her candles too. So odd that we can't go in!

 No one has been in our house in weeks. It's sad because our house has never been cleaner. I am caught up on laundry, we organized & rearranged bedrooms, everything... so clean!! No end in sight as of now. We just keep crossing our fingers it is sooner vs later. Now all of our summer concerts were just postponed. Wendy & I just purchased Justin Beiber concert tickets for the girls & it is now postponed until September. Really hoping we are in a better place before the summer, but who knows. Just keep praying. xoxo