Florida with the Tompkins

My sister, Kelly, and her husband, Spencer, recently accepted a new job and have relocated to Florida. Once they accepted the job, they were hoping to move somewhat quickly since school had already started. Tyler and I were able to arrange things so that I could drive down with them and stay for a week to help them get settled in. It was great! I had a lot of fun bonding more with my nieces and nephews, and it was fun to spend time with the family at the beach, as well as unpacking! If you know me, then you know that unpacking and organizing is my jam. I have a really weird obsessive love for it. That same love fuels me to rearrange my house every 4 weeks (I'm not even kidding..).

My poor sister was out running a million errands during the day, all to get the necessary things done so that she could get the kids registered for school. My brother in law, Spencer, started working on Monday (we got their on Friday night, late). So I was able to put some good progress in on unboxing, organizing (and even decorating a little) on the house. Here are some pictures just for fun!

 We got the kitchen completely unpacked and organized within the first 2 hours after unloading the truck on Saturday. Once the kitchen is done, the house can at least semi-function.

Aunt Riffy splurged a little bit on the kids. One of the things I got for them was a new bathroom curtain, rug and toothbrush holder. It's the little things in life that make it bright and fun! 

For my niece and nephew, Camilla and Rudger, I hooked them up with some fun dots for their wall. They loved helping put them up. It's not often the adults let you put stickers all over your wall. ;) 

Below is my nephew Gorden's room. I bought him a big NBA poster online, but it arrived after I got there. hopefully it will be a good touch for his room. He also has his Arkansas Razorbacks flag hanging up on his walls. He's got a good set up. 

 Above is my niece, Adelaide. We hooked her up with some light clips. I feel like what teenage girl doesn't enjoy these, right? We also hung up all of her Harry Potter art on her other walls.

All of the kids felt like they were in a good spot with their rooms - at least for it being the first week of being moved it. :)

Above is my sister on the Gender Swap app. We sent Tyler that after he sent us some fun pictures of him and the girls. I was missing them while I was gone, so I loved getting the below pictures.

 We did get to head to the beach while we were in Florida. I snapped a photo of my sisters family for them. We're definitely going to miss them, but we're excited for them with their new opportunity! Love you, Tompkins! I can't wait to come back and visit again!

Toilets and Girl Scout Cookies

My girls are funny and little hot messes.

Last week, my mom gave us some homemade mini-muffins. I sat them on the counter and after eating some for breakfast, forgot about them. Well later in the day, I noticed Annie had been missing for a while. I went upstairs and found her hiding in Laura's room with a face crammed full of mini-muffins. Crazy child! I tell her to ask me next time, keep the food in the kitchen and we move on. So anyways, a few days go by and Annie has been gone a little too long again. I go upstairs and find her in Laura's crib. I go to help her get out - who knows how she even got in with her broken leg, but she's crafty. Anyways, I notice there's like dirt all over the side of the crib. Then I go to get Annie and notice her hands are covered with dirt - until I see the handful of girl scout cookies she has behind her back. It's all chocolate! Crazy Annie had taken the entire box of girl scout cookies upstairs and was eating an entire sleeve of them in Laura's bed. There were crumbs, cookies and chocolate everywhere. So after sternly going over it again with Annie about how we only eat food in the kitchen, how she needs to ask mommy and not hide it from mommy, and how food in the bedrooms attracts bugs, I cleaned up the mess and we went back downstairs. Laura walks up to me when we get downstairs and she is SOAKED from head to toe. One guess - the toilet. Laura Jane LOVES LOVES LOVES the toilet water. It is the worst! So while I was upstairs dealing with girl scout cookies, Laura was playing in the toilet, soaking herself and the bathroom floor with water.

Anyways. I handled it. We cleaned up the messes and then Laura ate in her high chair and Annie helped me make a pie since we were having our cousins over for dinner that night. These girls. They are crazy, but so fun. I knew I needed to write down the stories before I forget them, so now you can enjoy them too. :)

Tyler's 30th Birthday - Washington, DC Trip

My husband is T H I R T Y ! 

So, obviously, we had to go do something crazy to celebrate - so we decided to go on a trip to Washington, DC! Two of our besties picked us up from the airport in Maryland. Somehow, we were having too much fun and forgot to take a picture - which is a good problem. After going out to dinner and getting a tour of their town, we grabbed an Uber and headed to DC. 

I had never been to DC before, so I was pleasantly surprised at how PRETTY it is there! That town is gorgeous and classy!

We had some fun sight-seeing. I think I mainly was just mesmerized at trying to see how many secret service people there were hiding in plain sight or in cars around the white house. I think I've watching too many movies, because that was one of my favorite parts.

On Tyler's birthday eve, after he fell asleep I decorated the entire hotel room (complete with 30 post it notes with candles hiding all around the room), and of course took sneaky pictures. So here are those:

 The morning of his birthday, he was pleasantly surprised! We staggered a few gifts throughout the day. I also had written out 30 reasons why I love him, and would give him one at different points in the day. That was fun!

 For his birthday dinner, we found a Russian restaurant to eat at. (Tyler served a mission for our church for two years in Russia, which is why he chose that).

 After dinner, we walked more around town and got some ice cream. I pulled out my secret birthday candles and stuck them in his ice cream for him. Y'all, I was prepared this trip. ;)

That night we went on a run to the Lincoln memorial. That was probably one of my favorite things that we did. We took pictures, but I guess they are somewhere on Tyler's phone.

We actually went running most of the days while on that trip as part of our sightseeing. And gosh, running seems way easier when you're in an urban city with a million things to look at on your route.

It was a great trip! We had fun hitting up different museums, eating all the food, and checking out different memorials. One of the most impactful ones was the Holocaust one, as you can probably imagine. It was extremely sobering but very good.

We're back with our babies now which is fun, but we definitely love our couples trips! It's nice to have a couple days of not being responsible for anyone else, or being able to just leave within 30 seconds of deciding to go somewhere. ;)

Spring Shennanigans

This post is just going to be randomness. We had family in town for a portion of the month, so Annie had a great time with them. We also just have had some really fun normal days, that warranted some pictures. So, here goes nothing: 

Annie likes pretending to be a baby at church I guess? 

She is DEFINITELY my child. I did this in my dogs doghouse all the time growing up. Like mother, like daughter. haha 

Great Grandma Joyce! 

Tylers Grandpa gave us his four wheeler. We love it! And Annie loves going on little rides with Mommy and Daddy. 

Working on the Bonus Room! 

Cousin picture! 

Annie and her cousin Peter. Obligatory baby bath picture! 

Annie enjoys trying on Momma's high heels. She especially loves doing it while she isn't wearing any other clothes. This child is a fun piece of work.