Sandbox, Mommy's Time Off, and Special Time with Daddy

We have had such a wonderful weekend! On Friday we spent the morning in the sandbox that Jeff made for the girls underneath their slide. He got it all fixed up for them at the end of last summer. Elaina loves it! She has a great time playing with her toys in the sandbox. Emily has a fun time too, but she really doesn't like the taste of the sand. YUCK!! Elaina likes to make us "cakes." She also doesn't call it sand; instead, she calls it "dirt."

The weather has been beautiful! We had a great day Friday. We painted the girls' room this winter, but Jeff waited to paint the windows, so he worked on those Friday. He also worked on painting some wooden boards for some decor for the girls' room too. My best friend, Jill, hosted an Uppercase Living Party last November. It is a company that produces expressions to put on your walls, boards or practically anything. We chose to put our expressions on boards so that if we ever move, we can take them with us. I'll have to post a picture of the board for the girls' room when we have it all finished. Elaina loves to help her Daddy with his different projects. Emily is still a bit too little to help, but next summer she'll be out there with him for sure. He'll have two big helpers next summer!

I had a wonderful and much needed girl "retreat" with my close friends Jill, Shawna and Jennifer. We had this "retreat" marked on our calendars since last fall. We were all looking so forward to it, and it was a great time! Our husbands were all supportive of our time away and took great care of the kids while we were gone. We had a full 24 hours without any responsibilities. We went out to dinner at Longhorn's Friday night and then went back to Shawna's and watched Fool's Gold. We spent the night at Shawna's and then got up this morning and were laying out at her pool by 10:00 a.m. and stayed there until around 3:30 p.m. We talked and floated on rafts without having to worry about anything else like being splashed, kids needing to potty or little toddlers trying to jump into the pool because they think they can do it all by themselves. Of course, I am fried! It was a very much appreciated break from reality, but it was so nice to get home to a family who lets you know how much they love you and miss you when you're gone. Elaina held my hand for a long time and told me stories of what she, Daddy and Emmy did while Mommy was gone. Emily was very excited to see me, too. Jeff and the girls had their own little cookout Friday night and then today they went on a bike ride and went to a playground to play. I am so thankful for Jeff. He is a great Daddy and wonderful husband. He sure does take extra special care of his girls.