Last Week on Rosedale...

The last week in Bentonville... a bit chaotic, but super fun times with everyone... LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

Totes... totes... and more totes!!  Name of the game around here!  The moving company will arrive with our truck of goods a few days after we close on our house and begin living at our new house... all the totes should make 'camping' in those 4 walls a little easier... and yes, I'm OCD about stuff like this- but ya, should make things more bearable!!

Loving the last few days of running with these munchkins in tow!  My workouts are going to get a wake-up call with the hills of Minnesota- HA!

Maggie is loving sitting more, and she even plays WHILE she sits.  This particular morning I just sat by her in awe... LOVE her!!  And Evelyn Marie: if this isn't the epitome of summer I don't know what is: hair up, sweaty mess, barefoot, playing outside on a summer evening- LOVE!

Uncle Aaron decided to make a pit-stop on the way back to LA with his plane and surprised us all.  We LOVED IT!!!

He captured the BEST smiles from this munchkin... LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

I mean wow- don't think her smile could get any bigger if she tried!!

...and then he decided to extend his visit through the night and go to a baseball game with us- Harper was ECSTATIC!

Such a great time with Uncle Aaron- thank you so much for the visit... don't be a stranger with that place when we move to Minnesota now ;)!!

One last triple date night with these lovely ladies- and their hubbies!!  Always great to enjoy a little adult dinner time with friends.  

Thank you for a great night, Loria and Amanda!!!

We were also able to have a great time with our play group, thanks to Ms. Kathleen organizing a fantastic playdate complete with a bouncy house and pool on this hot summer day!!  We've been a part of this group since Harper was little bitty- oh how these children have grown... LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

As we left, Harper made sure to give all her buddies hugs- melt. my. heart.

{Caroline - Harper - Anna - Lulu}

{Fantastic Friends: Kristin, Elizabeth, and Beth}

Thank you, Mary for the beautiful edible arrangement in a house container- PERFECT, and thank you, ALL for signing the 'Moving Day' book... I have a feeling we'll be reading that quite a bit these next few days!

{Kathleen- you ROCK!!  My only wish is that I could have meet you sooner... you're amazing and an incredible friend- thank you!!!}

{Harper's ROCKIN' teacher continues to send me adorable pictures of her last week at Pine Crest... LOVE IT!!!}

{Always crafting;)}

 

And I've been able to snag a couple pictures so far of Maggie's FANTASTIC therapists at TEAM.  To say these people are incredible would be an understatement.  They have stolen our hearts.  They've helped me through some pretty tough times when I first brought Maggie home from the hospital.  They are like family to me and they light up Maggie's world in a special way.  I love them all and owe them so much for all the happy they have brought our little tiger- you're her voice in the best possible way.

Thank you, Children's Therapy Team for believing in Maggie, believing in us, and making her life so bright and hopeful.  We love you so much!

 

And I got to sneak in a lunch date with Ms. Kassi!  Love you, Girl!!  You and your adorable family rock- thanks for ALWAYS being there and thank GOODNESS for FaceTime!!

During a week of so many goodbyes, tearful hugs, and nostalgic times, I cannot help but feel blessed in this new chapter of our lives.  A friend I have only begun to know has been incredible in sending us these pictures of our new home in Minnesota!  I sit at night, staring at these images, thinking of all the memories we will make in these 4 walls... so fun!!!

Father's Day 2016

Father's Day 2016!!!!

We had so much fun celebrating Pete this year!  He ROCKS fatherhood and I say that honestly.  A house full of women is a little much sometimes and even though I know we're a lot- he continues to come home each day full of smiles, hugs, and kisses for all of us.  He spends his first few moments home showing us love, than diving in to cutting up food for littles and asking about our day... somehow, he continues to do this chaos with me and I'm so grateful.

A little b-class decorating... remember, most of our home is in totes and trying to find anything 'festive' was a bit tricky.... ha!

We enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL Sunday morning at this Daddy's favorite place to be outside: Crystal Bridges.  The grounds were beautiful and the girls had a ball 'exploring' along the trails with Daddy!

{I attempted a picture with the babes- ya... this was the best one of a 12 taken if that tells ya anything;)}.  It's ok though- it wasn't Mother's Day after all!!

After our walk along the trails, we treated Daddy to brunch at Eleven (the restaurant inside the Crystal Bridges Museum) where he indulged in his favorite, Eggs Benedict- yum o!

 

Then it was back home to snap back into reality for a bit: cleaning, packing, and organizing before the move next week.  We enjoyed Chicken Alfredo, fresh green beans from our garden, (they were so great by the way, great job gardener Harper:)), and homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  

Thank you, Pete, for being truly AMAZING with our children.  We are so lucky to call you ours and enjoy all you do to keep this party going!  LOVE YOU!

Changin' It Up!

The Short story...

We are moving to Minnesota... NEXT WEEK!!!

The Long Story...

Pete worked for Annnie's for all of 4 weeks before the fantastic company was bought by General Mills.  We have all enjoyed his time with General Mills, but in the back of our minds we knew a move would be upon us at some point.  General Mills is headquartered in Minneapolis, sooooooo we knew Pete would need to spend some time up there learning the ways of such a large company from inside their home ;).  Fast-forward to now, he's been with the company over a year now and we're ready to dive in to everything General Mills- ha!  We are THRILLED that this all worked out so that we could get established there before our big 5 year old begins Kindergarten- and as we hear: this is the best time of the year to move, because Minnesota puts a WHOLE new meaning on the phrase snowy weather!  

We are not as thrilled knowing we will be leaving this place we love so dearly... where all of our babies were born, where we know we've made life long friends, and truly the only place we're ever considered Home for our family of 5, along with our angel babies.  Although the path we are on intends for us to be back around these parts in the future, we know we will be closing the door to our wonderful home next Wednesday and traveling on a new road... full of possibilities, but also a little uncertainty.

Good news: our families rock (when do they not?!)  We packed up for a week of travel, the end of May, to figure out all of this 'change'.  Our first stop- Indiana.  We wanted to squeeze in some family time before the chaos and also WELCOMED the help with our littles so Pete and I could make our first trip together up to Minneapolis to hopefully find a house WITHOUT kiddos!

 

We were able to do some Memorial Day celebrating out in Cambridge City.  Nothing says summer like a cool beverage and the smell of food on the grill, while you take a dip in the pool.  The kiddos loved it, and Pete and I had such a nice time catching up with family and I got to meet my little nephew, Skyler, for the first time.  To say he is precious would be an understatement... cool cat for sure!!

This is about how Harper and her cousins were for the better part of the day.  Whenever these 3 get together you can be assured of two things: they will play hard the WHOLE time AND they will sleep like babies that night... they made GREAT use of Grandma and Grandpa's pool for SURE!!!

  

The little guy with his Daddy and Uncle... such a sweetheart!

Pool time is the best time!!!

 

Maggie was LOVIN' her time with Uncle Andy!!  And Evelyn LOVES the water... she would just prefer for NO ONE to touch her... she just about gave me a heart attack trying to dive out of my arms into open water the whole time!!

...and she so enjoyed watching Grandma with everything... it was the only time we could get her to be still!

After our Cambridge City visit, it was back to Carmel to celebrate Memorial Day with my side of the family.  So fun kicking back and relaxing for a few days....

I think we have another Papa- fan on our hands!

Sweet Girls enjoying time at Nana & Papa's!

{yes, that is a live cat in the baby carrier.  Gracie really is a team player when Ms. Harper is around;)}

 

After a couple 'chill days' Pete and I packed up Maggie for St. Louis appointments.  Nana and Papa were kind enough to watch the other two rugrats and it made doctor appointments with Maggie a breeze- THANK YOU!!!!

We quickly came back to Indy following those appointments, unpacked Maggie, did a load of laundry, and slept a few hours before hopping on an EARLY flight to Minnesota.  We had our bags packed and our fingers crossed that the trip would be successful in finding a house.

We missed our munchkins in the worst way, but we received tons of pictures, showing us they were doing just fine with Nana, Papa, and their aunts, and uncle!!

Harper decided to put on a little make-up all by herself, and Evelyn was eating like a champ- Nana taught her to eat with a fork!!!

Harper got to spend some one-on-one with Aunt Abby getting Starbucks and tackling a summer-reading program in 4 days- ha!!!  Harper LOVED it... THANK YOU, ABBY!!

Pete and I were successful: we found a community we just loved and a neighborhood that seems PERFECT!!!  We put an offer in on a house that will be finished the end of June and it was accepted!!  We are so excited and look forward to closing on it soon!

We picked up our kiddos in Indiana, gave our family HUGE hugs for all of their help, and made the commute back to Arkansas for the last time.  

The last few weeks have been spent soaking up all we love about this area with our fantastic friends... its been so fun!!

We enjoyed a Pate-Lee family fun night of pizza and ice cream, made complete by a 3 mile walk along the Crystal Bridges trail and I knocked off 'walk' the infamous 'Hill' from my bucket list... I had littles with me and a full stomach- I couldn't run it, people... hehe!

  

Such a BEAUTIFUL trail...

Thank you so much for the fun evening, Pate family!!!

We were able to go on a Mommy-Daughter adventure, with Harper's friend, Elise and her Mommy to a horse farm!  It was such a great time: 2 hours spent learning how to take care of a horse, riding, and making them special treats.  Harper had a BLAST!!!

Thank you for inviting us, Elizabeth!!!

 

The rest of the time we've been enjoying the quiet moments with our munchkins.  We know July will be a bit hectic, so time at home has been so nice.  

 Maggie continues to sit up more and more and is eating so well on her own.  She seems to be done with the hitting when she's frustrated (little worried I may have jinxed it saying it out loud- ha:)), and just seems overall- happier.  LOVE IT!!

 

Harper is going through the emotions that seem pretty normal with change: wanting to spend as much time as she can in her house, with her friends, playing with her toys.  She remains our happy, goofy, girl... ALWAYS!

  

And Evelyn is rockin' being 15 months old: she is walking EVERYWHERE, eating everything, and just cut 5 teeth at one time... ya, it was a bit of a long week!  We love her though... she never seizes to make us laugh! 

So here it is, folks.  Forgive my husband, it was raining- ha!  The new Lee residence, coming soon.... with a pretty different zipcode- HA!  Plymouth, MN HERE WE COME!!!!!!