I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to get to plan a brand new kitchen.  To give you some background, 2 years ago we had a small budget to renovate our kitchen. We'd already updated the appliances and the floors.  But there was only so much lipstick we could throw on a 60 year old pig.  It was finally time to replace the counters and cabinets. Eek!  We excitedly started gathering information to estimate cost. But then we had the 3rd contractor over to fix our roof.  Which led to our entire kitchen renovation savings being spent on a roof. Which is kind of like spending $200 on socks instead of a new pair of boots.  Or like spending $5000 on surgery for your big toe when what you really want are new tatas.  It was such a bummer! And then to add insult to injury, when we put our house on the market we put in new laminate and a new sink. While it certainly wasn't what I would've chosen for a "real" remodel (although I loved this sink), it made the kitchen look about 100 times better and I hated that we hadn't done it sooner.

Oh Genevieve! I can't believe you're in Kindergarten.  As I drove away from your school I couldn't help but cry as I thought about how fast these 5 years have gone by and how you're no longer my baby. You're a big girl now.

With fall just around the corner, I thought I'd share Genevieve's Apple themed 4th birthday party.  I can't believe she chose "fall," over "Frozen" as a theme. I promise-- it was all her!  Well I added the emphasis on apples, but still. It's such a fun theme for a fall birthday. I kept this party somewhat simple since it feels like back to back parties when I host Nadia's party in September and then another in November.  Plus I had a 3 month old.  Nevertheless I was pleased with how it turned out.

That's what Joe said to me on our very first night in our apartment in Raleigh. It was late, we were exhausted, but we did it.  We're in Raleigh.

THE DRIVE...
went really well.  We learned from our first road trip and made sure to pack the van the night before, leave early, and give the girls Dramamine and limit screen time to avoid car sickness. That combined with not having to nurse every 3 hours made the trip quicker and easier.  All of the kids did great.