'what's up' weekly.

This week was SO. FUN.

On Friday, my sister and brother-in-law, along with my sweet niece, arrived for a weekend stay.  It was their first time meeting Juniper, and... I barely got any photos.  Why am I such a failure at life?  I did capture Juniper's enthralled-slash-surprised gaze at her Uncle Austin.

On Saturday, we got to spend the morning looky-looing our friend Keaton while he REMOVED TWO TREES FROM OUR YARD.

Guys.  This is major news.  First of all, our yard was kind of an eyesore.  Second of all, our house is really dark, and this particular tree was standing sentinel right smack dab in front of the window.  While I loved watching all the little squirrels and birds while I sat on the couch, I really, really, really need any indoor natural light I can get.

I'll tell you more about the day next week, but suffice it to say that the tree removal started a cascade of yard events that made life look even rosier than it usually does.  Once the tree was gone, Todd started wondering what it would take to remove the ugly light post from the yard.  But to remove the light post meant we needed to fix the porch light so we weren't completely without exterior lighting.  Once the porch light was fixed and the lamp post removed, our ugly mailbox was giving us the stank eye.  And once the rest of the yard was taken care of, why not just plant the front beds?

I'm so glad Lauren and Austin were here.  They have way more giddy-up than we do when it comes to just starting projects.  Also, they have know-how.  Also, they have raw DIY chutzpah.  All things we have zero of.

Saturday afternoon, Todd took Atticus, Finneas and Laurelai to a wedding in Kirksville.  (Penelope was supposed to go, but her stomach was 'off' that morning, so I didn't want to put her in the van for three hours in fancy clothes with only one adult on duty... it just seemed like a recipe for disaster.  So she stayed home... and ended up feeling fine.  Go figure.)  So Austin and Penelope fixed the porch light while Lauren and I sat together on the couch and nursed our respective babies.  It was so fun.  I have waited a whole decade to get to mother alongside my sister, and I can tell you it is cracking up to be everything I hoped.

Once Juniper was down for a nap, Lauren and Austin offered to hold down the fort so I could get some time alone!  I went to Lucky's, where I grabbed an iced coffee (and also some toothpowder, because I have a hard time not doing something practical if I have kids-free time) and sat at an outside table reading The Tapestry.  It was so great.

Sunday morning we headed to church, and afterward Penelope and I met Lauren, Austin and Baby Hyler at Menards to get supplies for the yard projects.  We spent that afternoon edging the flower bed, planting boxwoods and hydrangeas, putting down mulch, and setting and staining the new mailbox post.

Sunday was also Pentecost, so after all the other Van Voorsts were up from naps, Lauren and I headed out to get stuff to throw together a quick feast day charcuterie board before they headed home.

Is next weekend too soon to invite them back down?

The week itself was actually pretty mundane.  I fought off a very mild cold at the beginning of the week, which shouldn't be even remotely notable, except that it totally exhausted me.  Life feels very full right now - not too much, not like I'm drowning, but like I have very little margin.  I'm always nursing, or schooling, or laying Juniper down, or getting Juniper up, or prepping dinner (which is still fresh, since meals were covered by friends and family for the first couple of months).  I'm also in the middle of a few bigger projects, and I'm starting to lose a bit of steam.  So we honestly just spent the week trying to keep our heads above water, which for the kids meant a lot of outside time in the beautiful weather, and for me meant trying to keep my eyes open.

Last night, we had dinner at a friend's house.  They have horses and a huge dog and a toddler and a hammock, so the kids kept themselves entertained all night!

And we have somehow found ourselves back at Friday again already.  I have big plans for the weekend: getting caught up on laundry, maybe taking some clothes to consignment.  If there's one thing Paige Van Voorst knows how to do, it's party.