Birthday parties and family visits

We thought my mother-in-law was coming to visit for the weekend, but at the last minute, she changed her plans and decided to come the following weekend with my brother-in-law and both of his kids. Our home isn't quite set up for more than one or two guests at a time just yet, but we managed. Two slept in the guest room, while two more slept out on the recliners. I sure do look forward to the day when I have a second, private bathroom to use on those occasions.

However, we made the best of it and enjoyed time with family.

I took my mother-in-law and niece out to my favorite tea shop in Nashville. We tried to go one other time they were here together, but we found out it closed early that day right before we got there. So I promised my niece that I'd take her the next time she came. This time she came right before her birthday, so I made sure to honor my promise to her to celebrate her birthday. I love the sweet relationship I've been able to build with her in the short time that I've been here (and few times I've been able to see her). I love her dearly and count it a privilege to be more involved in her life now. 

Mike had a lot of fun taking the boys on a little ride around the property. And then his mom! She's braver than me. Or maybe just more interested in outdoor fun. I prefer to walk or ride my bike.

We noticed an old swingset/playset literally buried in the vines and brush at the front of our property that we have just ignored until this last weekend. Since Mike and his brothers were already out and about with chainsaws and axes to clear trails and cut down trees, they started whacking away at all the vines and finally uncovered the whole thing. I had no idea how big it actually is, with a whole backside to it! Now I have something for kids to do at my house outside besides play with legos inside. We have a large amount of games, too, but most of them are still in storage. Plus I'm also starting to build up a resorvoir of indoor and outdoor toys, balls, etc. I still don't feel like my house is anywhere near hosting ready, but I'm finding out quickly that the Alspaugh's don't really care. They will plop down anywhere and make the most of it. An attitude I could probably learn from. 

Reese and Jaxon and their dad. 

A last minute surprise party for Reese. 

And she was indeed surprised, despite the fact that she was in the store with us when her Grandma bought all of the party decorations!

I found out over Christmas that she likes arts and crafts a lot, so I made sure to bring home my craft bin with all of my supplies. Neither of us had any interest in the muddy, trucking, four-wheeling activities going on outside, so we went to the Dollar Tree and picked out some crafts to do together.  Much to our surprise, her little brother, Jaxon, got into the crafting with us, too. 

We were completely floored at how well he did with the stencils on his canvas. 

Unfortunately the stencils didn't turn out very good with paints, so we improvised and painted over everything to make our own designs. 

Reese got super creative with colors. I just turned mine over and used colored pencils after I saw how well Jaxon's turned out with colored pencils. 

Then after they left, I painted over the other side and then used a marker with the stencils. 

Later that night, Reese and Jaxon got creative on the lego table and built two 2-car 2-story garages. I was pretty impressed. That lego table has sure come in handy whenever my niece and nephews come over!

Before they left on Sunday, we stopped over at Matt's house to meet the new baby goats that they got for 4-H this year. Aren't they precious?

Now, I won't get into the more unpleasant parts of the weekend like when a tree fell onto the power line and knocked out our power for the night. Or the inconvenience of trying to get up and ready for church in a one bathroom house, without power to make coffee, breakfast, etc., in a home that's already not set up well for guests yet. All I can say is thank goodness for donuts.