Summer

 We're actually on vacation now so I'm trying to catch up from before that. Here's the babies sharing a towel after swimming. They decided they are best friends forever (besties, according to Jill). 

We did VBS at our church and they got to cook.

I love this dumb dog.

Sally.

Me, resting, in our new house!

Oh with Buddy boy!

Maggie insisted on taking pictures of the sunset.

I love her.

I hate Millie because she's so bad! Our backyard is ridiculous with all the stuff she has stolen and destroyed!!!

Someone got her hands on a freaking marker! A sharpie.

Velvet pants. A long dress. A hoodie. Is she a homeless person in Canada in winter? Nope, it's summer in Texas. Weirdo.

Resting hard after stealing and destroying so much stuff.

She loves to use a sheet mask. Weirdo.

My precious Buddy boy.

Maggie had a sleepover at her friend, Anna's, house.

Fourth of July

 Ruby taking selfies.

My fat girl, taking a nap.

We had quite a weekend. Laurie and I had plans for Friday night and her babysitter cancelled. So, we brought her girls to my house so my babysitter could watch all the kids. Then the kids begged to do a sleepover. So, for the first time, all four girls had a sleepover. Guess how much sleep they got? If you guessed, less than 3 hours, you are correct. I last remember yelling at them at 3:46 am. But they mostly were quiet and I figured this is what memories are made of. We all slept in until 9-ish. Then at noon-ish we met Laurie at Lazy Dog for brunch.

The food was eh but their french fries are worth dying for. Please believe me when I say these fries are the best fries I have ever eaten. 

Saturday, I went and picked up Laurie's kids at 8 pm from Sally's house. Thankfully, it occurred to Sally that kids cannot possibly go TWO hours without food so she packed us snacks. The only thing the girls fought about was snacks: should we eat them now? Let's save them! She took a bigger bite!

However, other than that, I can't imagine how this could have been better. The weather was absolutely perfect. The kids didn't fight or whine or anything. They played nicely. They loved the fireworks. Incidentally, this was Ruby's first time seeing fireworks. 

Then Sunday, I picked up Laurie's girls and she picked up boxes for me and we met at Jeff's house to swim. Laurie didn't want to cook so we ordered pizza. It took forever but was good.

Guessing game: what did Ruby forget???

What else is new?

Lots of new stuff. One, I am getting licensed to adopt. I have wanted to adopt children since I was a kid. I'm not sure where I got the idea but it has been a goal always. I kept putting it off for one reason or another and then, at some point, I decided I would do it when Ruby consistently slept through the night and I paid off all my bad debt. Well those things both came this spring. 

Because I'm adopting, I need a bigger house. This house is perfect for the three of us but add an extra kid or two and it's too much. So! We're moving. The market is insane right now. I was able to sell my house in less than 24 hours at a $100k profit. Not bad. Now we'll sit in a rental either until the market gets less crazy or one year, whichever is shorter. This rental house is the only one at all in our area that is reasonable and takes pets. Unbelievable that we got it!

I also changed jobs. I love my other job but I wanted something closer and less hours. The actual work day was 9 hours, before the commute. It was a long day! In a regular ISD the day is 8 hours. So, I'm in Kennedale, which is less than 4 miles from the rental. Woohoo!!!

So, I guess that's it. I graduate with my master's in December. Maggie starts JUNIOR HIGH in the fall. Ruby will start Kindergarten. 

Picture Dump

 Ruby wearing socks from Aunt Gwen.

Playing with the dollhouse at Grandpa's house, while we fed and played with kitten.

Maggie had a sleepover with Nana and Gran.

We saw a rainbow!

Very exciting stuff!

Now this is cute.

Faker!

She's "lawning the grass."

Sadie. Our temporary foster. She leaves Friday.

Yummy food.

Who's taller?

Grandmo came for a visit. On Friday morning, I was brushing my teeth, when I looked up and Maureen was standing there with a shocked look on her face. She told me her fake teeth were missing. My ridiculous rude dogs steal everything. She had left them on the coffee table in her pants and she found the pants on the floor. I went out and looked but it was still dark and I couldn't see anything. So for the next 30 minutes, I freaked out. I'm sure Maureen did as well. Finally the sun came out and I went and looked again AND I FOUND THEM. Entirely intact. Amazing! Now it's a funny story and not a nightmare!

Ruby wanted to check if she was taller. Not quite. . . 

If I fits. . .