while I waited...week 23

Mike and I were completely kid free for most of last week!  While it would have been lovely to take a little trip or even have a date night, we decided to use our time and spruce up a few areas of our house (and enjoyed lots of lunch dates!).  This week's recap will include lots of behind the scenes pics of our progress as well as lots of food snaps (not sure what got into me this week!).  One thing you won't see...pictures of our big kids!  Ugh!  Those stinkers haven't sent us a pic of anything since last Sunday!  We've barely even heard from them!  The great news is that they are having a blast, the bad news is I don't think they've missed us.  At.all!  Anyway, here's what I did last week while I waited...

On Monday, I slept in and then enjoyed a walk on this glorious day!

 Hope was at my parent's house and enjoyed her favorite snack after her first day at swim lessons!

 Meanwhile...Maggie was down in the dumps.  She loves our kids and just couldn't understand why they would all leave her!

Once Mike got home from work, it was time to start working on our projects!  First things first - empty each space of all its stuff!  Sadly, this mess only got worse as the week progressed!

 After we emptied the rooms, we decided we were starving (and we were also out of beer).  We went into town to grab a pizza and salad from Blue Baker.  And, since they don't sell alcohol, we decided to take our meal to a nearby park for a little impromptu picnic.  This was definitely one of my favorite parts of our week together!

 Tuesday started much like Monday with another gorgeous day for a walk!

 Hope's day looked a lot like the day before too!  Except this day included extra whipped cream!

Our Tuesday afternoon and evening looked a lot like this...

 

 Nothing seemed to be going right on Wednesday so we decided that we needed dessert!

 chocolate for me and coconut cream for Mike

 Day three of swim lessons in the books and baby girl is looking a bit worn out!

 Wednesday was National Best Friend Day and Shelly and I were so bummed that we couldn't hang out.  But, what does an awesome BFF do?  She brings you dinner!  She's the BEST!

Speaking of best friends...Mike's best friend from childhood asked Colby to go to the Giants game with his kiddos on Wednesday night.  Colby said it was "awesome"!  

He's real big into one word texts... :/

 I spent Thursday morning at the Food Bank with these awesome kiddos.  This is our 7th summer to volunteer during the summer and it's truly one of my favorite days!

 Afterwards, Mike and I had to go look at windows and then he treated me to a yummy lunch.

 AND my favorite dessert!  Yes, I ate my way through this week and I can't understand, for the life of me, why I gained so much weight this week... :)

 Hope finished up day four of swimming.

 And Maggie couldn't understand why Mini had to lay so close to her toy!

 This is random but I had to share anyway!  Mike thinks Mini looks like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.  Now I can't help but think about that every time I look at her!

Thursday evening we took a break from painting and enjoyed a fun dinner with friends.  So fun that I didn't take one.single.picture!  We had planned to go home and paint a little before turning in but ended up relaxing on the couch and watching the first two episodes of Friday Night Lights.

 My parents and Hope came back into town on Friday night for the baseball Super Regionals.  Since our dining table was covered with stuff, there was no place to sit for dinner.  Hope enjoyed an indoor picnic with her favorite food - spaghetti!

 Saturday I caught Mini checking out the progress.  Thankfully there wasn't wet paint anywhere for her to get into!

 Hope benefited from mom and dad being crazy busy and got to enjoy a fort AND eating in the living room!

 I finally took a break to watch a little baseball.  If you follow me on Snapchat (@hollymcberty), you got to see bits and pieces of our progress!

 Ugh - this is what I woke up to on Sunday. :(

 And I also had to say goodbye to Hope for a few more days while she finishes up swim lessons.  She was so sad but my mom assured me she had stopped crying before she got out of our neighborhood.

And then my mom sent me proof that she was A-ok (and also sporting a new Buc-ees
t-shirt!).

 After spending ALL day cleaning, the kitchen and everywhere is was finally clean!
Here are a few before/after pics of the areas we were working on...

 It's hard to tell but we painted the ceiling, all the trim work, the doors, the cabinets and the walls.  We also replaced the light fixtures and switched out the fixtures from brass to chrome.  We are about 90% completed.  The walls and trim were, what I like to refer to them as, the color of masking tape.  It's the original paint colors from when we moved in over nine years ago.  The trim is now white and the walls are different shades of gray.  Words can't begin to say how awesome it feels seeing these spaces.  We've still got a long way to go but at least we're making progress!

And as I was finishing up this post, I was watching my Aggies lose their Super Regional game.  Now you'll find me rooting for the Horned Frogs at the College World Series.  Heck, if we can't beat them we can at least say we lost to the (hopeful) National Champions, right?!

Colby and Holden will be flying home Monday evening.  YAY!  If you would, please say an extra prayer or two for safe travels.  This mama has really missed them and can't wait to get them home!

I'm really glad you stopped by!  Have an extraordinary week!  

Gig 'em and God bless! 

Holly

check out my FAVORITE link-ups page to see where I'm linking up today!

also linking up with Biana from B Loved Boston and

and the ladies from 100 Happy Days
Kate, Alison, Linzee, and Valerie