July Happenings

We kicked off the month of July by moving to Doha (for ten days at least - ha!). We packed up our 15+ suitcases, stroller, cats and headed to our temporary apartment for about ten days before the girls and I flew to America for the rest of the summer.

It was great to have time with Jason and celebrate the girls' birthdays. We explored some of the indoor activities around Doha with the girls and enjoyed some pool time (in the morning or late evening when it wasn't quite so hot).

1. Packing light for the move, hahaha.
2. The cats traveled well and adjusted to life in the new apartment.
3. Little Lego builders at one of the many malls in Doha.
4. Liv's Lego creation.
5. Evy's Lego creation.
6. Celebrating America on the Fourth of July.
7. Madi taking a turn at pictures - Liv and Daddy
8. Madi taking a turn at pictures - Evy and Mommy

We found a fun event called Summer Festival in one of the large expo centers. They had the largest bouncy castles and slides and trampolines that I have ever seen! There were also rides and ball pits and carousels! We went when they opened thinking we'd spend a couple hours there...eight hours later after Jason joined us for dinner and the girls played more we finally headed home with some exhausted girls!

We had a birthday makeup for Madi when we first arrived in Doha because she wanted cheesecake and Jason was gone for her actual birthday. On Evy and Liv's birthday we treated all the girls to mini manicures and then went out to dinner and - surprise - more cheesecake. :-)

I can't believe these sweet girls are T H R E E! I love their friendship and closeness, but uniqueness. They are so different, but love each other so well and both adore their big sister.

After the twins' birthday the girls and I boarded a plane for the l-o-n-g flight to Houston. It was our longest flight to date at 16 hours. That's a long time! The girl's continue to amaze me with their ability to adapt and they traveled like pros. They only get the iPad on airplanes so it was a routine of movies, games, meal, nap for three or four rotations and next thing we knew the plane was landing. 

We started our summer in Houston and the girls were thrilled to see their cousins and participate in VBS. We also tried to see as many friends as we could, but there's never enough time. 

My Dad and his wife Mary came down rom Chicago while we were in Houston to see the girls. They loved spending the afternoons with them and treating them to miniature golf, build-a-bear, and the aquarium!

1. Our sweet friend Cindy who met us at the airport when we arrived to help with luggage and picking up our rental car. 
2. Re-creating the same pre-ice cream pose with their cousins.
3. A fun afternoon at the splash pad (and we laughed when we realized the kids ordered themselves in the same positions as the ice cream since this was taken first!)
4. We spent an afternoon with another dear friend Catherine who bought the girls these dresses (which they changed into immediately stripping naked in the middle of the mall 🤦🏻‍♀️)
5. And then posing in the dresses. :-)
6. We got to have a mini Norway reunion with these sweet ladies - Sandy, Jenny, Brenda and Karen. They were all huge blessings bringing meals and babysitting when the twins were born and they continue to love on our family every summer.
7. My favorite meal to have in America - Vietnamese bun tom nuong. Sooooo good.
8. The girls getting ready for the eight hour drive to Oklahoma in the cutest road trip shirts our friend Erin bought them.
9. We arrived safely in Oklahoma and the first thing the girls wanted to was Jazzy. 

We only spent one evening in Oklahoma before flying to Colorado (it was the easiest to not haul unnecessary luggage around with us) to see more family and friends. We stayed down in Colorado Springs and I was able to sneak away over the weekend and head up to Golden for my sorority pledge class 10 year reunion! (Thank you Lisa and Lily again for watching the girls so I could attend!)

1. The beautiful clouds en route to Colorado.
2. Dinner with good friends Pam and Sabina who hadn't met the twins or seen Madi for a couple years.
3. Helping Mimi garden.
4. Fun feeding the giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
5. This zoo has the most beautiful views!!
6. Madi climbing statues and posing for Aunt Lilia (amazing photographer!)
7. Another fab shot from Aunt Lilia of goofy Liv.
8. Ice cream treat for these girls while Mom was away.
9. And lots of snuggles with Aunt Lilia.

There is a wonderful playground not far from where Lisa lives and we took the girls there multiples times. Lilia brought the big camera and got some amazing shots of the girls. I just couldn't pick which to share so you get them all!

I had an amazing time up in Golden with these ladies. I can't believe it's been ten years! We had a lovely time just relaxing, visiting campus, checking out the new places in Golden, and reminiscing about old times and catching up on what's new with everyone. 

We also cherished the time we got to spend with Lisa's parents. The girls love all of them and it was not easy to leave at the end of the day. I'm so glad we captured these pictures with them.

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Family Photos in Old City Baku

We loved taking pictures in Game Stavanger (Old Stavanger) before we left Norway and knew we wanted to do something similar in the Old City of Baku. Thankfully I have an amazing photographer friend Alisha who was available one of the days Jason was in town in June after having to re-schedule our first session due to extreme winds and rain.

The evening we took them was still a little breezy, but not too bad and the sun was lovely. We walked around the city and had lots of laughs and joy taking these pictures. We have some beautiful girls and Alisha captured them perfectly.

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The Ocean is Calling: Our Moana-Themed Birthday Party

Similar to last year's jungle party, we opted to do another joint birthday party for the girls before we left Baku. We had the party at our house again and I had a ball designing the invitations and making a more simple cake than last year (read - no fondant animals - ha!).

Thankfully we had help with the setup and some of the decor and food preparation otherwise I would not have pulled everything off! It was a beautiful afternoon and the girls had an amazing time. It was also our last chance to see quite a few families before our move and that made it very bittersweet, but wonderful to have so many gathered together celebrating our girls.

My mom bought these adorable Moana outfits, but unfortunately they were a bit too big. I knew the girls wouldn't be able to keep them on long so we snapped an outfit picture and let them change into their birthday shirts before our guests arrived.

I know you may not believe me, but I did go simpler this year. Or it felt like it at least (maybe because I wasn't spending hours making fondant animals, which surprisingly survived the move to Doha in one piece, hahaha). My friend Alisha gifted us picture-taking at the birthday and I am so thankful she captured these memories since it allowed us to relax and just enjoy the party.

We had face painting and bubbles for entertainment and lots of laughter and fun both inside and outside the house.

It was a perfect birthday and I am thankful these sisters love each other and let me do another combined party for them - hahaha. Happy 3rd and 5th birthday to our amazing girls!

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