Just catching up on a bit of email before bedtime.

We have a no screen time in the house policy (only in the car). But lately we have been a bit glad for the existence of Disney movies. Kaya, Laney, and Tommy watched the entirety of Aladdin the other day. And it was awesome (I believe I used this time to do laundry and unpack the kitchen). A whole new world.

We spent the weekend at the first (?annual) Lipps family reunion in West Virginia. It was held at my dad’s childhood home/farm. There were nearly 50 people in attendance, include all of my dad’s siblings and many of their cousins. It was lovely to be back on the farm and the girls had a great time meeting their extended family. Here’s a shot of our immediate family on the top of the mountain on the back side of the house. I anticipate getting emailed a group picture of the whole Lipps clan and will post when it happens.

This picture is now a couple of weeks old, but was taken at 4am one day. After we moved, we lost all control of the girls’ sleep habits. They must have been nervous about the new house, because neither one wanted to sleep in their new room. So this is how we all slept.

BUT then we went on a cruise and their substitute caretakers whipped them into shape. Or perhaps the girls had no desire to sleep with others if mommy and daddy were out of town. Whatever the case, apparently one week is long enough for them to forget what once was, because they are sleeping beautifully in their own beds since we got back.

(Watch me eat my words tonight)

Sorry for the blog hiatus – Tommy and I spent the last week on a cruise boat in the Western Caribbean. It was awesome. We went scuba diving, zip lining, cave tubing, beaching, shopping, ropes coursing, bowling, mini golfing, eating (lots of eating) and much more. I actually feel relaxed. And many thanks to Gammy, Pop pop, Yoya, and Dylan for watching Kaya and Laney, who are remarkably better behaved than when we left. Now back to reality…

I finally unpacked Kaya yesterday – the box was quite heavy! But I knew I would find her eventually.

We’ve been unpacking every chance we got (which are few and far between). Laney unpacked herself into this cabinet, but for some reason I just can’t get the door to stay shut.

I realize this is not the best quality photo. That’s because it was taken at 9pm after a marathon 14 hour day of moving. Many many thanks to Laura, Dylan, and Jordan (a friend from work) for coming to save us after hour 6 and allow us to finish (or at least, nearly finish) the job by 9pm. Shortly after this picture, I collapsed in exhaustion into my bed (and by bed, I mean mattress) and just woke up now to post this picture.

Last week Laney was obsessed with shoes. This week, she’s obsessed with buckles. When we arrive at any destination and unbuckle her carseat straps, she insists on rebuckling them. Then says “buckle” and asks to be unbuckled, so she can buckle them again. Repeat x 25. It may even be more than 25, but that’s the highest number I’ve had the patience to get up to. She sure does love it though.

The girls and I spent Saturday afternoon at Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful NC spring day and the Gardens were packed with people. The kids ran around the gardens and we watched the ducks, swans, and carp, then had cheese, bananas, and pasta (what more could a kid want?) at the cafe on the veranda. The kids were so happy they even shared a stroller without anyone getting shoved. It would have been a perfect afternoon except Tommy was missing due to SmartHome event.