What a weekend!

You know the weekends you have that are thoroughly enjoyable?  The ones when, at the end of it, you look back and think, "I just had a GREAT weekend!"

Well, I had one of those weekends this past weekend.  And I was so blessed by it!

Kellen had been gone for almost two weeks (home the weekend prior), so it was wonderful to spend some time with him.  Tatum had missed him terribly, so it was great to see them playing together (and sweetly 95% of the time, too).

Saturday was an incredibly busy day.  We started out with me going crazy trying to get EVERYTHING together for the maternity photo shoot that was slated to begin at 9 AM.  It was one of those times when I thought I knew what I was going to wear, what I was going to accessorize with, and then when I put it on, I didn't like it.  And if I didn't like it on, I certainly wasn't going to feel good enough in it to get pictures made.

So after grabbing clothes for the kids in colors that coordinated, deciding then changing my mind about what Matt was going to wear, and grabbing almost a half dozen shirts for me, we set out.  Late.  Our poor photographer called 2 or 3 times just to make sure she didn't miss us at our set location, but it was just one of those mornings!  Luckily, she's really easy-going and completely understood my neurotic-ness.

Long story short, after getting her opinion on clothing choice (which luckily coincided with what my leanings were), we were ready to go.  We took lots of candid shots with all of us as a family at the George Bush Library by the pond and gardens.  There was a nice breeze, so it wasn't completely miserable, either!  Quick change of clothes for me, and Matt and I took some shots together.  Then back to the car for clothing changes for me and the kids and we took some pictures fully belly style....with the kids painting my belly.  Kellen even wrote 'family' (misspelled, but how adorable!) on my tummy.

I cannot wait to see how they turn out!

As we were on our way to the photo shoot, I realized why I was wanting it to turn out perfectly. --This would be my last chance to do this.

Ever.

NOTE: I know the drill about never say never.  But if there is a 4th baby Hapes, God will be truly demonstrating his sense of humor. Big time.

I had wanted to take maternity pictures with both of the other kids, but I never followed through with it for one reason or another.  I have in my head the types of images that I wanted to see...but never made it happen.

And this was my last shot.

No wonder I was so stressed out!  Once I realized that, I relayed my epiphany to Matt, took a deep breath, and thought...but Maleigh will make sure we get good shots.

We finished up with the photo shoot right around 11 AM, then headed to the house for a quick change of clothes, grabbed some coupons and went to eat at a pizza place we hadn't tried yet, but had coupons for (that expire at the end of the month!).  In case you're wondering, Hungry Howie's Pizza is FABULOUS!  I thought it was a little pricey, even with the coupons, but then realized that I was full on only two pieces of pizza, which is rare for me (pregnant or non-pregnant, I can put down some pizza!).  Oddly enough, the same thing happened for Matt, so we ended up with lunch AND dinner out of the deal.

Then I headed out to my spa day, and had a facial, massage, and pedicure.  SO NICE!  I finally made use of the Christmas (yes, I know...Christmas) present that Matt gave me.  As I finished my spa session, I set out to use yet another coupon at Bath Junkie for some salt scrub.  Things went a little awry when I was rear-ended en route (no injuries, thank God!) and then realized that my attempt was in vain anyway, since Bath Junkie has apparently closed here in town.

Back to the house I went, and then we hung out for the remainder of the night.

Sunday I apparently needed lots of sleep, because I mumbled something to the effect of, 'Just a few more minutes' to Matt when he attempted to wake me up to get ready for church.  I have no recollection of that conversation.  At any rate, the kids lounged, I lounged, Matt tried desperately to get rid of his headache, and I mustered the energy to clean up a little around the house in the meantime.

Matt and Kellen went to mow grass while Tatum was finishing her nap and snuggling with me, then when they got back to the house we headed out for our Sunday School dinner group playdate/picnic at one of the splash pads here in town.  We were there between 2 1/2 and 3 hours and the kids had a BLAST!  You would have thought that there were holes in their stomachs with as much as they continued to eat, but they played HARD!

Afterwards, we went to Ben and Jerry's to use yet another coupon (catching my theme yet?) for a buy one, get one free ice cream.  We all had yummy flavors and it was a great ending to a fun filled family weekend!

We got back home, Matt bathed the kids and we got them settled down for the night, he went to the store (gotta love my man who will shop for me!) and then he and I stayed up waaaayyy too late watching Wolverine.  I had forgotten how much I liked that movie!

Here's hoping your weekend was as enjoyable as mine!