Sarah Palin came to Little Rock and Jason and I were able to leave the girls at home (thank you again Geneva!) to go have dinner and hear her speak. I giggled the entire way to the event - not so much because we were going to see Sarah - but because I had actually showered, but makeup on, was wearing a dry clean only suit AND I didn't have a diaper bag with me! It was incredible. Truth be told though...about an hour and half later I was really missing my babies and excited to head back home.

It was a great night. We saw all my old friends from Governor Huckabee's office and even sat at the same table as Jason's favorite local conservative talk show host - David Elswick.

We were naughty and sneeked into an area we weren't supposed to be in but had a chance to say hello to Sarah and amazingly enough she remembered us! She even asked how my parents and sisters were doing.

This was the view from our table.

A little closer...it really was her.


THEN...as we were looking around the room we spotted a local celebrity that has national fame...

...Michelle Duggar from TLC's "19 Kids and Counting!" She and her husband, Jim Bob, were in town visiting their baby girl who is staying at Arkansas' Children's Hospital. She was very sweet and gracious enough to pose for a picture with me. Isn't she tiny???

It was a memorable night to say the least!

***WARNING***

This is a pretty lengthy home video - about 6 minutes. I couldn't decide what to edit...so I didn't.

Enjoy!

We did it!!! We switched all the rooms around! Truth be told...we did a few weeks ago. Like I said - it's survival mode here at the Shephard house people! Nevertheless - this is an exciting post!

We moved our guestroom into the office to make it a dual-purpose space and then moved Evelyn out of the nursery and into her "big girl room" and then the most exciting move of all...Aurelia out of our room and into the nursery!!! We have our Mommy-Daddy space once again!

So here are the BEFORE pictures of the front bedroom/office:

Here are the DURING photos:

We wanted to repaint the room a lighter color so we had to prime the walls first - Jason was thrilled.

After the primer was up we repainted the space - Champagne Tickle - such a happy little color.

We decided to get all the carpets professionally cleaned so that meant everything in all the rooms had to find a place in the living room...

For all you who really know me...you can imagine how thrilled I was with this arrangement.

Aurelia didn't seem to mind the chaos - such a prime seat for TV viewing!

Good thing we weren't entertaining.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

The AFTER photos!

The space turned out pretty nicely and is ready for guests! So if you are in the mood for some good BBQ then come visit!

The living room even cleaned up pretty nicely. Our extra couch is out here now - not sure how long it'll stay this way - but for the time being it's nice having the extra seating.

Now for Evelyn's Big Girl room!

This is hanging outside Evelyn's new room.

Aurelia has one too!

View from Evelyn's bedroom door.

Another shot of her new dresser and fun wall decorations!

We found these great butterflies to hang from the ceiling - they are perfect for her garden themed bedroom!

A photo of her reading corner.

We still have some work to do - I'm not too crazy about the arrangement of all the things on the shelves.

This is Evelyn's new bed. It'll grow with her eventually expanding into a twin sized bed. She absolutely LOVES this little space. Jason and I were amazed at how easy of a transition it was to move her in here! She hasn't had one problem adjusting to life without her crib.

See what I mean?

WHEW! That was a lot of work and we're happy to have it behind us! One last shot of my two little princesses. Life is crazy and we're exhausted - but man is it good!

Not too soon after Aunt Bonnie left Sue Tate and her little man, Ryan left picturesque Colorado to come pay us a visit! The kids had a fantastic time together and it was wonderful to see my friend again.

"Look Mommy! There's a boy in the house - and he's just my size!"

Cuties.

All three kiddos got along famously - especially when it came to tearing up the house and making a mess of all the toys!

Their buddy, Owen, even came over for a visit and they all sat around the piano singing show tunes.

Bath time!

Seriously - how cute are these little guys!?

Evelyn was sad to see her little man go - she gave him a BIG squeeze goodbye and I don't think Ryan minded one bit...

Well...this is an extremely overdue post...but what can ya do? I tell you - we are in survival mode here at the Shephard house. Two kids under the age of two is a LOT of work my friends...a LOT of work. So...over the next few days - perhaps I should be a tad more realistic and give myself a few weeks...I'll work to update this blog - we've been busy!

First off: AUNT BONNIE!

Evelyn was right on top of things and got her alone time with the magical, wonderful Aunt Bonnie right off the bat. I had to sneak in there with my camera and catch this adorableness - reading a book of nursery rhymes and loving every minute of it.

Then the two of them had breakfast with Minnie Mouse and Pluto - they came all the way from Disney Land!

Aurelia and Truman we're going to be left out - they jumped right in there too! As a matter of fact - this is pretty much the position Truman took the entire time Aunt Bonnie was here - she brought a special bag of treats just for him and was VERY generous in her portions. I think Truman was the most depressed out of everyone when she had to go home.

Evelyn fell down and got a boo-boo...there's nothing like Daddy's arms to make everything feel better. Cutie.

Typical Aunt Bonnie: smiling and laughing - it's contagious!

We were able to take Aunt Bonnie on a tour of Jason's plane - the C-130 J model.

All Aboard!

Aunt Bonnie said that after sitting on this seat - the same seat every airman or soldier sits on to travel back and forth to the desert - she would never complain about her seat on a commercial aircraft again...not too terribly comfortable.

Evelyn didn't seem to mind...that is until Daddy came and got all up in her "Aunt B. chili."

"You can call me Captain Duckworth."

Now this would make for a fun trip...

Just getting some fresh air - those long flights to and from the middle east are rough.

"Hi Mommy."

What a natural.

She looks good - doesn't she?

Group shot...yes...I was there. :)

Then Evelyn's favorite part of the day: Bath Time! Daddy taught her how to "kick and pull" in the tub - watch out Michael Phelps!

We miss you, Aunt Bonnie! Thanks for making the trip out here - we love you!!!