Mama Hop & Aunt Leanne's Visit in Photos

I'm leaving on a jet plane...bellowed from the depths of Mama Hop's lungs as she waved goodbye from the airport yesterday.  No, actually there were no cheesy sixties serenades but I could totally picture that happening.  Watch - she'll do it next time just to embarrass me.  I only joke to distract from the sadness that that their departure leaves.  But before you get too down in the dumps, hear me out:  Aunt Leanne will fill several more posts with her signature charisma and humor, and when we run out of that, we have what will likely be the best post of the year so stay with us!

These past 10 days with Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne flew by, as time tends to do when two smiling faces show up to pick up your toddlers every morning so you can enjoy some much needed R&R (Ha!  Who am I kidding?!  R&R translates to doing laundry and running errands without toddlers in tow and that, my friends, is a mother's definition of a vacation!)  Check out Mama Hop & Aunt Leanne's tundra gear: 

 That fur on Aunt Leanne's hood makes me giggle every time I look at it.  All week, I would glance in my rear view mirror and see nothing but  an enormous lion's mane of faux fur engulfing her adorable face.

You know the girls enjoyed every minute of their time with Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne.  

 From bathing to dressing, from braiding hair to putting on footwear, from zipping coats to buckling car seats, Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne took over and surrounded these girls with fun times and love. 

Josie was particularly delighted to be in the presence of the only person who appreciates endless displays of affection as much as she does.

While I was off Christmas shopping and attending to my domestic drudgery, the girls were having a fantastic time at the condo.  Mama Hop even let the girls help her bake cookies.  She's much braver than I am, folks.  And I can't help but giggle when I go to retrieve my children and Mama Hop and Aunt Leanne's incredibly orderly, adults-only dwelling, looks like it's been hit by a hurricane (Hurricane Merryn to be exact).

Ah but even though Merryn gets a F+ for tidiness, Aunt Leanne can't help but love her.

With the holidays upon us, it was time to start decorating over at our house.  I got myself in way over my head by jumping on board with this decorative mesh craze only to realize that after six unsuccessful tree-wrapping attempts later, it was never going to be Pinterest-worthy.  Lucky for me, my personal creativity consultant was in town to save the day.

Thank goodness her trusty sidekick was there to help (that is, if "helping" entails resting on one's laurels, sipping hot chocolate, singing along to Christmas music, and cheesing it up for the camera).  You've gotta love Aunt Leanne!

I'm very pleased with the end result!  The Christmas tree inhabits the awkward corner of our kitchen nicely and the house now contains the perfect amount of holiday cheer.

Kind of makes you want to break out in the José Feliciano classic, "Feliz Navidad"...

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart!!!!

Sorry, I can't help myself.  I love that song.

 I think the only thing this place is missing is wine glasses.  We could really use a few more wine glasses.

Be sure to tune in to the next post to witness all the fun we had at Thanksgiving and our Christmas gift exchange.  "Thelma" and Leanne did the gift wrapping.  Talk about entertainment.  

And don't forget to check back soon to catch an exciting, hilarious and unforgettable, "must-see" Aunt Leanne video.