January 31, 2015: A visit from the goegleins! Always a treat to see them.  Did our traditional Thai Kitchen meal together, caught up on life, introduced the littles, and it was over before we knew it.  Until next time! :)

January 30, 2015: Cozy winter days. Warm tea and warm PJs.

January 29, 2015: Cheesin’.

January 28, 2015: Well, now that she’s almost 2 weeks old… it’s time to start planning some travel! What you see here is the elaborate plan for getting from the Big Island, Hawaii back to San Diego for a conference.  Traveler 5… whoa.

Traveling with 3 kids has certainly changed our style a bit.  No red-eyes. Minimize layovers. And of course, the fewer points and dollars out of pocket, the better.  We booked IND-SFO-HNL-KOA-LAX/SAN-ORD roundtrip for only $315 per passenger. If you went and priced our exact flights on United today, you’d be looking at $4,100 per passenger. If you added in a few more layovers you could get it down to $1,100. We win :)

We’re going to do IND-SFO-HNL in 11 hours with a 1.5 hour connection. From here we’ll stay the night in Honolulu to take our next flight, fully aware what “one more flight” might do to us all. :)   On the way back, we’re going to fly KOA-LAX nonstop to avoid another connection back through HNL, and then drive the two hours to San Diego rather than make a connection.   And on the way home, we’re going to do a SAN-ORD nonstop and drive the rest of the way home from Chicago rather than make a 2 hour connection and a late night flight.  We know that the kids will do better in a van after bedtime than on a plane.  Small changes that allow us to still do what we enjoy - see the world as a family! 

January 27, 2015: Don’t let the smile fool you… I’m crazy nervous about raising 3 girls. :)

January 26, 2015: My books have arrived! On recommendation of goeglein, I ordered books from intorealpages to put my blog into print.  I printed 4 volumes, one for each complete year of daily blogging 2011-2014.  I could thumb through these things all day long.  So many great memories. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance your face is in there! 

January 25, 2015: Dinner from Billy and Kimberly was a big hit tonight! And after watching Walter Mitty I was inspired to make a clementine cake.  Lots of good food around here nowadays :)

January 24, 2015: Jen and Baby were models at a newborn photography workshop this morning, so Jen’s dad drove them over and listened in on the tips.  I took Em to her first birthday party today, her friend Logan. She had so much fun! Back home, the baby got lots of cuddles and love from family.

January 23, 2015: This afternoon Annelise and I went to the nearby Hilton that’s closing to see what we could buy.  There was an entire room full of pillows. Gross.

Shelby brought dinner for us and got to meet the baby. And after a few days alone, we have Jen’s family back in town this weekend to help out!  Ellie was all smiles at bedtime. Adorable.

January 22, 2015: Elliette got to meet her cousins tonight! I had a date with Em for lunch, where she discovered Steak N Shake for the first time.  We had a blast! 

January 21, 2015: Said goodbye to my parents today, and had our first friend visitors - the Sprinkles!  They loved on our girls all evening and even brought dinner - how lucky are we to have them as friends?!

January 20, 2015: Precious moments.  Tonight Em and I made cinnamon rolls from scratch for breakfast tomorrow.  It’s fun to spend time with her one-on-one at night!

January 19, 2015: We’re home!  After the 48-hour screening we loaded up and headed home. Our family was anxiously awaiting to meet baby Ellie, as were her big sisters! So thankful to be home, and grateful for all of the help around the house while we were gone!