A Day with Grandma Traci

Saturday was a special day, it was the day that the girls played with Grandma! (I was singing that to the tune of "Saturday"... and don't pretend you weren't as well). My mother called me up last week and asked if she could plan a special one on one day with the girls. Of course I agreed to it.

So, my mom showed up around 7:30 Saturday morning to pick up Ms. Noelle. Little Ms. Noelle was so excited to be going on an adventure with her grandma!

Grandma Traci took Noelle out for donuts! Apparently she picked out 2 pink frosted and sprinkled donuts!And they were THAT good!

Then my mother took Noelle to Walmart and bought her and her big sister both a doll and some goggles. Noelle was so excited about her new goodies, but even more excited about her time with Grandma.

When Noelle got home, it was time for Melanie to have a special day with Grandma.

Grandma picked Melanie up and headed to the theator to see "Brave". Melanie was so excited.

Unfortunately, Melanie did not make it through the movie. Apparently she had a break down when the main charactor's mom turned into a bear. Grandma had to take her out of the theator. To make the day turn around, my mom decided to head to the mall to take her to ride on the merry-go-round.

When they got into the mall, Melanie announced that she had to go to the restroom. They ran to the nearest one they could find... got all the way to the stall... got in to the stall... and opps!!!! (Is it just me, or is it really hard to find a close bathroom in a mall when you need one?) So, Melanie and Grandma headed to the little girl's department in one of the stores and Melanie got her new favorite underroos.

Then Grandma got her an icecream and took her for that ride on the merry-go-round.

It was an eventful trip with Grandma! Melanie had a blast! She did have nightmares that night because of the movie. (which is unfortunate, because I want to see the movie). I think that perhaps it was because she was in the dark, and the screen is huge, and of course, the idea of a mom changing into something else is probably frightening.

Oliver was pretty happy when her sisters got home. He was all smiles!

I love this little man!

After the kids went down for their naps, my mom and I got to spend some quality time together as well. It was really refreshing.

Thank you, Grandma Traci, for such a wonderful day!

The "stuff" I forgot

I was recently going through my pictures looking for a nice shot of Brandon and me for a project. While doing this, I found some pictures I have neglected...

So, here we go:

Once upon a time, I had a date with this handsome man! It was the first date we had been on in a very long time, and made possible by my friends Amy and David who were willing to watch the girls for us (we took Oliver with us on the date).

In the spring, I was training for a marathon. On the weekend, I would go on a long run which would start at my house and usually end at Coons Bluff. While I was running, my family would go hiking. Then we would all go home together. The girls really enjoyed the time with their dad.

Last April, my mom had to have an emergency surgery. The girls and I decided to do something to cheer grandma up when she got home from the hospital. We left these butterflies at her house. She loved them.

And finally, also in April... I ran a marathon (I'm sure I mentioned that before). Well, marathon is fun for mom, but not always fun for the rest of the family. So, after the race, we went back to the hotel, I showered, and then we went to the zoo. I didn't even know there was a zoo in Prescott, but there is! It's a tiny zoo, and it was a really really hot day, so the animals were hiding, but we still had fun.

There it is! A picture of all my favorite people.

Along came a spider, that sat down beside her... and scared Ms. Melanie away!

My men!

Everyone was a little over heated at the end. We all slept really good that night... okay, that is a lie. Sleeping in one room is no fun. The girls didn't want to stop bouncing off the walls. Oliver didn't want to sleep in his porta crib, and by then, my legs and back were a little sore... and poor Brandon had to put up with all of us. But we had fun, and it was a good memory.

Tea Party Time

Yesterday, the girls were invited to a little "Tea Party" at Grandma Honey's house. Grandma Honey, McKenna, and Madison are friends we have made at the library during story time. It has become a weekly treat for us to see them, along with friends Jen and Ari (and older sister Ashlynn, whom we don't see very often but do enjoy when we do see her).

Grandma Honey, McKenna, and Madison invited all of us over for this special tea party. The girls dressed up (though mine didn't understand that they could really dress up, and came over in just play clothes... even though I tried to convince them to dress up a little more. There is irony here.) McKenna and Madison served Melanie, Noelle, Ari, and Ashlynn cute little sandwiches, lemonade, and yummy treats.

I think the girl's favorite part was serving themselves the lemonade out of the little tea pot. They really did enjoy themselves. And can I say, so did I? Wow, Linda (Grandma Honey) made us a wonderful salad and spread a beautiful table for the adults. I really felt spoiled. I really enjoyed the company; the whole thing was a much needed break.
Here is a not so good picture of us adults. I wish I had got a better one (and I also wish I was wearing clothing that fit me, but alas, we don't always get what we wish for, huh?)

Here are most of the girlies. Ashlynn didn't want to be in the picture. I think it's because she is a little older than them. I understand that.

Oliver had such a great time too. So much, infact, that he was exhausted upon arriving home.

A funny side note: After recieving the invite for the tea party, I emailed Linda to warn her that we don't drink tea, and that Melanie might tell her so at her house. Linda isn't a member of the church I go to, but I assumed that she wouldn't be serving tea to the kids. But, just in case, I thought it would be better to let her know in advance. Melanie gets pretty passionate about the topic and lets whomever know that tea is bad. Linda responded to my email to let me know that she had planned to serve water and lemonade. I got to the tea party first, and when Jen and her family showed up... I found out that I wasn't the only one with this "concern" (if you call it that). Apparently Jen had woke up that morning and realized that she hadn't said anything to Linda, and that Linda could be making all these fancy teas that no one would drink. She promptly messaged Linda to tell her that they don't drink tea. (Jen is also a member). We laughed about it. I think Linda got the memo. We don't drink tea! She didn't know that about us, so she looked it up online. Anyhow, it made for a few fun jokes.

Just Because...

Brandon has been working like a crazy man lately, waking up early, coming home for dinner and swim, and then going back. Some nights he has been gone until 2 am and then starting all over again a few hours later. On top of the little sleep, he has been working with one really injured foot (He dropped a heavy jack on his big foot and it has turned colors no toe should turn).

Brandon told us when he would be home for the night at 4pm when leaving for work yesterday. Melanie was so excited, and so was I! We decided right away that we would throw a party for him to show him how much we love him. I had Melanie call up dad and ask him a bunch of questions, including favorite food (hotdogs), favorite color (green), favorite dessert (ice cream), favorite animal (giraffe). The hot dog answer threw me off because I thought he hated hot dogs... so I decided to make chili as well.Turns out he said pasta, but it was too late by then. But we still had a fun time.

Anna makes the best party hats and has inspired me to try harder at mine. We had fun with these.

We never got to eat the dessert because the girls ate way too slow and we had to run to swim lessons. Perhaps we'll serve it tonight.

We love you, Dad!!!

Special Delivery

My kids have completely the Mesa Public Library's Summer Reading Program! Last Wednesday we picked out our books online and today we got a special delivery!

Can you tell the kids are excited? I can!

Hooray for packages that come in the mail and surprise us!

We opened them up youngest to oldest! Oliver got a picture book about trucks!

Noelle got a fun book about a pig that outwits a fox!

And Melanie got...

Her very first chapter book for her and mom to read together!

Happy Reading!

A side note: The Mesa Public Library has had amazing summer presentations this year. We have seen a cowboy magician, a cowboy fiddler, and a cowboy/cowgirl show. I have been impressed by all of them! Thank you Mesa Public Library! We have really enjoyed ourselves.

Summer Fun

In between everything else, there are the little things that fill our day. Most of them involve playing with dishes and pretend food (having picnics in the living room), playing dress up, and tickling each other. But the last few days our home time has looked like this:

My kids are obsessed with puzzles lately. They are puzzle masters! (For sure!). I just have to keep an eye on the situation to make sure we don't mix the puzzles together.

Another thing we have been doing lately is swim lessons through the Fremont Jr High pool. My kids just finished their 1st 2 week session and will do one more 2 week session. They will both be moving up in classes too, so we are excited. Next week will start the first time Noelle will be in a swim class without mom or dad. She may be sad not to be in the pool with dad. She sure does love swimming with him.

Happy June!

Going on a Lion Hunt (Book Club)

Today was our first ever kid's book club. I thought it was fun and already plan to do it again. Today's theme was "Going on a Lion Hunt!" This is the book:When the friends arrived, we all headed out back for a little craft. The kids made safari hats and binoculars (or telescopes depending on the kiddo).

After everyone had their gear ready, we headed back inside and I read the book. I need to practice my story telling skills. Seriously!

After we read the book, we went for a lion hunt in the back yard. This is something I wish I had planned a little better. It would have been good to have actual obstacles for them to go through, but with all the excitement of the fire at/by my husband's work yesterday, I got side tracked and decided to not worry about it. Next time I'll plan my activity better.

At the end of the lion hunt, we found a lion! And some cookies!!!

Then it was snack time!

Thank you everyone that was able to join us! We had a great time! We will definitely have to do it again!

*Several hours after everyone left our house, Melanie looks at me and says "Mom, it's a good thing there wasn't a real lion in our backyard" (pause) "He would have eaten all our cookies" And she looked so serious while saying it. It was cute and hilarious!