Goin' Fishin'

Besides going to Forks (which was a little too far away, although winning the Twilight DVD at the party was a perfect consolation), the only other thing I wanted to do in Seattle was catch a fish at Pike's Marketplace. I wasn't sure if they would let me, but I asked the guy if I could get in on the action and the next thing I knew I was standing behind the counter with a big crowd gathered around with their cameras ready. I really started feeling the pressure and was too nervous to revel in my paparzzi glory. When the fish came flying, I think I surprised everyone, even myself.....

Seattle Surprise

Six and a half years ago Jodee and I bonded in the mother's lounge at church. As a new mom in a new ward, it was so nice having someone that could relate to me. We hit it off right away and have remained close ever since. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the big surprise party her husband had planned for her 30th birthday. He had arranged for her parents, sister and boyfriend, her friend Rosa and myself to all fly/drive in for her birthday. He had taken her to a hotel the night before then when they showed up at a restraunt for lunch we were all sitting at the table. She had no idea and the look on her face was priceless. We spent the rest of the weekend shopping, going to her daughter's soccer game, having another surprise party that her husband planned with their friends, having a picnic, going to the beach, visiting a wild animal park, touring Seattle and just hanging out talking and laughing. It was such a fun weekend, I miss my Jods! I also missed my kids, but they were too busy staying up late and partying with Dad that I don't think they missed me much. Happy birthday Jods, love ya!

her husband planned so many fun surprises, this is when we were watching this hilarious movie he and his friend had made

taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island. Jayden was very jealous that I got to ride on a real life ferry. The only problem about so many cars parked together is that you have to be very careful that you get in the right car. I hope the people sitting in their car weren't too traumatized when I opened their door to hop in.

the wild animal park was amazing. All these animals would come right up to the car and eat out of your hand. The kids would have LOVED it.

the buffalo scared me. There were signs posted everywhere to not feed the buffalo and for good reason. Look at the size of that thing! His nose alone is as big as Ronnie's head.

I had to take this picture of Elliot from "Open Season" for the kids

Although it was way too cold for laying out, the beach was so beautiful. I couldn't get over how gorgeous Seattle is. I loved all the trees and mountains, but I don't know if I could ever say good bye to the sunshine.

Yes, I caught a fish (barely) at Pike's marketplace, it was awesome.

The Ballard Locks, pretty cool.

Sad Goodbye

As a mom, there is nothing like seeing your child find the perfect friend. The kind of friend that brings out the best in them. The kind of friend that you could see them growing up with for years to come. The kind of friend that has the same standards. The kind of friend that always brings a smile to their face. Noelle is that kind of friend for Kylie. They both had a really hard time adjusting to Kindergarten so their teacher (love her!) encouraged them to play together and they have been best friends ever since. When Kylie found out several months ago that they were going to be moving she came home and broke down in tears because Noelle was her "first friend she ever had at CTA". We wanted to have a little going away party for her, so we had a couple of girls over (and our baby-sitting group and a friend for Jayden) to make home made pizza, run around and scream, make home videos, decorate a pillow case for Noelle and then make these chocolate mug cakes. It was a fun night, but so sad to say good-bye to such a sweet girl. Last week Kylie came home from school crying again because she missed her and she didn't have a best friend anymore, it broke my heart. When your kids are little it seems like it's so easy to dry their tears and make things all better. It's such a helpless feeling as they get older and no matter how much you hug and kiss them, there are things beyond your control that you just can't make better. Kylie's such a sweet girl, I know she'll continue to make great friends, but it's just sad to say good bye to her best friend.

Diamondbacks Game

(No we don't play favorites. Why do you ask?)

Jason's work had extra tickets in their suite and the kids were so excited to go see a baseball game. I must say I love the suite, it's so much better than trying to keep the kids pinned in their seats for the whole 3 hours (as if we ever last that long). Kylie made friends with Jason's co-worker's daughter and they all had fun playing at the playground there. We didn't watch much of the game, but it was a fun night out.

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Six Months

I can't find the little sheet with all of Maddox's stats, but I'm pretty sure they weighed him wrong. Jayden was touching the scale and they never reset it, so supposedly he weighs only 4 oz more than he did two months ago which put him in the 16%. His chubby little legs beg to differ. I just took him in (two weeks after his check-up) because he was sick (bronchialytis/possible RSV and ear infection) and he weighed over 18lbs. So he's no lightweight and I'm loving his squishy little body. He rolls from his back to his stomach and is working on sitting up. He's still such a happy little man and has been the easiest out of my three. His little smile lights up the room and he's got us all wrapped around his tiny little chubby finger! We love you, Mads!

Happy Easter!

(I don't know if I'll ever get caught up on posts...)

It's easy for me to convince my kids that Santa is real, but I'm having a hard time making things like the Easter Bunny seem believable. I don't even know if he's supposed to be a cute little bunny that hops all over the world, or a creepy man size bunny like the ones dressed up at the mall. I figured Kylie would have doubts this year, but after visiting the Easter Bunny cave I guess that answered any questions she may have had. Our traditional Easter morning egg hunt usually consists of finding candy hidden all around the family room, but this year I mixed it up a little. I figured they already got a lot of candy, so instead I filled their baskets with little toys and hid them. The kids woke up that morning all excited to come down to a room covered in candy, and it was so funny to see the expressions on their face when there was a single plastic egg sitting in the middle of the room. Jayden felt jipped and Kylie sat down with a "what now?" look on her face. They decided to forgive the bunny after opening the egg and finding a clue for a treasure hunt. They had fun spending the morning playing with their dollar store toys before they all broke. It was a fun morning hanging out with the family before church, then we had some friends over for dinner that night.

(whoever thought crying could be so cute?)

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

We've got such great neighbors in our cul-de-sac and it has been fun getting together for different holidays. This year's egg hunt was a hit and I'm sure will become an annual tradition. We almost didn't have an egg hunt since it was so cold and rainy. That morning we went to our favorite Life Link church's Easter carnival where the "egg hunt" consisted of dumping some eggs into everybody's baskets since the grass was too soggy. We were just glad that the sky cleared up long enough to enjoy our little egg hunt and bar-b-que that afternoon.

We do heart free museum passes

I'm excited about the new culture pass that you can get at the library, it's especially going to be nice during the summer heat. We made a whole day out of the Science Center by taking the train to Phoenix (Jason was so emberassed that I took a picture on public transportation. It's all part of the experience.), spending several hours exploring the center, then eating on the patio at a little pizza joint (well, Jason didn't eat since they gave his food away to somebody else and I was nervous about the crazy guy standing by our table talking/yelling to himself about his ex-wife and teaching my kids all sorts of profanity. Why are there always crazy people talking to themselves in big cities??).

the sign of a fun and exhausting day

The next week we took advantage of no school on Good Friday and went with some friends to the Southwest Museum. We thought it would be a good idea to go in the afternoon then meet the husbands and go to the Easter pageant at the temple that night. What we didn't really anticipate was trying to entertain 8 kids for 5 1/2 hours. They all had such a fun time together at the museum then we went to a questionable park filled with homeless people and then spent an hour trying to coordinate dinner plans/parking places/seats for the show. Maddox was beyond tired and I was so close to taking him home, but he eventually fell asleep and I was glad we stayed and gave the kids an opportunity to focus on the the resurrection and not just the Easter Bunny. It was a crazy day, but the kids had so much fun and that's all that matters.