Sunday, January 31, 2016

Riding home in our first Uber!

 Whoever invited Uber is just brilliant. 
I'm a big fan. 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Fun with buttons....

I found the seatac restrooms to be satisfactory, and indicated so on the public buttons of emotion.  

Bon voyage!

I cant believe we're really doing this...  
Florida here we come!!











Taking off with this goof! ✈  

Saying goodbye is hard to do...

 
We will miss our little ones so much!!








Off to the Bahamas :)

Friday, January 22, 2016

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Friday, January 15, 2016

Eeeaaattt ffaaasssteeerr Bennneeettt


This handsome devil seriously takes forevvvverrr to finish his dinner! Slow eating is what *I* should be doing, not him!

Dads n Donuts

As much as I'm NOT a fan of those deep fried diabetic heart attack inducers.... I'm glad she got some QT with her main man at school this morning. She was in heaven. And it almost didn't happen because I told Brianna her daddy couldn't go- not because I'm trying to salvage his health (though I am), simply because he's SO swamped with work (sales! World of constant pressure!) that I didn't want him feeling guilty for missing it, or choosing to attend it at the risk of losing important biz. But she told him last-minute, he picked her up from morning piano lessons, and off they went for daddy daughter sugar bonding.    

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Saturday, January 2, 2016

I loan out my children to Nonny...

... And she returns them hours later, freshly washed, wearing brand new jammies, girl's hair in curlers. Glitter curlers, no less.
Every mom needs a Nonny.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Out to the movies

We went to see The Mockingjay Part 2 tonight.  I really loved reading The Hunger Games series, and they've done a great job with the films, IMO. Though I'm a pretty easy one to please with movies, since I don't see very many, I'm easily impressed. Unless it's inappropriate/vulgar, I usually like it. Speaking of which... despite us posing with this Zoolander sign, I just want to clarify that I won't be watching it. Just thought the spinning sign was funny.
Going out to the movies falls under the guilty-pleasure category for me. I definitely enjoy it, but it's a huge waste of money - especially considering driving and babysitter costs. Waiting til the movie is out on Redbox saves a lot, and it's nice to watch at home on my own comfy couch, where I can check my texts without fear of people behind me hating me. But watching in-theater can't be replicated in terms of anxiety-inducing intensity.  I have to remind myself several times during the scary parts that it's NOT REAL. My heart gets racing so fast it's ridiculous. Speaking of ridiculous... we actually had to sneak into this movie! They told us it was sold out, but I was determined... so we bought tix for a different film, then walked into the Mockingjay. And yep, sure enough - found seats!

Maddie the babysitter!

I feel like a moocher if I ask my parents/Mere/Meg to watch our kids too often - especially when it's for something I'm CHOOSING to be out for, not like YW obligations or things like that.
So I'm grateful I have babysitter options!
Especially one that's not LDS, so she's available at times all my YW have something going on!
Maddie lives nearby and is awesome. Such a sweet girl. She leaves the house as clean or cleaner than she found it, and does the exact activities I have laid out for the kids. Definitely earned her $30 tonight! (we pay $8/hr, then round up - like if we're gone 2.7 hours, I just call it 3).
Tonight I left them with a chart to fill out:  the kids got to choose books for Maddie to read to them, then they got points for each book. Points are redeemable for minutes on abcya.com or starfall.com (their favorite sites to play on...shh, don't tell them it's educational). Courtney wanted minutes of back-scratching instead of website minutes. She's such a cuddly girl - loves hugs and massages and tickling. Brianna does too. Bennett totally doesn't. Such a stereotypical boy.
I

Skating @Pattisons!

One of the reasons I love Facebook is because I find out about local stuff happening. Like free-skate-day at Pattisons Roller Rink! I wouldn't have known about it if not for someone posting it on a mom's group I'm in.  So Brian took the kids today and had a blast (except Charity - poor babe. Kindof overwhelming.)

This place holds a LOT of memories for me. Our church used to rent out the whole rink every year for a ward party! I loved the game where you stop on the numbers and win a prize, and the song where you do bird/chicken moves, the YMCA, and the couples' skate (romantic highlight of my childhood ;)

I'm so glad my kids are learning the essential skill of skating.  Next: roller blading!

Protective sister!

She takes her "little mommy" role very seriously, and it's heart warming