Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break for Jalen, Maddie & Shallon & Draven so (as promised) here is a rundown of our week.




On Monday we went to my mom's house to play with cousins. Since Rachel & Spencer live there with their kids & Erika came over with her kids it was a fun, unplanned afternoon. I had just wanted to get out of the house & take the kids somewhere they could play outside & Mom has a nice, big backyard. It worked out REALLY well that Erika was coming over & that Rachel got back from running errands shortly after we arrived. The kids had SOOO much fun playing together that we made plans to all get together at the park later in the week. In the first picture you can see that dress up is a favorite game for Lizzie & Maddie, we had been there for maybe 15 minutes before the girls were out of regular clothes & into "Princess" clothes. In the second picture you can see that the family room (where the moms & grandma were talking) was the most popular room in the house! And in the bottom picture you can see how big Emma is getting! At almost 5 months old she is so big & so cute! I like to call her "little Draven Face" because she looks so much like Erika's younger son. So cute!

This is Rachel's son Ian being a "turtle". He takes one of Maddie's play baby carriers & puts it on his back & then announces to whoever is around "I'm a turtle!" It is SOOO funny & cute. Ian is such a smart little guy & he speaks so clearly. It is lots of fun watching him create games & activities for himself. The turtle is just one of many!



After Erika & her kids left to go have dinner at home Jay, Maddie & Lizzie were still playing in the backyard. As you can see in the top picture Lizzie decided at some point that it was too hot for clothes (she had picked out a dress with leggings that day). I LOVE this picture. Add a trucker cap & a beer & she is a little redneck! In the bottom picture is what I like to call "Rachel & Jesse the next generation". It almost looks like a posed engagement photo. Jalen's new thing is giving people bunny ears but look how sweetly Maddie is posed.

Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day & I got as festive as I'll ever get & the kids & I all wore green. In case you can't read it Jay's shirt says "If you're lucky you'll be like me someday". When I saw that I knew it was perfect for my little man. He knows how cool he is & I LOVE it!
Rachel & her kids came over that afternoon & we worked hard doing some more baby prep. Since we are staying in the condo for a few more months (August 1st at the latest is my new goal) I have decided to embrace the nesting instinct I am (FINALLY) feeling & get my house in order. We worked in Lizzie's room to get toys, clothes & beds under control & it turned out really nicely. I am going to get a new crib mattress for the crib & some more hangers for baby clothes but other then that I could have baby & even have a place for her! YAY! We also worked on getting Mark's laundry all caught up & getting my kitchen clean. The kids had fun playing in Jay's room & out on the deck. They got to eat Popsicles so that was pretty special!
No pictures from Wednesday OR Thursday because I forgot to bring the camera anywhere but on Wednesday morning the nesting continued & took us into Jalen's room. We got his clothes gone through so you won't see him wearing any more high water pants or shorts that end above his knee. I feel MUCH better about my parenting skills now that that particular job is done! We got a place for all his toys & books & even got him a pencil cup to keep on his desk so that he has his pencils, erasers and scissors readily available when he does his homework. After naps we went to the AWESOME park over by Erika's house to play with cousins and the kids of Erika's friend Michelle. It was fun & we spent almost 3 hours there. Before heading to the park I stopped at Wal-Mart & was able to find the cutest material for mom to turn into receiving blankets for baby. Mom was kind enough to make 4 for Lizzie before she was born so I imposed the same request upon her again. I found amazing material and for $13 feel like I got a heck of a deal. Lizzie still uses her blankets so I know $13 over 3 years or more works out AMAZINGLY!
We didn't really do anything on Thursday. We bummed around at home, I did some laundry, the kids played with the neighborhood kids & we went to bed. In the morning Lizzie & I did go to the library to get some books & I realized that I NEVER want to take her there again unless she is safely strapped into a stroller from which she cannot escape. Library + active 3 year old does not = Superfun!



Mark took Friday off from work so in the morning we decided to take advantage & go to Costco to pick up some "essentials". These three pictures illustrate the different way my kids interpret "get dressed to go to the store". Lizzie insisted on her red "Christmas"headband & her black mary jane church shoes, Jalen is practically in pajamas. Girls & boys are VERY different!

After Costco, while Lizzie napped, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to go get a pedicure. This is a picture of what my toes look like, notice the mild swelling as well. Cute, huh?

We went to mom's again on Friday afternoon & I couldn't resist taking this picture. One day Lizzie may be VERY upset that this picture exists but it is too cute! She had just come out of the bathroom from going potty & hadn't quite gotten herself put all the way back together. Too funny!

On Saturday morning I went to the salon and, in addition to getting my last pre-baby haircut!, I decided to get some highlights as well. This is how they turned out. I wanted a subtle change that wouldn't grow out too noticeably. I REALLY like it, I'm excited to be light haired all summer!



Since I now have a limited number of days that I can go out "kid free" we took the chance Saturday night to go out to dinner with Mom & Dad & Rachel & Spencer. We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Elephant Bar. It was really fun & REALLY good food. We are blessed enough to have a great babysitter who will watch not only our kids but Rachel & Spencer's kids as well. It is fun for us to have another couple to go out with & it is fun for the kids to get to have some time to play without their parents around.
That was the last of the Spring Break festivities. If this epic post bored you I apologize. Next year we want to actually GO somewhere for the week so maybe next years' will be more fun! Anyway, it was a week that went by really fast & was really fun!