Lullaby's cousin from Utah, Paislee, sent her a Flat Stanley in the mail. It's based on a children's book and encourages children to mail him to other places in the world so they can learn more about that area. Lullaby played with him outside without a coat or shoes, because it's warm here in the winter. He WANTED to go surfing, but it's not THAT warm, so we only showed him the surf boards.
Hopefully the kids in Paislee's class will enjoy seeing the pictures of Flat Stanley here in the warm weather! :) Thanks for sending him our way, it was fun!
Early release days (besides all the school holidays) are my favorite days. We play at the park with friends, do things together as a family, and get to enjoy our non-stressed non-rushed life again.
I took the preschoolers on a "nature walk" to find the things on our nature treasure hunt sheet. They loved the adventure and were VERY good at staying together and following directions. I super love this group of kids, and I love that this is my JOB. Yes please.
I cannot explain how much I love Apple products, and especially FaceTime. It's free from iPhone to iPhone and connects the kids on Christmas to their Grandma in Wisconsin. She watches them play with their new Christmas presents on Christmas morning.
I can connect with my best friend in New Zealand on her birthday even though she's 19 hours ahead of me. Technology is the BEST.
Before they left, Grandma Stacy gave the kids some new toys to play with. It was a nice trip and I'm glad that Coco and Saras were able to come too. Maybe next time we can get Papa Lee to come out too! Thanks guys for the fun trip and the sweet gifts.
The Bachelor has started again and there are a few new people coming to watch it with me. It's such a fun excuse to have a night with friends. We all bring treats and snacks and have a fun time. I made these cute rose sugar cookies for the first night. This was most of the group from the first night. So much fun! There were even more girls last week. I love it.
We went to the zoo on what (I didn't know) was the free day. So when we arrived after the gates usually close, they still let us in! It was awesome. I hugged the worker who let us in. I had to get the boys from their schools and text Coco where to go since they were driving from the house and meeting us there. It all worked out.
We saw quite a few animals, although the gorillas were inside their house and we couldn't see them very well. The highlight though was pushing the baby in her stroller. Saras was quite the celebrity on her trip. The kids took turns, and made her giggle (especially Matix), and completely loved having another baby around.
During school for the big boys, we went to the Children's Museum with Saras and Auntie Coco and Grandma Stacy while it was far less busy. It was much better than the last time, and the kids had a fun time.
Saras tasted literally EVERYTHING in the museum, and then we wondered why it is that she always gets sick when she visits here…? :)
At the play table in the old Mexico area we set them up with a real snack. So cute.
Sully gave Grandma a ride. I think both Lullaby and Solace were enjoying have so much Grandma time at the museum. It's usually more crowded and there are usually 2 more boys there with us!
I love it when these boys get into something new. Pokemon is the latest and greatest obsession. Here are some recent drawings that the big boys made of Pokemon creatures.
Colleen was a good sport with the boys and their affinity for all things Pokemon. She had collected the cards when she was younger and during her trip here she became the resident Pokemon expert. The boys asked her lots of questions about Pokemon and she would even watch the show with them. Not much else can win favor with the boys right now. I have a video clip of them singing the theme song from the show together, but I want to add more clips… That video will be up some other day after I finish editing it. :)
Grandma Stacy, Auntie Coco and Saras came to visit us for New Years. We went back to the Children's Museum, like we had last year, to see their ball drop for the New Years Noon celebration. It's a great way to celebrate with little kids. We found a spot where we could see the big silver ball, and had an okay time despite the fact that the museum was the BUSIEST we have ever seen it. It was crazy.
We got there just before the countdown, so we made our noisemakers afterward. The kids didn't seem to mind. :)
Makenzie and her girls met up with us there too and the kids played and explored a bit.
Eventually everyone got hungry for late lunch/early dinner, so we went to Chick Fil A. We tried to go to Jerry Built, but they closed at 4 that day, and we got there 2 minutes late. Bummer. Grandma only had to sit at the kid table for a little while. The kids inhaled their food and were ready to play, so then Grandma joined us at our table. :)
Since we skipped naps, and played ALL day, everyone was too tired to stay up until midnight. We all pooped out early. Paul was working all day and night anyway, so I had no one to kiss.
