Happy Birthday to Me!

Hooray for fabulous girlfriends! I'm not ashamed, I just turned 31. I'm hoping in this decade of my life that I have learned a few things and will be wiser! These are some of my amazing girlfriends who, once they realized that they would pretty much all be out of town for my actual birthday, hurried and took me out for a fun night before everyone left. It was a bit short notice an too late at night for some, but here are the die hards. We had dessert at the Cheesecake Factory and went to see Letters to Juliet. Thanks for a memorable night. My hubby took me on a fantastic getaway to Seattle... post soon to come.

Brinley's Preschool at the Zoo

Oh, what a day!

When we first arrived at the zoo, it was so busy with tons of kiddos and their parents. Our group consisted of nine mothers and their children. About 10 minutes into our trip, I noticed that Brinley was no longer with me. I figured she had just attached herself to one of my friends. After I located all of the moms in our group and no one had her, I started to look around for her. When I realized she wasn't anywhere around us, I started to worry a little. After a few minutes of looking around, and just as I was starting to panic, a man pointed me in the direction of the front gates. I left Sophie with a friend and started to sprint towards the front. Just at that moment when I thought my heart would leap out of my chest, I spotted Brinley in the ticket counter at the entrance. When I reached her, she was telling the lady that her mom's name was Monica and that I was wearing a pink shirt. I was unspeakably relieved to find her and also really proud that she knew exactly what to do. After that little fiasco, she held my hand almost the rest of the trip. We had a great time, but she rarely let me out of her sight. That was a cheap lesson... I didn't have to yell at her, and I didn't even pass out!
The kids really like the new Africa exhibit and the elephant that sprays water.


The giraffe slide is almost as cool as any real animal at the zoo. It is always a big hit!

It is a tradition in our family to take a picture of the kids on this tiger everytime we go to the zoo. I use it to measure their growth. What would I ever do if they took the tiger away?

Brinley took this picture of the Komodo Dragon, which is almost always Jake's favorite animal. We sure missed the Buddy on this trip!
James and the girlies on the Komodo Dragon

This little ocelot exhibit was hilarious. Sophie ran right up to the glass and was so excited to look right in. The animal lunged toward the glass in equal excitement. Sophie jumped back as fast as I have ever seen her move, and she is super-fast! Her heart had to be pounding, but she soon realized the glass would keep her from harm, so she enjoyed watching the little rodent, from a safe distance.

Sometimes I think that the little structures at the zoo entertain my kids more than the actual animals on exhibit. Oh well, on a nice day the zoo is always fun!

Oh, how we Love the Summer!

Hooray for warm weather and snow cones! One of our really good buddies opened a snow cone shack on the corner of Eagle Rd. and McMillan, right by the skate park. You know we will be his best customers!

Our family loves snow cones!!!!!!
Do those look like happy faces or what!

Fun with Sassy and Baby Ester

Here is Aunt Sassy reading to all of the kids on a sunny, Sunday afternoon at Grandma's house.

I absolutely love this picture of Brinley and Sarah.

Look at me with my darling neice, Ester. She is the cutest little baby, but very serious. Brinley is very good at making her smile, but she doesn't always give them out generously. This picture is courtesy of my Brin, who loves taking pictures and making Esy smile.

Performance of a Lifetime

Brinley just had her spring dance recital. She was absolutely darling! Here she is ready for the show with her little buddy, Brooklyn.

If you want to experience some serious side-splitting laughter check out these links. She did one ballet dance and one tap. I might be a little biased, but she really is the best dancer out there. In the performance of a lifetime, here she is...

Brinley's ballet performance

Brinley's tap performance

After a truly amazing performance, her absolute favorite moment of the night was getting flowers from her dad. Daddy had only one job that night, but he was running late from work so Grandma saved the day. Thanks for stepping in with the flowers, Grandma...it made the night totally perfect.


I was feeling pretty lucky that night to get such a warm hug from our budding, young Superstar. Also, proof that I was, in fact, in attendance.

Strike a pose, Baby...the camara loves you!

Not pictured...me and the Buddy. We handled all of the camara work that night. Thanks for coming everyone!

A Lucky Boy!

So, last week I blogged about Jake saving all of his money for a DS. Yesterday, he and a little neighborhood friend decided to have their own lemonade sale. They did pretty well for a cold day, so Jake had saved a whopping $40. Today, he was dying to go yard saling with me, which is a tradition we have started during the warmer months. Jake just loves going with me to find bargains, and this year he has become pretty selective in his choices (I have to take the credit for that after years of explaining that we don't pay money for junk, even if it is cheap junk). This morning, the stars aligned for this budding, young consumer. He found a DS in mint condition, with all the accessories and two Pokemon games for $30! He had already spent $1 on a rare Pokemon card he had been searching for, so he did all the math and decided this was a deal he couldn't pass up. Even on sale, it is impossible to find a DS under $100 and the games are usually expensive. Ben and I had decided no DS, but I couldn't say no to those big brown eyes (with really long eyelashes) and it was his own, hard-earned money. We walked away with an unbelievably happy boy, and he learned that when you save your money and find a deal, it feels fantastic! I'm proud of the kid! Now, to come up with some rules of conduct for the new technological addition to our home :)

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day! I swear that I am the luckiest mom around! Ben was out of town that day, so no sleeping in or breakfast in bed, but my kids were so well behaved. Jake agreed to wear a tie and suitcoat to church (just becuase it was mother's day) and the girls didn't rip the flowers out of their hair (I don't think they knew that it really was a special day).
It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we enjoyed every minute of it!
My favorite moment of the day was while I was getting ready for church, I heard this faint singing. I looked out of my bathroom to see Jake sitting on the floor with the girls reading and singing church songs to them. They were all ready and not getting into any trouble. I spent the rest of the time getting ready with a smile from ear to ear. I have been bragging on my Buddy a lot lately, because he really is the Best Buddy around! My little Sophie is such a little monkey! She lights up the whole room anytime she walks in. If you have ever wondered what I looked like as a child...it couldn't be any closer than this. Someday I will find a picture to show. So anyway, here is a blast from the past and a Happy, Happy Mother's Day to my Mother and all of my mothering roll models out there (there are so many of you...Thank You)!