Pajama day

Yesterday was Hannah's last day of preschool...at least it was her last day at the actual school. In honor of this special day the kids got to have a pajama day. They got to wear pajamas, bring a blanket, stuffed animal and a favorite book! What fun! Hannah was so excited all weekend long, counting down the days until school. She must have changed her mind at least 3 times as to which pajamas she'd wear and which book she'd bring. Big decisions, I tell you, big decisions! She only let me take pictures of her outside. No pictures inside! She didn't want her friends to see. No love, I tell you, no love! So here she is, in her pajamas...going to school.

I had to laugh...as we were eating breakfast, I kept looking at her thinking, "hurry up! You need to go get dressed; we're going to be late". I said that to her once and she looked at me and shook her head. How on earth could I have forgotten what today was! It sounds like they had lots of fun.

As I was cleaning out her backpack this weekend I came across some worksheets of hers. They were working on "feelings" and had asked the kids questions regarding what made them feel certain ways. Here are my daughter’s answers...

I feel happy when: my momma makes me dinner. This makes me laugh because Tom does the majority of the dinner cooking. I guess, maybe, my dinner cooking skills are better than his. =)

I feel angry when: my mom gets angry at me. Really? Talk about feeling like a bad mom. Sheesh!

I feel sad when (and I love this one): my mommy gets me in trouble. What?!? She has no trouble getting herself in trouble, why on earth would I get her in trouble. What about daddy, he gets her in FAR more trouble than I ever would/could. =)

I was starting to feel really bad about her answers until I heard another mom explaining herself to Ms. Shellee yesterday. Apparently, most of the kids were on a mommy rant that morning. At least she's not shy about her feelings.

Tomorrow is the end of year picnic. I have a feeling Hannah is going to be so sad once she realizes that she won't be seeing all of her friends twice a week. Hopefully we'll be able to have a few play dates with some of them. I hope to be back with pictures from our fun morning tomorrow. That is...if Hannah lets me take pictures. =)

Memorial Day Weekend

Wow what a nice weekend! The weather was so wonderful. I think it might have been one of the nicest Memorial Day weekends we've ever had. Saturday we hung around the house for most of the day. Tom was set on finishing his book. He doesn't like admitting it but he's been reading the Twilight series and finishing the last book was down right painful for him. Once he finished that we headed over to Susan's house for a BBQ. It was nice a nice evening which ended with me eating way too many marshmallows. If only I weren't so good at roasting them. =)

Emerson loved playing with Buddy. She really wanted him out of his pen.She was trying to give him kisses through the fence and every time he barked she jumped. I got a good laugh out of that.Seriously...look at that marshmallow!See food...courtesy of our little lady.

SUNDAY we met my parents at Harvey Airfield for brunch. Emerson loves all things that fly so we thought that would be a fun place to eat. We sat outside on the deck and had a really nice time. The girls both loved watching the planes take off. We even got to watch two helicopters take off and two planes full of skydivers. So fun! We are definitely going to have to do this more often! Afterwards we headed into downtown for some pie and then to Beck & Robs for dinner. Becky and I "organized" our scrapbook stuff for next weekend. We've been looking forward to National Scrapbook Day since the email went out in January. It's finally here and I am SO excited. It seems like I only get to scrapbook 2-3 times a year, so this day long event is always a must. Hopefully, we'll actually get some scrapbooking done and not so much chatting. =)

MONDAY we headed out for a walk on the Centennial trail. Tom read in our "Idaho" book that in order to be prepared for all the walking, everyone should be able to walk 5-6 miles every day for a week. While I don't think that Hannah will actually walk all that much in Idaho (I've heard strollers are a necessity for most kids), she'll do some so we've got to try and get her prepared. Plus a little walking certainly won't hurt Tom or I. =) We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out at home. We blew up the little pool and the girls spent some time in there. We did have to add 6 pots of boiling water to try and warm it up a little. Emerson was so cute, her teeth were chattering and she was shivering but the girl would NOT get out for anything. Hannah did lots of screaming and jumping in and out of the pool because it was so cold.

And how could I almost forget the biggest news of the weekend. We got Emerson in a swing and she LOVED it. I was so scared that she wouldn't share my love of swinging, but not to worry anymore. As I type she's hitting my leg wanting to go out and swing. =) Yay!

All in all it was a great weekend with lots of quality family time. It sure made me wish there were more 3 day weekends in the year.

7 long days...=)

Since it's been like 7 days since my last post, I figured I better check in so that no one worried! =) Just for the record it's only been 4. Hee hee...

For those of you that know my friend Jen...her Eddie came home last night. Yay! He's been in Qatar since January and was finally able to get out of there! I'm SO happy for them that they're all back together again. Although...he did return home a little on the slender side. Not sure what's up with that. They need to get him over here so we can fatten him up. We're good at that. =)

We don't have much planned for this weekend. It's going to be beautiful so I imagine we'll be outside quite a bit. I do have to share a little piece of exciting news. Our "Silverwood" tickets came in the mail yesterday. WAHOOO! For those of you that don't know...we're going to a magical place this summer with my family (Mom, Dad, Obee's and Henry's). Sixteen of us will be traveling together. Watch out! Since we're not telling the little kids (Madi, Jake & Hannah) where we're actually going, we've told them we're going to Silverwood (a theme park in Northern Idaho), but really we're going someplace much more exciting. It's another west coast state where there happens to be a REALLY fun theme park. We're not telling the kids until we're at the airport. Hannah is going to freak out. I told Tom the other night that she might just cry. She wants to go so badly but we've told her that she needs to grow 2 more inches before they'll let her in. So as of now, she thinks we'll be going next summer...when she's taller. She's being really good about drinking her milk and water so that she'll grow. =) Emerson knows already. I tell her practically every day when Hannah isn't around. Emmie cracks me up because she squeals and laughs as if she really does understand. It's getting harder and harder to talk about it without slipping up and saying where we are really going. Tom is notorious for this. If Hannah were any older she might just pick up on it. Rob and Beck are having a hard time as well and they REALLY need to be careful because her kids are bright and will most certainly figure it out. So there you have it...our little secret and now you're in on it too. So shhh...

I'll leave you with a picture of Emerson from this morning. Notice her nose? Her big sister pushed her into the TV stand Thursday night. Poor girl, I thought she might have actually broken it, but it seems to be OK. It looks much better now! Sisters!

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Be safe.

No roos for us...

As I sit here and type the sun is trying really hard to break through and it's not raining. That wasn't the case first thing this morning, it was POURING. When Hannah came downstairs she looked outside and said, "I hope they cancel our trip". I was a little surprised by her reaction but a little relieved. We got a call a few minutes later saying they were indeed canceling the trip and instead would just have a fun day at school. That worked for us. I wasn't really excited about going in the rain and all that mud. yuck. =) Tom stayed home for the first part of the morning and it was nice to have time with just him and Emerson. We went and got coffee, did a little grocery shopping and went to Target, it was a treat to have him with me. They tried to reschedule the trip for Thursday but were unsuccessful, so maybe this summer we'll have to venture up there ourselves. Since I can't NOT post pictures, I found a few that I can share. Nothing exciting, just the girls from the other night.

Hannah was working on her "surprised" look. Needs a little work...=)Happy Tuesday!

Sunday at the Zoo

We took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday and went to the zoo. It was a little toasty but we've got to get ready for "Idaho", right? =) Emerson loved the animals just as much as Hannah does. It was fun to watch her reaction. She was so excited, it was pretty cute. She tried REALLY hard to stay awake but finally gave in as we were getting ready to leave so she missed out on a few final exhibits. We will have to start with those the next trip down. =)

Before we left, the girls decided on what we would see first. Pink flamingos it was...

The zoo unveiled the new Penguin exhibit two weeks ago. The girls LOVED it.Tom saw this tree and thought, wow look at all those green leaves. Silly Tom.We needed a little break.

Emerson trying out the leash, I mean harness. Don't judge us. She loved it. Oh and this is what happens when you don't bring a fully stocked diaper bag. Good thing she's so cute!

Can you see the baby gorilla in the middle? So cute.

Tomorrow is Hannah's field trip to the Kangaroo farm in Arlington. Tom has taken the morning off so he'll be joining us. Hannah told me today that there is a baby kangaroo on the farm. Should be a fun morning.

HOLY TAYLOR!!!

I'll start with...I'm sorry for the Taylor Swift concert overload. Oh my goodness. We had so much fun! I can't tell you how many times my heart was just so happy. Watching Hannah's face was by far the highlight for me. I honestly think I spent more time watching Hannah than watching our friend Taylor.

At first we weren't going to go down early, but then I thought it might be fun to get in on the pre-concert fun. Tom ended up driving us down while Emerson had an extended stay with Nonnie and Papa. I am SO thankful that they kept her, as much as I said I didn't mind driving myself down, it was REALLY nice to have Tom there walking us back to the car after the show. (Tom went and saw a movie while Hannah and I rocked out) We got down there, got raffle tickets for backstage passes and then went to the center house for dinner. As we were walking around looking for something to eat, Tom was attacked by a cute young lady. Our niece Ashlie (Lenny & Jodie's oldest) was in town with her band. Apparently her school band was invited to play in a parade today. Come to think of it, we should have gotten more details and gone this morning. Darn. I hate when I think of things after the fact. Oh well. Back to the concert. We got our dinner and headed back to the "party". We stopped and took Hannah's picture in front of one of the tour buses. So cool!

Then...look who we ran into...Ms. Shellee and Ms. Beth. WOO HOO Hannah was pretty excited about that.

We sat on the stairs and ate our dinner. Hannah was chompin at the bit to get in and see Taylor. I was a little more hesitant, knowing how long it really would be before Taylor took the stage.

Hannah did a REALLY good job waiting. We did a lot of people watching, looked for Ms. Shellee and a little dancing. I had to laugh because at one point they had a shake, shake song (Shake It, by Metro Station) on and Hannah was shake, shakin it! A gal sitting a few rows behind us came down and snapped a picture of her and then went on and on about how cute she was. =)

Gloriana and Kellie Pickler opened up for Taylor and we really could have done without them. Although I do have to say that Hannah was MOST impressed with Kellie's shoes. Look at those things sparkle. She ended up taking them off about half way through, which I can't really say I blame her now that I can see them up close. Good grief!!

When Kellie was on stage Hannah got really chatty, probably because she was getting tired and a little anxious. She was asking me so many questions..."is this a new song", "did Kellie cut her hair", "doesn't Kellie look like Caitlin" and then she said something that made me smile. She hugged me gave me a little kiss and said mom this concert ROCKS. All before Taylor had even come out. I knew she was going to love it. We had to wait about 40 minutes in between Kellie and Taylor. We had fun watching them set the stage up and we practiced rolling our tongues and doing the Bielser fish lips, she's almost got them down. =)

I know the quality is horrible but if you look really close you can see Hannah's reaction to the start of Taylor's concert. Makes me smile every time I watch it.

She came out dressed like a band member and with a little help from her friends...

had this cute dress on. We loved all the outfit changes. Hannah loved each dress a little more than the one before. It was cute.

One of Hannah's favorite songs and look how her guitar sparkles. When Hannah saw that she actually gasped. (Taylor flipped it over before the song and wow'd the crowd with it) Sorry for the wobbling mid way, but Hannah tugged on me to ask if we could go get a glow stick. Don't you just love how EVERYONE is singing. =)

So after the song we left and got a glow stick. A $5.00 glow stick that says TaylorSwift.com. =) Thank goodness it's a battery operated one so it should last a bit longer.

Jen had told us that at some point Taylor walks out in the crowd to sing. Well...she was ONE section over! One section away from us! We were so excited at how close she was. I love this picture and the girls face. I can only imagine! She sang a little bit and then walked down to the stage right in front of us!She's the glowing white thing in the center of the picture. Hannah wanted SO badly to go down the stairs, but I'm a mean mom and didn't want her getting trampled. Sheesh!

I have a feeling we'll be seeing a few of these crazy dance moves around our house. Thank goodness our couch is too heavy for Hannah. Watch out Emerson.

Hannah got her inner rock star on. She only hit the guy in front of us 3 times. =) Hee Hee Yes, the only two boys at the concert were sitting in front of us, documenting Ms. Pickler and Ms. Swift's EVERY move. Silly boys.

After she heard her favorite song, Love Story, she was ready to go. It was 10:45 and she was tired! What a trooper she is. On our way out we stopped and picked up a t-shirt. You can't go to your first concert and NOT get one. =)

I forgot to mention that when we left Tom, he headed to Pacific Place to catch a movie. On his way there he informed me that his cell phone battery was dying. Seriously??? He turned his phone off during the movie but he didn't tell me that, so I sat worrying throughout most of the concert about how I was going to find him afterwards. Thankfully I told him before hand that we'd come out the way we went in, so when we left, there he was. phew!

Hope I haven't bored you to tears, but I had to be sure and get it all down before I forget. We've got swimming lessons this morning and then a free afternoon. I can't believe it. I think we'll just stick around the house, we're all a little tired. Hope you have a great weekend!

The list

Charged batteries - check

Cameras - check

Cell phone - check

Binoculars - check

Snacks - check

Ear plugs - check

Tickets - check

TAYLOR SWIFT HERE WE COME!!!!!!

~ Mother's Day ~

I just have to say that this was one of the best Mother's day's I've had, so far. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband and to have been blessed with two wonderful little girls. My day started out with sunshine, coffee and flowers, a yummy breakfast and then Tom and the girls cleaned my car, inside and out! What a way to start a day!

We went over to Becky's house for brunch. She served a yummy farmers casserole that was even better the next day for breakfast. =) It was a quiet afternoon with no rushing around. It was nice change. The kids played outside while us girls chatted away inside. Only a few times did I hear "it's mother's day, you're all supposed to get along, no fighting". It made me laugh that mom's always have to be mom's, even on our special day. =) The girls got me a new camera bag and Tom got me the lawn chair that I've been wanting. Now I just need it to warm up so I can lounge my day away in the sun. Ha! My dad, even though he wasn't there, surprised each of us girls with a special necklace as a thank you for helping Mom out the last few months. It's a beautiful necklace and it was truly was a nice surprise.

Emerson was nice and taught Nonnie some tricky Pilates moves.Poor Jake, the only boy around for the picture.

Uncle Rob took pictures of Emerson today. They were her 1 year pictures, just a few months late. =) Rob has posted a few on his blog and you can check them out here. (click on the word here) He did an amazing job and I am so thankful for his talented eye. OK, now I've got to get off of here and get two little girls asleep so we can watch the season finale of LOST. Only 2 sleeps until Taylor Swift. Yay!!!

Baby Oliver

Before I can share pictures of Mother's day (which I really don't have many) I have to share pictures of our visit to Fox Island to meet baby Oliver. Tom's cousin Gina and baby Oliver flew down from Alaska for a visit last week. We drove down Saturday after swimming lessons. It was the least we could do, he did after all, meet us more than half way. Hannah was absolutely smitten with him and couldn't get enough of him. She got to hold him a couple of times and she played with him on the floor. It was too cute. Emerson on the other hand could have cared less. I introduced her to him, she touched his hand, and that was it. She was done. She wanted to play outside. She is definitely my outside girl.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I LOVE Doug and Sally's house. It's so peaceful with the birds chirping and deer wandering through the yards. It's gorgeous! They have a beautiful garden and I could sit outside on their swing all day. We're already looking forward to August when they come back for another visit...and not only for the trip to Fox Island, for little Oliver too. He's a sweet, sweet baby and Gina and Todd are very blessed.

Hannah and Aunt Kim, swinging.

Hannah picked me flowers.Oh my, so much to do.Another video...this is how Tom enjoyed his day.

Front - Sally (aka Oma), Auntie Pamalee, Baby Oliver & Uncle Joel. Pamalee and Joel are expecting their first in October, yay! Back - Doug (aka Papa), Uncle Geoff and Gina.

Next up...Mother's day. =)