All dressed up.

My brother in law is getting married soon. I am soooo happy for him, I can't even begin to tell you.. plus his fiance is the best!! (ask Carson, he loooves her)

Being as we'll be at the wedding, I figured we should probably wear nice clothes. And the clothes from my sister-in-law's wedding that was a year ago obviously won't fit the kids (well Kaitlyn might still fit in hers).

I have been searching for something cute.. and matching. I know, you're shocked, right?? My kids? Matching???

Anyway, I haven't had much success as what I have found is more expensive than what I like to pay (I'm cheap/frugal/whatever you want to call it when it comes to children's clothing).

Insert Pinching Your Pennies and Kohls.

I love PYP for the awesome coupon deals (which I need to get into again), the friends I've made and the online shopping forum.

Having a Kohl's card is one of the best things I've done.. when you use it online, there is always a free shipping code and at least a 15% off code. I get CUTE clothes for the kids for sooo cheap!! And it's simple to pay the card off online.

Anyway, wanna see what I picked out for the kids?

My BIL is a huge fan of sweater vests so I figured this was perfect..


Isn't he cute? Is it horrible if we don't tuck the shirt in? Hade melted down when we tried.. it felt funny (he also hates tags, socks that are too tight.. yeah.).

Carson wouldn't participate. I even offered him ice cream to come upstairs and try the clothes on.. ice cream!! I can't beleive he didn't fall for my bribe. Hmph. So scroll on up and imagine Carson's head and there you go. Cute, huh!!


Here's Aubrey.. she really likes it. The sweaters a little big so I might need to wash it or something. She has requested that I curl her hair for the wedding.
And going with the B&W theme, here's Kaitlyn.

So in case you were wondering, she doesn't like having her shoes taken off. I tried.. so I could take her pants off... and insert tantrum. She inched her way across my entire from room in the above fashion. Once she was done and I took her pants off over her shoes, she still wasn't happy.. so I opened the front door. Kait loves going outside!!

Kohl's didn't have her size so I had to get a 2T.. luckily it has ties in back so I could sinch up the waist. I need to figure out how to tighten up the back of her dress by her shoulders though.. maybe just a little stitch or something. Trish? Any ideas??




Cute, right????

And back to the Kohl's thing.. all of this, full priced, would have been $166. But I paid $29. YAY!!

And here's another tulip shot because I think they're that fabulous.

Consider this your warning.

Dear Flies:

I know that only two of you have entered my home. I can understand that as you bump into our front window that you're only trying to leave.

However, Carson does not like you. He thinks you're a bee.

As you, me and the lamppost know, he's extremely loud. And well, I just can't take it any more. His constant shreiking that he can see a bee and that he wants you to leave is really getting to me. (even if it is nice that he'll spend an HOUR at our front window, with a tissue, in hopes of squishing you)

I'm considering taking appropriate measures.. and Carson IS at the point of taking appropriate measures. And you won't survive. Nor will my nice things.



Please, leave. Don't come back.

Kindest Regards,
Becky

Cha-cha-change

I looove spring. It's my favorite season of the year. So much change! I love having the windows open and the fresh breeze coming through. The weather has been so nice this week that the kids have been playing outside a LOT.

Well you know how when kids get bored, they get in trouble? Well on Tuesday, I got bored. And Carson came inside with bright red cheeks and was all sweaty.

So.. I cut his hair!

I think the sides in front need to be thinned out a little more and the front is a little short. Oops. Good thing his hair grows fast.

Here is just after I cut it and put some product in.. looks kind of silly from the angle but really it was cute all spikey!

And here's today (not styled).. I think he looks like my brother Steve's little kid pictures.

What is this? A SERIOUS FACE????

And speaking of hair, it's spirit week at school and today was crazy hair day. This is our version of crazy girl hair. The ends are spikey and she has pink glitter stuff in her hair. And lots of ribbon. Love it!!

And here's an update on Miss Kait.. I took her off of whole milk and switched her to soy and her eczema has improved soo much! Whew! I think she also has a problem with chocolate though. Last night Drew shared a cookie with her and she spit up quite a bit and her eczema was bothering her by the time she went to bed. Chocolate?? Can it be??? SAD!!!!! (any thoughts or btdt???)

Kind of funny, I went outside to take a few pics and when I came back in just a few min. later she was upstairs and holding the bottom of a corndog.. and then I hear (from Carson) "Where's my corndog???" Looks like he has competition in the sneaky department. She ate a little of it.. I don't think I've given her hot dog before. Now, my outdoor pictures. I know, you're excited, right??? Well wait for what I have to show you! Part of why I LOVE these is because *I* started them. All 150 were first planted years ago. Yes, I got my hands dirty! But look at them now. *sigh* They're amazing and we get soo many compliments from the neighbors.

My wonderful house. Look at our tree! Drew takes such good care of the yard. He's the best!

Thought I'd give an animal update as well.. Every year we have ducks that visit our neighborhood and choose somewhere to lay eggs. This past year they chose my front yard (in the then dying tulips, of course). This picture was from the beginning of the month, but guess who's back????

And last night they landed in our backyard and the kids had fun feeding them bread. (no pics!)

And here's the last change.. It's Mommy kitty. She's been very, very naughty.

I think she's going to pop any day now. :-S

The rest.

Time to finish up the trip.. I have other things to share! Like Crazy hair day!

The Saturday that we were in Seattle, we decided that we needed a thrill so we went on the Snoqualmie Bullet Train. Poor Drew almost got whiplash! But what do you expect when it goes.. oh say, five miles an hour. ;o)

The kids were so excited to go on a real train! And, because it was Easter weekend, they each got an Easter egg with candy in it.

You can tell we're a really serious group of people.

Sitting by my wonderful dad and you can't really see but I'm covered in Powdered Sugar from the donut I brought for Kaitlyn to eat. I definitely was smart to do that.. yeah..

Aubrey and Barbara enjoying more "girl time".

After the train..

This picture shows Carson off perfectly: Always running...

That afternoon while Kaitlyn was napping, I took advantage of the near by Outlet mall. Specifically, Children's Place. My kids now have several items for next fall/winter (Kaitlyn is done). My biggest finds were shirts for $1, $2 and hats for the boys for $.19 each. Yay!!

Drew, Barbara and Carson (who slept) had fun driving into downtown Seattle to look around. I'm looking forward to doing the same whenever we return.

We enjoyed yummy pizza after that and my step-sister Elisabeth came down from school so we got to see her too.

Night before Easter... LOVE this picture.. hehehe
We both look so silly.. guess we stayed up too late hiding eggs.
Easter Morning!

The kids scored a few treats and a movie! Imagine that.. PERFECT for the drive home!Searching..

We had to play hot and cold to find the last egg.I'm proud to say that the last one was one that *I* hid!

After the kids had consumed enough sugar for the entire day, we all got dressed and went out for brunch. It was sooo delicious! And they even had (clean) toys for kids to play with. NICE!

After we all waddled (from our full tummies) back into the house, it was time to finish packing up. :o( Here's a group shot that Elisabeth took..
I had a fantastic time and I cried when it was time to say goodbye and as we drove off. I'm really glad we all went.. when I first was thinking of going I was going to just fly up with Kaitlyn for a few days but this was much better. My kids still ask when we're going back. Guess the drive wasn't that bad for them either.

And as I promised, here are some Gold Stars for Anne and Brenda for reading Part 1 of our trip and leaving comments!!! Thanks!! :-D

No child left behind.

No, I'm not talking about the Act.. I'm talking about our trip. I'm happy to report that no child was left behind on our journey home. Carson's screaming and throwing of items was frustrating.. but it's kind of like labor. Already I have forgotten just how bad it was and I'm trying to figure out when I can return.

Now, for your warning. Because it pains me deeply to post without pictures.. I have had to include some. Ok, a lot. Feel free to leave for a bit while they all download so you can get the full experience. Really, it's worth it, I'm sure.

Moving on. We had SUCH a great time! Easy going.. relaxing.. Great food and family.. my kind of vacation!

First, I have to share something from that first day at the hotel. I was the special guest of the day! ME! How did I forget to tell you??? They called all of the front end employees up as I was checking in.. raised their arms and cheered.. I was just as excited, I never win anything! The manager had one employee get "the basket" where I was to choose a prize from. I was grinning from the excitement (oh, and I noticed when I got to our room that I had oreo in my teeth. Nice.)

And then... and then, I saw the basked. Oh, the let down. There was a Post It note cube with dolphins on it. Or a cookie tin with Kittens on the front (playing with yarn). which I'm pretty sure came from someone's grandmother. Or the mystery item with the $1.50 price tag still on it. Oh gee, how ever would I choose. :-S Luckily, at the bottom of the basket, there was a metal back scratcher. It became mine.. and also my personal connection with the hotel staff. I was asked about 5 times during our stay how I was enjoying it. And another 3 times when we returned on our way home.

Because I wasn't able to upload pictures while on vacation, this is our swimming picture. Not sure what was going on with my camera and some of the picture is blurred.. Drew's convinced my kids must have smudged the lens. I'll have to look into that.

The following day went well.. we only had two stops during the 7 hour drive. The first was for lunch at Wendy's. The kids were SO excited to see: SQUIRLS! There was a cemetary just behind our parked car.. or "squirl land" as they deemed it.

I took several pictures and this was the best. Yeah..

The second stop was because I was pretty sure I was going to pee my pants and we would run out of gas. I know, you're welcome for me sharing that. Turns out we stopped like 5 minutes before my dad's house.. but how was I supposed to know that?

It was sooo wonderful to see my dad and step-mom. They are just wonderful people.. and I have missed my dad's sense of humor so much!

The kids had a great time blowing bubbles. Aubrey spent a lot of "girl time" with my step-mom talking about animals and listening to stories. They went to the store together.. sat together during outings.. She was in *heaven* to have that much one-on-one time.

Hayden was Mr. Project Man. A coloring fool. See, my dad has a little R2-D2 that my sister gave him as a present. You talk to him and he responds.. you ask about Darth Vadar and he screams. He dances. It was fantastic. So of course Hade had to color an R2-D2. And then he was lonely so Hade made him a friend, R3. He's currently still in WA so my dad doesn't get lonely. He also created Darth Vadar out of 4 or 5 pieces of paper and tape. And I think there was also a pet turtle at some point during the stay.

Carson loved R2 and played with him a lot.. and in typical fashion, just ran around being crazy. (you people know that "crazy" is an endearing term, right?) He kept us all entertained.. the stuff that kid does!

Kaitlyn did pretty well.. she slept for the most part. She did seem to have an allergic reaction though, her eczema totally flared up and she got red little dots all over her. The first night we were there, she was up crying for an hour in the middle of the night because she was itching so much. :o( I think it was from all of the milk she had.. i don't usually give her as much as she had. (another story) I gave her benedryl and it seemed to help which was good.

Wow, this is going to be long. SORRY!

Our first outing was to Snoqualmie Falls, which was soo neat! It's 100 feet talled than Niagra Falls.

I love that my step-mom, Barbara, was wearing a loong Parka. And we're wearing jackets. Yay for NO SNOW!

It was funny to watch the other people at the falls.. at least half of them paid zero attention to the scenery. They were all too busy watching Kaitlyn. Not that I blame them... And of course there was the comments about if "all these kids were all mine??" and how I must be busy and had my hands full (especially after Carson caught their eye). I smiled and nodded in agreement..

Look! My entire family! And we're all looking!! *gasp*

After the falls, we stopped by the house and picked up my dad. My step-mom had a great idea to surprise the kids and see a movie. We never go to movies! I think the last one we went to was Meet the Robinsons.. so it's been awhile. Drew was super lucky and got to take the boys (by himself) to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. But the man is smart.. he gave each boy their own popcorn and they stayed in their seats the entire time. I should have done the same for Kaitlyn.

I had the pleasure of seeing... Hannah Montana and on opening day! Aubrey's eyes were THIS BIG when she found out what was chosen for her to see. And of course she sat by Barbara.. that was one happy little girl with a great memory of that day. As the mom of a 9 year old, I of course didn't hold back in singing the opening song.. Best of Both Worlds. Here eyes got THISBIG as she hissed, "Stop, you're embarrassing me!" hehehe :-D

What made it even better was that Kaitlyn also loudly "sang" as well. Sooo funny. But after that, it went downhill. I had to leave part way through and change an explosive diaper. And of course I had forgotten the diaper bag.. so I had to lay her out in the back of the van.. use tissues and leftover water from the cooler that was still in there. May I NEVER forget it again. And the only other clothing option was the swimsuits.. so she had to wear those bottoms. And then I spent the last hour in the back of the theater chasing her around. This is why we don't see movies. haha

After the movie, we stopped at the PetCo (where my step-mom works). The kids loved seeing everything. Carson played with my dad in the dog toy area for most of the time.

For dinner, we had really yummy food. Fantastic root beer in tall frosted glasses. Huge servings with the best curly fries.. mmmm. And the name of the place just makes me laugh.

This meal was definitley not part of my "lifestyle change". And they compleatly embrace that, so I did too.

The entire store was covered in pictures and parts of old cars.. Drew's kind of place.

It was really nice at the end when the manager was talking to Drew and told him to send a picture of his mustang in and they might put it up. And then he turned to me and told me that he gave my son (Carson) a bouncy ball and hoped it was ok.. he wouldn't come out from under a table on the other side of the resteraunt. Oops.

And I think that's all I'll share for tonight.. hopefully I didn't crash your computer while you waited for the pictures to upload. Or cause you to fall asleep while reading. Cause there's going to be more tomorrow!!! :-D

And I'll give you a shiny gold sticker if you read everything.. two if you leave a comment!!