Build a Bear

Lauren and Evan's Mimi from California sent them a build-a-bear gift card for Christmas. We took them recently to get theirs. And can I just say, what a racket!! Seriously they are making bank there. Why didn't I ever think of that! The line full of little children with their eyes bright with anticipation of the event in making their new best friend. Seriously!! If I had thought of that brilliant and lucrative idea, I could be feeding my fire place with $20's!

Lauren picked out a pink cat. She saw it and committed right away to "shiney glitter kitty" (that's the name she gave it)

Evan choose a black bear who he quickly named "Galaxar". He makes me laugh!

Waiting in line. Yes, we had to wait in a line for 15 min! Like I said, they are making some money! Lauren cracks me up in this picture. She is a funny girl.


Man this kid is so cute! I am so in love with him.
Lauren stuffed her cat first.




Evan's turn to stuff Galaxar.



While we were there, they put more stuffing in the machine, and they let Lauren and Evan fill it. They LOVED it. I think that that might have been their favorite part of the whole experience.





Time to give their new bears a bath.





Thanks Mimi!! They have slept with and carried around their new bears ever since. They had so much fun!

Lauren turns 7

I wanted to make Lauren's birthday as special as she is. On December 29th, she turned the whooping age of 7. And as I do every year on my kids birthday, I want to write down my thoughts and feelings for her.

Dear Lauren,
The 7 years that you have been in my life have been the most amazing, frustrating, wonderful, stressful, roller coaster ride of my life. You have made me grow as a person like nothing else in this world can. I have known what it is to want an other's comfort above my own. I wish nothing more then for you to have all that life has to offer you. I want your smile to continue to light up rooms as it does now. I want you to never loose that scene of wonder for the world around you that you exhibits on a daily basis. I hope you always want to question the world around you and continue to thirst for knowledge. I want you to drink in the marrow of life and never get your fill. You amaze me. You are such a caring person, a natural nurturer. Both of your brothers light up when you speak to them. I still remember your little hand in mine, your princess dress falling below your feet, and your million wat smile. I can't believe how fast time is flying and all I want is to hold onto you, on to this time in your life, and I want to watch you grow into the person I know you are going to become. I can see her now, she is you, all the wonderful things you are today. And she is you, all the things that you will add and grow and mature into. I love you and I am so proud to be here on this journey with you. You are so loved, more then words can express.

Love Mom

For Lauren's birthday, all she wanted was feathers in her hair :). So we went early in the morning and got her some. She loves them and has let me know that she wants more.


She has been asking for a long time now to come to my work to eat. So on her birthday, we went to McGrath's for her birthday lunch. She had Fish and Chips and loved it when they sang Happy Birthday to her.





She is showing off the ring that Evan got her for her birthday. I love how close they are. They are each other's best friend. I feel lucky to have kids that love to be in each other's company.


She is so pretty, she can even pull of a giant fish on her head and still look so chic.

She also got a pair of her very first high heel shoes, which, I might add, has rarely left her feet since.

While we were there, I had the cooks get a lobster out of the tank so that Lauren and Evan could touch it. I didn't think Evan would, but he surprised me and did.
Later on that day, we all went to Applebee's with Chad's mom for an other birthday dinner.



Lauren loves to be the center of everything. And so, of course, she loved it when they sang to her at Applebee's too.


Some of Lauren's likes at 7 years old are:

Zebra print and bright pink
Make-up
Jewelry
School
Science
Art
Junie B.Jones Books
Evan and Reece
Tangled
Tootsie Rolls and Cotton Candy Ice Cream
Root Beer and Chocolate milk
Kittens
Grandparents
Playing with her best fiend Marley
Her Treehouse
Vampire Diarys

Her dislikes at the age of 7:

fights
tomatos and eggs
time out
reading "10 hour words"
the cold
toy cars
getting her hair combed
the taste of Reece's food
the color orange
glass
rasin bran cereal
Bananas
mornings

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Christmas 2011

It has been a minute since I visited the blogging world. I do want to get back in it. A little less facebook and a little more blogging, since blogging really is a good way to keep a record of what is going on in our family and lives. This Christmas, we were again blessed with anonymous strangers who generously gave to our kids what we couldn't. Chad has been laid off from Hill Air Force Base now since just a month before Reece was born. (Thanks Obama for all of your government set backs..we sure love all of your change). And with things the way they are, it has been difficult to find a job. (again, thank you Obama, for your great recovery plan. I really do feel the difference in our economy since you became commander and chief). And this Christmas, we had three little ones instead of two, although Reece slept through it all. Christmas was fun. It was relaxing this year. We did all our family partys before Christmas, so we didn't have anywhere to go. We opened gifts and let the kids play with their now acquisitions all day long.



These pictures remind me of that part in a Christmas Story on Christmas morning. I could almost hear the narrator saying "We plunged into the cornucopia quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice." Every year I try and control the chaos, but I soon give up. The call of gifts under the tree is to strong, I just have to let them plunge in a destroy.




This is what our living room looked like after the onslaught. It took hours to clean up their Christmas joy. Just when I thought I had it all clean, I would turn around and find something else that they had gotten out to play with. Cleaning up when you have kids is like shoveling the driveway during a blizzard!!



While we were opening up gifts, our kitten, Fat Louie, had a front row seat. She climbed into the Christmas tree and took a nap on the branches. She has been climbing in the tree ever since we had it out.

Lauren and Evan had a great Christmas this year. They spent the rest of the day playing with all their gifts.



I hope everyone out there had a nice Christmas too, and I hope that the new year brings lots of joy and opportunity to our family and yours as well.