Sun, Water Fun, and Shaved Ice... Just what our Easter needed! Part 1

It's no secret that spring has sprung and with it the spring fever slowly begins to fade as we are teased with those few warm, sun soaking, days that come scattered among those cloudy, thundering, raining, days.  

I'm okay with rain... So long is it doesn't freeze into that white stuff.  

(not even going to say it's name... It's like a curse word in my house)

Unfortunately, those few (and I mean very few) warm days have not been enough to ease my irritability caused by lack of sunshine and being cooped up in-doors since OCTOBER!

Six months is just TOO much!  

I decided, though we spent Easter with Bill's family last year meaning this year was reserved for my family, we needed to get away.  Sorry to my dear family, but my sanity depended on it.  So for the second year in a row we headed south.  Last year we camped out with Sister Steph and her Circus at Sand Hollow (HERE and HERE).

It was great fun, but lets just face it... I'm just not a good camper.  Granted if we had the set up Sister Steph has, camping might not be all too bad, but we don't so we have to tent it.  Me and tents aren't friends.  Rather than tenting it out at Sand Hollow, we decided to stay in the comfort of my in-laws house instead which is close enough to still enjoy the beach, water, and sand with the family who spent their Easter camping out.  

We headed down early Friday morning and hit the parents house just before noon.  We quickly scarfed down some lunch and headed back to the road to visit our family at Sand Hollow.  Sister Steph didn't have her whole Circus with her this time around, but Sister McKell was up there with her beau and two of her youngsters along with some friends who had a couple kids.  My kids were content in playing with them and excited to hit the beach running. They immediately stripped down to their suits and soaked in the sun.

My girly girl quickly transformed to not so girly as she dug in the mud with a slew of boys.  It was her and a bunch of boys... that didn't even phase her.  She fit right it... muddy face and all.  In all honesty I think she may have been enjoying getting dirty far more than any of those boys.  Sam enjoyed digging in the mud with them for a great while too, but eventually just wandered off on his own really soaking in the heat.  We were in Heaven. 

Okay, not heaven... I hope that in heaven we don't have to deal with sand in not so desirable places, but you get the idea.  We were where we SO DESPERATELY needed to be at that moment.  

Sanity, semi-restored.

We sat for a few hours and enjoyed the company of some wonderful people... Bill and our nephew Bryce went for a ride in the dunes in West's four wheeler, not the most successful trip out, but at the very least Bryce was left with smiles and I believe the words "Lets do that again!" did come from his mouth.  The rest I will leave up to the others to spill.  I'm still just clinging to the good (that there was enjoyment) of that ride... the rest I will not speak of.  Simply because may husband my not forgive me.

Sister Steph however... is free to speak. ;)

While we all sat and enjoyed conversation... the kids were a short distance away enjoying all the wonderful things the beach and water had to offer.  This included burying each other in the sand. 

This burying each other in the sand business also took a not so good turn like the four wheeling had, only us parents were completely oblivious to the severity of the sand burying situation. 

Our first problem was relying on the information from a not so urgent five year old (Sam) who walked up to us and simply said...

"Aiden is stuck."

To which Sister McKell quickly replied "Oh, yeah he loves getting buried!" 

To this Sam gave a simple shrug and walked away continuing to enjoy his time there at the beach.  

It was later discovered that Sam's little announcement of Aiden being stuck was truly meant to be urgent.  As in, maybe an adult should go help him get unstuck.  Turns out the kids had buried Aiden a bit to close to the water which meant that the hole he was buried in acted much like quick sand.  The more he moved... the more he sunk.  My little Brenna and another kid stuck by his side the entire time committed to digging him out without having to impose upon the adults fun and coming in between the conversation time we were having.  Once it was realized that Aiden truly needed help... the adults pulled together in getting him out.  While I on the other hand, grabbed my camera and started to photograph it.  I'll allow Sister Steph to tell the story of how she became the heroin and saved this boy's life.  After all she is the master story teller...  I will offer up these few pictures of the moment though...

This boy is REALLY stuck

Poor boy defeated by the sand...

Sister Steph saved the day!

Needless to say it was a very eventful day.  

Two guys were left feeling a little defeated, but that's ok cause Sister Steph made it all better with a card game with those two defeated guys...

And in all reality, we truly enjoyed being out there in the sun and with our family.  Our family is just one of a kind and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  

We left there shortly after this card game ended and headed back to the parents house for some much needed rest.  Mom made us a DELICIOUS Chili Verde for dinner and after the kids piled into the hot tub cause apparently they hadn't had enough water yet.  

Day One of our little mini-vacation was a success... though the first night was a little rough.  Sam woke up screaming from a dead sleep at about 11pm.  He had apparently acquired swimmers ear and was in dire pain for a good couple hours. I tried to console him back to sleep, rocking him, rubbing his head, but the second he would fall back asleep he was awake within seconds crying again from the pain.  I was left to head out into town at 1am to get some ear drops and pain medicine.

I was pooped.

My Friday started just before 5am and I didn't get settled into bed for sleep until 2am.  

It didn't matter though cause I knew I got to wake up to another day full of sun, warmth, and family.

Dreams of a Dance Mom

Brenna's first dance competition is fast approaching and I am feeling the stress of it all.

Last night I dreamed over and over and over again that no matter how hard we tried we just couldn't make it to the competition prepared.  With each disaster I would wake up, shake it off, and fall back asleep only to be welcomed by the same type of dream, different scenario, but same outcome.  I would wake up and repeat. Over and Over and OVER this would happen.  

Needless to say I didn't sleep well. 

When I woke up I told Brenna, "Mommy is a nervous wreck about this competition stuff!"  I began to tell her about the various disasters that would get in our way of her very first dance competition.  Like the heavy traffic that didn't seem to have an end in sight... for as far as the eyes could see were red tail lights with no other route to get where we needed to be.  Like how I forgot to bring the hair and make-up supplies necessary to pull off the required hair and make-up.  Like how when we pulled her costume out of the bag is was the wrong costume entirely.  Like how we went to put on her tights and ALL THREE PAIR were covered in holes and resembled Swiss cheese.  Like how I overslept and we didn't have time to get her to the competition in full hair and make-up ready to perform.  

In each scenario the outcome was the same.  We let her team down, they lost, all because we weren't ready.

That's a lot weighing on your shoulders. 

Being a "competition dance mom virgin" I am sure that I am WAY over thinking things.  I'm sure that this competition stuff isn't nearly as intimidating or stressful as I am assuming it is.  I'm sure that all will be fine, BUT still what if??

Come Friday night/Saturday morning I may need someone to bring me a brown paper sack and remind me to breathe.  

We are one week away from Brenna's first competition.  For the most part I am VERY excited and anxious to watch these girls' hard work pay off.  I know I'll be a blubbering idiot in the stands, but that's okay.  Us moms are entitled to those moments when it comes to our kids.  Brenna has worked SO very hard this year and I know sitting there watching her shine in the spotlight she so deserves will be a moment I will never forget.  I'm so proud of her and all her hard work and dedication.  She has far surpassed my expectations of what kind of dancer she could be at such a young age.  Much of that she is responsible for through being so committed, but the amazing teachers at her studio hold a great deal of credit as well.  I'm grateful they have been able to challenge her and push her to limits that she is completely capable of reaching. 

As I had that conversation with Brenna about how nervous I was she looked at me in a way that she just couldn't believe that I was making such a fuss.  She politely says, "Mom, you think YOU are nervous... I seriously think I might go out there and throw up." 

Oh dear.... what if???

No. I can't even go there.  

Any guesses what I will dream about tonight? 

Owls and Mustaches... Totally acceptable ways to show the love...

I've been working SO hard to make the kids valentines this year ones worth remembering.  I incorporated a few different ideas I saw online, my kids personalities, and of course added my own little personal unique touch.  I'm SO PROUD of the end results and have been SO anxious to share them.

Who doesn't love those fun photo booth pics? 

I had forgotten just what a fun little reminder of those good times with friends they were until I had some done with the kids and their friends a couple months ago.

My kids are always pulling those little photo strips out and laughing at them.  So much personality in them too.

I thought that it would be the perfect way to showcase my kids personalities on their valentines.  I also wanted the ever so popular chalkboard look along with them so I headed over to my dad's place where my little sister has a very large chalkboard painted on the wall, camera in hand, and took some shots of my kids.  First I had intended on writing the little messages on the chalkboard, but quickly realized I wasn't all that great at making it look good.  I decided I would later attempt to create the chalkboard look in photoshop.  I'm WAY more comfortable with that.

Brenna is a huge Beatle's fan and I wanted to incorporate one of her favorite songs they sing into her valentines.  All things considered, especially on Valentine's Day, "'Owl' You Need Is Love".

Brenna will be handing out some cute little owl suckers along with these cute little photo strips.  

Sam on the other hand is such a goof ball and having seen online a valentine that read "I "mustache" you a question, will you be my valentine?" I decided to go along with that same theme, but used a little different phrase I also found online that I felt suited him better.  Such a perfect fit for this little guy! 

Unfortunately I couldn't find some pre-made mustache suckers to go along with his valentines so I made some foam mustaches, which I then slid onto the sucker stick so when the are eating it it looks like they have a lil' mustache.  

I had both the kids valentines printed this weekend and I am getting anxious for them to hand them out to their friends.  

I already gave a peek of these on facebook, but these beauties below are what is being mailed to other close friends and family.  

Are you doing anything fun and creative for your kids to hand out to their friends?  I'd love to see!

I Hate January. (Officially)

Here we are seven days into February and I can already tell that the month is going to be far more kind to our family than January.  I can say for certain that I got a real test of just how hard it is being a working mother.  I had the ability to stay home with my children for seven years, so I have never had to experience just how hard it really is.  I can say right now that I have the utmost respect for those mothers that have known nothing different than being a working mother.  It is NOT easy. Not even a little bit.  I had it pretty easy being a working mom for the first four months on my new career path, but January showed no mercy to me in this area.  With January comes snow, cold, inversions, and above all... ILLNESS!   If its going around, you can bet that my family was hit with it in January.  Poor Sam receiving the brunt of it.  Being a working mom, accompanied by sick kids, and a job that has a lot of responsibility hanging overhead daily made for a very high stress month.  So high stress that I'll admit I had a meltdown.  Not just a minor scream and quickly pull it together meltdown, but rather a sink into a kitchen chair, look around at my house in shambles, glance and my super sick boy, and sob uncontrollably.  A meltdown caused by feeling so helpless and overwhelmed.  The lack of sun didn't make it any easier.  Bill and the kids sat back and watched this meltdown unfold and quickly came to my rescue.  Dishes got done, floor got vacuumed, and I relaxed a little.  Bill shared in the stay at home with sick kids duties, along with help from some awesome family.  I seriously wouldn't have made it through this month had it not been for those so willing to tend to my responsibilities while I was unable to.  My kids come first, Always, but when you have an additional 40+ kids who count on you everyday its really hard to juggle.  The mommy in me just wanted to be home with my boy, but the responsible teacher me knew that I had to make that sacrifice of leaving him with someone else in order to pull through for those students and paying parents.  What hit me the hardest this month was those times that I couldn't be home caring for my boy.  I felt anxious and antsy every second I had to spend away from him and not because I didn't trust those who were doing the tending, but because I know that it's just not the same as when Mom is there offing the snuggles and administering the meds.  I felt guilty with every passing minute.  I knew that these sick kids moments would happen, I just didn't anticipate it to the extent that it hit us in January.  Really, what kid gets Influenza, Strep, and Scarlet Fever in under a two week span?  It just wasn't fair.  All this now past us and everyone in the household on the mend, I have yet to reach the point of "look back and laugh about it."  Not sure I ever will.  January did not treat us well and now that I look back on all the January's I can recall I don't think they have ever treated me well.  I am sure many can agree that January is hands down the hardest month to get through, but I have never until now had that overwhelming hatred for a four week span of time.  I hate January, and I now think I ALWAYS will.  

On another note... It's now February.  Valentines day is creeping up VERY quickly.  What do you have planned for the loves in your life?  I've been pulling together several festive things in my world.  14 days of gifting for the kids and then their valentines for school.  They are coming together well and I CAN'T WAIT to unveil the finished products.  

A Week of Winter Woes and Influenza... and a little bit of talk about a giveaway.

How was your Holiday weekend?

(If you're wondering I'm referring to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday... I'm just really slow at this)

It's always nice to have those long weekends, especially if they follow a week that you were so eager to have end for whatever the reason... My reason, none other than looking forward to having time to catch up on house work that piled up when I was sick.  

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Sam came down with something that hit full force Saturday night.  

By full force I mean woke up in a hallucination panic as a result of a 104 point something fever that had shown no signs prior to putting him to bed that night.  He remained miserable with a very stubbornly high fever for several days following.  

My weekend off turned into a weekend full of fulfilling my nursing duties as a mother.  Administering medications every three hours around the clock, and of course left with clean up duty from those cough so hard you puke moments.  Yes, momentS... several of them.  All the while feeling helpless because I just couldn't make him feel better and I just couldn't get that darn fever under control.

We hit the doctors come Monday after he had no signs of improvement.  They swabbed him for influenza and though we have yet to receive test results back I'm willing to bet he was positive.  Of course the doctors these days can't really tell you exactly what is going on, it's more of a guessing game.   This time around our guessing game consisted of multiple antibiotics and upwards of $60 in hard earned cash.  At the very least one thing was made certain....

Sam had "an unknown object" lodged deep into his left ear that would require removal from an ENT (specialist) on a later date.  

Great... JUST GREAT! 

On the up side... I did fit in a little bit of fun time too.  

Saturday morning I ventured out with Brenna, as Bill and Sam took off for the motorcycle store (pre-illness mind you), for a little girl bonding and shopping.  We pick up my lil' sis Skylar on our way too.  It was a good day, though I failed to find what I was looking for.  In case you're wondering that would be pants that fit my chicken legs, flat butt, and wide hips without leaving me walking around with a very obvious camel toe.  What's the deal with pants these days?  Don't those designers know that we all don't maintain that high school figure for our entire life?  I mean I have reached the point in life that comfort hold priority over vanity.  I'm just not willing to walk around with my pants snug in all the wrong places, just so some unknown persons can get a nice look at what's meant to be hiding beneath the clothes.

PANTS WEREN'T MEANT TO BE MUNCHED!

Seriously though... am I the only one with this problem?  I sure hope not otherwise I may be forced to seek professional help.

Anyway, though I failed miserably in the shopping department, it was an over all good day because it was time spent with some awesome littles.  

Sunday offered up some more good weekend times as well with time spent with my Mom and siblings in celebration of her Birthday.  She is the most amazing 33 year old I know.  HA!  No joke though, she is an amazing woman and I think she deserves to be celebrated everyday, not just her birthday.  I'm blessed with a beautiful mother and I'm grateful for the sacrifices she has made for  my personal happiness.  I know from experience that as a mother nothing means more than knowing that your children love you and appreciate you.  So Mom, I want you to know just that.  I want you feel that wonderful feeling a mother feels when her child tells her she is loved and appreciated.  You know that feeling when you heart feels like it might burst out of your chest, your cheeks warm, and those happy tears start welling in your eyes...

I love you Mom. 

I appreciate you Mom.

I am grateful you chose to give me life...

And I'm so grateful for you.

Happy 33rd Birthday.

xoxo

(You have that feeling yet?  K. Good.)

Sam and Bill unfortunately missed out on this celebration because of Sam's being sick.  

That was pretty much the extent of my long holiday weekend...

Pretty exciting huh?

Tuesday Bill took the day off to stay home with Sam and play Mommy nurse as best he could with Sam while I went to work.  I had to take Wednesday duty with Sam (yet another doctors appointment to attend to) so we both had to take a day.  We all know how hard it is to go back to school and work after a long weekend.  Preschoolers are no exception.  They were antsy as was I.  It wasn't a terribly rough day, but it was obvious that not a single person who walked through our classroom door was happy to be there.  Those days are just always rough even if there isn't any stand out moments to blame the roughness on.  

Wednesday Sam and I were off to the doctors again...

This time to the ENT to have that unknown object removed from his ear.  Upon arrival it was made known that that unknown object wasn't just secluded to one ear... rather there were now unknown objects to talk about.  One in each ear.  Both deep inside, sitting on his ear drums.  This was NOT a fun experience.  It hurt. He cried.  I had to be strong and sit back as the doctor hurt my baby. Again, NOT FUN!  The ordeal was over quickly and we walked out that door in very minimal time, but not after forking out another $60+ in co-pays and prescriptions along with a scheduled hearing test and follow up visit for next week.  Ugh.  

Thursday brought with it freezing rain.  It was very unwelcome and much unappreciated.  I'm so over winter.  In case you missed it, refer back to my last post HERE. At this point, I just think it is all a very cruel joke.  Ice skating is meant for a rink... NOT the streets, parking lots, and sidewalks thank you very much.  Thursday at work didn't prove to be any easier than Tuesday.  I think this is a result of the unforgiving weather we have had here.  Everyone is anxious and board with having to be indoors ALL the time.  The lack of Vitamin D isn't helping things either.  I'm almost certain that every person living in this state is not far from being admitted to psych wards.  We are all going absolutely crazy.  Wonder if we can get  discounts on straight jackets if we order in bulk?  It's a thought. 

Before I go on another long rant about how miserable I am with our Alaskan like weather I'll stop here.  

Thursday also brought with it report cards...

I'm proud.

VERY PROUD.  

Both kids are excelling in school and I am so very pleased.  Sam has begun to read.  Though I'm proud this does make me a little sad to see my baby pick up a book and read it.  Brenna just flies through her work without much effort.  I'm have still yet to see the day that one of my children are faced with a bit of an academic struggle, and  I'm okay with that.  I'd be completely content if I never have to witness that struggle.  I personally had a love/hate relationship with school and Bill just flat out hated it so I am happy to see that my kids love it.  They love to learn and enjoy every moment doing so.

It's Friday.  Thank GOD for Friday.  I went and got coffee alone today.  Had a conversation with a friend that I haven't had much time to chat with. Then went and helped with reading in Sam's class.  Yes, I love teaching so much that I volunteer my time on my day's off.  Nice thing about volunteering my time is that I get to leave when I decide.  Today's volunteer work was short and sweet.  An hour is all, but Sam was happy.  That's what mattered.  We even managed to reach temperatures above freezing today.  Though that 35 degrees didn't last long... I was VERY grateful for that heat wave.  I almost busted out the flip flops!

Right.......

This weekend we have BIG plans.  Because the kids did so well on their report cards they are being rewarded for their hard efforts at school.  Sam and Bill are headed off to the Monster Trucks tomorrow night and Brenna and I are going to go get our creativity on at ColorMeMine.  I am SO excited for the day I have planned for Brenna and I.  A friend of mine did this with her girls and I have been wanting to experience this with Brenna ever since I saw how much fun they had.  I was just waiting for the right time.  No better time than now!  An added benefit of doing this with her tomorrow is that they are hosting a pajama night so now Brenna and I get to go out and buy some matching jammies to wear.  FUN!  

(It also helps that if we come in jammies we get in for a VERY discounted rate... BONUS!)

What will your weekend bring?  Sure hope it's good...

Before I go I must say this...

My sister is having a giveaway over at her blog.  If you love blogging and reading blogs as much as I do this is a giveaway that I'm sure you'll want to get in on.  AND this giveaway will give you something to do while we all continue to hide away from the nasty winter that lingers outside... What better past time than reading? 

She is giving away a book over at her blog this week.  

This book is about blogging... not HOW TO blog, but rather funny stories from the blogging world.  Learn more about these books HERE. Then head on over to my sister's blog HERE to enter to win! 

Happy Weekend everyone!

Utah, The new Alaska....

Okay, some may think that comment is a bit of an exaggeration, but in all seriousness it's SO NOT.

One of my nearest and dearest girlfriends lives in Alaska and their temperatures have been "quite pleasant." For a now acclimated Alaskan pleasant means like mid 40's.  

That's not my definition of pleasant, but right now with what we have been given I'll gladly take mid 40's.

Hell, I'd gladly take mid 30's.  

Without fail, for weeks now, one or more of my car doors have been frozen shut (more often all of the doors too).  And not just frozen shut in the morning... they are frozen shut within minutes of shutting the car off.  So you know that quick 10 minute grocery store stop... Yep, come back out to doors frozen shut.

It's just plain old miserably cold.

I can't handle the cold.

If you have crossed my path in the recent weeks you will know that my entire moods have shifted.  Mind you they have shift to a not so pleasant me, and to those who have been so unfortunate to cross my path... I truly am sorry. HA! You would think I would have smartened up by now and move on to an environment where I don't have to deal with the cold.  In all fairness however, it's not very often that we are dealing with sub-freezing temps for weeks on end here in Utah.  Granted we do get those few days of super cold temps, that quickly turn back around.  Normally we spend the winter in the mid 30's, NOT consistent single digits often turning to the negatives.  

It's just plain cruel.  

All of it.

Including the unwelcome amount of snow that is sitting in my yard.  That foot of snow that fell a couple weeks ago had yet to show signs of melting (okay, maybe it did a little) before we got this added 13-14 inches over the weekend.  What's even more unfortunate is that the kids are all so excited to see all the new white stuff, but it's too dang cold to even enjoy it for more than 5 minutes.  Who can make a decent snowman in 5 minutes?  Oh, and just so you know... My dear friend in Alaska (Anchorage to be exact) has had a WHOPPING total of 9 inches of snow this winter.  

Can you tell I'm just over it? 

Wanna know what sent me over the edge and on this rant about how gosh dang cold it is?

This morning we were frozen IN our house.  Yes, no lie.  Our doors were frozen shut.  Not just one of them... ALL of them.  Thankfully I have a strong husband that was able to strong arm those doors open.

Wanna know what else?  

Oh yeah, you know what else... I didn't get my garbage out to the road this morning either...

Why you ask?

My gate is frozen shut too!

I swear to you all, mark my word, if I hear the word drought spoken this summer here in Utah I WILL spit nails.  In NO WAY should those words be thought let alone spoken this year.  

I'm seriously considering a vacation to some place warmer...

Maybe Alaska?

Or maybe even to Western New York to see my family?

It is after all in the 60's there.  

Okay, rant over.

Until next time anyway...

Tomlin's Go Ice Skating...

New years eve we had passes for the SLCeve event downtown.  This event is basically a huge party with a variety of activities for all ages at various locations downtown.  All within a few blocks of one another.  Tracks runs free downtown that night (may even be every weekend night actually) so you basically hop on and ride from location to location to check it all out.  We stayed close to the Gateway mall the majority of the time as this is where all the kid friendly stuff was taking place.  Unfortunately for us, we weren't really aware that the kid new years countdown ended at 7pm and that the insane amount of people would really limit what the kids could participate in.  Face painting line was a minimum of an hour long... just for some amateurs to paint a firework on their face?  Crazy.  The room with the light bright and glowing mega blocks was so small that the kids (and adults) were feeling very crowded and anxious to get out of there. We did spend a fair amount of time at Discovery Gateway, but even that place was a crazy disaster.  What it boils down to is that by the time 7pm rolled around and the kid stuff fizzled out we were left with two very antsy kids who had yet had their fill of fun for the night.  We decided to check out the movies playing at Clark Planetarium as they were playing about every half hour to 45 min, and they went late into the night.  These movies just so happened to be included in our passes.  Unfortunately for us again, it wasn't made known at the time of purchase that these tickets were limited and that you had to reserve your movie ahead of time. This meant we didn't get to see a movie either.  My mom purchased the tickets and at this point she was very frustrated at the waste of money they were.  All they did for us really was get us into discovery gateway for the kids to drop one plastic ball into the air lifting thing, play in the water with some broken boats, color on a color wheel with some already used paper, and make a party hat with minimal supplies.  Eventually we did venture down to temple square.  We enjoyed an exciting first time ride on the trax train and wandered around enjoying the Christmas light display.  We even were able to catch a little mini-concert as we were warming our toes in one of the buildings there at temple square.  New Years eve really wasn't a total bust.  We enjoyed one another's company very much and in the end it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable experience.  Wasted money aside.  

That night though, what my kids really wanted to do was to go to the Galivan Center and ice skate out on their outdoor rink.  I knew after already having been allowed to do very little with our tickets due to crowd that if we were to attempt the ice skating the kids would just be let down again.  It wasn't worth it to fight the cold (15 degrees mind you) any longer to show up and the rink be at full capacity as I knew it would be.  So instead we wrapped up the night early, headed back to our car on trax, and arrived home just before 11pm with two kids that were already zonked out for the night.  

Because they had to miss out on the ice skating that night I decided that this weekend I would take them to an indoor rink not to far from our house.  I unfortunately woke that morning feeling under the weather, but pushed through and took them anyway.  They didn't know what we were doing, I only informed them I had a surprise.  They spent the morning Saturday trying to guess what their surprise was.  At different points in the morning both kids expressed that they hoped we were going ice skating.  Little did they know they guessed right, but they didn't really think that a mom with a cough would take them to the cold.

We headed out to the ice skating rink, where Grammy and Uncle Bronson were going to meet us.  The kids didn't know they were coming either.  

Upon arriving we were greeted by a huge billboard of a speed skater.  Immediately they knew that we were indeed going ice skating.  While Brenna was jumping up and down in the back seat screaming "THANK YOU MOMMY!" over and over agian, Sam thanked me with a big kiss!

It's good to know your kids appreciate your efforts and there is no better way to express that than with some loves for Mommy.

The kids had so much fun.  Brenna just hopped right on that ice and took off on her own, circling that rink over and over and over again.  Sam remained a bit timid and just couldn't get his balance so I rented him a little walker to assist him and after that he took off just like his sissy.  Eventually he got brave enough, with a little boosted confidence, and ventured out without the walker and did remarkably well.  They both thought that their pre-fall twist, turns, and tumbles were real ice skating tricks and that it was pretty cool they could do tricks without even trying. HA! We spent a good couple hours skating.  Neither of the kids wanted to leave and both suggested that we come back again the next day.  This is definitely a repeat activity for our family, only next time I will insist that Dad join us.

Who else wants to join us?

It was a great weekend.  Today Bill took the kids to the gun show with his Dad (Grandpa T.), while I am stuck in bed with a miserable cough, headache, and itching ears.  The invisible heavyweight that is sitting on my chest is welcome to leave anytime (preferably NOW!)