Finally! We got a night out!

It seems like Paul has been working 24/7 lately and as a result we haven't been able to go out and do much since he is so exhausted when he is home. My cousin Tiffany has been visiting from Texas and got a group of our friends together to go on a date. Marla so generously agreed to babysit while we went out. I got the girls ready for bed before I left and then they went to Marla's bedroom and found umbrellas. Marla texted me this picture of them.

Our group (From left to right with pictures above) included: Matt and Sarah Printy, Melanie and David Packer, Tiffany and Andrew Redd, and then Paul and me. We had so much fun at dinner that Sarah commented that the table next to us had 3 groups come and go while we were sitting there talking. It was so fun talking about things we used to do and what we have been doing lately. After we were done at dinner we went over to Boondock's and went on the go-kart races. That was so fun and I wish the people in front of David weren't being stupid or it would have been even more fun because I could have gone faster and not slammed on my brakes because of them. Paul got past a few people racing. I wish we could have stayed out later but we had to go pick up our kids and drive them an hour to get home. We made it home at 12:45 and I was so exhausted I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning, but it was so worth it. I wish I could go out more often with Paul and with my friends (but mostly just with Paul).

A "Sweet" trip

Okay, so here's what I think is funny...My last blog post we were at the zoo...this post, once again we ended up at the zoo. I love our zoo pass, it makes it so easy and fun to go. First though we made a trip to the Sweets Candy Factory. My friend Nicola has taken her kids on the tour there a few time and they have loved it so she asked if we would want to go...of course we said yes. My cousin Tiffany is in town visiting and I invited her to come with us. We had fun going on a tour of the factory and it was really cute with all the kids (even the babies) wearing hair nets.

After the candy factory we headed over to the zoo to have a picnic and wander around. We ended up having such a huge group that we split up for a while to wander around and then we met up again later. At the cheetah exhibit Gabby was having a hard time seeing over people and didn't want to walk around so I put her on my shoulders...she liked that idea, but didn't stay there for long.

Here is part of the our group at the zoo. A few people ducked out of the picture.
The highlight of the zoo today was the playground. It was insanely busy but the kids loved it and had tons of fun. Then we went on the train and headed for home. Gabby was so tired she fell asleep in the car and I had the hardest time waking her up when we got home.

A fun day...

Today we (Wendy and I) were supposed to meet our friend Nicola at the zoo after her daughter got out of school. There turned out to be a rainy problem and it was still raining by the time we were going to meet her. We decided to meet at the mall instead to eat lunch and decide what we were going to do today instead. The kids really enjoyed going on the carousel at the mall.

By the time we were done at the mall the sky was looking pretty blue so we decided to take our chances at the zoo anyway. I am so glad we decided to go. The weather was perfect, no rain and not hot, and the zoo was very empty. I guess the rain scared off a lot of people so it was so nice not having to fight crowds just to walk around.

Kaylee always loves to read the map and she is getting really good and showing me right where we are in the zoo.

Lately Gabby has been walking around the house saying "Mom, I lost my friends." She has told me this WAY to many times to count. Don't worry, she found her friends...Now maybe they won't get lost again.
We went to the Discovery Land Theater and learned about animal senses. We were early to the show so the kids danced, ran around, and entertained us.

Thank you Wendy and Nicola for another MUCH needed break. And as always I couldn't pick which pictures I liked the best so I posted a ton...Enjoy!

Tag, You're it!

My friend Elaine tagged me quite a while ago on her blog but with the warm weather and then a cold I haven't been blogging much lately. Sorry I've been slacking but I am still here.

How to play this game of tag. Post these rules on your blog. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Joys:
1- Paul, who is the most amazing Husband in the world!
2- Kaylee even if she is five with the attitude of a 15 year old.
3- Gabby - I mean really who couldn't love those adorable faces she makes (Especially the glare that could kill, it just makes me laugh)

Fears:
1- Something happening to Paul. I am especially scared when Paul leaves on the submarine that something might happen to it and it won't come back.
2- Something happening to Kaylee or Gabby. (I had a dream once that something happened and I had to check on them like 5 times that night just to reassure myself.)
3- This is really lame but I'm always afraid something is going to go wrong with my car even though there is nothing wrong with it. One time like 7-8 years ago I was running errands and my brakes went out and I couldn't stop...but amazingly I didn't hit anything and I got it stopped. Now anytime I hear anything in my car it makes my heart jump even if it's a wierd noise on the radio.

Goals:
1- To be a better mom.
2- To finish my degree. After I had kids I never finished college even though I'm pretty close.
3- To travel lots with my husband and kids.

Obsessions/Collections:
1- Ebay...I'm guilty on all levels here. I buy, I sell, I threaten my kids that I will sell their things if they aren't taken care of, and they take my very seriously. I am a seriously addicted ebayer.
2- Mickey Mouse. I'm not nearly as big of a Mickey Mouse collector as I used to be. I actually sold most of my collection on Ebay but I still collect some of my favorites and love Mickey.
3- I am currently obsessed with reading. Lately it has been Stephanie Meyer but now that I'm done reading The Host I think I am going to read Ender's Game again. I haven't read that book probably since jr. high and The Host has inspired me to want to read it again. Besides that...I have to wait until August to read the next Stephanie Meyer book.

Randoms/suprising fact about me:
1- I thought I would hate living outside of Utah...but now that I'm back in Utah I miss living in Washington. The drivers are much nicer, the air is much more breathable, it's really nice living near the water, and my family doesn't get sick nearly as often.
2- I hideout a lot. I am not very good at making new friends and I'm better at keeping to myself in my own little bubble. I really wish I was better at making new friends and talking to people I don't know.
3- I love to scrapbook and I have a huge scrapbook store on ebay but it has been months since I have actually sat down and done any scrapbooking. Wendy, we should get together and scrapbook.

You're It:
Tag..you're it...Nicola, Jess F., Wendy, Tiffany, and anyone else who just happens to read my blog that hasn't done it yet.

Rainbow Rosey Swishy Fishy or Princess Ballerina

Since Kaylee did so amazingly well at her graduation today Paul wanted to take her to get another fish. (If you don't know about our old fish Click Here). He wanted to get an aquarium, and promised that he would clean it and take care of it...the problem is that I've heard that before and I ended up cleaning and taking care of our last aquarium. So, we got Kaylee another Beta fish. She is still trying to decide a name. I think she has narrowed it down to either: Rainbow Rosey Swishy Fishy or Princess Ballerina.

Preschool Graduation

Today was Kaylee's preschool graduation. We thought she would be shy again or end up in tears when she got up in front of everyone. She shocked us and sang ALL the songs, participated in the graduation, and seamed to enjoy it. They wore cute little caps and gowns for the graduation.

Before we went to Kaylee's school we took Kaylee out to lunch for graduation. There is a "Kid's Cafe' " right next to her school, we have never been to it so we decided to go there. While we were waiting for our order the kids played in the play area. They ate their lunch super fast and went back to play again.

The graduates got to walk the red carpet up to the stage in the caps and gowns.

Warm enough to swim and play!

When I was little we always had a rule that we couldn't play outside in the water until it was 80 degrees or warmer. My kids pretty much have the same rule now even though I hated it when I was little. Today got up to at least 90. So, for the first time this summer the kids put on their swimsuits and went out to play with the next door neighbor's kids.