Zach turns Two!

Saturday, 2-21-09

Happy Birthday Zach!!
This year we got to celebrate on Zach's birth date, which is always fun. We were blessed with an unusually warm, sunny day for February. One of Zach's favorite cartoons is Bob the Builder, so I went with that theme this year. We just invited Zach's cousins and Jaice, Charis and Payton over. The cousins were the only ones able to come, so it was a nice, small, simple party. I didn't plan any games. We just set up the bouncy house and Zach's present - the up and down roller coaster for them to play with. It worked out great. They kept busy all day playing outside in the beautiful sunshine. It was great for the kids to be able to play outside and the adults could comfortably sit outside. We had a really fun day!

Caden, Cole, Elissa, Zach and Chase

Darin's cousin Pam, Darin, Nana, Darin's Aunt Joyce, Marcia (Chrissy's M0m), Grandpa Frink and Papa
Not pictured: Grandma, Grandma Myrna, Chrissy, Holly & Chad

I love how his store bought cake turned out!

We wish you a wonderful year!

After this picture we figured out that Elissa's elbow was out of socket again and that is why she is being so grumpy in this photo. I heard her say that Cole pulled her arm and it was hurting like it did when we have taken her to the Dr, but it didn't register. Darin popped it back in and she was fine. This is about the 3rd time or so that this has happened.

Zach really loves his cake!

So does Caden!

Zach caught on fast on how to use his "my first scooter" that Grandpa Frink and Grandma Myrna got him. He is going to love this this summer when we are camping.

Zach gets a "Professional" Hair Cut

Friday, 2-20-09
Zachary has been getting his hair cut by Grandma, but I decided today I would take him to where Daddy gets his hair done. I thought they might be better at giving him some "style". Elissa got her hair trimmed first and then Zach took the chair. I told her that I like it longish, shaggy - surfer style....she cut it too short and rounded it.....we are going back to Grandma! He did a really good job though. He had his sucker, so he was good to go. He didn't fuss until the very end when he was ready to get down and his sucker was pretty much gone. Now I have to wait for his hair to grow out a little bit for his 2yr old pictures.

"I'm not happy, but I'm going to say quiet."
Even Sandy went to the doggy salon today and got all cleaned up for Zach's party tomorrow.

Three Months to Wait......

Wednesday, 2-18-09

Elissa finally gets her loft bed!! Exactly 3 months ago I had this "brilliant" idea to sell Elissa's current bedroom set for a loft bed. I saw one in Pottery Barn that looked like a play house below and I thought it would be SO cool for Elissa and provide more room for her to play. I searched online and found a comparable one much cheaper. I put Elissa's bedroom set up for sale on craigslist the evening of 11/17 and it was sold the next afternoon. I ordered Elissa's bed that evening thinking that it was going to ship in 5-10days and through a long and frustrating process we finally got the bed exactly 3 months later. It was definitely worth the wait. It is the coolest bed and the play house below is a big hit. Elissa was so cute, she kept on saying "Mommy, Mommy thank you! I love it!" Then she went to the task of "moving in". She wouldn't let me make any suggestions. She chose what came into her house and where it went. It was so fun to watch! :0)

FROM THIS......
TO THIS......

Elissa pondering what she was going to do next.....

The Bag Tag!

The Bag Tag!

2-17-09

I read this on Christine Fairchild’s blog and I thought it was a great idea, so I’m adding it to my blog. I love, love, love purses!!

Here are the rules for the tag:
1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!
2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Tag some friends. And link back to this post so people know why the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

Here is my current purse (yes Sara, I copied you hee, hee). I found this at Ross a couple of months ago for $19. I really wasn't looking for the exact same purse. I looked through every single one and this is the one I ended up with and then had the thought, I think this is just like Sara's. I told you I like it! I was using the Fossil one I bought on my Seattle weekend, but I went to this bigger one for our Lion King trip and I haven't moved back.

I love how big it is so I can carry stuff for myself and the kids.

I also had to add my wall of purses. I told you that I love them! The brown one on the washer is my Fossil that I found on clearance in Seattle. The green one is my summer purse that Kirstin got me for my birthday last year. The patchwork is a knock-off Coach that Darin bought me in China. The black tote behind that one is an Eddie Bauer quilted tote that Darin bought me for Christmas a few years ago and I used it as a diaper bag with Zach and it is my traveling bag. The silver one (Liz) peaking through is from Girls Christmas last year. I bought each of us a silver/metallic purse for the holidays. The plaid one beneath that is a Fossil from Chrissy a few Christmas's past. And there are several others tucked in there too as well as a few others in another location. I never pay full price and most of them are steals of a deal.
I love, love, love purses!

Valentine's Day!

Saturday, 2-14-09
Friday evening I watched my nephews while Chad & Holly went out for their Valentine's date and when I came home late that evening, Darin had the roses, chocolate & a card waiting for me. They are beautiful! So I got all Darin & the kids Valentine's prepared before I went to bed and so the packages were waiting when they woke up. The only down side of that is that I didn't get to sleep in. Elissa came up and told me I had to get out of bed. :0) I just got them the new Madagascar Movie w/the Penguin movie and a little candy.

Darin & I had our date Thursday evening after the Lion King. Patty took Elissa home & picked up Zach and we stayed downtown for the evening. We had a wonderful evening with drinks at The Tap House, dinner at PF Changs and dessert at The Cheesecake Factory and a little shopping.

I thought this chocolate box was perfect for Elissa!

Grandma & Papa dropped off their Valentine's gift for the kids before they headed out of town.

If you look close you will see a plane in Zach's hand from Grandma & Papa which has not left his hands since. He loves it!

Then Darin took the kids to Lowes so that they could make jewlrey boxes. They are really liking doing the build and grow clinics.

(notice the plane...)

What a handy girl!

The rest of the day we went to Costco and then Joes for new bike helmets and then we thought we were going to go to the Outback for an early dinner, but there was already a wait and we didn't feel like it. So we head toward home and got a video and pizza and relaxed at home the rest of the evening.

Valentine's Day Party

Friday, 2-13-09

Elissa had a Valentine's party at Preschool today. I asked Nana if she wanted to take Elissa and help out in her class and she was excited to do it. ;0) From the pictures you will see that they had a great time! Thanks Nana!!

Grandma made heart cut-out cookies with Elissa on Tuesday for her class and then decorated them. They had a lot of fun together. Grandma & Nana are tied for Elissa's favorite person. (Papa is the clear winner for Zach. :0) )

Here is the end result!

Elissa's class party taken by Nana.The spoils of the day!

Let's go see The Lion King!

Thursday, 2-12-09

Today was a very fun day! Darin, Patty and I took Elissa to see her first play, The Lion King at The Paramount. Zach got to spend the day with the Boyd boys, so he was having a fun day too. We decided to take her to lunch at Johnny Rockets in Pacific Place. I was hoping that they would dance for her, but I guess they only do that on Fri/Sat nights. That was a bummer, but she really enjoyed sitting on stools at the counter. Daddy joined us just as we were finishing. Then we headed straight to The Paramount for our 1pm showing. There were ALOT of kids there. Elissa was VERY excited. Actually the minute she woke up she yelled downstairs, "Today we are going to the Lion King!" She really enjoyed the play, but it was a bit long (3hrs). If it would have been just the length of the first half, it would have been perfect. There was so much going on on stage and in the aisle at points, that it kept her interest for most of it. She did a really good job. Thankfully we were at the end of the aisle, so she stood up and kind of walked around a little. The rest of us LOVED it! It was a wonderful play with amazingly sophisticated puppeteering. The music, the costumes and acting were all great. I probably will wait at least a year before I take her again, but I don't regret it at all. It was a wonderful afternoon!