Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Out With the New & In With the Newer

As many of you know, we have been gritching about our mattress for a long good while now. So after I returned from my girls night away, Bryan informed me that we were going to buy a new mattress. that day. and that day only! So, ten days later, the Penske truck pulled up (very weird, I know!) and delivered our new mattress! They took our old mattress out and let the entire neighborhood see the first mattress that Bryan and I bought together, the first mattress our son pee'd on and the mattress that is less than FOUR years old:
And then proceeded to put together our glorified air mattress:
Bryan is now in love....close to lust....but we'll stick with love for now:
For the record, my sleep number is 50 and Bryan's sleep number is 40!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

THIS......Melts My Heart!

This morning after music class we headed over to DaySpring, which is a senior living facility. Caroline recently went with her MDO class to visit and Patty came up with this wonderful idea of having a parade with our kids. PERFECT!!! Since Memorial Day is in a few days we decided to dress up the kids and their wagons in red, white and blue. We ALL had a great time!!!

Everyone getting ready and assuming their positions....

All of the seniors were so excited to see the kids. You could really see their faces light up and they loved talking with the kids. We brought beads, flags and pinwheels to hand out. Parker was all over that!

And this lady was my favorite (I am so glad I got this picture!)....

She was so sweet and gentle. We met and visited with about 60 seniors and ALL of them were so gracious and thankful that we brought the kids to see them. This was truly a JOYFUL experience for all!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Piggies & Paws Playdate

Today was a little crazy! This morning I had an appointment with my rheumatologist and so Bryan worked from home to watch Parker. And then this afternoon we hosted a P&P playdate here, which started at 4pm, which is during Parker's swim lessons. Thankfully Bryan worked from home all day to help me some so it all worked out perfectly!

Piggies & Paws is an in-home art business whereby you use hand and foot prints. I am not sure that sentence makes any sense but you catch my drift. So, you pick out a picture, stamp either your kids hand or foot and then 6-8 weeks later you get some fancy artwork in the mail.

Ellerie (and Christina) getting stamped:
Caroline (and Patty) getting stamped as well:

Patti checking out the sample prints:

And since Bryan was here, hiding out in the office, he and Parker did a print together:

I know it may make some people crazy with kids running around, painting going on, eating dinner in the kitchen floor but for our family.....WE LOVE IT!!!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Say NO to Crime.....

Because this could be you.....

Plano Police Station Tour

To continue the tread (I really did not mean to plan it that way...) we were invited by Officer Barnes to come tour the police station. HQ is in downtown Plano, near Haggard Park. Officer Barnes warned us that there is nothing real exciting about the police station but said that most kids love checking out her police cruiser.

In appreciation of giving us a tour, we donated bears to the Police Teddy Bear Program which is a neat program. Should a child become a victim in any way, a bear is given to them to offer comfort:
BFFs waiting for the police cruiser to show up:

Checking it out:



At the end, Officer Barnes was nice enough to sound all of the horns and sirens. Most of the kids loved that part!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Swim Lessons with Ms. Renee

After a nap, lunch and another small nap, we joined "Pa-tee" and Caroline at our first swim lesson with Ms. Renee. Ms. Renee lives in the same neighborhood as Patty and has been teaching swim lessons for the last 150-years (her words exactly!). Parker is the youngest and Ms. Renee doesn't really like to start lessons this early but she was talked into it by another mom. There are 5 kids and one teacher....she has her hands full! I couldn't believe how the kids took to her so quickly. Us moms "handed over" our kids to Ms. Renee and then hid out in the solarium (hence the reason for the poor quality pictures).
Sadly, Parker was looking for me but once he didn't see me, he went back to the pool.
Ms. Renee showing Parker how to move along the side of the pool.
Caroline had a rough start but by the end, Ms. Renee had her smiling!
We will attend swim lessons every day this week at 4pm except for Friday. We will also attend Tuesday through Friday of next week. Ms. Renee said that by the end of the class Parker will know how to get to the side of the pool should he ever accidentally fall in.

Tour of Fire Station #12

Today we visited and took a tour of the Plano Fire Station #12. All the kids had fun seeing where the firemen eat, sleep, hang out but most importantly, to see the trucks they drive! We started out in the kitchen, we were able to see the rooms where they sleep and the cool room where they are able to unwind.
And then it was time to check out the fire truck and ambulance, which Parker was quick to get to!

Parker LOVED checking the inside of the fire truck out, up close.

Little boy and a "beeg tuk".

And finally, a picture where Parker is looking at the camera (on the ambulance).

And tomorrow we are off the meet a real-life police woman!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

In & Out Burger

While we were in San Diego on vacation a few years ago, Bryan and I ate at In & Out Burger and thought it was good. Bryan talks about it from time to time but when it was announced that we would have TWO of these burger joints within 10 minutes of our house, I thought he might cry! :) However, even to this day, there are a ton of cars circled around that place like they are giving away gold. People stand in line for hours to get their hands on these burgers. So this morning I made a trip to Frisco for some accessories and noticed that the line was only 10 cars deep. In an effort to thank my husband for allowing me to have a night away with the girls, I grabbed some yummy treats for him.
Don't judge me.... :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Family Time @ Fairview

I had a couple things to pick up at the Village at Fairview tonight so after dinner we loaded up and were on our way. I had heard that VF has a sand pit and spray area for kids so I thought we might check it out. I didn't know when we left that we would spend a couple hours there. So after some sand playtime we headed over to the spray area. At 7pm and 9pm every night, VF has a water/light show. We settled in with our newly purchased bag of CONFETTI "pa-cern" and enjoyed the show.
And then, once it was over, Parker spent the next 90+ minutes playing in the water. It was not hot outside and the water was a little chilly. He didn't care! So.much.fun.
For all of the visitors that are coming our way this summer, we must visit VF!!!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ahhhh, Aboretum!

Today was forecasted to be beautiful and the weather guy was dead-on! We met Patty/Caroline, Stephanie/Connor and Kim/Davin at the Dallas Arboretum for some outdoor fun. I am so thankful to my Mom for buying us a membership to the Arboretum as an early birthday present, which allowed for our friends to get in free with us.

So first, we smelled the flowers:
Then we played in the water:

Went up the steps to the garden (for the first time without assistance):

Came back up the steps from another garden with the beautiful White Rock Lake in the background:

And before we sat down for our picnic lunch, the kids checked out the fish:

Monday, May 16, 2011

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.....It's Cool!

Today we went and toured the place where our recycled materials go.....Allied Waste Services here in Plano. Usually kids this young don't tour this facility but I begged the plant supervisor since most of our kids love trash trucks, trash and tractors. So we suited up:

And were on our way to check out :

Waaaaaay cool and fun for everyone! And now Parker is even more obsessed with "trashtrucks"!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Pee-Your-Pants Fun!

I am so far behind on blogging but I have a good excuse. I will explain that later! Anyway, we had a super busy weekend filled with fun and good friends. However, this morning was the icing on the cake. Parker (and me!!!) met Sid the Science Kid. Parker (and me!!!) loves Sid and it's one of the only shows on TV that he will sit and watch. The Dallas Science Museum hosted a members-only event (this was one of the MAIN reasons we became members) this morning before the museum opened to the public.

So, let me set the scene.....Parker saw Sid and got so excited. When it was our turn to go up and meet him, Parker ran up to him:
Parker gave Sid a head-hug and kiss (I know he gave him a kiss because all the way home Parker gave us the play-by-play, over and over again!):

Parker kept looking at Sid, I guess to make sure it was really him:

The boy and his BFF:

The boy had sooooo much fun meeting Sid!!! As a side note, Bryan did go with us and drove like a bat-out-of-hell to get his boy there before Sid left. :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Sam is TWO!

Hold your breath family and friends because you aren't going to believe what we did today..... Soccer first and then TWO birthday parties!

First party up was for Samantha at Pump It Up:

The birthday girl with her super sweet and fun Mom, Amanda:
Avery & Rachel enjoying the yummy cake:
Super fun party!!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Sofia is TWO!

We celebrated Sofia's second birthday with her family and friends by attending a princess and knight party:
Princess Sofia:

And the soon-to-be knight, Parker:

Our knight:

I love this picture:

As an added bonus, Grandma went with us to the party since she was in town! This party was a treat for all of us! It was neat seeing the kids dressed up, playing games and listening to a story read by Cinderella!