Rachel's Birthday!!

Yesterday morning we got Rachel up and let her go into the living room to check out her presents. No wrapping or anything to make it difficult for her, just laid it all out on the couch! She seemed to like everything.. as did her brother and sister.. who seemed very jealous that they werent getting anything!

We went driving around for awhile to look for some yardsales, but only found one that was halfway decent. I got a few books for the kids (I am ALWAYS on the lookout for kids' books, I have found some great ones and gotten some great deals) Brooke also found a Barbie laptop thing, that we let her get. Good thing because it keeps her occupied in the car ;)

After we had driven around forever and gotten tired of that, we went to Jitterbugs.. a consignment store. We usually stick to OUAC or Jelly Beans because they are closer to us.. I dont think I had actually been in there before. They had a great selection of stuff.. they were a little higher than the other stores though, In my opinion. I DID get Rachel a shirt though, for Thanksgiving.. I am thinking waaay ahead, but its all good, it was cute! ;) Caleb saw this big iron man mask that talks and lights up and begged his daddy for it. First I said no. Then Arnold said "well ok.. but only if you wait till your bday." To "OK we'll get it!" Hes such a sucker. Even at consignment store price, it was still expensive to a toy and I didnt really want to get it for him, but oh well. And when Brooke saw he got something, she had to have something too, and picked a My Little Pony with a moterized cart thing that rides around with the use of a remote control. To be fair, they played with those toys all day long after we bought them, so I guess they are a hit. But youd think it was THEIR birthday, not Rachel's, with all the goodies they got!! Rachel didnt even seem to mind though ;)

After our unexpected shopping trip, we went to Village Inn for lunch. It was "Rachels' Birthday lunch", but it was really more for Arnold, since thats his fave restaurant of all time. So it was a combined Fathers Day lunch too ;) On the way home I got really sick, and Im not sure if it was the food or my gallbladder acting up really badly, but I was in some bad pain for quite awhile, and ended up falling asleep at home. I woke up to that horrible storm that came through the area. We were supposed to go to a friend's bday party, but because of those two things, we had to miss out on it.

Later that evening we went to Mom and Dad's for a Fathers Day cookout. Alex was there, and so was Grandpa. We gave dad his gift (A bottle of wine and a cigar) and he really seemed to love it. Just to be clear, I dont really condone those habits but I know he would love them, haha. Thanks to my brother who keeps up with the brands dad likes or else I would have been in the dark!! Anyway, Mom had made this really yummy buffalo chicken dip that we snacked on before dinner. We had hamburgers for dinner.. we were going to have "Crap in a Pot" (thats a mix of things like shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, polish sausages and onions all mixed in spices and cooked in this big pot.. that my dad makes.. but it has that family nickname now) But Grandpa is allergic to shellfish.. so we had something else. We all had a great time hanging out with the family that evening. But boy were we ready to crash when we got home.. the kids hadnt gotten naps earlier that day so they had been going all day long!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL!!!! :) :) :) You really are...

Rachel's Bday presents. I had been buying a little at a time over the past few months. Thats my thing now, pick up things as I see them! The toy hairdryer was a Kmart clearance, the plate and bowl set was on clearance at Target after Easter, the block set, toy cd player and books were consignment, the outfit was at Gymboree on sale with a coupon on top of that, and the Picnic basket I got at Toys R Us fullprice but it was too cute! Can you tell I love my deals?!

Upclose of her new outfit. Did she need one? No.. but I couldnt resist. Just tooo cute. She wore it that day when we went out, too!

Checking out her new toys!