Awesome Weekend!!

Friday Arnold was able to take another day off from work. We were going to go to the mountains, but it was pouring rain when we woke up, so we decided against that. Instead we went out and did a little early Christmas shopping. I found teacher gift for the kids' teachers, a few things for the kids and some friends, and got to use my latest Kohls cash (I need to stay out of that store, it can get me into some trouble!! ;) Then we went to lunch at Chilis. They have good lunch deals with soup and sandwiches, and I got some of their loaded potato soup, and it is soooo yummy! They are raising money for kids with cancer too, so we let the kids color a Chili and have it hung on the wall, and I got one of the slap bracelets they were selling. Remember those from back in they day?? I loved them when I was little! That day was also Grandparents day at school so Brooke had her Grandma come and have lunch with her, she loved that. My mom also got to take her home from school and so she took her shopping before she brought her home.

Saturday morning we all went to the inlaws' church to set up for a surprise party that we were throwing for my Father-in-law. It was a 60s/Hippie theme, and it was for his birthday. I absolutely love parties as most of you know, so I had fun helping. Jenn and my MIL did most of the stuff, and everything was so cute. That afternoon we had our first Girl Scout event of the year.. Mother/Daughter bowling! Brooke was so excited to get to wear her Daisy tunic out in public. We had just gotten it set up that morning with all her badges.. nothing like waiting till last minute! ;) There were lots of troops there, and we actually got seperated, so Brooke and I bowled in a lane with people we didnt know, but they were nice. Brooke has only been bowling once or twice so she kept getting frustrated that she "couldnt do well" and actually ended up crying, but she stuck it out. She actually ended up finishing 2nd place out of the Daisy girls! (even WITH her not bowling "correctly".. she likes to just roll the ball down the lane really slowly, and once it even stopped and someone had to go get it! ;) But anyway, I was pretty rusty and started out bad but ended up doing ok and getting a few strikes, and ended up second place out of the Daisy Moms. Afterwards they got chocolate award suckers and to pick a prize. AND they got a patch to add to their uniform! It was so fun.

That evening we had the party for FIL. He ended up surprised, although he said he was sort of expecting something. Jenn and Arnold dressed up for the party.. Jenn was dressed like a hippie and Arnold got a Cheech costume from Party City.. he looked ridiculous but everyone got a good kick out of it. We had TONS of food and everything was so good. The decorations were so cute, we had posters that had "60s" sayings, balloons, sunflowers, lava lamps, and even a board set up with pictures of FIL over the years. I LOVED looking at all the pics. Their family has some strong genes, thats for sure. Arnold looks so much like his dad and Caleb looks JUST like his daddy when he was a little boy.. its amazing! I still love seeing similarities between people like that.. im not used to that since Im adopted. Anyway, Arnold had been practicing for weeks and he provided the entertainment for the party. He played lots of songs his dad liked, and even added stories of memories he had with his dad.. it was very sweet! The party was a great success! We didnt have as big a turnout as expected though, so we ended up with LOTS of leftovers and ARnold's mom sent us home with tons and tons of food. Made the kids happy, because a lot of it was sweets and snacks ;)

Sunday morning we got up and went to church. Lauryn, Erika AND Jackie were all there that morning! I love going to church with several of my closest friends.. makes it all the more special :) That afternoon we dropped the kids off with the inlaws and went back to church for a Membership class. We are in the process of officially joining our church! We have been attending since last Nov. or so, and have loved going, and we have joined a Lifegroup, and we figured the next step was joining, since we knew we belonged there. You take 3 classes, meet with the leadership team, and then stand up in front of the church and officially join. Also, I am going to be baptized. I was "christened" as a baby, but they actually BAPTIZE in this church. So... i figure im getting dunked in a fountain! Which is going to be cool.. I am excited about it! (Arnold was baptized when he was younger, in the ocean) The first class was great.. we went over a lot of things that we already knew, but it was good to have a refresher. We also took a "Spiritual Gifts" test (that was 120 questions!!) to see what we were best at, that they could use to see where we could best serve in church. My top 3 were "Mercy," "Compassion," and "Hospitality." No shocker there! So I figure ill be working with children or as a greeter or something like that. Arnolds top 3 were "Craftsmanship," "Faith," and "Helping" which is very much like him also! It was a neat quiz to take. By the way, my lowest 2 were "Craftsmanship" and "Leadership." No shocker there either.. I dont like working with my hands OR bossing people around (although Arnold would beg to differ!!;)

It was one of those very busy weekends that I love, but I think Arnold would prefer to have more rest time on the weekends ;) Oh well, it was fun!

At the bowling alley

My Sweet Daisy Scout! She is so grownup!
Arnold playing at the party

Pop with his Birthday cake

Jenn, MIL, FIL, Arnold and I :)