Weekend Recap

This weekend was GORGEOUS! Oh my goodness, I loved it! We had the greatest time.. and it was so busy (like usual.) Friday Arnold went back to work after being sick for 2 days with I think was the stomach bug. Although he already had it once this Winter.. he is unlucky! We have been needing to get gutters installed on our house since we got a new roof put on.. and I spent time researching kinds and companies, and we finally found some guys, and they are supposed to come out tomorrow. I am proud because I did all the work myself-- Arnold usually handles that kind of stuff. I know way more about gutters now than I care about! ha! But I am looking forward to marking more things off our to-do list. It feels good!

Friday evening Caleb went to his first sleepover! Well his first one at a friend's house. My best friend's son was turning 9, and had some friends over for the night. When I dropped Caleb off he was getting ready to run off and play, but he turned around and gave me a big hug :) I can't believe Brooke and Caleb are old enough to go to sleepovers now! It is really bittersweet. It made me look through a lot of their baby pictures today.. I have been feeling sad.. haha! Anyway, Caleb had a great time.. he said they played legos, Minecraft, video games, and watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. They also had pizza and lots of snacks. I think he ate too much, because Joanne told me he got up in the middle of the night and threw up. We were so scared he had gotten sick from Arnold, but I think it was just a fluke because he went to sleep after that and was fine the whole next day. 

Saturday Arnold went to pick up Caleb from Joanne's house and then picked us all up some breakfast on his way home. Then we got started doing a ton of work around here. I worked inside the house, and Arnold and the kids did yardwork. Well mostly Caleb and Arnold did.. the girls ran around and played. They picked up sticks, burned the brush pile, shoveled dog poop (eww), cleaned out the carport, trimmed the bushes... and stuff like that. When they got in Caleb was saying he was tired! Gotta teach them to work young! ;) After that we went out for awhile.. to a few stores. At Ollie's we found some good books.. one was about the 90s and I got it because I thought it would be interesting. I was proud because every member of the family got a new book that day ;) Then we went to Once Upon A Child and I got some more spring/summer clothes for the kids. I love that place... you can find some awesome clothes and deals if you look around! Lastly we went by Toys R Us and Arnold let Caleb pick out a small toy for helping him so much that day (I bet the girls wished they had helped out more then!) He got 2 small Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (they were a "2 for" deal.) Before we went home we went by Sweet Frog. I had filled up a punch card, so we got one of the icecreams for free. Doesn't take too long to fill up a card when you have a family of 5!

That afternoon our neighbors brought over their tv for us and helped us get it inside. They were upgrading to a new one and asked us if we wanted their old one. It is not flat screen, but it is HUGE.. "theater" style.. but older model, so it sits on the ground. But it was free.. and I think that is awesome ;) The kids love having a big screen to play their video games on.. they say it is so much cooler ;) After we got all that set up and taken care of, we went to dinner at Pizza Hut. We got a Hawaiian pizza and some breadsticks, and it was soo yummy. Since we were waiting awhile on the food, we took some pictures and played around. And all of a sudden Rachel knocked over my glass of sweet tea and it went ALL over my pants! I didn't see it coming, so it shocked me, and it was COLD! So I had to sit there throughout dinner with soaking wet pants, sticky, and cold. I hate the feeling of being "dirty".. (the reason I don't care too much for the beach.. hate the feeling of sand all over me! I know, I am weird! ;) Anyway, when we walked out I was pretty embarassed because my pants were so wet.. but I'm hoping everyone knew that I hadn't peed all over myself ;) Arnold says they saw we were with our kids so they probably figured it out ;)

Sunday I checked the bank account that morning, and we got the money back that we had stolen! The investigation is over and it was ruled in our favor. Phew. Now, it would be nice to know who did it and if they were caught! I am still so mad that happened, but at least it is taken care of now. We did even more work in the house and outside again that day. The weather reached 70 and the kids spent a good part of the day outside playing again. The neighbor kids came over and played with them.. and even helped out Arnold some with the yardwork. He said at one point he had 5 little people all around him and it was annoying but he knows they were just trying to help ;) The kids also got to ride their jeep some, that they got back at Christmas. They just have a problem fighting over who gets to ride it. Arnold threatens to take it away because they get into so many arguments about it. We also took apart the girls' bunkbeds (well Arnold did all that work, and I then worked on cleaning up and re-arranging their room). Rachel had broken a part off it and Arnold was worried it might break one night with Rachel underneath. So we decided to take no chances. The beds are still fine though, they just have two twin beds on the ground now. I still got the space in the room to work out ok, I think. We added a new rug we got at Target, and I think the new space looks pretty cute. 

Hope everyone has a great week! :)

Found these in Target. They have WHITE chocolate eggs now! Oh my goodness, they are so good! We have already have 2 bags at our house so far! 

Caleb saying hi to Sheldon on Sat morning. Sheldon missed his buddy!

Caleb and I matching in our Duck Dynasty shirts. Is that totally redneck? I don't even care! ;)

Eating at Pizza Hut on Sat. evening. Before the tea spilling incident!

Enjoying the beautiful weather on Sunday! Wearing one of my new eternity scarves!

The girls' room after changing the beds and adding the rug. Now we need something to go on that wall beside Brooke's bed. Any suggestions????

Sheldon with his new Easter toy we got him at Target. It makes a crinkly noise sort of like a solo cup. I thought he would like it because he likes to chew up Solo cups.

A cute pic Arnold took of me and Sheldon :)

Sheldon starting licking all over me in the middle of the photo shoot ;)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

~Brooke had her first meeting of American Heritage Girls monday evening. She said she had a great time. They learned a lot about the history of the organization, and made a craft. They are already starting to work on their first badge. While she was there, I went out to dinner at El Paso with Chasity and Amelia (her friend's moms that are also in the group.) Arnold and the kids were with us too, and I think they didn't know what to think being at a dinner-turned-girls' night! ;) It may just have to become a tradition of us going out to dinner while the girls are at their meetings!

I ordered this dachshund shirt the other day! I blame the impulse buy on my friend Lauryn, she sent me the link about it. It was a special for the day, and part of the proceeds go to dachshund rescue, so that is awesome right?! They had different color choices and of course i had to go with green! I love it and can't wait for it to get here. I may even wear it on St. Patty's Day since the color works ;)

I went shopping at the Christian Bookstore yesterday, and had a funny experience. I was paying the girl for my stuff, and I used cash.. which I usually don't do, but I had some this week. She pulled out the $5 in my pile and asked "Umm is this real?!" And then I realized what I had done! I had given her one of the bills from the kids' play cash register! It had been mixed in with my real money! I was embarassed, but I think she got a kick out of it! I wasn't trying to cheat anyone.. promise! ;)

Speaking of the bookstore, while I was there I picked up 3 new books. They were having a President's Day sale. I picked up this new book, by Candace Cameron Bure, and yes, she was DJ Tanner on Full House! She is a Christian, and a Mom, and has started writing books. One about losing weight and getting healthy, and this one more about parenting and staying organized. I have started reading it already and it is pretty good!

Rachel's friend Elia recently was hospitalized for severe throwing up, diahrrea, and kidney problems. It came out of nowhere and everyone was scared. She had every test done under the sun. She ended up being there over THREE weeks. Poor girl. Well yesterday she got to go HOME!! Isn't that amazing? I know they were So ready to get home! And as you can see, she is smiling away and their vehicle is full of all the get-well presents she got while she was there! 

Last night we went back to the Blue Moon Tavern to see Arnold play music. This time he played with the owner of the band and one of his friends.. they did some Blue's stuff. Arnold felt really proud because they had invited him back, and even advertised that he would be there on their Facebook page. The kids and I went to have dinner there and sat with Arnold's parents. The owner ended up taking care of our tab.. that was so sweet of him! Perks of being a musician's wife??? ;) We had a great time.. we only stayed for a little while since I had to put the kids to bed. Arnold will probably be going back again in the near future!

Our new vacuum showed up. We decided on the Shark Navigator. We decided to go mid-range on type and price. It is pretty awesome! When it showed up Arnold was at work, so I put it together by myself by looking at the picture (I was proud, haha!) and tried it out right away. It has a LOT of power. I swear it feels like it is almost running away from you and you have to have a good handle on it. It gets up a LOT! I was shocked at how much stuff was in the pull-off container.. pretty gross actually! It also has a lift-away part so you can use it in other places like along upper baseboards and fans! I'd say it was a good purchase!

~Max our cat has finally been neutered, and he is doing very well. The hardest part of the whole ordeal I think was getting him into his kitty carrier! He hated that! They took very good care of them there.. and he stayed over night and we picked him back up the next day. I hope this cuts down on him trying to pee on stuff other than his litter box! He can be soo frustrating sometimes!

~The past few days have been awesome weather! The temps have been in the mid to upper 60s and it feels like Spring! Today is rainy and stormy, but it is still warm, so I will take it!

~We finally got Brooke to the dentist to get her crown put back on. I had misplaced the one that fell off, so they put a new one on. While we were there, they also put on some spacers she had needed. They said that our insurance covered it all and we left without having to pay anything! It was a miracle, because we have spent some SERIOUS dough at that place!

~I have an interview tomorrow afternoon! I am working with a staffing center, and hoping to get hired on somewhere very soon! I have been looking for awhile and it has been a tough process. I am ready to get moving forward! So everyone wish me luck!!! 

Valentine's Day 2014

Valentine's Day this year we were snowed in. Well actually, we had been snowed in for a few days, but the kids were still off school on Friday because you know, we are in the South and everyone freaks out at a little snow! ;) That morning the I had some treats waiting for the kids when they woke up. Yes, I make a big deal over every holiday and occasion, but that is what my mom did with me growing up and I loved it, and I plan to continue with my kids! I love any excuse to give new books anyway, and I find little treats every once in awhile on clearance, so might as well give it to them on a holiday! Anyway, the kids got their stuff, then we dressed them in their Vday outfits. I am bummed that they didn't get to wear them to school, but we still made the most of the day and made them look cute :)

Around 11:00 we headed out to Krispy Kreme, which had opened at a new location near us. This one is much bigger and nicer. We picked up a dozen Vday donuts to take to Arnold and his dad's work, as a little treat. They also gave the kids Krispy Kreme hats while we were there, so they loved that.. although Rachel didn't want to wear her's! Then we went over to Arnold's work and had lunch with him and his dad. The kids loved getting out of the house and getting to see their dad and Paw. And of course chowed down on the donuts, too! 

That evening I dropped the kids off at Mom and Dad's house, and went over to the Blue Moon Tavern.. which is where Arnold and his friend Brian were playing music that night. They started a new acoustic duo, called Kennedy Street, and it was their first time playing out. It was sort of last minute and they said they weren't ready to play out, but I think they did a great job! Several of our family members and friends came out to see him, and we had a lot of fun. We got to eat dinner while we were there, and we even ended up getting our meal for free, so it was awesome! We stayed for a few hours listening to them play, and while they were up there, I sat with Arnold's family, and we chatted some and I took lots of pictures ;) Arnold was really nervous at first, but I think as the night went on he relaxed and had a lot of fun. And he was even invited back to play with the owner of the place on "Blues Night" and maybe for them to come back and play some more in the future. So all in all it was a great night!

Saturday Arnold's parents watched the kids for us so we could go on a date for Valentine's Day, since Arnold was tied up the night before. We headed to lunch at Red Lobster first.. one of my favorite places ever! Arnold was a little hesitant to go back there, because the last time we ate there he got sick. But it wasn't from the food, he got the stomach bug later that day and it was just a coincidence. But he has a hard time warming back up to seafood. Not me though, I wolfed that stuff down.. seafood is one of my favorite foods! Then we went out to do a little shopping. Picked up a new quilt for our bed.. someone *Sheldon, ahem!* tore a hole in our old one. I also bought a cute new eternity scarf.. I have started loving the trend and want to wear them more often. Then we headed over to the mall and I got the kids some stuff at Crazy 8.. they are having some amazing deals, by the way! I tried to use a coupon too, which would have made the deal even sweeter, but it had expired earlier in the month.. oops!

Later that afternoon we went to pick up the kids, and Arnold helped his dad move around some furniture before we left. That afternoon at home I took a nap.. all these weather changes have made my head hurt and I've been sneezing up a storm! Snow one day and 60s the next day.. what is up with that?! That evening we were going to go out to dinner at Ocharley's but they were packed, so we ended up in the drive thru of Chick Fil A (haha). Then we somehow ended up at Walmart, buying random things we needed (and a few things we wanted, haha) and we didn't get out of there until around 9:30pm. The kids were whining and fussing the entire time of we were in the checkout line, and I was ready to scream! But we finally made it home, got them to bed, and got to relax. Arnold ended up falling asleep early on the couch, so I went to bed and watched some tv on my ipad. I have started watching the TLC show "The Little Couple" and I just love it. I love reality shows like that, and I think they are awesome people with very optimistic attitudes. I have only watched a few episodes so far, but I am pretty sucked in.

Sunday we woke up late and didn't make it to church.. oops. But I had been wanting to. We got ready and had some yummy brunch, and then went to look for some clearance Vday plates since Rachel needed to take some in Monday for her school party. We looked everywhere for some, and then it turns out we had it wrong all along and we were supposed to take CUPS! Oh well. We went to TJMaxx and were looking for a stand to put in our bathroom to hold all our stuff (hairspray, towels, etc) but didn't find one I liked. Although while we were there, Arnold got me some of those gourmet oreos I had been wanting, so it wasn't a totally wasted trip ;)

That afternoon we went to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party. My friend's daughter, Kenzie, was turning 4. Rachel considers her her BFF, so she was super excited ;) The kids ate some food, had some cake, then ran off playing lots of games. We actually ended up not staying long, because it was PACKED in there. Ever go there on a weekend?? Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it! I was about to pull my hair out, I was so stressed. We have tokens left over and I plan to take the kids back another day when we are really bored to use them ;) That afternoon when we got home, Arnold had to replace a burned out taillight on our van, and worked some more on the van also, while the kids played outside. The weather was really nice! I am so ready for Spring! Then we worked on writing out Valentine's Day cards to all their friends, and taping on the packs of candy and decorating Rachel's Vday mailbox (yes, we waited til the last minute!!!) They are still having their class parties, just a little late :)

Hope everyone else had a wonderful Valentine's Day and weekend!! :)

The kids' Valentine's Day goodies. They all got a new book. Brooke got some Monster High stuff. Caleb got a new little lego set and puzzle. And Rachel got the Valentine's Day mini lalaloopsy and a pink Zelf (they are modern day trolls-- so cute! :) And they all got heart fruit snacks :)

All dressed up in their Vday outfits. Rachel's dress ended up being too big, but it's all good!

The kids had a snack with their heart plates and cups.

At lunch visiting Arnold and the kids' Paw.

Some of the Vday donuts we picked up to take to Arnold's work at lunchtime.

Arnold playing music Friday night at the Blue Moon Tavern.

Arnold and his friend Brian. They have been friend since they were around Rachel's age!

On our date Saturday. They happened to be having Lobster Fest when we went, so I was in heaven!

The kids wearing their new pjs from Crazy 8! AWESOME sale, yall. These pjs were like $5 or so a set!

Wearing the new scarf I got.. I think it's so cute!

Out to brunch on Sunday. Brooke took this picture for us ;)

The kids at Kenzie's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese.

Rachel was proud of her Valentine's Day mailbox. She stuck heart stickers all over that thing! :)

Love!

In honor of Valentine's Day, which was this past week, I thought I'd do a post on things that I love. These are more superficial things. Everyone knows my real loves, like Jesus, my husband, the kids, etc etc. This is just a fun post. Lots of pics and stuff from our V-day weekend to come tomorrow! :)



Things I Love.....



~Laying in bed and listening to the rain hit the roof

~Sitting around a table with my friends, and laughing until my stomach hurts

~Finding that awesome bargain while out shopping. Almost too good to be true.

~The part of a book where it gets so good you just can't put it down.

~Changing my desktop background, mantel, and decor on the door for each holiday/occasion.

~Planning out the kids' birthday parties, down to the very tiny details.

~The first few days of Spring, where the weather is just perfect and you don't want to go inside.

~Watching the kids get really excited over something for the first (or 100th) time.

~Getting a compliment out of the blue from someone, and I know they really mean it.

~Finding out a friend just had a new baby and flipping through all their pictures on facebook.

~When the whole house is clean and I can sit back and relax (doesn't happen very often!)

~The smell of Vanilla Lime from Yankee Candle.. either in the van or in a candle.

~Picking out the kids' Easter outfits and coordinating them all by color.

~All the Duck Dynasty hoopla. Yes, I watch every episode. Yes I follow them on Facebook. Yes, I've read all their books. Yes I have about 4 DD tshirts and their Christmas ornaments. No, i'm not at all sorry!

~Going out to eat at Village Inn with friends on Mon nights.. and all the kids eat free!

~Watching Arnold play guitar, and seeing how happy it makes him. I am so proud of his talent.

Weekend Recap!

Friday morning Arnold and I dropped the kids off at school together, and then went to the gym for their Awards Ceremony. It was supposed to be last week, but it got postponed due to snow. Brooke and Caleb both got AR Reader awards, and Caleb got recognized for being the December Citizen of the Month for his class. It is always so fun as a parent to go to those things and watch your kids get so excited about standing up in front of their friends. You can tell they are proud. I even like watching their friends get awards too, and feel proud for them. Whenever they come into the gym we wave like crazy at them and when they stand up to get their award, Arnold was clapping extra loudly and giving the kids thumbs up. I think the kids are finally starting to get embarrassed by us being over-excited for them on things, but Brooke is definitely a better sport about it than Caleb is ;) Friday evening after dinner we took the kids to Sweet Frog to get some icecream. We say we were going to celebrate the kids getting 100's on their spelling tests, but the honest truth is that we really just like going there, I think ;) 

Saturday morning we woke up to a nice surprise-- our tax money in our bank account! We were expecting it on Monday, so it was so awesome that it showed up two days earlier! We got started right away on our mile-long to-do list that we had planned out for the money. We went on Amazon and ordered us a new vacuum (exciting, right?! but we really DO need a new one!) And paid a few bills. Then we went out to get some more things we had been planning to get. Our first trip was to Target to get some home items. We found some drapes for our bedroom, and we just so lucked out that they had "Avengers/Superhero" drapes on clearance in the kids' section, so we got them for Caleb's room! (Arnold recently re-painted his room and we are re-doing it to be a Superhero theme!) We also picked out the kids' Valentine's Day candies for their friends at school-- Nerds for Brooke, Fun Dip for Caleb, and heart fruit snacks for Rachel (I'm sure you all remember what a big deal picking out that stuff is! :) We also picked up several little boxes of candy.. and when we went to the checkout line the man asked us if we were going to the movies.. he said people always come in there to get snacks right before the movies! Well, if they weren't so dang expensive!!! ;) 

We were headed to the movies later but we still had time to kill, so Arnold decided he wanted to get a haircut. While he was in there getting that done, I took the kids into AC Moore, and we picked out some Valentine's Day crafts to do later that night. They picked out masks to color and design with markers. When Arnold got done we all went into TJ Maxx. They had some of those "gourmet" Oreos out with their Valentine's Day stuff, and I begged Arnold to get me some.. he thought it was ridiculous to pay $5.99 for them (and I do too!) but what is wrong with a splurge treat every once in awhile?! We also went to Old Navy and looked around.. there were several things I probably could have bought, but I was good and stuck to one new sweater for Caleb (he didn't really NEED any more clothes anyway!)

Finally it was time for the movies. We went to see The Lego Movie-- the kids had been dying to see it ever since the first previews came out! We had dropped by earlier that day to buy our tickets, and also got their 30 minutes early to get our snacks, and I am SO glad we did, because it was packed! We took our popcorn bucket to get some popcorn, and we did end up buying some drinks so I could get the special Divergent movie cups ;) We went to the movie in the new BIG D theater that recently opened, and it was awesome! The place was huge.. the screen was huge.. and the chairs were so nice and comfy. Everyone else had the same idea though, and we shared the theater with tons of other movie-goers.. I think the movie was probably sold out by the looks of the filled seats! The movie was very good.. it had a lot of action so Caleb loved it, but it also had a lot of funny and sweet parts, so the girls and I loved it, too. And the end part is pretty awesome (I won't ruin it for anyone.. but I love how it tied in with the rest of the movie!) But be warned.. the "awesome" song will be stuck in your head for hours after that movie!!!! :)

Sunday morning we went to early service at church because I had baby class. We ended up having 5 little guys and girls in there this week, and we had a great time. We did the lesson with the kids, read stories, and played on the floor. Then later in the service a sweet little baby boy joined our class, so I got to spend the rest of the time holding him! I got drooled all over! My favorite kind of morning! ;) After church we went to lunch at El Paso.. one of our fave places in town. Then we went to Walmart to get even more stuff we have been planning to get. Some dress shoes for Caleb, some dumbbell weights for Arnold, some tealight candles for my tart burner.. a Duck Dynasty shirt for me.. you know.. all the important stuff ;) But for real, they have a lot of good clearance going on right now.. so I'd advise checking it out! 

That afternoon we went to Logan and Ben's birthday party. (my best friend's sons) They are turning 3 and 9. I can't believe our kids are getting so old! (that means we are old, too! eek!) Ben had a Thomas Train theme, and Logan had a Minecraft theme. I think the kids had a good time because we let them loose in the gym at their church, and they ran around with all their friends. I got to talk to some of my friends, and tried to take a lot of pictures for Joanne, too. We had some snacks and then we did cake. Joanne and her hubby make and decorate bday cakes, and they always do a great job. They are cute AND taste good. So I was just as excited as the kids to get a piece to eat ;) Then the boys opened their presents (I think the legos we got Logan were a hit!) and then things started winding down. The kids were all hyped up on sugar though, and were crazy on the way home (I think Joanne planned it that way, lol!)

Sunday evening we worked on some things around the house. Arnold hung our new curtains and we totally re-arranged our room. We moved the bed to a new place.. added a lamp in there.. and even moved around decorative things-- it is a whole new room! I love it! A few touches can really make the difference in updating a space. The kids played outside in their new power wheels jeep because the weather was actually pretty nice for once! And we ended the evening with Arnold helping Caleb do his "100 days of school" project. He chose to count out 100 mini marshmellows and glue them onto a poster board in the design of a snowflake. I think it turned out pretty good.. even if he did almost walk out of the house this morning without it!!!! Arnold passed out early (which never happens, so he must have had a hard day!) And I caught up on things on my ipad which I had FINALLY charged up.. it hadn't been turned on in 5 weeks because I lost my charger. But I found it! :)

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too! :)

Brooke at the awards ceremony.

Caleb getting his award from the principal

The books I ordered finally showed up on Saturday! I got them with the giftcard Arnold had gotten me back at our anniversary. Can't wait to read them all!

We donated $3 to a disabled children's charity at the movies, and they gave Caleb this Star Wars pin. He thought it was neat and wanted to wear it.

Waiting in line for the Lego Movie. No idea why Caleb's face looks like that. And Brooke's hair is a wreck and she looks like she is bumming it, but she is still cute ;)

I made Arnold take this picture of my Divergent cup. I took them home and washed them to use again! He said I was so ridiculous! Well you married me! ;)

Out to lunch after church. Wish Caleb hadn't opened his mouth while eating, and Brooke's hair looks like 80's crimped style because she had had a braid in it earlier :)

So these are our new drapes. They actually have purple in them so it matches the walls better in person. Along with the bedspread we have on now though.. the room is BRIGHT and LOUD.. but oh well. Arnold says "no one sees our room anyway." Did he forget about my blog?! ;)

Mamas at the bday party on Sunday. I am so blessed to call these ladies friends! :)

Rachel and her BFF Kenzie, having some snacks. They kept sneaking back to the table and eating some of the rock candy. I'll admit, I did too! It was yummy! ;)

Ben getting ready to blow out his candle!

Logan blowing out his candles! And I ate a piece of his cake.. it was good!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

 

 



 

 

 

 

~The books I ordered from Barnes and Noble with the giftcard Arnold gave me, should be here today or tomorrow! I ended up ordering "The First Phonecall from Heaven" which was on my list to read, and two books that were on sale that sounded good, and a book on Dave Matthews (Love DMB! Thought it would be interesting.)

 

~Caleb got 102 on his latest spelling test! He is doing really good in school. His reading test results recently came back also, and he is in the "advanced" category for his age :)

 

~We are finally getting to take a "real" family vacation!!! Arnold and I had talked about using money this year from his bonus check, and go to the beach. Rachel has never even seen a beach before, and we have been wanting to take the kids for awhile now, but it hasn't worked out. Then my parents surprised us and offered us one of their timeshare weeks, since they have a bunch saved up that they won't be able to use.. so now we get to stay somewhere really nice! We have decided on Surfside Beach in SC, at the end of July. And the resort looks AWESOME. They have an outdoor pool and waterpark right outside the doors, that I know the kids will love. They were out of places with double rooms, so we will have to spend a week of extreme togetherness, but it is worth it! I can't wait to take some nice pics of the kids on the beach, too :) July-- hurry up and get here please!!!! :)

 

~We plan on taking the kids to see The Lego Movie this Saturday. I think Arnold and I are just as excited as they are ;) I love that they are at the age now where they can actually sit through a movie and we can all enjoy it. We have seen several previews, and it looks really funny.

 

~The tax money should be hitting our bank account soon! I am very impatient, because I have several things I need/want to do with that money! Our latest plan is to join the gym, which I think I already mentioned. I am going to go ahead and pay for a whole year's membership since we will have the extra money, and it will motivate me more to go!

 

~We had been talking about MAYBE using some of our tax money to get a flatscreen tv (we still have a small, old-fashioned tv, haha) And it was crazy timing, but our next door neighbors told Arnold the other day that they are getting a new tv and offered us their old one! It is HUGE! The type that will take up a bunch of space and sit on the floor, but we will make it work! I am so excited because now we will have a bigger tv (big screen is always nicer when watching stuff or playing video games) and we are now saving that money and can do something else we had planned with it. How awesome is that?? Those guys were really nice to us! :)

 



 

 

~I love this little fella, he is just the best. Arnold calls him my sidekick, and it is true. Every night when I go into the bedroom and get into bed, he follows me and expects to be put in the bed with me :) I do love it, though. He keeps me company and is a great listener ;)

~Picked these up at the store the other day and baked some Valentine's Day cookies with the kids last night after dinner. My grandma used to make me all the "holiday" cookies every year and I love doing the same thing with my kids :)

~What is that you ask? A man in the kitchen actually doing work?! Yes.. Arnold was sweet enough to do the dishes last night. He actually had a lot of energy yesterday! Hey, I say take full advantage of it! ;) 

~Brooke and her friend, Emma, signed up the other night for The American Heritage Girls! (Their friend Zoey did also, but she didn't want to be in the pic ;) The group is similar to scouting, but Christian-based. The age group the girls are in is called "The Tenderhearts." Reminds me of the Carebears ;) Anyway, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun for them. They will do service projects, earn badges, go on fun trips, and all sorts of things. All while keeping the focus on God and building good character qualities, which is very important to Arnold and I. Brooke is SO excited that two of her best friends are joining with her, I know they will have a lot of fun. Their first meeting is two Mondays from now, and they will be having meetings every other week. 

Sitting around watiting on me to finish the paperwork

Little sissy hung out for awhile too, before Daddy took her and Caleb out for awhile

They gave the girls goody bags when they left.. I thought that was really sweet :)