Memorial Day, Florida Trip, & Misc

It's been a while since I posted so this is just a big mix of what we have been up to lately...

Taking selfies with sheldon ;)

Miss Sassy Pants 

Planting some flowers! Yes I had never done it before! So another thing to add to my 30 before 30 list. I mixed up soil, and we planted 2 new bushes and some pretty flowers. 

On Memorial day we went swimming in my parents' neighborhood. Rachel had fun riding on daddy's back. 

The kids had a great time except when they had to sit out on breaks. 

I went to Florida to meet my new niece, Ava! I was so happy to finally get my hands on her! She is so tiny! While we were there we also got to see Alex and Ariel's new house! We are standing in the living room in this pic. The house hadn't been painted yet. 

Mom, dad and I stayed in a nice hotel! The embassy! Thanks to dad's travel business perks we stayed on the top level-- the executive floor. It was nice and I loved looking down. There was even a wedding in there on Saturday and I got to watch the bride walk down the aisle! So sweet! I did miss my bed after awhile though, because I had to sleep on the couch! 

While visiting we went on a trip to the Florida Aquarium! It was big, and pretty nice, and we all loved looking at the animals. Brielle had a fun time riding on Alex's shoulders and looking at the sharks. She would clap and yell SHARK! It was adorable :)

Mom and Dad love their new granddaughter! :)

Alex and Ariel sent the kids home necklaces from Florida so they wore them to school the next day to show all their friends and teachers :) The kids got gifts from them, my parents, and me on the trip, they are spoiled! ;)

Wearing some red, white and blue!!! :)

An friend of mine made this awesome custom shirt for Rachel to wear to her birthday party next weekend! I love it! And yes her theme is Frozen-- in the middle of summer-- but it's what she loves ;)

She also made this matching bow for her! It was a surprise and I love it!! 

I finally joined the iphone family! I had been telling Arnold to get me one before my birthday! So last night we went and signed up for contracts and both got new phones. I got a gold iphone6! I love it! Happy Early Birthday to me! ;)

Brooke had her first visit to the orthodontist! she was nervous but it went well! She is going to the same guy who did my braces 18 years ago-- crazy! They said she has a very narrow upper mouth and a cross bite, so they are going to do an extender and some braces on her upper teeth, hopefully by August. We have a few more appts before then. It is expensive!!!!! sheesh.. but it needs to be done.

Brooke enjoyed the visit. Everyone was very nice. They gave her a tshirt when she left, too.

Mother's Day 2015!

I had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. We did lots of stuff and had lots of fun.

Friday night after Arnold got off from work we went out shopping.. he said he would just let me pick out my own present! I had seen a purse I wanted at Kohl's, but when we got there and saw it in person I didn't really like it. Then I looked around for clothes, but didn't see much I liked. We were in there forever, and poor Arnold was being so sweet and patient. Finally I gave up and went over to Cato's and got my 2nd choice. I love my new purse! Thanks honey ;)

After we did some shopping we came home, put the kids to bed, and rented "The Wedding Ringer." It was pretty funny but not my first pick. I wouldn't watch it again. But it was fun to spend some time with hubby :)

Saturday morning I got up early and went to the 7-mile yardsale with Jess. She drove and brought Hunter along. We saw some people out selling that we knew! It was really crowded and busy like usual, and we didn't find a ton of stuff, but I did find a few things. Some barbies for the girls, a few books, and some of the cutest bibs and outfits for my new niece! ;)

Caleb went to a friend's birthday party that day at Noon, so while he was gone, Arnold took the girls and I out to eat at Olive Garden-- one of my favorite places! We were going to go and look at plants for the front yard at Lowe's afterwards, but we ran out of time. So we went back to pick up Caleb. He was dripping wet from playing on the water slide! But he had a blast.

That night, Mom and Dad watched the kids while we went on a date! We went to the movies. We got the time wrong and had a while to kill, so we went to the mall and walked around. Then we went to see Hot Pursuit at 5:30. It was really funny! I joked and said Arnold was happy because of the two hot girls in the lead ;) It really was a cute movie though, and I had a lot of fun. On the way home we stopped by Sonic to get dinner since we had already had a nice lunch that day. We ran into Erika, Billy, and Kenzie! What are the odds, haha. So we got to eat with them! :)

When we got back to pick up the kids, Caleb was all suddsy in the tub. the kids love taking baths in their grandma's big jacuzzi tub. 

While there I tried to get Butter to take a selfie with me and we finally got one! haha! ;)

Sunday morning we got dressed up nice and headed to church for me to work. Before we left the kids surprised me with some cards and a new charm for my bracelet, that says "Mom." :)

Rachel wore her new Lilly Pulitzer dress and looked so cute!

We had lunch at Mom and Dad's after church! Dad made ham, sweet potatoes, asparagus, rolls, and even had an icecream cake for dessert! It was delicious! Mom got me some beautiful earrings from Southern Gates, to match the necklace she got me back at Christmas. 

We made mom a photo book of our recent family pictures we had done. She loved it!

Dad picked me up some flowers while he was getting some for Mom! So sweet! They are now sitting on my kitchen table :)

We took pictures outside with Mom.

The kids love to take silly pictures too! ;)

Had to take a selfie with my Little Bit!! ;)

Friday Favorites!

My new niece is here!!! Ava Loren, she was born on the 2nd at 11:49pm. Yes, the SAME day as the royal baby! But she is so much cuter and more special than the princess ;) Haha. I hate that I was asleep when it actually happened, but I heard the news early the next morning. They say she has her Mama's eyes and her Daddy's mouth and smile, and she has a lot of hair! Everything went smoothly, and I am so thankful! I am such a proud Aunt!! :)

 I wanted to cry seeing all the pictures! Still can't believe my brother is a DADDY! He is going to be so awesome! Ariel says he is already helping out so much. It is killing me being so far away, but I will be on a plane this time next week, headed to Florida to visit them for the weekend! I can't wait to hold Ava! 

Last sunday after church we went out to lunch with Erika and Kenzie. We went to O'Charley's. I got brunch, which included a belgian waffle, eggs, and bacon.. YUM! I love lunch dates after church.

And that same day Miss Kenzie spent the afternoon with us, having a playdate with Rachel. She first spent some time with Arnold and the kids at the park. He bought some koolaid for them too.. they were loving him ;) Then she played at our house for awhile, and ate some pizza with us. Rachel loved having her over!

The other morning I took the kids to the first appt at their NEW dentist! I am so, so glad we switched! Everyone there is so incredibly nice. They were able to clean all 3 kids' teeth at the same time, and they let me sit at the back and watch. They had tvs overhead that the kids could watch during their cleaning! (i dont think Caleb even wanted to leave! ha!) And the best part of all, was they found NO CAVITIES IN ANY OF THE KIDS!! I was so thrilled and relieved. They said Caleb's mouth was about perfect. Rachel has 4 wiggly teeth all at once. Brooke has a pretty bad crossbite and we got a referral to an orthodontist because he will have to be getting braces in the near future. Anyway, I was so happy with our first appt and can't wait to go back. If they had awesome dentists like that for adults, it wouldn't be so bad going!! ;)

The girls were wearing new dresses and I took a few pics while we were over at Mom and Dad's house. Rachel's actually was a hand-me-down from our friends (who gave us a lot of girls' clothes-- thanks again!!) And I found Brooke's at TJ Maxx. They both love wearing dresses :)

Spring Semester ended this week! I finished up my computer class with a B. Which I am happy with because it was a tough course for me! I don't want to ever see another Excel spreadsheet again! ha! ;) I finished the whole semester with a 3.6 GPA! I am happy and proud. I celebrated with a cupcake ;) I have few weeks off before I start summer semester. 

I just finished reading this book and it was so good! Bought it on a whim after I read a review on someone's blog. It was well-written and touching, and of course had lots about babies so I loved it ;)

Caleb made me this at school for Mother's Day! so sweet. I love the things like this that they do every year. I keep them all, and they will be nice to look back on oneday when they are teenagers and not as nice ;)

For my fellow 80s and 90s girls.. remember Lisa Frank?! It was all the rage when I was little. I loved getting all her colorful school supplies. Anyway, I saw online that they are coming out with these LF flip flops for WOMEN! haha. Who wants a pair?? ;)

~Had a busy week working childcare. Monday night we watched 23 kids, ages 5 months to 9 years, for 3 hours. It was insane. We couldn't even hear ourselves talk. Even when we split them up into 2 rooms. I had toys thrown down my shirt. I was spit up on after I fed a baby a bottle. And then I held a little girl who wasn't feeling well until my arm went to sleep. I went home covered in spit up, drool, snot, and sweat. So glamorous, huh? Haha... but I love those kiddos so much! Wed night was an adventure too. We had a case of a BIG bottle of apple juice spilling all over the kitchen floor. And little butts scooting around in it. And a slip and fall. And all the toy baskets being dumped out.... ahhh... the good life ;) 

~I hope everyone has an awesome weekend celebrating their Mothers, and getting pampered if you are a Mother yourself ;) I look forward to spending time with family, a big lunch my dad is making, and a date night with hubby. I am so blessed to have the most wonderful children, and the most awesome Mom! :)

Mother's Day Wishlist!

Of course I don't expect anything for Mother's Day, but it's always fun to put together wishlists :) So honey if you need any ideas... *ahem* ;) Here are some things I've been wanting lately....

More charms for my bracelet. Especially mother-related charms. This one is a birthstone kid, for August, just like Caleb ;)

I want a new purse, in a bright color! I like this one from Cato's.....

And this Lily Bloom purse from Sears.....

A new flag for the yard... I love this monogram one from Kirkland's.....

A pretty hand sanitizer holder from Bath & Body works...

A new PJ set...these are from Walmart, can you believe it????

And these are from Target.. saw them in person this week and they are cute!

Love these sandals from Cato's. they have other cute ones there too...

I love lightweight infinity scarves this time of year.. love the palm trees....

Two of the books on my current wishlist... and Kindle books work fine.... ;)