This past weekend my Auntie Terry, Uncle Kevin and cousin Kylee came to visit! They moved from Washington to Connecticut 8 years ago and I've only seen them a handful of times since then. The last time was at my wedding, three and a half years ago!! Which means, they'd never met Jilly. Sad times for sure. So we were all very excited about their visit! It was a bit of a bummer that my other two cousins couldn't come. Bailey is at school at USU in Logan, Utah and couldn't come. Gator (known as Devin to most people, but will always be Gator to me) is on his mission in Tempe, Arizona. He won't be home until February. It sucks, but they're in more important places.
They were here Thursday thru Tuesday. They stayed with my uncle's parents in Kent. Friday afternoon they came up to our house for dinner and the evening. (I made a killer meatloaf and baked potatoes, which everyone seemed to love, by the way. ;-)) Jilly was asleep when they first arrived. I woke up her at about 5pm, because it was getting too late for her to be napping. She was pretty shy when I first brought her out. She would only sit on my lap, burying her face in my chest. She wouldn't even let me turn her, still on my lap, at all. It took a sippy cup, about 30 minutes and ultimately some goldfish to get her to loosen up. (YAY for goldfish!) Then she turned into a performer!
All night she kept us entertained, showing off her talking, dancing, singing, running, kissing and playing skills. It was mighty impressive. She warmed up to them all. There were even a couple times she went running over to Uncle Kevin and climbed right up into his lap and cuddled with him, then made him kiss her animals. The Bells brought her a very sweet stuffed polar bear. We have yet to come up with a name. Steve wants to call him Barack, for irony's sake, but I staunchly refuse. He's even suggested Barry (or Beary, I'm not sure on the spelling), but I still say no. I told him I would rather call the bear Sarah or Whitey. ;-) So the bear remains unnamed. Anyway, we had a fabulous time just talking and hanging out. Katie came from school part way through the evening and hung out with us too. It was just super fun and relaxing and hilarious with Jilly performing for us all. They left around 9:30pm and took Katie home.
Saturday evening, we met up with them again. Andy had driven down from Western Washington University in Bellingham that morning. I met him and Katie at their house around 5pm and we drove down to Grandma & Grandpa Bell's house in Kent. (Yes I call them Grandma & Grandpa even though they're not my grandparents. They were involved in my life as much as my dad's mom and infinitely more than my maternal grandparents.) It was fun seeing them again and having them meet Jilly. I hadn't seen them since my wedding either. They actually attended our sealing, which was super neat. Uncle Kevin and Grandpa were at the Priesthood session of General Conference (Steve was too, but up in Lynnwood), so it was just us and the girls. We went out to dinner at Azteca, since Auntie Terry hadn't eaten there since they moved. It was yummy and again, Jilly entertained us. After dinner, we went back to the Bells and visited for the rest of the evening. Granpda and Uncle Kevin were back by that point. Grandpa Bell has back surgery a couple weeks ago and someone had brought him a balloon. Jilly fell in love with the balloon and played with it all night long. I think the funniest part was when we tied it to her leg and she ketp batting at it. Hysterical, I tell you. Grandpa was very sweet and gave it to Jilly to bring home. It is now in our living room, tied to Mortimer to keep it weighted down. All too soon, it was time for us to go home. We said our goodbyes, and Katie and I kept trying to bully Auntie Terry into coming up next August, when they bring Gator and Kylee out to BYU. I also tried to convince Auntie Terry to come see me on Monday. I even bribed her with a scenic flight. That caught her attention. We said we'd talk Sunday night and figure out if it would work.
Well, it did! The Bells once again drove up to our house Monday, arriving about Noon. Jilly and I loaded up in their car with them and we went down to Lake Union. We made remarkably good time, getting to Lake Union about 12:40pm. The flight wasn't until 1:30pm, but we just hung around the terminal. Kylee played with Jilly a lot and I started educating Auntie Terry and Uncle Kevin on the types of planes we have. (Uncle Kevin- I found out that the Turbine Beavers, Otters and Caravans, which all use the same one, have the PT6 engine, which is apparently a Pratt & Whitney. Way cool!) We climbed on board 25S with Captain Marty, strapped on our seatbelts and put on the headphones. It was everyone's first flight in a seaplane, except for me, including Jilly! She sat on my lap the whole time. I even put headphones on her (more for noise-dampening purposes than for hearing the narration) and she didn't mess with them AT ALL!! Shocking, eh? We all had a blast!! Uncle Kevin got to sit co-pilot with Marty and had fun up there. It was so much fun and they were all properly impressed with the smoothness of the take-off and landing. After the flight, we went to Steve's work, where they got to see a lot of the flowers. Then it was time for us to go home and them to leave. It was sad to say goodbye, but we'd had such a good time with them over the weekend.
I was so happy to get to spend some quality time with them. I'm not really in any contact with anyone else from my dad's family, so it was great to get to do all the "Remember when?"s. I love them a lot and don't get to see them nearly often enough! Connecticut is just too stinking far away. I keep trying to convince them to move back to Washington, but they haven't caved yet. (Just you wait...) Yay for family!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Our favorite recipes
We've recently discovered some recipes that we just love. Jilly enjoys them as much as Steve and I do. Well, almost. ;-) They are so good and I've shared them with a couple friends and figured, Why stop there? So here they are on the blog!
I got them both out of the American Heart Association Low-Calorie Cookbook, so they're pretty healthy! If anyone wants the serving size and nutrional breakdown info, lemme know and I can get it for you. But they're totally scrumptious!
Meatloaf with Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil Spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 snipped fresh parsley (Italian, or flat-leaf, preferred)
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
Whites of 2 large eggs
2 tablespoons dried basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil and 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 medium garlic cloves, minced, or 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 cup fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
Preheat the overn to 350* F. Lightly spray a broiler pan and rack or a roasting pan and baking rack with vegetable oil spray.
In baking dish, combine all the ingredients except the 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce. Shape into 7x5x2-inch oval loaf. Carefully slide the meat loaf onto the rack in the pan. Spread the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top and sides of the meat loaf.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the meat loaf is no longer pink in the center. For easier handling, let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
*My take: I've left out the parsley with no ill effect. You could also easily add other veggies, like zucchini and carrots, to make it even healthier. I used the rack the first time, but it ended up being a big hassle, because the loaf was too soft and fell through it. So now, I just use a Pyrex glass baking dish and it's fine. Here is a picture of mini heart shaped meatloafs (meatloaves?) from a Valentines Day dinner. We normally just put it all in a square (8x8) glass Pyrex baking dish.
Rustic Stuffed Potatoes
Ingredients:
4 medium red potatoes (about 6 ounces each)
1/2 cup bottled barbeque sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Vegetable Oil Spray
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all visible fat removed, cut into bite-size pieces
Fat-free, no-calorie liquid margarine spray
2 ounces shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (green and white parts)
Pierce the potatoes in several pieces with a fork. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 10 minutes, or until tender when pierced to the center with a fork, turning once.
Meanwhile, in a small measuring cup or bowl, stir together the barbeque sauce, vinegar and cayenne.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray (being careful not to spray near a gas flame). Cook the chicken for 2 minutes, or until no longer pink on the outside, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to high. Add the barbeque sauce mixture; cook for 1 1/2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Cut the potatoes in half; fluff with a fork. Place 2 potato halves on each plate. Lightly spray each half with 2 pumps of liquid margarine spray. Sprinkle with the cheese. Spoon the chicken mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the green onions.
*My take: I just use regular butter and cheese. I've used normal baking potatoes as well as red potatoes, and we cook them in the oven, not the microwave. We'll also add sour cream. But the chicken-bbq sauce mixture is awesome! Very much a favorite of ours!
I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do!
I got them both out of the American Heart Association Low-Calorie Cookbook, so they're pretty healthy! If anyone wants the serving size and nutrional breakdown info, lemme know and I can get it for you. But they're totally scrumptious!
Meatloaf with Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil Spray
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 snipped fresh parsley (Italian, or flat-leaf, preferred)
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
Whites of 2 large eggs
2 tablespoons dried basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil and 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
2 medium garlic cloves, minced, or 1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 cup fat-free meatless spaghetti sauce
Preheat the overn to 350* F. Lightly spray a broiler pan and rack or a roasting pan and baking rack with vegetable oil spray.
In baking dish, combine all the ingredients except the 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce. Shape into 7x5x2-inch oval loaf. Carefully slide the meat loaf onto the rack in the pan. Spread the remaining spaghetti sauce over the top and sides of the meat loaf.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the meat loaf is no longer pink in the center. For easier handling, let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
*My take: I've left out the parsley with no ill effect. You could also easily add other veggies, like zucchini and carrots, to make it even healthier. I used the rack the first time, but it ended up being a big hassle, because the loaf was too soft and fell through it. So now, I just use a Pyrex glass baking dish and it's fine. Here is a picture of mini heart shaped meatloafs (meatloaves?) from a Valentines Day dinner. We normally just put it all in a square (8x8) glass Pyrex baking dish.
Ingredients:
4 medium red potatoes (about 6 ounces each)
1/2 cup bottled barbeque sauce
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Vegetable Oil Spray
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all visible fat removed, cut into bite-size pieces
Fat-free, no-calorie liquid margarine spray
2 ounces shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions (green and white parts)
Pierce the potatoes in several pieces with a fork. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 10 minutes, or until tender when pierced to the center with a fork, turning once.
Meanwhile, in a small measuring cup or bowl, stir together the barbeque sauce, vinegar and cayenne.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the skillet from the heat and lightly spray with vegetable oil spray (being careful not to spray near a gas flame). Cook the chicken for 2 minutes, or until no longer pink on the outside, stirring constantly. Increase the heat to high. Add the barbeque sauce mixture; cook for 1 1/2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly and the chicken is no longer pink in the center, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Cut the potatoes in half; fluff with a fork. Place 2 potato halves on each plate. Lightly spray each half with 2 pumps of liquid margarine spray. Sprinkle with the cheese. Spoon the chicken mixture over the potatoes. Sprinkle with the green onions.
*My take: I just use regular butter and cheese. I've used normal baking potatoes as well as red potatoes, and we cook them in the oven, not the microwave. We'll also add sour cream. But the chicken-bbq sauce mixture is awesome! Very much a favorite of ours!
I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do!
Pumpkin Patch!
This week for Playgroup, we went to Carleton Farms to visit the Pumpkin Patch! Stacey was kind enough to give Jilly and I a ride so we could go. We were a bit worried about the weather, but luckily the rain held off until we were pretty much done. Plus it had been dry for a few days before, so it wasn't nearly as muddy as I was expecting. We got to the farm and the first thing all the kids wanted to do was play on this tube slide. It went down the hill from where the parking lot was to where the pumpkin field was. The kids played on it for a long time! Everyone loved it. I, being the dork that I am, forgot to take my camera, so thanks again to Stacey and Kati for catching these super cute shots of Jills.
This her going down the tube slide, looking down. She would take a bit to really get going.
Then you'd see this; Jilly whizzing down the slide.
And then she'd pop out at the bottom, on her bum.
Jilly being the silly girl she is, she would often try to climb back up the slide. Or she'd try to watch her friends come down, but she'd be right at the bottom, so I had to keep dragging her away, so she didn't get knocked over. Silly pants.
After a long time on the slide, I decided she was done and we needed to find a pumpkin. I just wanted a little Jilly-sized pumpkin. She did NOT agree with my plan. She just wanted to keep climbing up the hill and going down the slide. I tried to get her to come out into the field and she fought me. She pouted and whined the whole time we were out there, and made me carry her. I can see why the uneven, slightly muddy ground was weird for her to walk on, but it was annoying to me. I finally found a little pumpkin that I liked, pulled it off the vine and we headed up the hill.
There was a "Kids Maze" up by the produce stand and the kids totally wanted to check it out. Jilly actually walked right in and starting going through it with no problem. I was totally surprised. I expected her to start getting confused and frustrated, but it didn't happen. She was just cruising. So what do I do? Jinx it by pointing it out to my friends. Haha. Seriously, as soon as I said it, she turned around and walked back the entire way she had come (more than halfway!). Silly Beans!
Here she is "finishing" and coming back out the entrance!
We then went inside the produce store to pay for the pumpkin. We actually ended up swapping pumpkins, because they had these big boxes FULL of beautiful little sugar pumpkins for only $1! It was so pretty and perfect, orange, round and with a cute stem, I liked it better. Then inside, I browsed through the produce and decided to get some baking potatoes for dinner Friday night and a mango for a snack. Jilly kept running away from me and insisting on playing with a shopping cart, so finally, I grabbed it and stuck her in. It at least kept her contained and satisfied a little longer.
After we purchased our produce, we dropped the stuff in the car and checked out the animals. At first Jilly was fairly disinterested. But that's to be expected when fruit snacks are involved. ;-) As soon as she finished the snack, she had fun looking at them all. There were chickens (roosters, hens, and baby chicks), peacocks, pigs, goats and sheep. The lambs really got Jilly's attention, she kept running out in the rain to their pen. Then the pigs just made her giggle. They started snorting and trying to get to the kids (thinking they had snacks to share). At one point, Jilly was holding on to the cage door, and one of the pigs touched her fingers with his snout. She giggled and pulled her hand away; it was pretty funny.
She really loved looking at the pigs.
After we looked at the animals, it was time to go home and put some tired kiddos down for their naps. :-) It was a lot of fun going to the Pumpkin Patch! Something I'll now look forward to every year.
This her going down the tube slide, looking down. She would take a bit to really get going.
Then you'd see this; Jilly whizzing down the slide.
And then she'd pop out at the bottom, on her bum.
Jilly being the silly girl she is, she would often try to climb back up the slide. Or she'd try to watch her friends come down, but she'd be right at the bottom, so I had to keep dragging her away, so she didn't get knocked over. Silly pants.
After a long time on the slide, I decided she was done and we needed to find a pumpkin. I just wanted a little Jilly-sized pumpkin. She did NOT agree with my plan. She just wanted to keep climbing up the hill and going down the slide. I tried to get her to come out into the field and she fought me. She pouted and whined the whole time we were out there, and made me carry her. I can see why the uneven, slightly muddy ground was weird for her to walk on, but it was annoying to me. I finally found a little pumpkin that I liked, pulled it off the vine and we headed up the hill.
There was a "Kids Maze" up by the produce stand and the kids totally wanted to check it out. Jilly actually walked right in and starting going through it with no problem. I was totally surprised. I expected her to start getting confused and frustrated, but it didn't happen. She was just cruising. So what do I do? Jinx it by pointing it out to my friends. Haha. Seriously, as soon as I said it, she turned around and walked back the entire way she had come (more than halfway!). Silly Beans!
Here she is "finishing" and coming back out the entrance!
We then went inside the produce store to pay for the pumpkin. We actually ended up swapping pumpkins, because they had these big boxes FULL of beautiful little sugar pumpkins for only $1! It was so pretty and perfect, orange, round and with a cute stem, I liked it better. Then inside, I browsed through the produce and decided to get some baking potatoes for dinner Friday night and a mango for a snack. Jilly kept running away from me and insisting on playing with a shopping cart, so finally, I grabbed it and stuck her in. It at least kept her contained and satisfied a little longer.
After we purchased our produce, we dropped the stuff in the car and checked out the animals. At first Jilly was fairly disinterested. But that's to be expected when fruit snacks are involved. ;-) As soon as she finished the snack, she had fun looking at them all. There were chickens (roosters, hens, and baby chicks), peacocks, pigs, goats and sheep. The lambs really got Jilly's attention, she kept running out in the rain to their pen. Then the pigs just made her giggle. They started snorting and trying to get to the kids (thinking they had snacks to share). At one point, Jilly was holding on to the cage door, and one of the pigs touched her fingers with his snout. She giggled and pulled her hand away; it was pretty funny.
She really loved looking at the pigs.
After we looked at the animals, it was time to go home and put some tired kiddos down for their naps. :-) It was a lot of fun going to the Pumpkin Patch! Something I'll now look forward to every year.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Trip to Albuquerque!
Jilly and I went to Albuquerque two weeks ago with my mom and step-dad. They took us down there to visit with my step-brother Joe, his wife Crystal and their two kids, Haylee (4) and Hayden (2). We hadn't seen them since Mom & Paul got married over two years ago! Hayden was only two months old at that time, and I was 5 months pregnant with Jilly, so big changes had happened since then. I was really excited to see them, as well as to experience New Mexico, as I had never been there.
Saturday morning was an early one, since our flight was at 8:30am. Steve had to work that morning, so he dropped Jilly and I off at Mom's around 5:30am. The trip to the airport was fairly uneventful, luckily. Once on the plane, Jilly fell asleep on Granny's lap and slept for over an hour! PRAISE BE! It was nice for all of us. After she woke up, she was pretty good the rest of the trip, except for when she peed all through her clothes and we had to change her entire outfit on the plane.
Can I just stop and put in a plug for grandparents right here? Having my mom and Paul with me the entire time was such a lifesaver! Granny would just take over the Jilly duty while we were in the airport and on the plane, so I could deal with all the gear type issues. If I was getting stressed or needed a few minutes to deal with something else, someone was there to take over for me. Really, the ratio of 3 adults to 1 toddler was perfect! It was really the best on the flights. If I had been by myself, it would have been a whole different can of worms there. Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled blog.
We arrived in ABQ, collected bags, got the rental car and headed to the hotel. Turns out our room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped a couple of bags off and headed out to lunch. We were all starving, since it was like 1:30-2pm, and we'd been up since 4-something am. While we were eating lunch, Jilly peed through her skirt AGAIN. This time I didn't have any extra clothes, because we'd left that suitcase at the hotel. Luckily her shirt was long, so she was just kinda skanky for a little bit. After lunch, we got into our hotel room, unpacked, chilled for a little then went out to Joe & Crystal's.
Before we left town, we stop by Old Town and checked out the handmade jewelry vendors. We looked and looked through the gorgeous silver, turquoise and opal pieces. Mom ended up finding a gorgeous bracelet for herself and one for Jilly! It's a pretty silver one with sunbursts carved into it. We put it on her chubby little wrist and at first she hated it, but by the next day she didn't even notice it anymore and now wears it all the time. We made one more stop at a grocery store for some supplies, then finally got to Joe & Crystal's house.
As soon as we pulled up, the kids and dogs came running over to us. Hugs all around and they wanted to show us all their pets. Haylee right away took Jilly under her wing and brought her over to a tricycle. She helped Jilly get on and would push her around, since Jilly didn't get how to pedal (I don't even think her legs were quite long enough). And Jilly was totally cool with it!
This is Haylee's bunny, Bugs Bunny. Apparently, she is rather hard to get out of the cage, but Haylee got her all by herself! Jilly didn't quite understand how to pet the bunny, or was much interested in it but she still touched the bunny.
The kids all got on the swingset and swung together. We did have to be careful to time it so that they weren't all swinging the same direction together, otherwise the swingset might have tipped over. ;-)
We ate a barbeque dinner then hung out and played. Joe took Paul for a ride on his Rhino. A Rhino is like a 4 wheel drive golf cart, or a ATV built like a car. Joe took him back out onto the dirt bike track on the mesa across from their house. They were out there while it got dark, then Joe took me for a ride! It was a blast!! We'd climb up these big hills and come down, what seemed like a vertical slope. Because it was dark and we only had the headlights to see by, sometimes I could see where the track went back up, but not where it bottomed out. It was a bit like a really bumpy roller coaster. Way fun! By the time we got back, everyone was tired and ready for bed. Especially Mom and me, who hadn't gotten any kind of nap that day!
The next morning we woke up and got ready for the day. We ate breakfast at Flying Star. Soooooooo good. The breakfast food itself was scrumptious, but the absolute best part was before breakfast. At Flying Star, you order your food at the counter, get your drinks then go find a table and they bring your meal to you when it's ready. Jilly was restless and not digging the line, so Paul and I found a table outside while Mom got the drinks. When she came out, there was something I didn't expect on the tray- an eclair! She had been surprised by it too when it was placed on the tray, but realized Paul probably ordered it and she didn't hear. Sure enough, that's what happened. It was DIVINE! Seriously, I have never tasted an eclair like that. First off, it was huge!!! Like 6 inches long, 2-3 inches across and 1-2 inches tall. The pastry was crisp and flaky, yet soft inside. The custard was the creamiest and tastiest concoction. And the chocolate on top. Oh man! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was dark chocolate icing, so flavorful and utterly delicious. Needless to say, we polished that thing off in just a few minutes between the four of us (yes, Jilly loved it too). After breakfast, Mom asked if I wanted to see the LDS temple, because it was just a few minutes away from where we were. I was really excited, because I love seeing temples, plus it was Sunday morning so I wanted to have some spiritual experience that day.
It did not disappoint! The temple is beautiful! I walked all around it and marvelled at the detail of the building. It was neat because I got to explain some about temples to Paul, not just what goes on there, but the work that goes into a temple, how they're built, etc. I also realized it was Jilly's first trip to a temple. :-) Because it was Sunday, there was no one at the temple (this surprised Paul at first, he thought it would be crowded until we explained it to him). So we were alone to experience it all.
Here is the front of the temple. It's the side that faces away from the road, but it has the entrance.
This beautiful fountain is right out front. Jilly was completely fascinated by it. Mom and Paul watched her while I wandered for a few minutes and she really really wanted to get into the fountain and played. Mom had to restrict her to only splashing her hands in for a couple minutes.
The tilework in the fountain was amazing. Such vibrant colors and intricate mosaic. LOVED IT!
This is the side of the temple that faces the road, with the spire. You can see some of the gorgeous stained glass, as well as stonework, leading up to the Angel Moroni at the top.
And here is proof that we were there! Jilly, Mama and Grandpa sitting on the edge of the fountain!
We only had a few minutes at the temple, because we were meeting Joe & Co at Explora. Explora is a children's interactive science museum. Pretty much everything in there is an exhibit they can play with. It's great for kids Jilly's age up to 10 or 12 maybe. Lots of stuff to do. We were rushing to get over there by 11am, when it opened, so we could spend as much time as possible before someone (*cough* Jilly *cough*) needed a nap. Well, while we were driving there, I got a call from Crystal saying she had mixed up the time and it didn't open until 12! Oops! Oh well, I think we got there around 11:15-11:30am anyway.
Outside of Explora there were these two curved, tiled walls with windows in them. Some of the tiles had been decorated by kids. A couple sides were murals of New Mexico and other things. We played around that for awhile.
Jilly girl sitting in the window.
All three kiddos. Hayden, Jilly and Haylee.
Haylee climbed up in there by herself and it looked like such a pretty picture, I had to snap one.
And then she flashed me that gorgeous smile of hers! She gets that from her mama.
First stop once we were inside Explora was the bubbles. We decided to start at the end and work our way backwards, since everyone had come in at once, when it opened. The bubbles were a major hit, the kids didn't want to leave!
Here is what Jilly did for the most part. Yes, she even tried to eat them a time or two.
The next part was a musical area. This first one was really neat. It was a bench that made you feel sound. You would play a note and the bench would vibrate. Jilly loved playing the notes, and then I would make her sit back against the back while I played so she could feel the vibration and her eyes would get super big. She and Grandpa played together.
Here's Hayden putting together pipes and stoppers to change the flow of air, and thus, the pitch it was making.
These were giant bellows that Jilly loved pushing up and down.
Outside on the roof, they have giant sized Lincoln logs to build with. The kids LOVED this part. Jilly is bringing pieces over to Granny to help.
Granny did most of the building, with some help from Haylee, Crystal and me. But mostly did it herself.
Hayden helped demolish another house in order to harvest materials for ours.
And here is the finished product!
Haylee took Jilly inside, but made us promise not to let Jilly tear it down.
The elevator at Explora was really neat. It was this giant room, with pictures hung on the walls, and couches and chairs. I had to take pictures while we were in there. Funny story, when we got in the second time, we all sat down to relax during the ride, then after a couple minutes, Joe got up, walked across and hit the button. We hadn't selected the floor! HAHA! So we'd just been sitting there in the not-moving elevator. Hehehe.
Haylee and Jilly sharing a chair.
Crystal, Hayden and Granny lounging on the couch.
Joe, our fearless button-pusher.
There was a fountain at Explora that was fun to watch, but hard to capture on film. This was the best I could do!
After Explora, all the kiddos were tired and hungry. We decided to all go back to the hotel so my little one would actually sleep and we'd get lunch and let the other ones swim in the pool. Well, the pool ended up being closed, plus Crystal had forgotten their bathing suits. Bummer! Jilly got her nap and Paul got us all lunch from Applebee's, which was yummy. Hayden got a little nap in the car, but then they decided to head home and we'd meet up with them later. It gave us all the chance to snooze and/or rest. That evening we went out to their house again. This time Granny and Crystal took all three kiddos to the park while Joe, Paul and me stayed back at the house to play with the Rhino. ;-) It was nice for me to have some alone time, where I didn't have to worry about Jilly. We stayed out there for awhile, then came home to sleep again.
Monday was State Fair day! While we were getting ready, I found a way to keep Jilly busy. Give her a yogurt and let her feed herself breakfast, so I could get ready in peace! It worked, keeping her busy for quite a while. And she actually ate most of it too. Her hair was so crazy (from being in a ponytail the day before) I had to take a picture.
Hayden and Crystal ended up not coming because Hayden's allergies had flared up big time. He had an appointment with a doctor that day anyway, but between welts from mosquito bites and a intense rash, Crystal thought it was best to keep him home from the fair. So we met Joe and Haylee there after our breakfast at IHOP. The first thing we did was visit the McDonald's Farm. It was this kids area where they learn about agriculture. They get a basket and a list as they come in. They have to gather eggs, milk a cow, gather veggies, etc, then return it all at the end for a treat.
Jilly wanted to check out the tractor first.
Then she toddled off with her basket. She didn't quite get the whole gathering thing, but did like the popsicle at the end!
We also checked out the animals. Jilly loved watching the ducklings swim.
After that, Joe left to go meet Crystal and Hayden for the appointment, while Haylee stayed with us. We went to the Indian Village and checked out the jewelry vendors. Mom wanted to buy me a souvenir for the trip and I'd spent a lot of the trip looking and checking things out. I finally found this beautiful silver and opal bracelet made a Navajo jewelry maker. So pretty!
We rode a couple rides with Haylee, then got out of there. Jilly was tired and hot, and had soaked her pants, once again. We weren't sure what we were going to do, because our flight didn't leave until 7:00pm and we had to check out of the hotel, since they were sold out that night. Luckily, Crystal called and told us that Joe's mom has a vacation rental home nearby to the Fair and the airport that was vacant at the moment and she said we could crash there if we wanted. Praise be! It even had a playpen for Jilly to sleep in!! It was so nice to all take a break and get a nap. Jilly slept for two hours, before we had to go. Joe, Crystal and Hayden came and met up with us there. All too soon it was time to say good bye and head for the airport.
We left later than we'd been planning on and now didn't have time to stop for dinner. My mom was understandably cranky about this. Luckily, we got through Security fast and had time to grab a quick, but super yummy, dinner at a restaurant in the airport. We got on the plane easily, even got the 2nd row! Woot! Then the real fun started... I'd given Jilly Benadryl, hoping it would knock her out and she'd sleep. It had worked on the way down. Well, I didn't think it through all the way. On Saturday, she'd been ready for a nap already, the Benadryl just pushed her over the edge and let her sleep in our arms. This time, she wasn't tired already and the Benadryl just ended up making her cranky, not being enough to get her to sleep. Oh man. She FREAKED OUT!! I have never seen her throw a tantrum like this, ever!!! She started shrieking and screaming. It was awful. My mom took her into the back, hoping to calm her. After a while a flight attendant came up to me, saying that my mom needed fresh clothes for Jilly, because once again folks, she had peed through it all. (Just to explain this: that normally doesn't happen. But we kept shoving juice down her throat all weekend long, in an effort to keep her happy, or at least quiet, during whatever we were going. So there were a lot more fluids running through that little body than normal and we didn't take that into account with changing her as often as we should.) Anyway, Mom and I changed her diaper and got her into her jammies, hoping she wouldn't pee again, because I had no more clothes with me. Then I took a turn in the back. She didn't like that. At one point, I was getting overwhelmed and stressed, thinking about how much my daughter was driving the other passengers nuts, and started crying myself. Right at that point, I look up to see Granny coming to rescue us. Eventually, after an hour and a half, and a cup full of ice from a flight attendant, Jilly calmed down and was her happy self again. Just as we were landing, she fell asleep in my arms. She stayed asleep all through getting off the plane, putting her in the stroller, going to baggage claim, getting on the parking shuttle, only waking up for a moment when we put her into the car seat, then all the way back to Granny & Grandpa's, where Daddy picked us up. That was nice since it was late! We all got home, collapsed in bed and slept in the next morning.
So that was our trip to New Mexico. Major kudos to you if you actually read it all!! I know it was long.
Saturday morning was an early one, since our flight was at 8:30am. Steve had to work that morning, so he dropped Jilly and I off at Mom's around 5:30am. The trip to the airport was fairly uneventful, luckily. Once on the plane, Jilly fell asleep on Granny's lap and slept for over an hour! PRAISE BE! It was nice for all of us. After she woke up, she was pretty good the rest of the trip, except for when she peed all through her clothes and we had to change her entire outfit on the plane.
Can I just stop and put in a plug for grandparents right here? Having my mom and Paul with me the entire time was such a lifesaver! Granny would just take over the Jilly duty while we were in the airport and on the plane, so I could deal with all the gear type issues. If I was getting stressed or needed a few minutes to deal with something else, someone was there to take over for me. Really, the ratio of 3 adults to 1 toddler was perfect! It was really the best on the flights. If I had been by myself, it would have been a whole different can of worms there. Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled blog.
We arrived in ABQ, collected bags, got the rental car and headed to the hotel. Turns out our room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped a couple of bags off and headed out to lunch. We were all starving, since it was like 1:30-2pm, and we'd been up since 4-something am. While we were eating lunch, Jilly peed through her skirt AGAIN. This time I didn't have any extra clothes, because we'd left that suitcase at the hotel. Luckily her shirt was long, so she was just kinda skanky for a little bit. After lunch, we got into our hotel room, unpacked, chilled for a little then went out to Joe & Crystal's.
Before we left town, we stop by Old Town and checked out the handmade jewelry vendors. We looked and looked through the gorgeous silver, turquoise and opal pieces. Mom ended up finding a gorgeous bracelet for herself and one for Jilly! It's a pretty silver one with sunbursts carved into it. We put it on her chubby little wrist and at first she hated it, but by the next day she didn't even notice it anymore and now wears it all the time. We made one more stop at a grocery store for some supplies, then finally got to Joe & Crystal's house.
As soon as we pulled up, the kids and dogs came running over to us. Hugs all around and they wanted to show us all their pets. Haylee right away took Jilly under her wing and brought her over to a tricycle. She helped Jilly get on and would push her around, since Jilly didn't get how to pedal (I don't even think her legs were quite long enough). And Jilly was totally cool with it!
This is Haylee's bunny, Bugs Bunny. Apparently, she is rather hard to get out of the cage, but Haylee got her all by herself! Jilly didn't quite understand how to pet the bunny, or was much interested in it but she still touched the bunny.
The kids all got on the swingset and swung together. We did have to be careful to time it so that they weren't all swinging the same direction together, otherwise the swingset might have tipped over. ;-)
We ate a barbeque dinner then hung out and played. Joe took Paul for a ride on his Rhino. A Rhino is like a 4 wheel drive golf cart, or a ATV built like a car. Joe took him back out onto the dirt bike track on the mesa across from their house. They were out there while it got dark, then Joe took me for a ride! It was a blast!! We'd climb up these big hills and come down, what seemed like a vertical slope. Because it was dark and we only had the headlights to see by, sometimes I could see where the track went back up, but not where it bottomed out. It was a bit like a really bumpy roller coaster. Way fun! By the time we got back, everyone was tired and ready for bed. Especially Mom and me, who hadn't gotten any kind of nap that day!
The next morning we woke up and got ready for the day. We ate breakfast at Flying Star. Soooooooo good. The breakfast food itself was scrumptious, but the absolute best part was before breakfast. At Flying Star, you order your food at the counter, get your drinks then go find a table and they bring your meal to you when it's ready. Jilly was restless and not digging the line, so Paul and I found a table outside while Mom got the drinks. When she came out, there was something I didn't expect on the tray- an eclair! She had been surprised by it too when it was placed on the tray, but realized Paul probably ordered it and she didn't hear. Sure enough, that's what happened. It was DIVINE! Seriously, I have never tasted an eclair like that. First off, it was huge!!! Like 6 inches long, 2-3 inches across and 1-2 inches tall. The pastry was crisp and flaky, yet soft inside. The custard was the creamiest and tastiest concoction. And the chocolate on top. Oh man! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. It was dark chocolate icing, so flavorful and utterly delicious. Needless to say, we polished that thing off in just a few minutes between the four of us (yes, Jilly loved it too). After breakfast, Mom asked if I wanted to see the LDS temple, because it was just a few minutes away from where we were. I was really excited, because I love seeing temples, plus it was Sunday morning so I wanted to have some spiritual experience that day.
It did not disappoint! The temple is beautiful! I walked all around it and marvelled at the detail of the building. It was neat because I got to explain some about temples to Paul, not just what goes on there, but the work that goes into a temple, how they're built, etc. I also realized it was Jilly's first trip to a temple. :-) Because it was Sunday, there was no one at the temple (this surprised Paul at first, he thought it would be crowded until we explained it to him). So we were alone to experience it all.
Here is the front of the temple. It's the side that faces away from the road, but it has the entrance.
This beautiful fountain is right out front. Jilly was completely fascinated by it. Mom and Paul watched her while I wandered for a few minutes and she really really wanted to get into the fountain and played. Mom had to restrict her to only splashing her hands in for a couple minutes.
The tilework in the fountain was amazing. Such vibrant colors and intricate mosaic. LOVED IT!
This is the side of the temple that faces the road, with the spire. You can see some of the gorgeous stained glass, as well as stonework, leading up to the Angel Moroni at the top.
And here is proof that we were there! Jilly, Mama and Grandpa sitting on the edge of the fountain!
We only had a few minutes at the temple, because we were meeting Joe & Co at Explora. Explora is a children's interactive science museum. Pretty much everything in there is an exhibit they can play with. It's great for kids Jilly's age up to 10 or 12 maybe. Lots of stuff to do. We were rushing to get over there by 11am, when it opened, so we could spend as much time as possible before someone (*cough* Jilly *cough*) needed a nap. Well, while we were driving there, I got a call from Crystal saying she had mixed up the time and it didn't open until 12! Oops! Oh well, I think we got there around 11:15-11:30am anyway.
Outside of Explora there were these two curved, tiled walls with windows in them. Some of the tiles had been decorated by kids. A couple sides were murals of New Mexico and other things. We played around that for awhile.
Jilly girl sitting in the window.
All three kiddos. Hayden, Jilly and Haylee.
Haylee climbed up in there by herself and it looked like such a pretty picture, I had to snap one.
And then she flashed me that gorgeous smile of hers! She gets that from her mama.
First stop once we were inside Explora was the bubbles. We decided to start at the end and work our way backwards, since everyone had come in at once, when it opened. The bubbles were a major hit, the kids didn't want to leave!
Here is what Jilly did for the most part. Yes, she even tried to eat them a time or two.
The next part was a musical area. This first one was really neat. It was a bench that made you feel sound. You would play a note and the bench would vibrate. Jilly loved playing the notes, and then I would make her sit back against the back while I played so she could feel the vibration and her eyes would get super big. She and Grandpa played together.
Here's Hayden putting together pipes and stoppers to change the flow of air, and thus, the pitch it was making.
These were giant bellows that Jilly loved pushing up and down.
Outside on the roof, they have giant sized Lincoln logs to build with. The kids LOVED this part. Jilly is bringing pieces over to Granny to help.
Granny did most of the building, with some help from Haylee, Crystal and me. But mostly did it herself.
Hayden helped demolish another house in order to harvest materials for ours.
And here is the finished product!
Haylee took Jilly inside, but made us promise not to let Jilly tear it down.
The elevator at Explora was really neat. It was this giant room, with pictures hung on the walls, and couches and chairs. I had to take pictures while we were in there. Funny story, when we got in the second time, we all sat down to relax during the ride, then after a couple minutes, Joe got up, walked across and hit the button. We hadn't selected the floor! HAHA! So we'd just been sitting there in the not-moving elevator. Hehehe.
Haylee and Jilly sharing a chair.
Crystal, Hayden and Granny lounging on the couch.
Joe, our fearless button-pusher.
There was a fountain at Explora that was fun to watch, but hard to capture on film. This was the best I could do!
After Explora, all the kiddos were tired and hungry. We decided to all go back to the hotel so my little one would actually sleep and we'd get lunch and let the other ones swim in the pool. Well, the pool ended up being closed, plus Crystal had forgotten their bathing suits. Bummer! Jilly got her nap and Paul got us all lunch from Applebee's, which was yummy. Hayden got a little nap in the car, but then they decided to head home and we'd meet up with them later. It gave us all the chance to snooze and/or rest. That evening we went out to their house again. This time Granny and Crystal took all three kiddos to the park while Joe, Paul and me stayed back at the house to play with the Rhino. ;-) It was nice for me to have some alone time, where I didn't have to worry about Jilly. We stayed out there for awhile, then came home to sleep again.
Monday was State Fair day! While we were getting ready, I found a way to keep Jilly busy. Give her a yogurt and let her feed herself breakfast, so I could get ready in peace! It worked, keeping her busy for quite a while. And she actually ate most of it too. Her hair was so crazy (from being in a ponytail the day before) I had to take a picture.
Hayden and Crystal ended up not coming because Hayden's allergies had flared up big time. He had an appointment with a doctor that day anyway, but between welts from mosquito bites and a intense rash, Crystal thought it was best to keep him home from the fair. So we met Joe and Haylee there after our breakfast at IHOP. The first thing we did was visit the McDonald's Farm. It was this kids area where they learn about agriculture. They get a basket and a list as they come in. They have to gather eggs, milk a cow, gather veggies, etc, then return it all at the end for a treat.
Jilly wanted to check out the tractor first.
Then she toddled off with her basket. She didn't quite get the whole gathering thing, but did like the popsicle at the end!
We also checked out the animals. Jilly loved watching the ducklings swim.
After that, Joe left to go meet Crystal and Hayden for the appointment, while Haylee stayed with us. We went to the Indian Village and checked out the jewelry vendors. Mom wanted to buy me a souvenir for the trip and I'd spent a lot of the trip looking and checking things out. I finally found this beautiful silver and opal bracelet made a Navajo jewelry maker. So pretty!
We rode a couple rides with Haylee, then got out of there. Jilly was tired and hot, and had soaked her pants, once again. We weren't sure what we were going to do, because our flight didn't leave until 7:00pm and we had to check out of the hotel, since they were sold out that night. Luckily, Crystal called and told us that Joe's mom has a vacation rental home nearby to the Fair and the airport that was vacant at the moment and she said we could crash there if we wanted. Praise be! It even had a playpen for Jilly to sleep in!! It was so nice to all take a break and get a nap. Jilly slept for two hours, before we had to go. Joe, Crystal and Hayden came and met up with us there. All too soon it was time to say good bye and head for the airport.
We left later than we'd been planning on and now didn't have time to stop for dinner. My mom was understandably cranky about this. Luckily, we got through Security fast and had time to grab a quick, but super yummy, dinner at a restaurant in the airport. We got on the plane easily, even got the 2nd row! Woot! Then the real fun started... I'd given Jilly Benadryl, hoping it would knock her out and she'd sleep. It had worked on the way down. Well, I didn't think it through all the way. On Saturday, she'd been ready for a nap already, the Benadryl just pushed her over the edge and let her sleep in our arms. This time, she wasn't tired already and the Benadryl just ended up making her cranky, not being enough to get her to sleep. Oh man. She FREAKED OUT!! I have never seen her throw a tantrum like this, ever!!! She started shrieking and screaming. It was awful. My mom took her into the back, hoping to calm her. After a while a flight attendant came up to me, saying that my mom needed fresh clothes for Jilly, because once again folks, she had peed through it all. (Just to explain this: that normally doesn't happen. But we kept shoving juice down her throat all weekend long, in an effort to keep her happy, or at least quiet, during whatever we were going. So there were a lot more fluids running through that little body than normal and we didn't take that into account with changing her as often as we should.) Anyway, Mom and I changed her diaper and got her into her jammies, hoping she wouldn't pee again, because I had no more clothes with me. Then I took a turn in the back. She didn't like that. At one point, I was getting overwhelmed and stressed, thinking about how much my daughter was driving the other passengers nuts, and started crying myself. Right at that point, I look up to see Granny coming to rescue us. Eventually, after an hour and a half, and a cup full of ice from a flight attendant, Jilly calmed down and was her happy self again. Just as we were landing, she fell asleep in my arms. She stayed asleep all through getting off the plane, putting her in the stroller, going to baggage claim, getting on the parking shuttle, only waking up for a moment when we put her into the car seat, then all the way back to Granny & Grandpa's, where Daddy picked us up. That was nice since it was late! We all got home, collapsed in bed and slept in the next morning.
So that was our trip to New Mexico. Major kudos to you if you actually read it all!! I know it was long.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A sentence?!
Jillian's vocabulary seems to grow everyday. This morning I was getting her dressed and told her to put her arm through her sleeve and she repeated, "Ahhrm" for both arms. It was very sweet to see her learning more. My mom took us shopping to Central Market and then Alderwood Mall. While there Jilly, as usual, charmed the pants off of everyone. :-) But I believe the best moment of the day was when we were in Macy's toddler girls section, and Jilly spoke her first sentence. She was looking through racks of clothes and started saying, "I like, I like, I like." HA! Could she possibly be related to her Mama and Granny who love shopping and clothes? Just maybe! It was quite fun to hear her say that. I told Steve about it later and she started repeating it again. I tried to get her to add something onto the end, like "I like Daddy," but she didn't go for it. Still cute!
I have pictures from our trip to Albuquerque two weekends ago, and much to write about it, but the pics are still on my camera and I don't have time! I'm sorry dudes! I have so much work for the Gift Shop at work, that I brought a good chunk of it home with me to get done by Friday. Until then, blogging will have to wait. But I have to share this one. :-)
I have pictures from our trip to Albuquerque two weekends ago, and much to write about it, but the pics are still on my camera and I don't have time! I'm sorry dudes! I have so much work for the Gift Shop at work, that I brought a good chunk of it home with me to get done by Friday. Until then, blogging will have to wait. But I have to share this one. :-)
Monday, September 1, 2008
FAIL BLOG
Steve discovered something a few weeks ago and we've wasted many an hour on this website. It's called FailBlog.Org and it's hysterical!! They show pictures and videos of some messed up stuff that is way funny. It's hard to explain, so instead I will just show off some of my favorites. Hi-freaking-lar-ious. Today was slow at work, so I started checking them out. My co-workers kept asking what I was laughing out of control about, and I had to show them. So then they started checking it out and we all sounded like a pack of hyenas while trying to take phone calls. Makes for a fun day at work! Now, just to be fair, I won't show the more raunchy ones, but I still wouldn't recommend letting the little ones check these out.
Stakeout Fail
Geography Fail
see more pwn and owned pictures
Scrapbooking Fail
Semantics Fail
Advice Fail
Barnes & Fail (a personal favorite of mine)
Laughter Control Fail
Seduction Fail
There are some viedos as well, but I couldn't get them onto this blog. If you need a good laugh, go and check out the: Cop Fail, Dancing Fail, and Safety Fail videos. All hysterical.
Anyway, that's my contribution for the day.
Stakeout Fail
Geography Fail
see more pwn and owned pictures
Scrapbooking Fail
Semantics Fail
Advice Fail
Barnes & Fail (a personal favorite of mine)
Laughter Control Fail
Seduction Fail
There are some viedos as well, but I couldn't get them onto this blog. If you need a good laugh, go and check out the: Cop Fail, Dancing Fail, and Safety Fail videos. All hysterical.
Anyway, that's my contribution for the day.
A weekend alone?!
We had such a nice weekend, I felt it deserved a blog. Saturday I had to work 6:30am-4:30pm, pretty much like every other week. Steve spent the day at home with a certain adorable 21-month-old. After work, I rushed home where we all changed into our going-out-clothes and left with a couple extra bags. First stop: Auntie Juliet's house. For our birthdays, Juliet gave Steve and me some cash and a "voucher" for one free over-night babysitting. SCORE! We had tried to go out the Saturday previous, but it didn't work out. So off Jilly went to Auntie Juliet's for the evening.
Once leaving Juliet's, Steve and I headed down to Northgate Mall for dinner and shopping. We ended up eating at Panera Bakery and it was SOOOOOO yummy. Loved it. Barnes & Noble was first on our list of places to hit. Our list was dictated by where we had Gift Cards to. ;-) After much browsing and book lust, picking something up, returning it to the shelf a little later, etc etc, Steve finally settled on two nerd purchases (;-)). He got a new LSAT study guide and Drive-Time Spanish, audio CDs to teach him Spanish while in the car. One store down, one to go.
The whole reason why we'd gone to Northgate rather than Alderwood Mall, was because that is where the closest Silver Platters is. Paul, my step-dad, had gotten everyone Silver Platters gift cards for Christmas and we still hadn't used them! We walked into the record store with absolutely no idea what we wanted. We were totally overwhelmed by the huge store and didn't know where to start. After walking aimlessly for a few minutes, I suddenly remembered what I'd wanted to get! Carrie Underwood! Quickly, I had the desired CD within my possession. That left Steve. As we headed to the other side of the store, with TV and movies on DVD, something caught his eye. I heard the words, "Here it is! Exactly what I wanted, right in front of my face, Wife!" And there it truly was. Casino Royale is all its glory. Marvellous! We'd walked in with no clue as to what to get, and within 5 or 10 minutes we'd both found items we'd really wanted!!!
We were done with the shopping portion of our evening and headed home by 8pm. Felt kinda lame, but hey we're an old married couple (well, one of us is old ;-)). We settled in at home, relaxed for a while, then went out to Dairy Queen for ice cream. We came home with our Waffle Bowl and Brownie Earthquake and settled in for an evening of James Bond. YUM! Of course, I promptly fell asleep, since we'd started the movie at like 10:15pm and I'd gotten up at 4:45am. But I caught most of it. I love that movie. Once it was all over, it was off to bed without fear of a Jilly-waking.
We even got to sleep in that morning. Heaven! We both started getting ready for the day, then I went to go pick up the child from Juliet. Turned out, she'd done amazingly well! Had fun with another little girl her age, went for a walk, ate dinner, and then asked to go to bed and did so very calmly, sleeping through the night! Wow, she did way better for Juliet than she usually does for her parents, little stinker. We only had an hour or so at home before Church, which Jilly spent either in Nursery or with Steve. After church, we all took naps and then headed over to Mom's house for dinner.
My sister Katie was in town for the weekend from WSU. Before we left to go to Mom's for dinner, she called and begged to have Jilly spend the night with her. I agreed and we ended up with a second night in a row without the little one! Dude! That's never happened! We got another morning of sleeping in without an alarm! SWEET! Then I had to go to work before she came home. So it's been since Friday really, since I've spent much time with my Jilly. I miss her, but I got a little time with her on both Saturday and Sunday, and I'll have all day tomorrow and the rest of the week too. And she also got to spend some quality time with her aunties, who I know LOVED it. :-)
It was a very nice weekend for us! So relaxing and calm. It was nice to have a little break from being a full-time mama and daddy and get to just be a married couple. I just had to share; it was so awesome!
Once leaving Juliet's, Steve and I headed down to Northgate Mall for dinner and shopping. We ended up eating at Panera Bakery and it was SOOOOOO yummy. Loved it. Barnes & Noble was first on our list of places to hit. Our list was dictated by where we had Gift Cards to. ;-) After much browsing and book lust, picking something up, returning it to the shelf a little later, etc etc, Steve finally settled on two nerd purchases (;-)). He got a new LSAT study guide and Drive-Time Spanish, audio CDs to teach him Spanish while in the car. One store down, one to go.
The whole reason why we'd gone to Northgate rather than Alderwood Mall, was because that is where the closest Silver Platters is. Paul, my step-dad, had gotten everyone Silver Platters gift cards for Christmas and we still hadn't used them! We walked into the record store with absolutely no idea what we wanted. We were totally overwhelmed by the huge store and didn't know where to start. After walking aimlessly for a few minutes, I suddenly remembered what I'd wanted to get! Carrie Underwood! Quickly, I had the desired CD within my possession. That left Steve. As we headed to the other side of the store, with TV and movies on DVD, something caught his eye. I heard the words, "Here it is! Exactly what I wanted, right in front of my face, Wife!" And there it truly was. Casino Royale is all its glory. Marvellous! We'd walked in with no clue as to what to get, and within 5 or 10 minutes we'd both found items we'd really wanted!!!
We were done with the shopping portion of our evening and headed home by 8pm. Felt kinda lame, but hey we're an old married couple (well, one of us is old ;-)). We settled in at home, relaxed for a while, then went out to Dairy Queen for ice cream. We came home with our Waffle Bowl and Brownie Earthquake and settled in for an evening of James Bond. YUM! Of course, I promptly fell asleep, since we'd started the movie at like 10:15pm and I'd gotten up at 4:45am. But I caught most of it. I love that movie. Once it was all over, it was off to bed without fear of a Jilly-waking.
We even got to sleep in that morning. Heaven! We both started getting ready for the day, then I went to go pick up the child from Juliet. Turned out, she'd done amazingly well! Had fun with another little girl her age, went for a walk, ate dinner, and then asked to go to bed and did so very calmly, sleeping through the night! Wow, she did way better for Juliet than she usually does for her parents, little stinker. We only had an hour or so at home before Church, which Jilly spent either in Nursery or with Steve. After church, we all took naps and then headed over to Mom's house for dinner.
My sister Katie was in town for the weekend from WSU. Before we left to go to Mom's for dinner, she called and begged to have Jilly spend the night with her. I agreed and we ended up with a second night in a row without the little one! Dude! That's never happened! We got another morning of sleeping in without an alarm! SWEET! Then I had to go to work before she came home. So it's been since Friday really, since I've spent much time with my Jilly. I miss her, but I got a little time with her on both Saturday and Sunday, and I'll have all day tomorrow and the rest of the week too. And she also got to spend some quality time with her aunties, who I know LOVED it. :-)
It was a very nice weekend for us! So relaxing and calm. It was nice to have a little break from being a full-time mama and daddy and get to just be a married couple. I just had to share; it was so awesome!
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