Easter!

This weekend was a lot of fun! Mainly due to Easter! Coupled with the fact that my parents were here! I they cooked!! (I had to help of course) ;) The ham was gorgeous & super yummy!!The girls had a ton of fun! The weather was beautiful, so we were able to get outside too!

This morning was Calista's last day of bowling. I may be biased, but she was brilliant!! She bowled her best all season & I got to see it! Her team came in first place also!! It was so wonderful! They announced her name for beating her average and they announced the each of the teammates names also!! They were so excited & proud, deservedly so!!

Where Has The Time Gone?

This has been quite a busy month! Well, after the syrup incident we actually made our way on vacation! Our first real family vacation with the 4 of us! We've done little things, like traveling to see my parents, but nothing of this magnitude! :) 

We found our way to sunny California! How beautiful is it there?!?! I adore it! Randy has been several times, but this was the first trip out for us girls. This was Calista & Sarah's first plane ride! They did wonderfully! Sarah slept almost the entire flight out, minus the first 5 and the last 15 minutes. Calista was so nonchalant, you'd think she flew everyday!

 Randy & I were far more excited about the whole thing than she was! LOL! 

The actually trip itself was absolutely amazing! The weather couldn't have been more accommodating! We flew into LAX & picked up our car, saw some sights in Cali & drove to Las Vegas. How completely scenic! Randy & I have been before, but never by car. The girls, true to form, slept the entire way there. After we arrived there, we hung out in the room for a bit, grabbed dinner & caught the Fountains of the Bellagio. The girls were in awe! It was totally fantastic to share that with them. Especially Calista, she was just mesmerized! I know, I know, Vegas isn't a place for kids, but wow! 

One of the truly amazing things was that those awful people, you know the ones.

 They stand on the side of the road trying to hand out cards with naked women's photos on them. They actually left us alone! I couldn't believe it. When Randy & I have gone there in the past, they haven't given any respect to the fact they have tried to give him those darn stupid cards! Such a far more pleasant experience not having to deal with that. 

The next day we saw did the Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo & hit the arcades. Mentally, not my ideal vacay, but wow we had so much fun! We even made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Sarah fell asleep as we were in line on the bridge waiting for the elevator to take us to the top. She slept the entire time up there. A rather nice fellow vacationer took our picture. :) 

The next day we headed back to CA. There were a couple of sandstorms we passed through and even tumbleweeds tumbling along! How authentic?! When we first got there Randy took us to one of his favorite restaurants Casa Guadalajara in San Diego. The food was fabulous!! The girls loved the mariachi music. The next day we went to the zoo. We had so much fun!! The weather turned out to be far warmer than what they called for. Oh the hills in the zoo!!We got quite an exercise, but it was so worth it. So beautiful! (As the picture depicts, we did use a child harness. I've always thought I'd never use one, but I never knew I'd have a child as busy as Sarah! Seriously though, it made for such a great experience. She got to walk & be more hands on & we kept our sanity! LOL! 

The next day we spent at Sea World! That's always been something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl! We went on a few rides there. Sarah went on her very first ride, Abby's Sea Star Spin. Abby Cadabby is one of her favorite characters, of course!, so she was super excited!! She did really well; laughed the entire time. Calista was such a trooper! Even she went on the kiddie rides with her!  :) We all even went and saw Sesame Street's Lights, Camera, Imagination. It was really a cute little show! We ended our Sea World experience with Believe. It's the water show featuring Shamu! 

We were all tuckered out, but somehow managed to cap our day off with a feast from Phil's BBQ.

This picture so does not do them justice! They were amazing!! I can see how Randy loves them so much! The ribs are huge!! They have a little kick to the sauce, but wow! We got fries & steamed veggies to go with them! Mmmmm!! We all loved them!

The last leg of the trip was spent at Universal Studios. The best description I can think of is that it's like Great America. We had a blast though!! We took pictures with so many characters. We took the back-lot tour, which was very cool! We got to see the current  sets of several shows, (including Desperate Housewives), and of movies past. We also got to see behind the scene special effects. Very, very cool! Everything about it that leg was fabulous! We saw celebrities in our hotel lobby being photographed and interviewed. Amazing! No celebrities were scene when we did the NBC Studio tour, but we did see Access Hollywood taping and sets to several shows. We even sat on the set of The Tonight Show & saw Jay Leno's car! Oh the magic of tv! The stage is much smaller than what it actually appears to be on The Tonight Show. That's okay, we were still in awe!

The flight home was even  better than the flight out! The girls were amazing, simply amazing! I can only hope they are this wonderful to travel with in the future! LOL! My fingers are so crossed!!

 

Syrup, Syrup Everywhere

Yesterday, Sarah walked into the family room with a bottle of syrup...open...upside down...pouring on the carpet.

Not even two full minutes earlier Calista had went upstairs to get ready for school. Come to find out, not only did Cali leave the pantry open, which she is aware is a big no, but she left Sarah sit with the syrup bottle before she went upstairs. Yup, left her w/the bottle of syrup. Left a bottle of syrup with a child who knows how to open regular water bottles. So really, what makes her think that she can't operate a flip top??

She "syruped" both rugs in the living room. (The one in front of the patio door & winter rug in front of the laundry room/mud room). She did the carpet in the living room, the love seat, a chess board that FIL made DH, the coffee table, carpet surrounding the coffee table and DH's new baseball cap. She continued her trail of merriment down the hallway, zig-zagging as she went into the family room. There she stopped yelled "Mom" (that's right, my kid calls me Mom, not Mommy or Mama, but Mom, like she's 12). I look up & she dumps it in a huge puddle at her feet. *sigh* Here are the best examples of what happened where you can clearly see syrup. (I had already attempted wiping up the hallway before I figured I should get photos for future blackmailing.)





I didn't realize just how much syrup was on the regular carpet until after I dropped Calista off at school. Our carpet is some "oatmeal-y" berber which camouflages everything. I called my neighbor, a carpet guy & got him to come out. While I was waiting on him, I got on my hands and knees & tried to wash my floors of the remaining syrup, (good thing I didn't mop yesterday as I had planned!).

Suddenly I realize how quiet it is, (that's right folks, it gets better!), & just as I raise up off of all fours to go check on Sarah she comes running in the kitchen smiling from ear to ear. "See!!!", she yells & hands me two little black squares. Where did she get those you may be wondering?? She got them from DH's laptop. That's right, pulled it out from underneath the end of the sofa, put it on the table, fired it up & when she couldn't figure out the password she popped the letters right off!! This is what I saw when I went into the family room.



I spent the rest of the day wondering what else could possibly happen. Luckily nothing else did! I guess it was the quiet after the storm...or quite possibly before the next one...

Time Has Flown

Holy cow!! It's been some time since I've written. Time has really gotten away from me. Things have been so hectic!! The girls are fabulous as always & so very busy!! Besides that, the weather has been wonderful!!! We've had lots of 60's and a few 70's & it's March!! Who knew?? We've spent lots of time outside. Here's just a quick update:

I took Cali to the salon & got her hair done. We got it cut and straightened. I'll have to post a picture later, (after I take one)! :) She looks so pretty! It fits her & it's easier for her to do her own hair. Those tiny ringlets were quite challenging for her!

Sarah has the energy of 5 toddlers!! Cali was never this much of a handful! That being said, she makes our days that much more enjoyable!! She's still quite obsessed with her belly button & her big thing is to point to different body parts and say "What dis?" Then you have to name them off, eyes, ears, chin, etc. She gets such a kick out of it. 

The Top Is Off

Sarah has figured out how to open water bottles, much to my dismay!! She's really gotten quite good in just a couple of days. The only way to keep her out is to tighten them so much it's hard for you to open! Such a strong little thing!! Everything is "no" right now also. "Are you hungry?" "No." "Are you sure?" "No." "Do you want to eat?" "No...eat, eat, eat," while signing eat! *smile* It's an enjoyable age!

Cali is taking ISTAT's this week & it's tiring her out. She can't wait for Friday & neither can I!! I'm ready for her to shake off this grumpy, tired funk! She just can't wait because Friday is a slough off day for them. Whatev! As long as she's back to her normal self for the weekend!!! 

It's suppose to warm up a bit & I can't wait. I'm really hoping I can get the girls outside for a bit tomorrow. Near sixty they say!! Love.

Doing Something For Me

Calista is something; so emotional, so picky, so...like me. I've even played the emotional part recently, (note-my playing the emotional part, does not hold a candle to Calista on any given day!!), considering she's now 10 & that means I'm old. HA! What that really means is she's no longer a baby. *sigh* Where did the time go??

Scene:
Kitchen table, Calista, is picking over her breakfast, (a bacon, egg & cheese toastwich). A breakfast she selected mind you. She gives a bite to her sister. 15 minutes later, she's still picking. Literally picking at it. It's no larger than a pop tart, as it goes into the toaster & yet it's still not gone. Then!!! she asks if she can be excused!! Or, in her words, "Can I be full?" My goodness! Of course I go into the "you haven't even eaten anything," to which she goes "Moooooomm," (really it was just like that), "I did & I'm full. I can't eat anymore." I shake my head & send her off to get ready for school, with these words trailing, "I don't want to hear anything about you being so hungry at school!" Do you know, that in my head I was envious that I couldn't walk away from half of a bacon, egg & cheese toastwich! Ahhh, warm cheesy goodness, what is she nuts?? Yeah, this could be why I'm not in a size 3 any longer. :)

That in itself has prompted my personal challenge, for myself, to get back in shape .  

I Feel Pretty!!

LOL!! I managed to sneak out of the house kid free for a few hours this morning!! Can you believe it?? Randy was on kid duty while Doris & I went and got our nails done!! Pedicure & manicure, topped with some shopping!! Sarah was quite upset to see me go & Calista didn't seem to want to wrap her brain around my doing things without them! Granted we didn't go anywhere fancy, but it was great to get some girl talk in! Woohoo!! (Dad & his girls somehow managed just fine!)

Well, in a recap of last week, Calista is officially in the double digits and officially the moody tween they said she'd be! I surprised her at school with roses and balloons on the big day! She was so pleased!! She had a Cheshire Cat grin all day long! Here she is with her big gift that she & her dad picked out!!

She could not be prouder!! Such a big bike for such a tiny girl!

Sarah, not to miss her own photo opportunity, donned her "new hat" & smiled pretty for the camera.

Did I happen to mention the days in our house are an adventure??

We also went to my SIL's where she surprised Calista with cake and ice cream for her and her twins, (they're 17), for their birthdays. Here's a shot from the night of my SIL, her daughters, our girls & my MIL.

Pretty bunch aren't they! (Please excuse the red-eye!) Other than that, things were rather low-key, which was rather enjoyable!! Love.