BFF and Baby Bella

During the first full week of my summer break, I flew to Las Vegas with to meet up with my best friend. We hadn't seen each other since the cruise she treated me to last summer. This was our little way of celebrating 15 years of friendship and escaping the humdrum of everyday life for just a bit. Shelley and I spent four fun-filled days constantly on the go, trying to fit in as much as we could to the point where our feet were ready to fall off. We ate a variety of places at all kinds of random times (one of the perks of Vegas...time becomes seemingly irrevelant). In just four days, we went to the 4-story M&M Shop, the Coca-Cola Shop, the Titanic Exhibit, the Moving Statues of Caesar's Palace, took in a show called The Mentalist, and checked out numerous stores for great deals, especially in the Miracle Mile shops.

So I could blog in detail about my whole trip to Las Vegas with my best friend, but I've decided just to cover my favorite part of it ('cause frankly I'm sleepy and don't feel like typing too much tonight). The best part of our little adventure to sin city was to the The Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage. I'd been there once before with DH seven years earlier for our honeymoon, but this was Shelley's first time and I had no problem spending an afternoon watching dolphins. While it wasn't quite like the experience of actually swimming with them (like we did last year in Cozumel), this was awesome in a whole different way. After watching the trainers work with a couple of the dolphins, we got to just hang out by the water and observe the dolphins just chilling out. The added bonus was Bella, an adorable baby dolphin. She was just as cute as could be, especially as she tried to learn to do some of the same tricks as her mama. Shelley and I just sat back and marveled at this little wonder. It just doesn't get any better than that. It was a trip to remember and I can't wait for our next adventure!

Wordless Wednesday

6 Years Old

Since I just found my digital camera cord (again), I finally got more pictures uploaded. I thought I'd write a short recap of K's birthday on June 6th at Chuck E. Cheese. It was truly a full day of celebration and fun activities. We got up and had a quick breakfast and then began to get ready. K helped me put together party favors for her guests. Then we were off to pick up her cake and then onto the pizza parlor. A few neighbors that were invited were unable to attend, but some of our close family friends did not disappoint. The kids had a wonderful time gorging themselves on yummy food and playing all the games.

The only negative thing that happened was when we realized the bakery had misspelled K's name, even though I had clearly written her name down and double-checked it due to a previous mishap (the agency in charge of her class photo did the exact same thing!). The cake did look pretty awesome though with the horses and all. It was chocolate with raspberry filling.

After the party, DH and I took N and K to see the movie Up! and oh did they love that. After all that, we came home and the kids participated in a neighbor girl's kiddie parade party to celebrate her 6th birthday too. They were too cute. I'm not posting those pics to protect our neighbor's privacy. Since Saturday was so rushed, DH made special birthday pancakes belatedly for K (a tradition for us) on Sunday morning. Enjoy the pizza party pics!

Birthday pancakes for K

Look! K got Thumbelina Barbie!

Except misspelled name, K's horsey cake was very cute.

Blowing out her candles.

Loving that pizza.

Comings and Goings

Back from trip with my BFF to Las Vegas (pics and recap to come another day) and summertime around here has officially begun. The kids both finished their last day of school this past week. I find it tough to come home from a vacation and get back into the everday groove of life. I have been dragging a lot and the weather has reflected that mood with rain for the past few days. My car keys and digital camera cord (that uploads the pics to the computer) have gone missing (again!), so that hasn't helped. I try to put them in a safe place, but guess I forgot to this time. It's like that sporadic sock pair that goes into the wash together, but comes out a singleton. Go figure.




Though we are done with the scholastic side of life for a couple of months, next week swimming lessons begin. I prefer to sign the kids up for the the 5 week course (2 days a week) as opposed to the 2 week (everday) as it lasts longer and gives them something fun to do outside of the house. Come late July, they'll both take an art class. I absolutely love this time of year, not just because I get to be a SAHM, but because the kids and I make lots of memories together. They are still at that age where doing the most mundane things still get them excited, such as picking berries or watching the doughnut machine at Krispy Kreme.


We are planning to visit my family for Fourth of July weekend, so that should be good times. Though we see my family at least a few times each year, this will be the first time since K was first born that we've spent the 4th in Bend. On a side note, my mom called me this week to yell at me for getting her hooked on Jodi Picoult (i.e. My Sister's Keeper). She can't say I didn't warn her! *kiss kiss*. Love ya Mom!


I also am getting excited for our big camping trip in August. DH isn't really a woodsy kind of guy, so it has been no easy task getting him motivated for this one. We are tentatively planning a trip with some close friends and all the kids. We went last year and the kiddos had such a blast together. We finally bought a 2 room tent and an air mattress for the kids. We still need lots of supplies, but the tent was the big one that we really needed. Last year, I had to borrow from my folks and MIL. It's nice to finally have many of our own camping supplies.




I thought DH was going to surprise his friend by treating him to a movie this afternoon, so I went shopping with the kids and got a pedicure. After walking all week in Vegas, the wear and tear were evident. The place I go is awesome and VERY affordable. K gets her nails done in wild colors too, though not the full manicure, just filed and painted for fun. She's into this whole hamburger cole theme. Yellow=mustard, green=pickles, red=ketchup. Not sure what her current blue and hot pink combo are supposed to represent, but she loves it anyway...but I digress. DH's plans fell through, so we went home to pick up him up. We got some groceries and at hot dogs at Costco for dinner.


Now DH is enjoying his father's day weekend a bit early by watching Bloodsport, so not my thing. I figured I was way behind on this blog, so here my ramblings for the day. A hot bath and book sound good right about now.