Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Benton at Mike and DeDe's house.  MoMo and her friend Akeisha came and joined us, too.  The kids absolutely love when all the family is in one place--love it!!  Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures of anyone besides the kids.  I am sorry--please know you are still very loved!!  Before we left for DeDe's I explained to the kids that the water would be VERY VERY cold and it was fine if they didn't want to swim.  I told them we have all summer to swim and that we could go to the zoo instead.  They ASSURED me that they like the water REALLY REALLY cold. 

 And the water was FREEZING!!!  Mike and DeDe's pool is really shaded AND it has been rainy and cool. 

 But they insisted in getting in the water. 

 Matt was a trooper and got in there with them.  Depending on when he tells you the story he either got in 3 times or up to 17 times.  The number keeps going up.  Ha!  He said that he was officially numb the water was so cold.  He is a great Daddy!  This Mommy wasn't even putting her toe in the water. 

 The kids were honestly not at all bothered by the coldness of the water and stayed in ALL weekend long.  Oh sure their little teeth chattered and their bodies were covered in chill bumps...but that didn't detour them in the least.  Here Lilly is ready to slide in the pool. 

 Action shot of Reid. 

 Kicking.

 And swimming.

 And jumping.

 And throwing dive toys.  Even though they can't dive and get them. 

 Baby Breanna checking it out.  She got in one day and had lots of fun.  Uncle Bert wasn't as pleased with the cold water. 

 Isn't she a doll??

 She also took a little selfie with my phone.  She carried my phone around talking on it.  I just love her!

On Saturday I went shopping with MoMo and Akeisha and had lots of fun.  Saturday night we hung out on the back patio (and I got lots of mosquito bites) talking with Melissa, Danny, Aunt Kay, Uncle Mac, Bert, Mike, Akeisha, and Matt.  We did a lot of laughing.  Sunday afternoon all the cousins and extended family and Grandma Betty came over to have lunch.  We just LOVE getting to see everyone.  Sunday night Matt, the kids, and I went to a bbq and got to see some of Matt's (and now my) good friends. I hate that I didn't take pictures but it was so good to see everyone and catch up with fun friends. 

 On Monday we went by to see MamMa and she read a book to the kids.

 Reid checked out the birds. 

 We all love MamMa! 

Then we did some more swimming before we came home!  I love long weekends in the summer at Mike and DeDe's--they make up some of my favorite memories!! 

Marble Jar & CEC

Last week the kids earned a trip to Chuck E Cheese! 

 How did they earn it?  I pretend like you asked.  (: 

 They filled up their marble jars.  What is a marble jar, you ask...but not really.  Ha!  They are these jars where the kids earn marbles for doing all sorts of different things. 

We LOVE them.  I love them because they stay out on the counter so they are always there and I don't have to stop what I am doing to go dig stickers out or find where I placed the chart while I was "cleaning".  I can also reward them for anything I see them doing whether it be saying something sweet, helping out, trying hard and not giving up, or obeying right away.  They LOVE that they get to pick out the marble they like best and put it in by themselves (I love that they do it by themselves too).  They also get to pick the reward.  They can trade them in for money and go shopping (think dollar store--I am cheap thrifty.)  They can go to Chuck E Cheese or a bouncy house place or to the movies or the ice cream place. 

They were also super cheap to make.  The whole project cost me less than $8 and took like maybe 10 minutes to throw together.  I got the marbles (really more rock-like than actual marbles) at the Dollar Tree for $1 and then I got the glass containers at Hobby Lobby half off which made the little 2 $1 and the big one $1.49 and then I bought three little rolls of ribbon for $1 each.  I also just wrote their names on with a dry-erase marker that I already had.  So there is a long answer for a question you really didn't ask.  Oh, and a special shout out to my friend Jennifer Smith because I saw these marble jars at her house. 

 So, obviously, this time they chose Chuck E Cheese and it worked out AWESOME that they both filled them up at the same time.  Reid loves this roller coaster game--the seat moves with the roller coaster on the screen. 

 At this point the seat was shaking and he was going, "Uhhhhhhhhhh." 

 Lilly fed the frog a few dozen times. 

 Riding together.  You have to conserve your tokens! 

 I laughed when I looked over and saw this.  Lilly was riding and Reid was moving the reigns. 

 Forced "cheeses" for the Mommy that just won't let them play.  Sigh. 

 Our friends Addy and Sam showed up right as we were spending the last of our tokens so Lilly (and Reid) would just hijack their rides.  There is no shame in our game.  Ha!

 Reid was calling me.  I was talking to him on my cell phone.  He thought it was hilarious. 

 Reid hijacking Sam's ride.  

 Going to see Chuck E!  I was a bit surprised because they have changed his look since the last time we went.  Reid and I danced with Chuck E and my boy has got some pretty sweet moves.  ( : 

 We sure do love a fun trip to Chuck E Cheese! 

And I love all the good behavior, sweet words, going to bed right away, and obeying that got us there!  Win, win, and win.  ( ;

The Circus

The same day as the Birthday Party Expo (see last post) the Circus was in town, too.  Matt and I decided to get crazy and let the kids take a little nap in the car and then just head to the circus, too.  Why stop the fun, right? 

 As we were walking in we passed the elephants (thanks to Matt's good eyesight)!  I am just in awe of how huge they really are!! 

 Here is my sweet family waiting for the circus to start!  We got there at least 15 minutes early so we got to practice our patience.

 Watching the show. 

 Okay I have to tell this story.  The acrobat ladies came out and they were dressed in hot pink and sparkles.  Y'all...that is Lilly's favorite combination in the history of the world!  Her eyes lit up and she moved to the edge of her seat and she was in awe.  They did a dance...

 and then got up on this.  I swear I almost saw stars in her eyes.  She said in a very sloooow and dramatic tone, "Mommy, what are they?"  I told her they were acrobats and she said--pausing after ever word and still just in awe--"That. Is. What. I. Want. To. Be. When. I. Grow. Up!!!!"  And she said a minimum of 100 times, "They are sooooo beautiful.  Mommy aren't they beautiful?  Daddy aren't they so beautiful?"  And when their performance time was over I thought she was going to break her hand, wrist, or even her arms because she was clapping so hard.  She was truly moved.  And, so, if in a few years I have to tell you that my child travels with the circus...know it all started here. 

 She also made me take a picture of this girl because she was her favorite.  Ha! 

 My favorite part was the dog show.  This big poodle pushed a little Chihuahua around in that car.  Hilarious! 

We had a great time and I am so glad we decided to add a little extra crazy to our day and go! 

Birthday Party Expo

Our area had a big birthday party expo a couple of weekends ago--it had all things birthday party...in fact it was like one gigantic birthday party and we all had a blast!  And, as a bonus, it was free! 

 It was held at our local outdoor mall and this sweet girl wanted to stop and take some pictures at the mall fountains before we even entered the expo. 

 This guy just wanted to check out the fountains.  His response to taking a picture:  "No thanks." 

 Love her sweet little pose!  She kept saying, "Mommy aren't these flowers just beautiful??"

 The balloon archway where we entered. 

 There were a few very special guests including Goofy,

 Minnie,

 and Mickey!  We were pretty excited to see, take a picture with, and high-five all three of them. 

We made slime with the Mad Scientist.

 What would a party be without cake?  Thank you Wal-Mart for the cake, free water, and Cars and Princess cup.  ( : 

 This was a little party-planner's booth but Lilly just sat down and had herself an imaginary tea party.  Ha! 

 Reid picking a sucker off of the sucker tree.  There were "treats" everywhere. 

 Lilly making a bracelet at the crafty cottage (with Daddy's help).

 Reid had a blast in the bouncy house/slide. 

 So handsome!

 There were some clowns.

 They were a hit! 

 There were also lots of craft tables.  We took home LOTS of artwork.  (: 

 And Farmland Adventures was their with a little petting zoo.  There were pony rides or camel rides available but we passed on those...we gave the kids a choice and they wanted to paint some pottery instead. 

 Petting a baby pig...

 AND a baby goat.

 Here they are painting their pottery.  Reid is painting a car.

 Lilly is painting a cat.  We should be able to pick them up this week so I am excited to see what the finished product/masterpiece looks like.  ( : 

 Pretty girl! 

 Watching the magician.  Lilly keeps asking me to make coins appear.  Ha!  The only thing we didn't get done was face painting because the line was long.  I made the mistake of telling Lilly we would just buy some face paint and do our own at home.  I will tell you how that went in a later post.  I am so glad my friend Meredith told us about this because we had a great time!