Playgroup at the Park

Tuesday was warm again so we had our playgroup at LSL Boulevard Park. We all brought treats to share and the kids played and played. There were some mud issues, but it was worth it to be outside and for the kids to be able to run. I invited the other two wards that meet in our building so that we could get to know some more moms and kids.

Here are some cute pictures of Ellie, Kathryn, & Emily running down the hill. Oh, to be a kid again!

Happy, Happy 30th Birthday, Emily Dear!

Monday was my 30th birthday! Mike arranged to have a few of our friends come by and surprise me that evening. The doorbell rang and when I answered it, there was a crowd on my front doorstep! We had Buffalo Wild Wings Honey BBQ wings (delish), pizza, and cupcakes from Heaven Scent.

Kathryn was having a great time and went a little crazy with the frosting!

Here is a group picture of all of us. Everyone was about to leave, so this was the best we got. I'm blocking someone in all of them. But then again, it was supposed to be all about me! Right?



The girls and I posing with my balloons (thanks Anisa) and cupcakes (so pretty).

Warm-ish Friday

On Friday we headed to the zoo after preschool. I finally got smart and bought a zoo membership. Boeing will match our contribution, so it was pretty inexpensive (AND I got a free tote bag!). So, for the first time we rode the train! We all loved it. The girls loved to shout, "All Aboard!" Even though there is snow in the background, it WAS a relatively warm day (50s).

Our favorite was the hippo. They have a viewing area where you can see through a plexi-glass wall into their pool. One hippo was swimming around and around and then bumping his face against the glass. The girls were giving him high-5s and kisses as he came by.

Don't worry! Sydney isn't seriously injured. Quite the opposite. She had a tiny scratch on her forehead, but couldn't stop scratching it (probably as it was healing) and making it worse! So, we had to keep it covered for a couple of days.

Visit to Nonnie's House

On our way home from Odessa, we stopped in Tyler to see my mom (Nonnie). She is in an apartment for now, until she decides what her next move is.

Nonnie took us to the Discovery Zone, a children's museum in downtown Tyler.

The girls had the most fun playing in the pretend town. They dressed up as firefighters, shopped in a store, waited tables at a restaurant, helped animals at the vet, fixed cars at the mechanics, took care of babies in the nursery, drove a car, responded to an emergency in an ambulance, and much, much more! Sydney's favorite was the babies and Kathryn's favorite was being a firefighter. I would create an emergency for her to help me out of and she would come running.

Trip to Texas

On Sunday morning the girls and I left for Texas. We woke up to a winter wonderland! It was a little slippery getting out of our neighborhood, but once we got to the freeway (about 1 mile) we were fine.

We stopped in Dallas and spent the night with my Aunt Pat.

Then on Monday morning, we finished our drive to Odessa. It was a very foggy, drizzly day. I made it to Odessa a couple of hours before a cold front blew in that later brought an ice storm! We had a lot of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Daly, but we don't have any pictures because they took all of the pictures and I haven't gotten them yet! We played at the mall, ate at Chick-Fil-A, went to the Midland Children's Museum, visited a meteor crater, ate at Chuck E. Cheese's, ate at Double Dave's, and opened Christmas presents! (Not in that order). Sydney was sick at the end of our visit, so the last few days we just relaxed.

Preschool Open House (4-5 class)

Friday, January 23rd was Kathryn's preschool open house. She is in the 4-5 year old class this semester and has 10 kids from church in her class.

Here are the girls on the way to school. Cassi will be carpooling with us in the mornings.

Siblings get to stay on the first day and Sydney had a blast. I left for a little bit and my friends said that all the bigger girls were playing like Sydney was their baby.

Kathryn & Ellie

Travel Pacifiers

No, not the kind babies suck on.

I couldn't have made my 36-hour long (both ways combined) car trip without the following:

Our entire family loves this CD. The songs are fun to sing to and Laurie's voice is not annoying.

The girls really love this microphone (girl not included). It has pre-programmed songs and you can sing along, change the pitch, song speed, and volume. The girls played with it for hours!

We still are pretty sure that Sydney gets carsick, and I'm not willing to test her. So, we don't watch DVDs on trips or let her read/look at books. Mike gets car sick, so it does run in the family. (Who knows if that's even possible, but whatever.)