A Nice Surprise....

Last weekend I played in my first USTA Tournament. It was so much fun and to boot.... we even won. I had 2 doubles matches with my partner and we won them both. I had 1 singles match, my very first by the way, and barely managed to pull out a win in the tiebreaker. -Let me just say it wasn't very pretty. I was so stinking nervous! But it is just so much fun to be part of an all girls team and to play competitively at something I love. Unfortunately Rob and the boys were unable to come, because a few were sick, it was a late match, and the whole logistics of having one car just didn't work out. But when I came home Friday night, the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was this awesome poster that my boys had made. It made my whole night. Spencer explained the whole thing: which pictures he colored, and which picture Carter colored, how it was Dad's idea, and he showed me the things that he wrote, and well-- I absolutely LOVED it! I love that Rob thought of me and involved the boys, I love how they had fun doing it, and I love to be loved!

Seattle

Our Trip to Seattle

We decided to go up to Seattle and have a fun weekend before Rob had to work in Tacoma from Monday thru Thursday. So we took off Friday before Easter and drove up. This vacation was a little different than most, being that I planned what we were going to do and was in charge of all the information. I figured early on, that maps and directions are not my strength. So our first "funny" (that's what I'm choosing to call them, though maybe not so funny at the time(s)) was on our way to the hotel I wanted to stop and see Snoqualmie Falls. Well the map I had gave directions coming from downtown Seattle, so we missed our exit and ended up backtracking 6+ miles, which I was informed of a few times! But we made it and we laughed, .....see our first "funny." Snoqualmie Falls was really fun and beautiful. We enjoyed a little hike and the boys enjoyed running along the trail, climbing up trees and rocks, and daring to get really close to the edge of the lookout points. We checked into our hotel in Bellevue with a good deal I found on Expedia, yea me, and then encountered our second "funny" moment. I realize that in only half of the first day we'd had 2 of these wonderful moments, but I just really focused on the fun in downtown Seattle and forgot to mapquest directions to our hotel. Oops! Luckily, with Rob's Blackberry and his mad navigational skills we made it to our hotel with only a few turn arounds. The rest of the vacation went really smoothly, I think I just really by-passed Friday. Saturday we went to the Pacific Science Center and spent the entire day there. It was amazing and there were so many things to do as you will see in all the pics below. So many exhibits: butterfly house, Body Works, Laser shows, IMAX theatre, GPS scavenger hunt, and even a Madden tournament, which Spencer so desperately wanted to do. But you had pre-register, and I don't know how he would have faired against all those Men. We saw the Space Needle after and enjoyed some Indian cuisine for dinner. On Easter morning, the boys were lucky the Easter Bunny still came! We headed to the Museum of Flight and it was so amazing! We all love planes and enjoyed the displays, especially the WWI and WWII exhibits they had. Rob and Spencer went on a simulation ride and from the outside, all you could hear was Rob squealing with delight! They turned completely around, flipped upside down and around over and over just like the real deal. When it was over and the cockpit opened up, you could tell Spencer was relieved to be done, but had a huge smile on his face at the same time. The boys made kites, we saw Air Force One where 4 different Presidents had used the airplane, including Kennedy and Nixon. The boys took a dip in the pool and we were all exhausted after that. Monday, I took the boys to the Tacoma Children's Museum. It was a huge imagination playland! I think it was wonderful, because at all the exhibits the day before, they were not allowed to touch anything! They ran from one room to the next. And for 4 hours were thoroughly entertained. It was a great day and I was just glad to have gotten us there and back without getting lost. The end of our trip consisted of a bowling adventure where, I beat Rob, wahoo, and then on our search for where to eat dinner, our car of 6 years sputtered and died after barely making it through a busy intersection. We knew the transmission had been going out for some time, but unfortunately it gave out quite a ways from home. Well, at least it didn't up and die when I was driving home with the boys. I made it home the next day with a rental while Rob had to finish work and is due to come home today. Not quite sure what we're going to do about the car, but at least we were able to have all our fun before it quit.

Happy Birthday Three's!

Today we celebrated Rob's birthday. He turned 33. I told him not to worry because I still consider him early thirties.....did I mention I haven't even turned 30 yet...ANYWAYS, we tried to spoil him all day starting off with a yummy hot breakfast: pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon, and of course his fried egg. Then he went off to work, (I know it's sad he had to work on his birthday) so we met him at the park for a picnic. It was really fun and the boys had a blast. After he got home, I made his request of white chicken chili from America's Test Kitchen, (it's one of our favorite cooking shows) and it was really yummy! A bit of work but not too time consuming. After dinner, we had birthday cake and ice cream. Then it was on to presents. He got a rescue knife for kayaking/rafting and a much needed new pair of jeans. We finished the night off with a match of Madden. Unfortunately for the birthday boy, he lost.....today just wasn't his day. But we love him anyways!
I've been calling him 3's all day, so I want to mention 3 things I love about Rob. I know this will embarass him, but too bad Rob, it's my blog. First thing is Rob makes me laugh. I love his sense of humor and after nearly 10 years of marriage, he still has it. Second, I love Rob's ability to make things happen. Whether it's following through on a desire, or figuring it out on his own, he knows how to get what he wants. And third, he's a great man. He's honest, does the right thing on principle, and works so hard! Those are just to name a few. Of course he's a wonderful husband and father and he makes me and the boys happy, so Happy Birthday Rob, we love you!

St. Paddy's Day Come and Gone

I realize after all the hype I created with my last post, this post is super late! St Patrick's Day was quite fun, as it always is. We dressed in as much green as possible! After hitting some errands around town, I was super impressed with other Green Enthusiasts. At the Dollar Store, this girl had on every shade of green from her scarf all the way down to her shoes! It was awesome. Spencer got his green on and wished me a Happy St. Patrick's Day!....he knows just how much I love it. I worked the accent in wherever I could without scaring too many people. We had our fun scavenger hunt for our pot o' gold after Spencer got home from school. Which was really just for Spencer. Carter raced around behind him, always too many steps behind, but still got excited about the delicious pot o' gold Spencer found. We colored our shamrocks, did some Irish puzzles and pages, danced some Irish jigs, practiced Spencer's Irish accent, had our delicious Irish feast of corned beef, cabbage, sweet Irish soda bread, green Koolaid, kiwi fruit, (they're green ok) and our green oreos for dessert. During our dinner I quizzed the fam on some basic St. Paddy trivia. Did you know that they originally wore the color BLUE to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! The phrase, "remember to put your green on"-meaning a shamrock pin or something, turned into wearing green and the color blue no more. *Just thought you'd all like to know that. The week before St. Patrick's Day, Rob took me and Spencer to a Celtic Music and Dance Festival. It was amazing! So many bagpipes, drums, Irish dancing, and wonderment! We had so much fun and the little beginner dancers of about 4 were so cute! If I have a girl, I'm afraid she won't have a say in whether or not she takes Irish Dancing! Now if I could only learn how to play the bagpipes, Rob the drum, and Spencer could just dress up as a Leprechaun and provide the entertainment, considering he already has the hair for it. The only missed out festivity was I was going to have the boys wear green, shamrock bow ties to Church and Rob a shamrock/beer jug tie. But since Carter and I weren't 100%, it didn't happen. Rob promised he'd wear it next year. -What a guy. Willing to wear a beer jug tie to Church and took me to an Irish Dance/Music festival this year all on his own! Now that's love.
Yummy rolos in a green bowl, .....that's our pot o' gold!
This is for you Mandy, notice Spencer's dancing, that Celtic Festival sure paid for itself. Spencer's moves are priceless and pretty good, not to mention he knew exactly where his hands were supposed to go.

Let the Countdown Begin!

So many of you who know me, know that I really enjoy St. Patrick's Day. It is such a fun holiday to me. Maybe it's enjoying the bright, vibrant color green after enduring such a long dreary, gray winter. Maybe it's the feeling of warmer weather, knowing flowers are about to spring up and bloom. Maybe it's the amazing, fantastic accent the Irish have or the awesome music that just makes you happy! Don't you want to jump up and dance an Irish jig after hearing the music on my blog?!
After last year's celebration, many of you out there commented on how next year (this year) you wanted to do something fun...and really get into the "green" holiday. Well now's your chance. You have 15 whole days to decide how you're going to do it. Tell Irish tales, dress crazily all in green, talk Irish (it's so much fun!), go on a hunt for yer pot o' gold's! Color your food green or make a traditional Irish feast: corned beef, cabbage, soda bread, ....there are tons of good recipes! Turn your front room upside down and blame it on all those mischievous Leprechauns! Just have fun and get into it! And post on your blog's with lots of pics, so I can relish in all the Irish craze/love I've inspired!


Irish Blessing:
May your day be touched
by a bit of Irish luck,
brightened by a song in your heart,
and warmed by the smiles
of the people you love.

Carter's 3!

Last Thursday we celebrated Carter's birthday. We had a Thomas the Train theme and poor Carter was put through a bit of torture before the blessed day. I bought everything a month in advance with Carter: Thomas plates, cups, balloons, party favors, cake mold, and pinata: and came home only to stuff it in the closet and made him wait 4 painstakingly long weeks for the day of his party. It didn't help that our house is so small that every time we opened the closet for a coat he saw his train pinata just sitting there. I will definitely not purchase party supplies with the birthday boy ever again...what can I say, I'm not too bright.
I was getting really excited for Carter's birthday....I found a train table loaded with tracks already nailed down in place on Craigslist which my friend told me to check out (Thanks Shanda) and it's been a big hit. Not only with Carter, but Spencer too. And thanks to my great friend Debbie who let me store it in her garage until the birthday party, it was a fun surprise. We invited a few of Carter's friends, had pizza, cake, ice cream, and just let the kids play. He loved all his presents and thanks everyone for remembering! One of his highlights was his special call from his cousin Hannah. He has a special place for her in his heart!
The whole day was fun and filled with Carter telling all friends, family, and strangers that "Today's my Birthday Party!" and of course that he's Fweee!. He is so not shy! He's such a great boy. I love his enthusiasm for everything! He makes me laugh and is just a sweetheart. I can't believe my baby's 3 years old!