The nerve

Well, this is it, my friends! This is the last post of my annual "A photo a day in the month of May" endeavor. It has been so fun to post snippets of what's been going on around here this month. But most of all, it's been great to have some dear friends join in the fun and post their own daily photos. Thank you for inviting me into your daily lives, I've really enjoyed every minute of it!

OK, so moving on to our photo of the day. We decided to go to Chick-fil-A for dinner and let the kids play for a while. After we ate our food, and while they were playing, I went and got myself one of their yummy milkshakes. Apparently, Sam was able to detect the "activity" and came running out to where we were sitting. He immediately took the milkshake from me, declared it his own and started inhaling it. Well, I looked him in the eye and told him that was MY milkshake, but I would gladly share it with him.

Apparently, he disagreed:

And so there you have it,... another shake bites the dust!

Princess

Being a princess is a hard job,...

 

but someone's gotta do it.

And she does it oh so well!

We Love Movies

It's no secret Scott and I love movies. BK (before kids), we were at the movie theater every single Friday for new releases and sometimes again on Saturday or Sunday, depending on our schedule and what movies were playing.

We started taking Isabella when she was just a year old. She handled it like an old pro ~ she sat on a theater-provided booster, enjoyed her snacks and watched the movie, from beginning to end. No problem.

Sam is, how should I put it, of a "different disposition". Due to his "different disposition", as we're calling it, we've held off on taking him for some time.

Well, today was the big day. We decided to bite the bullet and take the kids, both of them, to see Shrek Forever After. And I am proud to say that Sam was great! He was in awe of the big screen (he's such a man!) and sat on his little booster while holding his drink and his popcorn.

 And for a while this what he looked like:

Totally mesmerized!

And as much as I would LOVE to tell you that it was like that the entire time, it just isn't in my nature to lie. Yes, he got up after a while and walked around. And yes, he climbed up and down the stairs. And yes, he took the lid off his drink and spilled some on both of us. And yes, he even climbed over some seats. But all in all, he was actually really good. But I wasn't too stressed out either, being that it was a matinee showing of a kids movie.

I can honestly say we all really liked the movie and surprisingly enough, enjoyed the experience. So here's to many more kids movies to come!

Corn Syrup Art

Who knew corn syrup could be so pretty?

I love this! 

I'm definitely adding it to our Summer Crafts list.

 You can find the full tutorial here, featured on the Eighteen25 blog.
And while you're there, be sure to check out all their other awesome craft ideas.

Fizz

Unlike Brittney Spear's kids, my children are not allowed to have carbonated drinks on a regular basis. And definitely not caffeinated drinks. As of recently, and only every now and then, Isabella is allowed the treat of ordering a Sprite at a restaurant. Sam is allowed the treat of a sip or two of her drink. That's about it. Otherwise, their options are water, milk or juice.

And ever since my children were itty bitty, this is the reaction they have each and every time they try anything carbonated:

It's a full-body reaction, let me tell you! And although we can predict with 100% certainty that it's coming, it always makes us laugh. Isabella used to follow it with an: "Ewww!". Sam, however, follows it with: "More!".

It's crazy how very different these two are!

Marketing Geniuses

Damn you, Memphis Zoo, for having these suckers strategically placed where little people can't miss them. You're marketing strategy is flawless! They were $3.00 a piece. Ouch!

I must say, they were quite tasty and kept them occupied for a rather long time. So I guess, in the end, it was $6.00 well spent. That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

A "Dumb and Dumber" Moment

OK, so how many of you remember the movie Dumb and Dumber? 

Come on, don't be shy,... you know you watched it!

Anyway, one of the scenes that always sticks out for me is the one when Harry and Mary were playing in the snow. Mary playfully throws a little snowball at Harry, and in return he pounds her with a snowball to the face and then tackles her to the ground. So it quickly goes from cute and flirty to downright nasty for poor Mary. I've got one word for you: HILARIOUS!

Just in case you're claiming you've never seen it (and come on already,...I know you have) or you just don't remember it, you can go here to check out a quick clip of the scene I'm referring to.

So if you're currently finding yourself asking why I'm bringing up this scene from the crazy 1994 comedy, well the answer is simple. You see, our family just had a nice little Dumb and Dumber moment of our own.

Like my previous post mentioned, last weekend we went to the lake. And playing at the beach was one of our favorite family moments. I had my camera on hand and was going crazy snapping away, like I always do, when I heard Isabella tell her Daddy: "I'm gonna splash you,...." And she did, she kicked the water with her cute little kids' size 10 foot, and it looked a little something like this:

And then Harry, sorry, I mean Daddy, kicked back, with all his might and his big ol' mens' size 10 1/2 foot. Nice!

Needless to say, I was so shocked I did not get a picture of what his splash looked like, but I can tell you it was like a tsunami hit Isabella. Oh, and did I mention she hates having her face splashed? Yes, she does! Let me tell you, she was MAD!

Her Dad could not get to her fast enough. He felt so bad.

But just between us, I told him last night that I was going to post about our little Dumb and Dumber family moment and we laughed ourselves to tears.

Weekend at Rend Lake

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we were able to get away for the weekend. We stayed at the Rend Lake Resort in Southern IL. Scott's family met us there for a weekend filled with all kinds of food, fun and laughter.

We were so pleasantly surprised to find these cabins when we arrived:

We had adjoining cabins, which meant that once we opened up the inside door that separated them, we suddenly had two bedrooms, two baths, two kitchens (and I must use the term kitchen lightly), two living/dining room and two balconies. Talk about giving the kids room to run and spread out. The cabins had some pretty good distance between them, so this allowed us to not be so stressed out about all the running/yelling/screaming/crying/whining that kids who are 4 and 2 tend to do.

The kitchen consisted of a mini fridge and a tiny sink. The End! Luckily, my in-laws brought along a grill and a microwave, so all was well in the world. Trust me, we enjoyed some pretty divine meals.

There were more than enough fun activities to choose from in the resort. And these are some of the ones we decided to partake in:

We went hiking on one of their trails:

Yes, this would have been a much more pleasant experience had I not told the kids that we were going to explore and see what animals we could find. I was thinking birds, butterflies, squirrels, etc. Apparently Sam thought that there were all sort of wild animals lurking around the trails ready to pounce. So he pretty much spent the entire hike being held by Scott and telling us that he was scared of the animals. Way to go, Mommy!

We picked flowers:

Hmm,... in hindsight, I'm pretty sure this is exactly what they try to avoid with their huge "Take only pictures. Leave only footprints" quote poster at the beginning of the trail. Oops!

We rode our scooters:

And we rode bikes, and we played Frisbee, and we played with trucks and we did all of this in the cul-de-sac right in front of our cabin. Convenient? I think so!

We went to the playground. A LOT!

Luckily, it was so very close to our cabin and it did offer quite a few hours of entertainment.

We climbed trees:

For the very first time. With Daddy's help. He was so excited!

We went fishing:

We almost caught a big ol' whopper of a fish, but it got away. Maybe next time!

We went to the lake, twice:

And here I thought I was so very prepared since I called ahead of time to find out if their pool was open. Nope! Not until Memorial Day. So I came to the conclusion that there was no need for swimsuits. Once again,... I was wrong! Fortunately, that did not deter them from having a good ol' time.

So,... we played in the sand:

And we splashed all around:

And some of us even passed out from sheer exhaustion:

But all in all, I think it's safe to say we all felt happy. 

Really, really HAPPY:

And at the end of our very busy days, we were greeted by this:

I gotta tell you,... life was good!

The only thing we didn't get a chance to do was rent a pontoon boat. But we're not too worried,...I'm pretty sure this is one vacation spot we'll return to in the not too distant future. So we'll just have to save that for next time.

I Heart Faces "Yellow" Entry

The challenge for this week is "Yellow". I have to admit, this is a bit of a stretch for me. Apparently yellow is not a color we wear or surround ourselves with a whole lot. But I remembered this pictures of Isabella and Scott from when we went to see the sunflowers a while back. I love the expression of sheer joy they both have on their faces.

Go to I Heart Faces  to check out all the other happy yellow entries.

Magnolias as big as your head

On our way out of town last Friday, one of our many stops was at a rest area that had the biggest magnolia trees I have ever seen. Its flowers were both gorgeous and enormous. So much so, that Isabella and I had to stop and admire them on our way to the restroom. Well, when we came out, a gentleman had picked one of the flowers off a tree and gave it to "the pretty little princess".

Such a nice gesture from a total stranger. 

Even if it was at a rest area,...

We spent the weekend here:

 Away from the everyday hustle and bustle

With Scott's family

And had a blast

I took tons of pictures to prove it

292 to be exact!

I can't wait to share them with you

But don't worry, I won't post all of them

Just a select few dozen

But it'll have to be later

Because right now I am ready to crash!

It's exhausting being him

dog-tired 
adjective
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted; depleted of strength or energy 

Exhibit A:

Our Copper is always dog-tired. ALWAYS!

I like the way he thinks

Is there anything cuter than an uninhibited toddler?

Don't you ever wish you could be this free?

And enjoy your life to the fullest?

Especially when it comes to the little stuff?

Without caring about what others around you may think?

I know I do!

In the next week or so, let's make it a point to be as 

uninhibited as Sam is while eating his yummy Gigi's cupcake.

At least once.

And let's make it even more fun,....

Let's document it with a picture!
It's about embracing the children inside us.
And having fun!

Whaddaya say?

Are you in?

If so, please let me know.
I'd love to drop by your blog/facebook to see your uninhibited self.

But most importantly,
Have Fun!

My heart overflows with pride

It's quite bittersweet for me to write this post, but my baby girl graduated from preschool today and the school had a fantastic graduation program for the parents. The kids marched down the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance (OMG! Insert water works here!), and then sang and danced and had a great time saying goodbye to their preschool years. Then they accepted their diplomas and posed for pictures. They were all SO proud. We sat on the very first row and I made sure to take lots of pictures, while doing the ugly cry. The. Entire. Time! The good news is that all the parents were behind us, so lucky for me, they missed it. The bad news,... I probably scarred the kids for life with all the sobbing I did. Oh well, they're resilient little ones. Right?

Anyway, as I have mentioned a lot around here lately, I'll be back soon with lots more pictures and stories, but for now I have to go. We're planning a really fun weekend and I still have to tie some last minute loose ends.

Get a load of these Bobbsey twins...

And no, this was NOT on purpose.

The best night ever

Last night I had absolutely no desire or motivation to make dinner. NONE! So, I offered the kids breakfast for dinner, which they LOVE! We had eggs, bacon, toast, yogurt, and juice. Fast, easy and delicious.

And since they were so agreeable and all, I then surprised them with a little trip to one of our favorite places, to get some of these:

They were delicious!

And just like that, the kids deemed it "the best night ever"!

Isabella's Dance Recital

As you know, our sweet girl just had her dance recital, and may I just say, she performed beautifully! Unlike last year, when she only danced tap and ballet, this year she actually had four different numbers ~ tap, ballet, gymnastics and jazz. Oh my goodness,... can you say ADORABLE?!?!

The proud grandparents:

Here she is performing her first number:

 A tap routine to Polka Dotted Puppy

Next up ~ Ballet! 

She looked relaxed and graceful and simply stunning:

 Here comes the twirl:

And there she goes,...

And the magical end with the fairy wand:

And then came her favorite part of the recital:

GYMNASTICS:

 An assisted back flip:

Ta-Da!

And finally, a jazz number to Big Girl's Dont Cry.

It was fast and fun and upbeat.

This one was my favorite dance!

After it was all said and one, 

her Daddy surprised her with the most beautiful flowers:

 And she was glowing.

These are her wonderful teachers: Ms. Tammy and Ms. Stacey.

And we love them both!

Here she is strangling hugging her little brother.

To celebrate her breathtaking performance, we all went to Red Robin.

And I surprised her with a celebratory cupcake from Gigi's:

Which she loved, since it was nothing short of a little piece of heaven.

We are SO proud of you, Baby Girl, and love you SO much!