Taking on New York...

...with two strollers...I have never gotten so many strange looks in my life. But we had A TON of fun!! After watching Bryan and Wendy's sweet dogs, we had the opportunity to drive them home and spend the holiday in New York. We got there late Sunday night and had fun just lounging around Bryan and Wendy's beautiful apartment. The kids loved the huge tub they got a bath in.
Here is the beautiful sunrise we got to enjoy the next morning!! This picture doesn't do it justice.
We took Time Square by storm!! We were slightly "gung-ho" however. We got there about a half and hour before any of the GOOD stores were open and had to wait around in the freezing cold....haha.
We went to the Hershey's store!! The kids had such a wonderful time there...chocolate, chocolate everywhere...who wouldn't love it?
Their favorite part was helping a worker start the "chocolate machine" which would fill our buckets with chocolate bars!! Yay!!

Here are the kids with their hard earned spoils :)
Next, we went to the M&M store. It was huge, and so fun!! Jane loved the M&M man...Beckham was scared of him.
M&M's, M&M's everywhere...who wouldn't love it?
Of course, we had to hit the Disney store! Jane thought the princess castle was amazing.
These mirrors were so cool. You waved a magic wand of the specific princess you wanted to see and they would magically appear. I literally had to tear Jane away from this to give the other little kids a turn :)
The kids spent a good, long time in this little coloring station.
Next, we went to the Toys R Us store. Three stories of pure delight!! Here we are riding on the three story ferris wheel located right in the middle of the store.

Beckham loved the Dino...until it roared. Then he ran away from it...
Ryan in Willy Wonka land...
Lastly, we went to the Top of the Rockefeller building. It was cold...but so beautiful!
Beckham was way too fearless...he tried to squeeze through the plates of glass several times. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck the whole time.
Can't beat that view though!
What an amazing little New York adventure we had. Living on the East coast definitely has its benefits!!

Our Doggy Adventure!!

Well, Ryan left for a training in Texas yesterday and...well, I am already missing him like crazy. Our house doesn't feel quite the same without everyone here :) I can tell the kids already miss him. Literally ten seconds after we dropped him off at the airport, Jane proclaimed that she really missed daddy. And Beckham asked to go home and see daddy at lunch today...since we always see him at lunch.

However, we are doing good and life in resuming as normal :) But for now we will have fun reminiscing about when Ryan was here!! A few weeks ago, we had Bryan and Wendy's two little dogs, Bernie and Millie, with us for awhile. The kids thought having two dogs living with us was absolutely the coolest thing ever...
We still have poop on our back patio. I have been waiting for Ryan to pick it up YUCK...it might be there awhile. The girls just loved running around back there though.
Beckham loved to go check on the dogs FIRST thing in the morning :) We often found "special surprises" waiting for us in the morning...
The first Sunday they were here it was super nice weather. So, we took the girls on a nice long walk.


Here is one of Bernie licking Jane!! This always made Jane feel super special :)
Jane was really good at playing with the dogs.
Jane and Bernie became real pals :)
In the evening when Ryan came home, the dogs would get super excited. They especially loved playing with him for some reason!!
The kids LOVED getting Millie all worked up so she would chase them barking. Then they would run and take refuge on the couch...this provided a whole evening of pure fun!!
I let Jane hold the girls' leashing for a bit one evening while they were exploring our yard. I could tell she felt very grown up and special :)
We had a great adventure with these little dogs. We will definitely not miss the many poop surprises we received...but we will definitely miss these two adorable little dogs' company:) It made me remember how much work it really is to take really good care of dogs. We will most likely not be getting a dog until my kids are much older and more helpful:) Thanks for the fun 10 days Bernie and Millie!!

The Big 28!!!

I have absolutely the best husband in the world and I was so excited to make his 28th bday special. It was on last Friday the 13th. However, I always get such grand ideas in my head of how I'd like things to go....and unfortunately, Ryan had to work and the day was a little crazy so our celebration ended up being a small one.

The kids and I decorated the house and wrapped the few presents we had for him so he could come home to a festive house!! We don't get to eat out a lot and Ryan always loves a good meal from a Chinese restaurant. So, we got a BIG Chinese dinner in honor of Ryan :)

Ryan, of course, opened his presents with two very eager children close at hand!!

He opened the wonderful sweet cards from many family members.
And, every year I try to make Ryan some sort of very special treat. I did something a little different and make him a tres leches cake...it was oh so yummy:)
I am so very greatful for my sweet husband who is a wonderful, invested father, the hardest worker I have ever met, who is so kind and patient and who I LOVE SO SO MUCH!! Happy Birthday Ry!!!