Date Night Revived!

Chris and I have decided that date night needs to be revived in our home. When we first got married, we were counseled to date each other once a week. Well, we did pretty good following this counsel, but since Law school and kids joined our family, we kind of have slacked in this area. After having a crazy mom week/Chris having a stressful school week, he called me up on Thursday, and told me that he was going to plan a date and that we should start dating again. I was thrilled by the news and wouldn't you know he planned a great date and even made babysitting arrangements! We went to a really good Mexican restaraunt that we have been meaning to try for three years but have never gotten around to it. And, let me tell you, I am sad we did not go there sooner. For three years we have been complaining about the lack of good Mexican food in the state of MI, while all the while this amazing little restaurant was minutes from our house. The food was huge and oh so good. We had to wait 1 hour for a table, but it was so worth the wait! Thank you to all ward members who highly recommended it to us.

Then, we used AMC gift cards that we have had since Christmas, and went and saw a movie. The movie was hilarious and it was just so nice to get "dressed up" and just spend time with Chris. Walking home, Chris looked at me and said, This was nice, I should call you again sometime! After the fun night, we seriously decided that we need to heed the counsel given to us 5 years ago and start dating again once a week. I know this will strengthen our relationship and will help rejuvenate us to fulfill our day to day routines as we are apart. I love Chris and am grateful for a husband who wants to still date me, even after 5 years.

Handsome guy!

Chris's dinner. Doesn't it make Chipotle burros look small?

My dinner: Shrimp tacos. Incredible!

Lexi's new Trick!

I love Lexi to pieces, but sometimes she drives me absolutely insane! She is too smart and too athletic for her own good on occasion. Well, ever since she has turned 3 she has decided that naps are overrated and on a regular basis does not take one. I, was not ready to give up my alone time, so we turned nap time into "quiet" time, in which she has to stay in her room and play while mommy and sister rest. Well, for a while quiet time was a big success, then it turned into Lexi figuring out how to ruin her room and test Mommy's patience. For example, a few months ago, she took apart her bed, literally. A few weeks ago, she took all of the clothes from the closet off the hangers and then snapped all the hangers in half.  And her most recent trick, happened Tuesday of this week. She has learned how to climb on top of her dresser and destroy everything within her reach. I had a momento box up there with Lexi's baby memories, like her first hair cut, hospital bracelets, blessing bracelet, first booties, things like that. Well, she managed to get into the box, scatter her first hair cut all over the ground, break the hospital bracelets, etc. she also, threw her piggy banks on the ground, which are glass and thankfully did not break, along with everything else on the ledge such as pictures in frames, etc. She was so proud of herself. Needless to say, this post was the inspiration for our revival to date night, which is my next post. I was grateful that Lexi did not get hurt and Lexi and mommy had a good discussion about safety, etc, and I have not see her do it again, so hopefully, the talk helped, I guess only time will tell.

This is her face as she is getting caught in the act. Can't you tell she is really sorry?

you can see the vase on the floor and other items. I picked up the lamp and the pics but yes, even those were on the ground. 

Fourth of July/5K Run

I think this might have been my favorite Fourth of July to date. It started off super early for us because of my race. For the first time, ever, I ran a 5K with two ladies from the ward. I had so much fun! I cannot wait to run another race soon. The race started at 7:15 a.m. and I had to be at the registration desk an hour early, AND, since the race was an hour away from our home, we had to get up and have the kids ready by 5 a.m. All I can say is I am so grateful my girls wake up happy. That comes from Chris, not from me. Anyways, so we ran the race and I am happy to say that my finishing time was 27 minutes and 3 seconds, which means I was running about 9 minute miles. That is my fastest time, so I was happy with it. I wish I could have said I placed, but I can say, I did not come in last, so it was good!

This was my game face! I was actually trying to be serious, but was holding in laughing, so the combo gave me this face! This is Caroline, the one who convinced me to run this race, with her daughter, Andrea. 

Minutes before the race

Jan also ran the race with us. 

After the race, the town held a parade that we attended. It was fun! For a minute, I felt like I was in Mt. Pleasant, UT watching their small town parade, which I have fond memories of attending while visiting my sweet Grandma. It was great! Lexi seemed to enjoy the parade quite a bit. 

Pre Parade snack

My girls, especially Lexi, love watermelon!

Lexi with her friend, David, waiting for the parade to begin

The race was called the Hungry Duck Run and then in the parade there was this duck float. I guess the town likes Ducks?

One of the participants of the parade handed out these huge flags.Thanks to Daddy, Lexi got one!

Following the parade, Caroline and her family came with us to the lake up there where we played in the sand/water, ate a picnic lunch, threw a frisbee, and chilled out in the hammock that the May's brought along. Oh, and there was kite flying. It was so great! It was just what we needed! 

She was coming to grab the camera, but in the process, I saw this sweet face, so I captured it before she tried to eat the camera. 

This was the first time Christine crawled "normal." Ever since she learned to crawl she inched like a worm and then the faster she got, it became an army crawl that was so fast and smooth people told us she looked like a snake. But, now at 11 months, she decides to crawl in the traditional style. Funny!

She loves the water. She trys to drink it though, so we have to watch her like a hawk.

I wish I could say the flash made us all look white, but sadly, that is what MI has done to our skin. I cannot wait to get some color back in me this summer.

So, Lexi does not like pools, but she LOVED the lake!

Thunder thighs! I love them!

She was so comfy in the hammock she took about a 45 minute nap in it. We love hammocks!

Playing frisbee. Can you see the orange frisbee in the middle of the pic? Chris had just thrown it to our friend, John.

Lexi loved the hammock too!

What a fun fourth for us!

Target Dollar Bins Rock!

I absolutely LOVE the dollar bins in front of Targets! They always have such great stuff! Right now, they have a bunch of educational card games and activities designed for preschoolers. And, since they were only a dollar a piece I picked some of them up! So, if you haven't already, run to your nearest Target and pick some up for your preschooler. Lexi loves the games and has been doing them independently while I cook dinner. We have had them about a week and she is still not sick of playing them so I feel I got my money's worth. I don't work for Target, and I don't endorse Target I just really like these finds and wanted you to know about it.

Game #1: Uppercase and Lowercase Recognition

You have to match up the Lower case Letter with the Uppercase Letter. They are color coded as well, so it makes it a little bit easier. This is a skill Lexi needed help with, and this game is really helping her with her lowercase letters. Awesome!

That's A Match!

Game Number 2: Color Sort. I asked her to smile, and the above pic is what I got. Silly girl sometimes!

These color cards are front to back, so there are 12 colors total. You have to put the same colored picture on the colored card. This was super easy for Lex but she LOVES this game!

100 percent! She did learn about beige through this game though, and the color gray. It took a while for her to realize gray and black are different.

Face Painting

Our ward hosts a BBQ every summer. We have gone every year since living here and have always had a good time. Well, this year was made even more special for Lexi because of a wonderful, artistic lady in our ward. She did face painting for all the kiddos. But, it was not just a cheek job, it was a full out face painted job! Lexi requested an orange butterfly, so her wish was granted. Later that afternoon we were invited to a birthday party, and so I told Lexi we would have to wash her face for the party. Lexi absolutely did NOT want me to wash off her butterfly, so she said, "Mom, I don't want to go to the party if my butterfly can't come." So, even to the birthday party she sported her butterfly. Then, getting home from the party that evening, I told her we had to wash her face in the bath because tomorrow was church and she could not wear it to church. Her response was, "why not mom, Jesus likes butterflies. I know so because we have a picture of him holding one!" I am sure he wouldn't mind if it came to church." 

Well, I finally told her the butterfly was dirty and so we have to wash it off and we would  have to say goodbye, so with tears filled in her eyes, and that is no joke, she allowed me to wash the butterfly off of her face. It was cute while it lasted, and she has already asked me if we can paint her face again. So, thank you Sister Cowen for taking the time to make Lexi's day fantastic! 

Getting Started

I was actually amazed at how still she sat during the process. She was so good!

Done. She just hasn't seen it yet!

We took her to the car so she could look in the window to see her self. When she saw it, she said, "I am so beautiful! She really loved it!