We added a TON of flowers and bushes to our front yard last week. The timing wasn't great - we bought them on Monday afternoon and I came down with the stomach flu that night. It lasted through Thursday, ugh! Planting wasn't fun, but luckily Nick is a rockstar and did most of the work. I helped a little, the kids did too, and somehow we got the job finished! And now we just cross our fingers and hope that more of the plants survive than last year (we planted a ton last year too).
We bought the plants after we picked the kids up from school. We kind of misjudged our space and ended up with a VERY full car. Everyone, including Emma Seaver (carpool), had plants on their laps, behind their heads, and under their feet!
After we bought plants on Monday (and planted a few before the rain stopped us) and then we had an American Idol finale party for FHE! We had pizza for dinner (Dominoes, not Little Ceasar's or store-bought or homemade, finally - the kids had been asking for weeks!), soda too, and watched the show together. When the food was gone we cleaned up and moved to the couch ... and after about 20 minutes the kids left and Nick and I finished the show on our own. Kind of funny since they really enjoyed watching Idol throughout the season with us and were pretty stoked about watching the finale. I didn't mind though. By that point I was not feeling great and was happy for some quiet time with Nick.
Harry Potter shenanigans at bedtime!
Our cousins came for their annual Memorial Day Weekend trip (James and Bethany + kids and Mark and Emily). We were SO excited that they wanted to come back and we had SO much fun! We played around the house a lot (the kids all got along so well and were so cute together), we had late game nights, we went to the bounce house arena at Bananas, we went to church together, we ate lots of good food, we did s'mores at the fire pit, Alex/Nick/James did the Vocal Point Three Little Pigs rap (which the kids LOVED), we floated the creek (which the kids also LOVED). We had such a great time. We love it when they come.
Are these two not the cutest? My goodness, I can hardly handle it. They had a blast together. Cici took to calling Max 'the baby' and got a little frustrated with him at times (she's 6 months older and you can tell - he's still into the I'll grab everything I want phase and she didn't love that!), but for the most part they just wandered the house together and had fun. Now Max calls everyone his size 'Cici'.
Max only like a few of the bounce houses. Half of his time was spent wandering the room, pretending to play with the arcade games and sometimes sitting on the bounce houses (see below).
Adorable!!
We had quite the S'mores spread. We let everyone pick their poison beforehand and fill up a little baggy, instead of bringing everything down to the pit. That ended up being a fantastic idea - made things so much easier than usual!
This past weekend our family took a quick trip to Glenwood Springs. We drove up Friday morning and spent most of the day at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. We all rode the Alpine Slide, zipline, and ferris wheel, Nick and I rode the canyon swing (it swings you out over a cliff!!!), and Maliya, Nick, and I rode the haunted mine. Side note: I convinced/made Maliya ride the mine with me and she flipped out! (It's like the Tower of Terror.) However, when Nick asked if she'd ride with him right after she and I got off the ride, she got on a brave face, said 'I got this!', and marched inside with him. Go girl. Madison and Max spent a little time in the dirt pit together, and Maliya took a turn with Max in the pit while Nick, Madison, and Cole did a cave tour. We also all watched a 4d movie (Maliya covered her face and ears the entire time!) and Cole and Maliya tried out the climbing wall (Madison got all harnessed up and then changed her mind). It was busy and fun ... but it took the kids a couple of hours before they were really willing to do much, so Nick and I decided we won't be renewing our season passes for a few years!
Oh, I forgot! Cole and Maliya tried out the spelunking box again. It took a really long time for them to make their way through (Cole had to go back in for Maliya!) but they did it!
Max made friends with this fun employee while waiting for the kids to climb the rock wall. He sat and chatted with her while playing with the fun bars (simple pleasures).
After the park we went to dinner (actually lunch-dinner ... linner) and then relaxed at our hotel for a bit (two room sweet, it was awesome). Then we spent about an hour and a half at the hot springs pool. I lasted in the regular pool for 40 minutes (I was proud of myself) and then I retreated to the 104* therapy pool for another 40 while Nick and the kids finished up in the other pool.
After swimming we went to subway and then back to our hotel for treats and a movie on the iPad. It was a busy day and we all slept soundly that night!
Nick was told of a donut place we had to try ... and so we did. Nick and Max picked up donuts for us Saturday morning and we ate them while watching cartoons. Best choice ever. The donuts were intense and were SO good! After filling up on sugar we went on a 2.5 hour hike. It was a beautiful one! We hiked along 'No Name Creek' (the kids thought that was funny), passed a small cascade/waterfall, and ended up at some small pools of water that we played in. The weather was great and the hike was fun. After our hike we had a quick lunch and then stopped at a local ice cream joint before heading home. It was the perfect way to end our trip!
The drive home. Max and Madison were out within just a few minutes. Our busy trip wore them out!
