A new Surprise and Our Weekend!

On Friday, I got a call from my Mom who was wanting the kids and I to come over for the weekend. It had been about 3 weeks since we'd seen them, and that's a long time for us! I wasn't really planning on it, knowing that Easter is this weekend and we'd be over then, but I said that we would love to come, and the kids were excited to be spending the weekend at Grammi and Papa's house!

When we got there, they had a fun surprise for the kids! A new play structure for the backyard. The kids were thrilled and had so much fun testing it. It took my Dad, Mom, Skyler, and Annie 5 days to get it all put together! But then, both my parents had to work, Skyler had school, and Annie couldn't do it alone, so it wouldn't have taken that long if they had like one or two long days to do it. Here's a few photos of the Fort and the kids trying it out!


The finished project!

Alex pushing Bella on the Swing

Bella posing at the window

Alexander posing at the window

Sofya trying it out. She only got up one step and came back down though.

I made a nice dinner for us all. My parents were still getting the fort all the way finished, so I thought I would help them out by making dinner for us all. I made some yummy Crunchy Chicken Nuggets, hash brown potatoes, corn, and jello.

By the way, Alex is eating a PB&J sandwich, while we all had the other food. He can be a picky eater, and all the food I made he didn't want to eat and since he was "Starving Mom!!", I made him a couple of sandwiches to eat. That's his new phrase I hear just about 10 times a day. He's not just hungry anymore it is "I'm Starving". I know now that I have a nearly 10 year old boy at home! All he ever does is want to eat!!!! Hahaha

Alex and Bella eating at the table that's part of the structure.

The rest of our weekend was fun at their house. Friday night, Annie and I went to the store and bought "The Blind Side" on DVD and had a nice movie night-In.

On Saturday, Dad, Annie, Alex, Bella, and I went to the movies and saw "How to Train Your Dragon". It was really cute and Bella never took her eyes off the screen the entire movie. At the end, I asked Alex if he liked it and he said, "It was Awesome!". It was a great family movie and we all enjoyed it.

Annie also gave a fun surprise for my kids. She got them the "Hungy Hungry Hippo" game. I kind have give the story about it though.
On Friday, the commercial for the toy came on the tv, and Bella said that she wanted it for her birthday, and I told Annie that she's been saying that for about 2 weeks now. Bella's birthday is December 23rd, which at the time I loved having a Christmas Baby, but now, we have to combine her birthday and Christmas together, which means that she's not like Alex who has a June birthday, so he gets to have a fun big birthday party with lots of gifts, and then months later have Christmas, with lots of gifts! Bella just get lots of gifts once a year.
So, Annie had saw that it was on sale (Only $15. It was $28 the last I saw), so she thought it would be a fun gift to get for Bella, and of course all the kids could enjoy it too. Bella was so excited and she played it all night! Sofy even played it and it is actually a great game for all 3 kids to play together!

Annie got some dominos too, and she and I spent the rest of Saturday night, playing Mexican Train and chatting and laughing like we always do.

On Sunday, I wasn't feeling to well. My allergies were kicking in (Thanks to the Spring Rain that Oregon gets, I get them quite terribly during this time of year), and so I stayed home from church with Alex and Sofy, who wasn't feeling too good either. My parents took Bella with them and when they got home around 2:30, we had a nice dinner of Lasagna. Annie and I played another round of Mexican Train and then the kids and I got ready to leave to get home. The kids were going back to school after a week off for Spring Break. We got home in good time and then we had a nice relaxing evening at home and went to bed for a new week!!!

The Ships @ Bremerton

Here'a a few photos of the ships we saw while in Bremerton. Jason took alot of more and you can see those on his Facebook photo page, but these were ones that I liked.


These are of the aircraft carrier that we first saw after getting off the ferry. It lies right next to the freeway and we were so close to it, we could almost touch it! I've never been so close to one before!








This one is taken through the periscope at the Naval Undersea Museum that the kids could look out of. It's kind of grainy, but you can see our van sitting there!
The next one is of Jason where they have the top of a sub sitting outside the front of the museum, and of Rocky and Boudreaux





These are taken at the USS Turner Joy, the ship that Jason took Alex and Bella on to explore!





And, these are of the shots taken from above on top of the hill overlooking the base. It's the same ship from the first photos.

Bremerton Trip Day 2

On Saturday morning, Sofy woke up around 8 and I had to get up to help her find the bathroom light so that she could use it. It was kind of high up on the wall. So, I thought since she and I were up, we would get dressed and go see what kind of breakfast the hotel offered. As we were getting changed Bella woke up, so I quickly had her changed out of her jammies and the girls and I went downstairs and found that they offered a full breakfast! They had just about everything to choose from! I made the girls waffles and we all had some yummy muffins (The really good fresh ones from Costco), some yogurt, and some juice. We finished our food and went back up to our room to find that the boys were up, so Jason and Alex took their turn to get some breakfast. I took a quick shower and then we all got our stuff packed up and the room cleaned to check out. We were ready to go out for the day at 9:30.

We drove around and looked at the same ships and aircraft carrier from the day before and took some more pics. Then we went to a fun little museum called the Naval Undersea Museum. It was kind of a small one, but they quite alot of things to look at and do. Best part, it was free!
When we entered the museum, the kind volunteer asked Alex if he knew anything about submarines. Alex answered a few questions and then he was given his own Navy Dolphins pin! He thought it was pretty neat and put the pin right on and wore the rest of the day on his shirt!
We were there for quite a while. They had a fun mock up of the inside of a sub, with the periscope that would look outside and we all saw our car sitting there. And all the kids got to "Drive" the sub! They also had a fun area where they could dress up like Navy Sailors. For some reason, we didn't get a photo of Bella all dressed up. She looked so cute, dressed in the same outfit as Alex. The shirt was so big on her, it came down passed her knees! Here's a few photos of the fun there!






And here's of the two kids dressed up as Navy Sailors! Sofy looks so cute and the jacket was quite heavy!



As we were leaving the museum, we all wandered around the gift shop and Jason got them all something. Bella asked for a small stuffed red Crab, and Sofy asked for one too, but really Bella has 2 now, she hasn't really done much with it. Alex got some Army Men, only they were Pirates and they had some fun extras like trees, fences, and such. Jason got a hat with the Navy Dolphin Seal.

We left the museum, explored a bit more of the town, and then we all realized that we were hungry for lunch (by this time it was about 12;30). We found a Taco Bell/KFC combined place and had a nice relaxing lunch, taking our time. After we were done eating, we drove more around, just doing some sight seeing. We crossed over a bridge that Alex thought was cool because when Subs come through, it lifts to allow them to cross! I think the boys were hoping to spot one!

We then decided go to the downtown area where they have a few permanantly anchored ships to see. When we got there, we had a hard time finding a place to park, so Jason took the dogs and kids out to explore and I stayed with the van since we weren't exactly parked in an appropriate spot! Here's a few pics of them when they were exploring them!





And here's a few of Alex and Bella aboard the ship!








Back at the car with Sofy and I, we found some pretzels to snack on and she and I colored to pass the time. She chose the colors and I did the coloring for her!
After about 30 minutes, she said she had to go potty, so I drove around for a few minutes and found a Burger King to go into. Once we got inside though, she said that she didn't have to go, so I decided to use it since we were there.

When we got back to the ships, the other guys were back, and they had some treats with them! They had some ice cream on a stick (The same kind the ice cream trucks would sell) and they brought Sofy and I my favorite; the cookie ice cream sandwich one! We all ate ours in the car. And yes, we did have some paper towels!
Jason then drove around for a bit, trying to get on top of the hill that would overlook the ships to get some cool photos. We found a great spot to step out and take one. Alex had to get out with Jason and here's a pretty cool shot of him above the ships!


We then decided it was time to get going home, it was almost 5:00 at this point. We decided not to back onto the ferry and thought it would be quicker just to drive around and it turned out better probably without having to drive in the Seattle traffic. We stopped for a gas fill-up and Alex got to "help" Jason with the gas, and then both girls just had to get out to help too, but Jason was having a hard time getting it to do it, so they didn't get to so much with it. Alex thought it was cool, though!

We then drove to Tacoma and we passed through Fort Lewis. My friend Becky and her family live here, and I had hoped to had been able to meet up with her somehow, but it just didn't work out that time, She hadn't gotten back to me in time. As we were driving through, I was wondering where she might be!
Alex also got to see some tanks and other military vehicles and thought it was cool. He also asked why the sides of the road had barbed wire fencing around and we had to explain that it was a military base and what that meant.
We drove for another hour or so and came through Olympia. We decided we were ready for dinner and found a nice pizza place. It had the brick-fired ovens and the pizza was so good! After dinner and letting the dogs out for a while, we got back on the road to our home. We had to stop one more time through for a bathroom break and we got home just a little after 10:00. Sofy was so tired! She is usually in bed by 8 and is never up that late! She went right to bed! Bella followed about 20 minutes later, and then so did the rest of us!

So, that's our fun, exciting, family trip! The kids were very well behaved, didn't complain much in the car, and actually got along for the most part. They had such a blast, and I hope had some fun memories made!
Thanks to my dear husband for providing to well for our family, and for providing for us to get to go on this much needed family trip and hope that we get to do it again soon!!!

Seattle/Bremerton Trip Day 1

The kids started their Spring break on Friday, so I had asked Jason if we wanted to go somewhere for it. Jason thought of going to Seattle. It's a great place for us to go, it's not too far of a drive, and it's relatively cheap, especially the things we wanted to in Bremerton, alot of which were free!

So Friday morning, I made pancakes for breakfast for us to start out being filled up and then I cleaned up the kitchen, got the kids dressed and ready to go, and then made the last minute check to make sure we had all we needed. Jason went to the store to get some snacks for the car and such. We loaded up the car and left a few minutes after 10:00. We had a good drive up, stopping a couple of times for bathroom breaks, and for the dogs to run around for a few minutes. We made it to Seattle around 2:30 or so. We drove around and found a parking garage that was good for the dogs to stay in and not get too hot being stuck in the car for a while. It was beautiful, around 60*. We walked around the city and made it to the Seattle Space Needle. I was so surprised at how expensive it is to go up to the top. It's now $17 dollars for adults, and $9 for the kids. But we all wanted to go up, so we had to pay it. The elevator ride is so awesome and the kids did well. Sofy was kind of scared going into the elevator, but calmed down and enjoyed the ride up, with the glass windows looking outside as we did. Alex said it was awesome! We got to the top and looked out for about 15-20 minutes. Bella had to look out of every telescope they had, and Alex would stop and say what direction we were standing at. Bella said that we were Giants and the cars and people below were toys! She's so funny!








We came back down and went to the car to relieve the dogs. I then made up some sandwiches for lunch. We also had fruit snacks and pretzels. We drove to the ferry docks and proceeded to the spot that the ferry would take us to Bremerton. We had about an hour wait, so the girls and I got out and we took a bathroom break and walked around for a bit. Jason and Alex took the dogs out and they also went up to where the walking passengers would get onto the ferry. We took the 4:20 ferry and the kids just loved it. It was about a 50 minute ride and we all enjoyed it. Here's the pictures of the kids on the Ferry! I love seeing the city in the background!








We got into Bremerton and found our way around the town. I didn't even know that Bremerton is a Naval Base and there are so many ships to see. We came across the place where they take apart uncommissioned ships and there were 3 or 4 of them just right next to the freeway, one of which was an aircraft carrier that we could practically touch. I've never been so close up to one, it was awesome! Alex loved it!

Here's the pictures of the kids with the air craft carrier. It was litereally next the freeway and was so cool!







After Jason getting several photos of the ships, we drove around to find our hotel and got checked it. It was a nice one too! We went across th street of our hotel to a Shari's for dinner. All 3 of the kids got pancakes (Gotta love their 24Hr, breakfast available!). Jason got a steak/shrimp dinner and I got an American style Pannini. It was so good, and I couldn't even finish it, it was huge! After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got settled.
We found a hotel that had in indoor pool and hot tub, so the kids and I got ready to go swimming! Jason forgot his trunks, so he went to the store to get some, while the kids and I went.
We had so much fun. The water in the pool was nice and warm! It was also nice that the water in the hot tub wasn't too hot, so it felt like a big bath tub. The pool was the same depth all around, at 4 feet, so Sofy stayed right at the steps the whole time, splashing and feeling like she was swimming while not actually doing any swimming! Bella stayed in the hot tub the whole time. Alex and I would go back and forth from the pool and hot tub a few times. Alex skinned his knee a little bit on the side of the pool, so after getting a band-aid on it from the employee at the desk, the kids and I went back up. I got Sofy out of her swimsuit and she and I got in our jammies. I was just going to get the other kids changed when Jason returned and the other two wanted to go back with him. He bought some pool toys too, so they went back for another hour or so. I got Sofy to bed (At 9:30 she was tired! That's pretty late for her), and I relaxed with the tv!
The other 3 returned and Alex took a shower and I got Bella dressed for bed and she went right to sleep. She was exhausted! After Alex got out, we all followed not to much later and had a great night sleep!!!

St. Patrick's Day

I don't want to start off with a sad note, but this will always be a bittersweet day for our family. It's been 2 years now that our dear Niki passed away. It seems like it was just yesterday and yet so long ago too. We love and miss you Niki and the times we had with you.

Anways, it's kind of nice that this sad day also is a holiday so we get to have fun and not dwell on our loss too much. So today, I dressed all the kids in green. Alex wore his green Oregon Duck's shirt, Sofy wore a pretty green shirt, and the only green shirt that Bella has is her "Brasil" shirt that my Father In-Law's cousin brought her when she visited about 2 years ago. So, it's kind of funny that on St. Patrick's day, an Irish holiday, Bella wears a Brasil shirt! LOL

About a week or so ago, on Facebook, I became a "fan" of RedBox and recieved a code for a free rental today. So, Bella and I went over to a McDonalds, but got over there and it didn't work. I checked when I got home and had the right code, but then just ended up paying the $1 to rent "The Princess and the Frog". It just came out yesterday and I thought it would be a fun addition to our 'green' theme today!
Bella and I got lunch there since we were hungry and after we were done eating, Bella got to play for about 15 minuts at their outside playplace. It is beautiful out today so that was nice for her. We then went to pick up Alex from school and it was pretty neat that "someone" sprinkled gold dust (Gold colored glitter) on the sidewalk and the playground. The kids loved it! Bella got to play for another 20 or so minutes at the playground there.

For dinner tonight, I'm going to make Shepherd's Pie, Irish Soda Bread, and Asparagus. For dessert, I'm going to make a trifle using pistachio flavored pudding (It's naturally green!), homemade pound cake, and whipped cream. I even got the green sugar sprinkles to top the whipped cream, so it should be good!

One thing I didn't even think of but saw that a friend of mine did was to have a Leprechan bring my kids some treats from his "Pot O' Gold". I wish I would have thought about it, but maybe next year I'll remember it. It's alright thoug because Easter is in just 2 weeks and the Easter Bunny always brings treats on that day, so they will just have to wait until then!

I hope you all have or had a great St. Patrick's Day and had a fun day like we did!