While I was gone

While I was in NYC, Jason took time off from the clinic and school to be a full time stay at home dad. From what I hear, they had a blast. He took the girls to the zoo, the children's museum, the laundry mat (our dryer was broken) and out to eat ALOT!! This time was so good for them. I came home to the girls calling me dad, as they were use to being with him all the time. Jason said it was one of the best weekends he's had in the last 3 years. So cute.

Anyways, while I was gone I got an e-mail each day with a count down until I got home. This was something that I got to look forward to each night. SO FUN!! I couldn't find the photos of all of the days, but here's a sample (above).

Many many many thanks to Jason for being such a supportive husband and loving dad!!

Mandy escapes to NEW YORK CITY

Amazing!

My sister swore this guy was famous so Jessica posed as the subject of the picture so that we could get a shot of him :)

A view of Time Square at night from the Empire State Building.

Mom outside of Scott's Apartment

The island is where we stayed...a view from the airplane.

LDS Temple
Us at La Soup...I know that's not how you spell it, but sounding it out, it's right :)
Time Square
FAO Schwartz
The Lady
Ground Zero
Taking a break from walking across the Brooklyn Bridge
The actual Mulberry Street
This was a GREAT show!!!

Bling Bling!!

Mom teaching Drea how to do Sudoku puzzles on the airplane there.
Our first trip on the red bus to go to the city our first day
Drea and me
No, we aren't tourists, we know exactly where we are going.
Drea and Jessica on a side street near Wall Street.

That's right, my mom, sister, niece and I all went to NYC for a little R and R. We were there to celebrate my mom's birthday...it's the big 60 for her this year. What a blast it was. We were able to stay at a friend's apartment in the city while he and his wife vacationed in Europe. It was awesome. Their place was super cute and we really got a feel for what it was like to live in the city. Thanks Scott!!

We did everything there was to do in NYC over the 5 days that we were there. We walked in central park, shopped at Tiffany's, went to some Broadway shows, visited the Empire State Building at night, looked around in SoHo, saw the "Lady" (Statue of Liberty)and Ellis Island, and so much more. We seriously ran ourselves ragged, but loved it.

I had so much fun with my mom, Drea and Jessica. We've always been a tight group of girls, and it was nice to reconnect after being in our own little lives for so long. Happy Birthday to my mom!! 60 years young and many more to go!

First watercoloring experiance

The Easter bunny brought the girls some watercolors. This is now almost a daily event that happens in our house!

Easter Updates

Happy Easter Taylor
You too Rilee

Jason painting Rilee's fingernails with some polish she found in an egg.

How cute is Bryce?!?!?

We continued a tradition that my mom started with me a WAY long time ago...she has since informed me that my easter bunny died, so I had to carry on the tradition in his memory :) The girls awoke to little post-it notes posted right outside their door. These notes sent them on a treasure hunt to find their baskets. They loved figureing out the clues that eventually led them to the dryer for Rilee's and the oven for Taylor's. After frantically going through their candy and presents, we were off to church. After church it was to my folks for dinner and an easter egg hunt in the Oregon sunshine. SO FUN!!!

Fun in the Sun

Beans and Flour and Wheat, OH MY!!

So I've kinda gotten the food storage bug. (Thanks Marykaye) I'm happy to say that we have now got our one year supply stacked at the top of our stairs. It's kinda cramped, but hey, at least we've got our beans and wheat right?!?! Anyways my folks had some extra cans that they gave me to use and they needed a little cleaning. Proof that it was a family effort!!!

Mom, I'm a LADY

As we were getting ready for a trip down to Corvallis, Jason decided we should straighten Taylor's hair. He got the process started all on his own and did a great job. Taylor sat so still and loved the result. She kept flipping her head and saying "Mom, I'm a Lady"and "Look, I'm a mommy".

Jason said that Taylor has learned that fashion sometimes comes at a price. Her hair kept getting in her mouth, but she would say "It's okay cuz I'm a Lady" how cute is that??? Anyways, I thought you'd enjoy seeing what she looked like.

P.S. We tried to do Rilee's and she only sat still for the top part. So she had long hair on top and curly on the bottom...we finally just had to wet it down and curl it back up. Too funny!!