Road Side Assistance

Once upon a time, while I was still living at home, I learned how to change a flat tire. My dad took us girls out to our trusty old Mistubishi truck that we lovingly named Muffy to teach us how to fix a flat. I remember it well. We each took a turn loosening the screws and jacking up the car. We were so proud of ourselves for getting the spare tire on the car and doing it right!

Fast forward to now when we had a flat tire about a month ago. Wally asked if I wanted to come out and watch him change the tire so I would know what to do in case I ever needed to do it myself. I assured him that I already knew how to change a tire so thanks, but no thanks.

Fast forward one more time to about a week ago when I dropped Kelsie off at her gymnastics class. I was so focused on getting her to her class on time that I didn't notice that we had a flat. A nice man in the parking lot informed me of this burden as I was walking her into the building. So, here it was. My chance to shine and prove that I DO know how to change a flat tire.

First, I jack up the car, right? No wait, I should get the spare tire down first. OK, I find the tire, but how do I get it down?

Think, think think.

Brandon, get out of the car!

I better text Wally (he was in a meeting):

Flat tire.

(Waiting)

Need help?

(Immediately write back)

YES!

So, I had to admit that I needed help. For the next hour, Wally was on speaker phone, talking me through all the steps of how to change the tire. I thought I had it in the bag until I couldn't get the tire off the car now matter what I tried (Brandon and I both kicked it as hard as we could). So, then the frustration started all over again. By this time, a nice man offered to help and tried to get the tire off. Turns out the tire was stuck on the car so he had to jack the car back down for the pressure of the car to loosen the tire (I'm really glad it wasn't just me). He put the spare tire on, tightened the bolts again and sent me on my way. I ran inside to pick up Kelsie and called Wally back to tell him we were OK, except while he was talking to me on the phone, he walked home, grabbed his bike and was now there to help me. It was around this time that he reminded me that we have road-side assistance.



Go figure.

Shedd Aquarium

I took the kids down to Chicago on Friday (yes, by myself but with a friend) so we could go to the Shedd Aquarium. It was discount days so admission to the aquarium was free so I thought it would make a fun outing for us! We took the train down into the city and caught the express (learned the hard way last time) and walked over to the aquarium. The kids each brought their scooters so it would make it a little easier on their legs so I guess technically they scooted while we walked.

We had such a fun time! We got there in time for the dolphin show, were totally wow'ed at the HUGE Komodo Dragon we saw and ate lunch under the sea watching the whales and dolphins swim around. Kelsie was our official photographer and took some great pictures and videos of the penguins, dolphins, and whales. Brandon was so excited to see the sharks! Caleb wasn't really sure what was going on, but seemed to like watching the animals swim around!

We got there early enough that we were able to see most everything we wanted too, but since it was a free day the aquarium was crazy! The man who showed us the boa constrictor mentioned the he hadn't seen it that busy in about 3 years! Even when we left that afternoon, the lines were still super long and crowded! We really had such a great time together and and were so happy that we went. The kids were pretty worn out by the time we got back to the train station to go home, but we managed to keep Brandon awake (thanks, Joy!) the whole way and we made it home in time to watch Camp Rock for movie night. All in all, it was a great day and couldn't have asked for better weather and company to spend the day with.

Better Late than Never...

Happy Father's Day!
We Love You!

Happy Birthday!

*8* Things We Love About Kelsie:

1. She is a creative artist with a vivid imagination

2. She loves to read

3. She loves to sing

4. She loves to write

5. She is brave to try new things

6. She is very smart

7. She is friendly

8. She has a beautiful smile

Girls Night Out Birthday Party

Kelsie had a G.N.O. Birthday Party to help celebrate her 8th birthday this year. We had so much fun with all the girls that came! We had a "pizza bar" where each girl was able to make her own pizza with whatever topping(s) she wanted (you have to have food for girls night out, right?!). We also had some frames for the girls to paint and decorate and then gave each girl her own cosmetic bag filled with girlie things. My friend, Khania, came and helped me give the girls a manicure and paint their nails and then they had fun playing Ghosts in the Graveyard and other fun games! The party was a huge success (Kelsie was a tad tired by the end of it) and we all had such a great time! There's nothing like a FUN Girl's Night Out!

The Earrings are IN!

Our little princess turned 8 years old today! A couple months ago I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced on her birthday. She wasn't too sure about it then, but as the day grew closer was pretty sure that she wanted to go through with it. After breakfast, we decided that we would go get her new earrings. So, the boys and I took her to Claire's and watched them pierce her ears! She was pretty nervous about it but did great and hardly flinched at all! She is so proud of her new look and can't wait to show all her friends!

**There is more to come of Kelsie's party so stay tuned!**

A Haircut to Remember

I decided that it was time to give Mr. B a new haircut since this is what he looked like:

Being the boy that he is, he DID NOT want to cut his hair. I tried everything including the promise of a treat when we were done. He finally consented, only if Dad would cut it, not me. So, as I handed over the clippers to Wally, I had no idea what was going to happen next. Things started out just fine, but dad started to lose patience with such a wiggly little guy that he asked him if he just wanted a buzz cut. "Sure!" Brandon said, not fully understanding what a buzz cut was. Much to my dismay, Wally shaved off ALL of Brandon's hair. This really shouldn't be that big of a deal since it is the beginning of summer, except that Brandon has such light blonde hair that when he has such short hair it looks like he doesn't have any hair at all. He is now our little toe-head. This is what he looked like when Wally was done:


That's right. He did not like it at all! After lots of tears and the promise that Dad would cut his hair just like his, this is what we ended up with:


Brandon now thinks that he looks pretty cool, because he looks like his dad.


I guess the best part is that we won't have to do haircuts again until the end of the summer.