20th!

Happy 20th!
Last weekend, the kids spent the night at my parents' house one evening.
The next morning, I was able to get in a run as I jogged the 5 miles from my house to theirs. Which means they had to drive us all home. Thanks again mom and dad!
My parents clearly really wore the kids out!



Zac's blankie.
My friend Kim makes these. He has about 17. He loves one. The "ball blankie." Kim even made him a new "ball blankie" with the same fabric. Sadly, he knows the difference and only wants the original. Which is falling apart due to 2 years of abuse. Also? I clearly do NOT sew. Or at least not well.
Look at my girl crossing her little legs!
Finally, the kids have rediscovered their Disney ears. Correction - Lilly has rediscovered hers and Zacs hat, and makes Zac wear his.
He hates hats. But he'll wear these, for HER only.
I love that.
She also feeds him, like he's a baby.
I'm undecided on how I feel about that. Cute? yes. Messy? very. Necessary? no.
But... back to "cute"...
Happy happy 20th!

Trip to the fire station

This is Lilly's face when I told her we were going to visit my friend at the Fire Station:

Ok, actually that's a reenactment. But it's pretty much accurate.

I have a friend named Jeff. He is actually a friend of my cousin, Miguel. I met Jeff and his beautiful wife, Christie, and their children when Miguel was in town.
Jeff is a firefighter at the station right down the street. We pass it every day on the way to and from the kids school.

A couple of months ago, I posted something on Facebook about Zac loving fire trucks. Jeff offered to show us around and let the kids explore the station and the trucks.

This weekend, we were finally able to take him up on this offer. We saw their living area, their kitchen (which is being redone, so they grill a lot), their workout room, their tiny bedrooms, and their computer/work offices. But, the highlight of the show was the trucks!

Zac was initially hesitant, and didn't really want to do anything but look. Lilly was not so shy. She enjoyed climbing and sitting in the trucks.


Zac warmed up and really liked opening and closing (read: SLAMMING) the fire engine and ambulance doors.

I mostly enjoyed being the dorky mom who was taking pictures. And possibly jumping in and out of the ambulance. Possibly.

The kids walked away with temporary tattoos, "hand balloons" made from rubber gloves, and (hopefully) a knowledge that there are "good guys" in our community who are there to help us, and who we need to appreciate.

(Yesterday, we appreciated them by bringing Rice Crispy Treats.)
(We also appreciated ourselves by making extras to keep.)
They spent the afternoon playing "fire-girl and fire-boy." Apparently "fire-boy" is a little OCD about his parking lot.
And, an unrelated but SUPER DUPER CUTE picture of hugs. I'm thinking this one is frame-able, yes?

Thanks again, Jeff, for showing us around the station!