It won't let me drag the pictures to the bottom so you are going to have to enjoy the pictures first, sorry.
We acted silly A LOT!
Yup, we had to take the group picture first thing in the morning because Julie was headed out of town to Alabama with her hubby for the summer. So my mom Julie are the only ones that had showered.
Nicole was not a big fan of the Cafe Rio. Maybe next time sister.
As some of you may know my mother recently celebrated a big milestone, she turned the big 6-0!!! To celebrate we had a girls weekend in Park City, Utah. It was a central location for everyone and my cousin was able to get use of her friend's condo. We left on Thursday and got home Sunday. I have never taken a girls weekend before and I have never left Preston or Aubrey for more than a day. It was super fun and I was SO excited that I got to see me sisters (I only see Julie and Amy once or twice a year!) I had also never even met my nephew who is NINE months old. Yes, it had been that long. So we had a blast shopping, getting massages, eating, and just visiting. Amy brought her two little ones with her since she lives so far away and no one gets to see them often enough. I kinda wish that I had brought Aubrey but it was well worth it to have a weekend where I didn't have to worry about naps, feeding, and everything else. I got to help my sister as much as I could and came home ready to enjoy my own chillins a little more. I learned a lot while on my trip so I am going to give you the top ten things that I learned.
10. I love Cafe Rio! I had been skeptical after the first time I had it, but now I CRAVE IT!!! I tried a variety of things and it was all yummy. I am now officially on the Cafe Rio band wagon.
9. Boutiques are inspiring, we were able to go through a whole bunch of boutiques in downtown Park City and also really close to where our condo was. They had the coolest stuff and I found lots of cool things to try and copy :) My mom also found a really fun bag that we ended up surprising her with for her birthday.
8. My older sister is crabby when she is tired. Oh wait, I should say that she STILL gets crabby when she is tired. I remember when we were all at home still it was a well known fact that if Nicole (and Amy too actually) was tired then you need to stay away! Not much has changed :) No one is real fun to be around when they are tired. I found myself the last one to go to bed each night. I am not sure what got into me but I was always ready for more fun late at night and then I was just about the first one up in the morning. I guess the kids take more energy out of me that I thought. At least that is the only conclusion that I have come to.
7. My sisters are terrible liars. When we were at the shops by our condo we decided to chip in and get my mom the bag she had found as a birthday present. We gathered the funds from everyone without my mom noticing and then sent Nicole off to get the bag. My mom notices that Nicole is missing and asks Julie and Amy where she went. They just kind of look at each other and go, "I don't know." Of course that set off bells and whistles in mom's head because Nicole doesn't just take off, especially when shopping. So yeah, we had quite the extravagant cover up after that which ended up with me running after Nicole and sneaking into the Bed Bath and Beyond. OH BOY!
6. I have awesome friends who stepped in to watch my sweet children. I split them up so no one would be overwhelmed. Kendra and Ethan walked home with friends after school and didn't stop talking about how much fun they had. Even when I called home all Ethan could do was talk about wanting to go back. My brother-in-law helped me out too and Preston and Aubrey may have convinced him that he doesn't want any more children :) I am thankful to everyone!
5. Josh can manage just fine without me. I was worried about leaving, VERY WORRIED. I prepared meals for them beforehand for every dinner that I would be gone and made sure that every bag was packed and the fridge stocked. I guess I just didn't want Josh to feel overwhelmed while I went gallivanting off to Utah. No one was injured and Josh survived and harbors no ill feelings :)
4. I have the cutest little niece of nephew. Presleigh was so sweet the whole time and just as funny as could be! She definitely has a thing with shoes and when Amy got her a new pair of baby blue patent leather slip ons complete with a big blue rhinestone on the toe she told everyone she met about her new Cinderella shoes. She wouldn't go anywhere without them! And Noah was just happy, I am sure Amy is grateful to have a happy and content baby because Presleigh was quite the handful. And I have to add that being called "Auntie Kim" is awesome.
3. Traveling nine hours in the car is WONDERFUL without kids. I had the most enjoyable drive to Utah that I have ever had. We were squished in a Buick Rendevous with my mom, aunt, grandma, nicole, and I and I didn't mind a bit. Yes we were uncomfortable, and yes we stopped A LOT (more than when we have kids with us I think.) But it was still relaxing and enjoyable. I didn't have to worry about keeping anyone fed, happy, quiet, or anything! It made such a difference. Just quite time, I think I need more of that.
2. I miss my sisters.....A LOT
1. I have a wonderful mom who has devoted her life to raising her family. I am thankful for all that she has taught me. I had a great childhood and have her to thank for that. I am lucky to live to close to her, to be able to have her be such an important part of my children's lives and to be able to see her just about any time that I want. I LOVE YOU MOM! Thanks for turning 60 so that we could have such an amazing weekend together.
Preston is my little skater dude. Actually I think he is better suited for a surfer dude! He should have been born into a family that lived on the coast. He loves to skateboard and fights with his big brother for the scooter. He asked for a skateboard for Christmas and when he asked the first time Josh and I just looked at eachother and laughed. But he never let it go, when anyone asked him what he wanted he told them a skateboard and a helicopter. (He dreams big I guess)
Don't you just love it when the moment you sit down to do something at the computer the kids' sensor seems to go off and they must come and insist on your attention. Aubrey's sensor is VERY fine tuned! She has even discovered a way to climb up onto the desk and plop herself right on the keyboard. I think she might be giving me a hint!
These two have been playing so well together lately! Once in a while Preston gets a little too dominating and I have to remind him to play nice, but for the most part these two crack me up. I brought the basketball hoop inside the other day and it was a hit. Preston didn't let me take it back outside until I convinced him that it was nice enough out that he could play with it outside again.
Oh my little Kendra! She is so grown up these days. She has been facing problems lately that I distinctly remember going through when I was young. It breaks my heart and on Sunday we had a good cry together. Somehow that seems to make everything better. 
I started working out daily about 1 1/2 months ago. I feel amazing, but haven't really lost any weight (which really sucks!) But one evening Josh and I went to the Y together. We dropped all four of our children off at child watch (free daycare at the Y WOO HOO) and had a date on the track. It was super fun, I think I am beginning to get a little addicted to working out. Anyways, I kicked Josh's butt :) That is definitely a first for me and gave me just a little more confidence. After that Josh started working out on his lunch hour whenever he had the chance (I wonder why?) We went on another workout date Saturday morning and he almost caught me this time, I guess I am going to have to step it up a little.
