Tears of Joy

He's back!!  David returned on Friday which was a day earlier than we originally thought.  We decided to keep it a secret and surprise the girls by picking them up from school that day.  Turns out Emily was still sick and home from school that day so I told her we had to run a quick errand.  She was watching a movie in the car and didn't see him until he was loading bags in the car. The look was priceless. 

She hugged him so tightly and actually started to sob all the while with the biggest smile on her face.  She was crying tears of joy - I don't think I will ever forget it.

On to the important stuff...what did Daddy bring me?  Why skinny jeans of course!  But not just any old regular skinny jean - hot pink hello kitty skinny jeans!  Naturally.

Think she was happy to get dressed for school today?  Since I attended the PTA meeting last week my girls both get free dress passes today.  This is a far cry from a khaki skort and blue polo huh?

Liv got new skinny jeans from Dad too.  They both looked very cute and cool!  Sorry about the blurry photo, we move fast around here in the mornings to get in the car by 7:20.  

It was a great weekend of doing nothing but hanging out as a family and I got to say one of my favorite things..."go ask your father!"

Huge shout out to the Chapmans for being the B&B weekend getaway for David for the last 6 weeks.  You guys rock and have your rooms reserved in paradise!

UGGGGGGG!

Seriously?  My kids were off from school for 10 days and wouldn't you know the very first day back Emily spikes a fever at school and is home by 1:30!!

I'm sure I'll have her all fixed up by next week when they go to school on Monday and Tuesday and are off again Wed, Thurs and Friday.  Dear Hawaii, how about we go to school.  5 days in a row. Every week.  Love, me.

This must be payback for no snow days ;)

Days Off

I must say this 10 day stretch of vacation has been pretty good.  I didn't knock myself out trying to entertain the girls every minute of the day and lo and behold they found things to do outside with friends!  Crazy, I know. 

Last night Olivia was invited by a friend to see Justin Beiber!  For those of you who are not 10 - 15 years old, he is the latest young heartthrob on the scene.  She isn't his biggest fan by any stretch but she was excited to attend her first concert.  I was just glad I wasn't the chaperone!

Emily and I took the opportunity to have a date at Ruby Tuesdays for what else...mac n cheese! 

David is on his final stretch and almost home.  Luckily we have stayed very busy but it's been a long few months and we can't wait to get him back!

The Zoo

Day one: the zoo.  It was fun, I haven't been since Olivia was a little tike.  We had one very up-close and personal experience with a lion and if not for the plexi-glass Emily would have made a tasty treat for his lunch!  Apparently the normally sluggish and docile fellow hardly ever moves around let alone leaps up to go face to face, paw to hand on the glass!  Something about her attracted him from the start - he locked onto her from the moment we got there.  Very spooky!

Must have taken it's emotional toll because by the end of the day Em was a bit of a mess.  Crying about stuff that happened a long time ago etc.  Finally I just hugged her for a while and she said "I just need something to cry about, I have all these tears in me!"  Sometimes you just need something to cry about I guess.  I think I remember my father telling me he could give me something...perhaps we should have called him! 

Group Outings

I think I told you I was accompanying Emily's class to their field trip this week.  Big news...she got to ride a BUS!!!  This is major for a kid who has only been to private schools in her young, little life!  She was very excited and even picked out an outfit for me to wear.  I sent her off to school and went upstairs to get dressed and discovered it laying on my bed: plaid skirt, floral tank top and high heels!  Um, yes, I promptly threw on my favorite jeans, t-shirt, and flip flops and headed out. 

Emily's reaction to my outfit when I showed up in her classroom and I quote: "what happened?"  Insert sad little puzzled look here.  Quick thinking response "I thought I might be cold in the theater so I chose pants!"  (Whew...am I good or what?)  Her response: "well, you could have worn the shoes!"  Yes, even when I am nestled in between her and 28 other 5 yr olds bouncing on the bus while loosing what little hearing I have left, I manage to fail her.

Somehow she mustered up the courage to be seen with me and had a fun time.  We went to a "dinosaur play" put on by a local theater group which was very fun and highly interactive for the little balls of energy.  Lots of yelling and laughing!  They are pretty cute aren't they? That little boy in the middle sat with us on the way home and he talked more than she did!  Really!  Funny how at that age they will tell you EVERYTHING.  I am happy to report that his dad no longer answers the phone in the car after two accidents :)

Fast forward 6 years and they are much bigger but no less loud!  Olivia's team (the Hot Tamales) took a trip last night to watch the UH women's soccer team play.  Late night + tons of sugar = 5-0 shut out on the field today :(  Not their best game but they had lots of fun!