Lollipops

Here are some cute pictures that Ellen and I took for the kids' birthday party invitations. I'm doing a lollipop theme and I found a person on Etsy.com that would put their photos in a cute lollipop invitation. So, we got some big lollipops from a candy store and snapped these pictures in Ellen's backyard last week. We took around 100 pictures, and here are some of the cutest non-winners. You can see we are going with a primary color palette for the invitations and party.

School for the kids is over and I only have three days left. I think we're all ready for a break from our school-year routine. The kids are really excited for our little family vacation - we leave a week from today (Wednesday the 9th). I think they're most excited to watch movies in the van. They're very in love with the new DVD player. Being the mean parents that we are, we won't let them watch movies just around town. So, they haven't actually watched anything on it. The first movie in the car will make the drive to KC all the more exciting!

We had a nice Memorial Weekend. My friend Dayna got married on Saturday, so the kids stayed with Dale and Ellen for the afternoon/night, until Sunday morning. Sunday ended up being a cold, dreary day. So, we did our regular Sunday night pizza/movie night. We were particularly lenient parents that day. All of the Star Wars movies were on TV that day and we let the kids watch some of the non-scary/non-violent parts. Then, they got to stay up until after 9 for our movie (which was "Babe" the talking pig one. They loved it!) Plus they got pizza and a huge snack of popcorn and M & M's, which is unusual for them. I think they had a good day. Monday was a gorgeous weather day, so we went to the Niebuhrs for a BBQ and some outside playing. After a good nap, we went to Pioneers Park with Lisa and Chad, Carter and Camden, and took a picnic dinner. The kids played on the equipment, we ate, then took a little hike through the park. They were tired, sweaty and smelly when we got home, but they slept great on Monday night, so it was totally worth it!

Will is excited - he got his new car seat!! Ever since Xander got his new carseat about a month or two ago, he has been saying (EVERY time we get in the car) "I"m getting tired of my old seat, Mommy." Well, Saturday they were at Oma and Opa's house and Will stood on the scale. It said 41 lbs! He was so excited. He had to be 40 lbs to get the new carseat. So, Brian put it in on Saturday. Now whenever we get in the car Will says "I love my new seat, Mommy." Every time! Grace still only weighs 34 lbs. We think she will be 6 before she can have a new carseat. At this rate, she really will be six. She was 31 lbs at her 4 year old appt in January, so gaining 3 lbs in this 6 months is pretty good for her. She was 29 lbs at her 3 year appt, which means she only gained 2 lbs in that entire year. She really is getting tall, though. And her feet are growing a lot. She really will have long limbs and be tall, I think. Xander is growing a ton, too. His feet have exploded in the last 2 months. I just bought him some new tennis shoes, size 11. He's getting a lot taller, too. In fact, I think he'll also be really tall.

That's about all our news. I will wait and post again when we get back from our vacation on Sunday, so look for a post early the week of the 14th with vacation pics. Have a happy June!