Random happenings this week...

Well, we've had a lot of miscellaneous things going on this week, so I thought I'd share them. First of all, on Tuesday, the kids had dentist appointments. We go to a pediatric dentist here (we had never gone to one before we moved here). He is WONDERFUL! We love the dentist, all of his hygenists, and just his office in general. It is so fun for the kids--they love going! There is a huge train set to play with in the waiting room, as well as giant stuffed Disney characters, some video games, and a big screen T.V. with Tom & Jerry or Mickey Mouse cartoons playing. The exam room is one giant room, with 7 or 8 kid-size exam tables, with a small flat screen T.V. attached to the ceiling above each table. The kids think that is pretty cool. They let the kids pick out some cool sunglasses to wear during the exam so the light won't bother their eyes, and of course there is all sorts of fun flavors of toothpaste and flouride for them to choose from. And afterwards, they always get a bouncy ball, stickers, and a new toothbrush. It's like going to a party! Boy, things have changed since I was little! (PJ is starting to outgrow some of that stuff, so we'll probably have to switch him to our dentist pretty soon). But all the kids teeth look great, as usual, and no cavities. Hooray! :)

The other thing that happened this week is that Jonah performed in his class "Rise & Shine" assembly today. Every Friday, their school has a little pep-rally/awards assembly/class performance. It's called "Rise & Shine". It's so fun for the kids, and gives all the kids a chance to peform in front of the whole school, as well as get recognition for awards and things like that. It's great & I love going to them. Jonah did a great job on all of his parts and looked so cute, it made me laugh. They were talking about Dr. Seuss this week (because it was his birthday). So, they were talking about colors (from one of the Dr. Seuss books), and the kids all wore different colored tie-dye shirts. Jonah had 3 different parts in it, and their singing was adorable. So fun!!

The weather here has been beautiful the past few days (up into the mid 70's), so we have been outside a LOT! The kids have been taking advantage of it as much as possible--riding bikes, playing in the backyard, sandbox, swingset, sidewalk chalk, etc. And Clay and I went to the park for a picnic & play group on Thursday. It was a lot of fun. After today, I'm starting to wonder how I'm possibly going to keep our house clean to show anyone, once summer is here, and I have kids running in & out all day long, with grass, dirt, sand, and chalk all over their hands, feet, & bodies! I had a bunch of little chalk footprints all over our wood floor today, as well as a few little piles of sand that found their way in by way of pockets, shoes, hair, etc. I can clean the house during the day, and then 5 minutes after the kids get home from school, it looks like a tornado hit! But at least they are having fun. (And it's not like we've had anyone come look at our house yet anyway!--other than a couple realtors. With the economy & housing market the way it is, it might be a while...)

On Thursday, Tessa had her riding lesson (we moved it from Saturday, since tomorrow is going to be so busy). Her riding teacher got a new horse a few days ago. It's a 4-year old Caspian. That breed of horse stays smaller, and Tessa absolutely LOVES him! Tessa usually rides Arabians, which are much bigger, so she loved standing next to this one, and petting him and brushing him (she could actually reach all the way over his back--on the arabians, she can't even reach up to brush the top of their backs). Then tonight she had gymnastics, and then we all went out for dinner. We had a good time together.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. PJ is leaving for a "Scout Day" at 5:45 a.m. They are heading to Fayetteville and will be there until about 3:00 p.m. It's the "Scouting University" put on by the University of Arkansas, for all the scouts in this area. It allows the boys to pass off a lot of stuff in just one day, for merit badges. So, hopefully PJ has a fun time. Then, Jonah has his taekwondo class at 10:30, and Tessa & I are going to a little party/open house at one of my friends houses. Then at 2:00, Jonah is heading to a birthday party for a couple of hours.

We are also having a (pre)birthday party for PJ tomorrow evening. His birthday isn't until April 16th, but we decided to let him have it early. We only let our kids have birthday parties with friends when they turn 5, 8, 12, & 16. We figure with 4 kids, that is plenty. We always do a family party, with balloons & streamers, cake & ice cream & presents, and take them out to eat wherever they want, but we keep the friend parties limited. Anyway, this is PJ's 12th birthday, so he gets a friend party this year. He has been very excited to invite just a few of his best friends. He had thought of doing a couple different things, but finally decided to just do a party at home, with pizza, games, cake & ice cream, and a video. Pretty simple. He had planned on inviting his best friends, but we found out a couple weeks ago that one of his best friends will be moving to New York within the next couple of weeks. It all happened fast, so PJ asked if he could have his party early, before his friend leaves. We thought that would be a great idea. We are just kind of bummed that his other good friend who is in Guatemala right now can't be here to join them! Anyway, it will be a lot of fun for him and he's very excited.

Anyway, it's another one of those very busy weekends, but the kids will have a lot of fun, so it's all worth it... Hopefully we'll get a little bit of rest & relaxation on Sunday at least! :)