Dutch Wonderland and a Visit from the Mottas

We have done a lot of fun things this summer and I am a bit disappointed that I haven't done better with blogging.  However, my choice is generally to blog or to sleep.  Sleep has been winning.

Luke recently turned 4-months and I would like to do a dedicated blog for him, but just in case I don't get to it, here is a summary:  He is kind of a high-maintenance baby.  He really likes to be a part of things (who can blame him?).  So, he gets mad if you try and put him down to tend to other tasks.  He cries whenever he is unhappy, which is pretty often.  He also cries when he is overtired, but since he doesn't like to take naps (again, doesn't want to miss anything), this is also pretty often.  Those are the negatives, of course, there are plenty of positives: he sleeps well at night, generally going down at 8 and waking at 5:30, with one feeding in between.  He LOVES being out and about. This is why others can't believe it when I describe him as fussy. For example, when we went to Dutch Wonderland, he didn't cry once the entire day.  He was so thrilled to be outside with so much to look at.  He likes going just about anywhere and seeing new things, so he is very easy to do things with.  He is still super strong; the doctor told me I needed to hurry up and baby proof, because she suspects he'll be crawling soon.  Finally, he is absolutely adorable.  Everywhere we go, someone comments on how cute he is, particularly when he throws them that toothless grin. That concludes the Luke summary, more about our favorite baby another day (I hope!).  

So, summer fun.  What have we done?  Besides regular day stuff, like trips to the pool and library, the two biggest adventures have been our overnight mini-vacation to Dutch Wonderland and the super-fun visit from my sister's family, the Mottas.

This year marked our third annual trip to Dutch Wonderland.  It has not lost any of its appeal.  The kids are still firmly in the age group that can appreciate the "Kingdom for Kids." We drove up on a Friday morning, went to some Lancaster outlets, swam in the hotel pool and then went to the park for the evening preview. When you buy a ticket, you can get in for 3-hours the day before to "preview" the park.  We love this, because it is generally very empty and we can accomplish a lot in those 3 hours.  Like, pretty much every ride.  As is typical, the kids (except Luke, whose bed is transportable) did not sleep well in the hotel.  I am guessing that Jack and Anna got less than 5 hours sleep.  Fortunately, Kara did a bit better.  Thomas and I feared the worst, but they all did really well on Saturday.  In the morning, we took them one at a time to the hotel lobby for breakfast (more because that was how they woke up, then for any particular strategic reason).  Then, we went back to Dutch Wonderland and let everyone choose their favorite rides again. Jack's must-do was the large roller coaster.  I had gone on with him the day before, so Thomas did the honors, while the girls went on the large slide.  Anna chose the "Superman" ride as her favorite.  You lay down and they close this cage-like thing over you and you fly around in a circle.  Kara's favorite is a mini-whip (she calls it the bumper cars). This has been her favorite ride 3-years running!  We did all the favorites a couple of times, and several others and decided to call it a day.  The drive home was relatively uneventful, although Luke was not as content in the car as he had been the day before (two 3-hour drives in two days is a lot to ask!).  

The "Bumper Cars"

A new addition this year

Kara was the only one who was still small enough to enjoy this "ride"

Luke's first ride!!!  A boat ride in the back of the park.  He was thoroughly thrilled.

"Superman"  Yes, it's true--we have no idea on the real names for any of the rides.

I didn't get a shot of him on the roller coaster, so this one on the slide will have to suffice.

The next big thing to happen this summer was a visit from my sister and her family.  We hadn't seen them in over a year, so everyone was very excited.  They arrived late on a Saturday night, so we took it easy on Sunday.  Monday, we went out Geocaching.  The kids loved finding "treasure".  I am not sure I am ready to take on the hobby, but it was pretty fun.  If you aren't familiar with it (I wasn't), people hide boxes or papers someplace and then put the coordinates and clues on a website or app.  Then, you get to find it.  If it is a box, many will contain toys and the kids can exchange one of their small items for one in the box.  The parents fill out a paper log that is kept with the box, and mark it off online as well.  We only did easy boxes that had toys to exchange, but from my (limited) understanding there are some that are much more challenging to find.  

Tuesday, we went to St. Mary's City.  It was fantastic!  We have been there a few times and really enjoy it, so it was fun to share the experience with our extended family.  The kids always love going on the Dove (replica ship). And this time, we went down to the tobacco plantation of Godiah Spray.  Unlike the other living history characters, the people on that plantation stay in character.  So, we met Master Spray and two of his servants and got to ask lots of question.  We also saw a musket firing demonstration, which was thrilling for Jack. Thomas and I went out to dinner Tuesday night to celebrate our birthdays while Kim and Dave watched the kids.  It was nice to leave the kids with them and not worry about a thing.  Even though I completely trust our babysitter, family is just different. 

With their cousins on the Dove

Wednesday, we went to the pool at Solomon's Rec Center.  Jack wasn't quite able to pass their swim test, so he couldn't do the diving board, but was able to use one of their slides.  Luke enjoyed being carted around in the pool and the girls loved swimming with JD and Amanda.  I know that JD said this was his favorite day of their visit and my kids would probably agree.  After the pool, we went to Rita's.  It was a fun-filled day!

Luke loves being in a pool (no sarcasm here, he really, really loves being in the water)

Thursday, the Mottas went Geocaching in Virginia.  They wanted to check another state off their list. My kids were a bit bummed that we didn't go along, but I didn't want to make the longish drive with Luke without Thomas.  I appeased them by letting them paint on some canvases I got on sale at Michael's.  The girls took the process very seriously and spent over an hour planning and painting,  Jack was done in about 15 minutes.

Friday was our DC day.  We left the house around 9:30 and went to the metro station.  We first visited the Archives and then headed to the Capitol building for our scheduled tour.  It was very crowded, so it was a bit difficult to hear our guide, even with the headphones they gave us, but it was still amazing to see inside the dome.  We saw the spot where a young Abraham Lincoln's desk sat and got to experience the eavesdropping effect.  If you haven't been--go.  One highlight for Thomas was that the Rotunda contains 6 original Trumbull paintings.  Thomas has one of the pictures as the backdrop on his work computer and was thrilled to see the real thing in person (I had never heard of Trumbull, although the paintings were familiar and impressive).  From there, we had lunch in the cafe and then went to the Library of Congress.  Visiting the library had been on my to-do list for some time, so I was very excited to go.  The kids were good, but getting tired.  At this point, we separated from the others and made our way back to the metro.  At the end of the day, according to my Fitbit, we had walked over 6 miles.  I was really proud of the kids for their good attitudes and stamina.  We got home right around dinner time and picked up some Chinese take-out.  The Mottas arrived a couple of hours later and began the long process of packing their truck for the journey home.

Racing up the steps at the Archives to join Thomas in a picture.  The day was young and everyone was bursting with energy.

Look how fascinated they are.  I think the only time any of mine perked up was when our guide mentioned a painting that contained Pocahontas.

Thomas and the kids in front of the "Surrender at Yorktown", his work computer's background.

The final shot of the kids and their Motta cousins.  Once again, I do not have a single picture of the adults.  A picture of me with my sister would have been nice.  Next trip I suppose.

Thomas took this awesome shot of the reading room.

They left early Saturday morning and it was a sad day in our house.  We had really enjoyed their visit and weren't ready for them to go!

The Art of Appreciation

Like most parents, Thomas and I want the best for our children.  We will consider ourselves successful if they grow up to be happy, contributing members of society.  Sometimes, that feels like a pretty tall order.

About two months ago we instituted a toy ban in our house.  There are no new toys allowed until our kids show us that they can take care of the toys that they have.  This stems from the frustration of seeing how irresponsibly they treat their belongings. Recently, I saw an article that showed kids with their most valued possession(s).  The photographer had pictures from around the world.  You can imagine what the children in the poorest of areas looked like, kids who were smiling into the camera from a dirt floor holding a single item.  Then, at the other end of the extreme was a child whose room resembled an FAO Schwartz showroom.  I am sure that neither can imagine the life of the other.  Somewhere in that wide middle-range lies our family. We are in a position to fulfill some of our kids' desires.  In fact, on many occasions we have walked into a store and left with items that were not on any list.  Although relatively commonplace (before the ban) this is something that was rare in our own childhoods.  We have given in to our children's requests because we can.  It is fun to buy things for them, it is nice to see them happy. However, it often seems that the more we give, the less they appreciate what they already have.  (Just to be clear, I do not think our children have an extreme amount, my guess is that we are pretty average for their age-bracket.)

I am glad that our children do not have to experience abject poverty, but I still want them to know it exists.  I want to teach them to value what they have. When they carelessly break a toy, their first thought is that Mommy or Daddy will buy me another one and if not, then it doesn't matter, because there are others just like it (I know this is their first thought, because they guilelessly express it to me).

Recently, we told Anna and Kara to clean their room.  This is obviously a regularly requested task, but on this occasion, they fought and cried and made each other and us miserable with their inability to complete the simple task.  Two long hours passed and very little was accomplished.  Finally, we told them that we were going to set a timer for 10 minutes and when the timer went off, anything still on the floor would go into a trash bag.  Ten minutes later, they had made zero progress.  So, we went in with a trash bag and threw everything away.  Amazingly enough, they were happy. After a few initial tears, they expressed genuine relief at not having to worry about those toys anymore.  They liked having a clutter-free space to enjoy.  Of course, the majority of their toys are in the basement, so while we did fill a 13-gallon trash bag  (including all the trash that accumulates-- like some "priceless pictures" and random shoe boxes), it did not put much of a dent in their overall supply.

This clean-up was step one.  We also took them into the basement and put toys into keep, trash and sell/donate piles (this was around the time of the community yard sale).  Step two was the toy ban. We will make exceptions for birthdays and Christmas (but, we have already told them that if they have a party with friends, the invitation will specifically request no presents).  Step 3 will be buying them less when those special days do come around.  Step 4 will be trying to teach them to be charitable.  Wish us luck!

Summer Fun (including Dance Recital)

It is that time of year again.  School is out and summer has begun!

Our fun began on the last day of school.  As the kids got off the bus, Ms. Roxanne handed them each a can of silly string.  The kids immediately put them to use, spraying each other and their caught-off-guard parents! I was wearing Luke, but he didn't serve as much of a shield--the kids were happy to squirt around, and sometimes at, him.  Then, we went to a neighbors house and surprised the kids with a fun water/pizza party. Kelley had personally filled 300 water balloons that she placed strategically throughout her yard.  Another neighbor, Amanda, had filled another 100.  It was awesome!  The kids had so much fun getting soaked. After we left, they were all asking if we could do the same thing next year.  It will certainly be a hard last-day-of-school-surprise to top!

It wasn't hot, but apparently this coat and hat had been left in Jack's cubby and it just seemed easier to wear them home.

Threatening their poor mother!

We love our neighbors, even when they are squirting us with water guns or throwing water balloons at us! Unfortunately, I couldn't get everyone in this picture, but pretty close.

Next on our summer schedule was the annual dance recital.  Anna and Kara once again participated in tap and ballet lessons and were very excited to show off their skills.  Anna's tap routine was set to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and her ballet was a mash-up of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" and "Material Girl". Kara had 3 routines!  She had 2 ballet routines, "Let it Go" and "A Whole New World".  Tap was "These Boots are Made for Walking."  Unfortunately, I did not get any good pictures of Anna.  You can't take pictures during the recital and none of the ones I took at the rehearsal came out.  I tried to get her to put her costume back on after the recital, but she wasn't interested.  So, you'll have to take my word that she looked super cute (or sit through the video).  It was a little bit stressful having Luke at the show.  We arrived early enough to get front row seats, but I had to leave twice to feed Luke.  (Well, sneak into the back).  The recital was supposed to last 1.5-2 hours, it was 3.

I was again happy with the age-appropriate routines, but a little disappointed that they hadn't improved more.  I don't think I expect a lot, but after 3 years for Anna and 2 for Kara, it seems like they should be better.  Not they are bad, but I don't think you can learn much in just 45-minutes a week.  We told them that if they want to do more lessons, they have to commit to practicing at home.  We'll see how that goes.

Sometimes, my camera takes awesome pictures like this...

And, sometimes this is what I get.  Can't be user error, right?

Anna is in the back right corner

Luke enjoyed watching the dances during the dress rehearsal.

The first week of summer break was filled with fun activities. We went to the base pool one day, a favorite for the kids.  We knew our friends (Kelley and Amanda) would be there and they essentially took on the 3 older kids while I took care of Luke. We definitely couldn't have gone without people there to help. Luke does have a great swimsuit, but I was very nervous about him getting too much sun, so he only went in the pool for about 10 minutes.  He spent the rest of his time resting in the shade, with one snack break.  Jack actually passed the swimming test that lets him go on the diving board and slide!  He had to swim across the deep end and tread water for 30 seconds.  He doesn't have any form when swimming yet (they kept trying to get him to do the breaststroke, but he has his own method). But, he did it!  He was so proud of himself--justifiably so!  I think Anna could pass too, but she has no interest in the slide or diving board and is a bit more nervous in the water than Jack.

We also did craft days at Michael's, went to the library and did tie-dye t-shirts at Kelley's house.  She had everything set up for us and even had extra white shirts in the kids sizes.  Once we were there, I caught the bug and did shirts for Thomas and me and two onesies for Luke.  We have to leave them bundled up for a week, but I will post pictures after the big reveal.

Luke taking it easy while we tie-dyed 

And, that my friends, concludes our first, very eventful week of summer break.  It hasn't been easy carting Luke around with us, but I think we've had some good success.  He is (generally) pretty compliant.  We just have to keep him fed and well-rested (but, isn't that true of all of us)?  We are trying to stick to a routine, with a little bit of school work in the mornings, followed by a fun activity, and some quiet time in the afternoon. So far, so good. One week down, 8.5 to go!

Bonus picture, just because I like it!

Happy Father's Day, Thomas!

Top 10 Reasons Why Thomas is a Great Dad:

10) Anna: he does awesome magic tricks

      Jack:  he plays baseball with me

      Kara: he reads stories to us and loves us with all his heart
      Luke: coooooo

9) He takes no mercy during water gun fights (valuable life lessons to be learned here) 

8)  He does laundry, washes dishes, cleans, changes diapers, makes beds, sits through dance lessons (and yesterday's 3-hour recital--blog to follow), etc.   

7)  When we are out and want to make a quick stop, he will wait in the car and pretend he is Aba Juju Ba, (nationality unclear) and that the kids are trying to steal his "automobile".  They LOVE this game and it makes it so that I can do those quick errands without complaint.

6)  Even though he was (is) an impressive athlete, he doesn't pressure them into playing sports

5)  He plays silly games and doesn't mind acting foolish

4)  He instituted an instant reward for good deeds in our house that involves giving piggy-back rides up and down the stairs

3) He always stops whatever he is doing to read them books, complete with silly accents and voices

2)  He would rather be with his family then anywhere else; he willingly rushes home from work, forgoes golf and other activities that would take time away from us

1)  He loves them unconditionally and they know it!

Graduation Day(s)!

Kara had her Pre-K graduation on Monday and Jack and Anna celebrated Kindergarten graduation on Tuesday.  It has been an eventful year and it is amazing how much the kids have learned.  Last night, when Thomas went to read him a book, Jack said, "how about I read to you instead?"  Then, he read Thomas a (relatively speaking) fairly difficult book.  It is both fun and a little bit sad to watch them grow and change.  It just seems to happen so rapidly!

We are so proud of them.  They had some rough patches, but ended the year exhibiting great behavior, maturity (again, relatively speaking) and gained knowledge.  If they can keep this up for the next 12 years, life will be a breeze!

Without further ado, the pictures:

Kara was so excited about her graduation.  She picked out her dress and insisted on the headband with a "veil" (Gymboree marketed it as a "fascinator")

With her teacher and the principal receiving her certificate.

The whole morning Pre-K class

Can you find Anna?  Here's a hint, she is wearing a royal blue dress.

And Jack?  He's somewhere in the middle there.

Anna receiving her certificate from her teacher.

Cute shot of Anna and some of her classmates, including one of our neighbors!

Jack getting his certificate, from the very patient Ms. T.

We had a fun last day of school, but that will have to wait for another day.

George Washington Trifecta

People who know us well know how much we like history.  To give credit where credit is due, it is mostly Thomas driving that ship.  The guy knows everything about American history.  Going places with him is like walking around with your own encyclopedia (or Wikipedia, depending on your age bracket).  A particular favorite of Thomas' is George Washington.  We had been to Mount Vernon several times and had visited Washington's birth place at Pope Creek, but we had yet to visit Ferry Farm, his home in Fredericksburg.  With the Memorial Day 3-day weekend, we decided to visit one Washington home a day.

Saturday was Ferry Farm, his second home.  We wanted to make sure we got this one in, because we had never been before.  It is much smaller than Mount Vernon and Pope's Creek, and it also had an admission charge.  They loan you an iPad that you take on a self-tour around the property.  The kids were not at all interested in hearing what the iPad had to say, but Thomas and I found it interesting.  It is outside and self-paced, so the kids ran around and we tried to listen.  It was enjoyable and worth a visit, but not someplace we would go again.  One nice thing was the proximity to Fredericksbug, only 5 miles to a real mall!  After about an hour at Ferry Farm, we were done and decided to visit the mall, which was fun.  Oh, and there was also a Krispy Kreme nearby, so we made another stop. We were almost home (on Route 5 in Mechanicsville) when we heard a loud thud and the car shook.  It felt like we hit something, but there was nothing in the road.  Thomas pulled over and looked at the tires and saw that one was quickly losing air.  He felt confident we could make it the mile or so to a nearby church parking lot.  The church had a playground, so we let the kids loose while Thomas worked on the car.  Unfortunately, our jack was useless. Fortunately, there were some good Samaritans nearby who saw him struggling and offered to help. Once he had good tools, Thomas had the spare on in no time.  We got home and called a few places and were able to get new tires that evening.  I felt very lucky that the incident happened so close to home and not in Fredericksburg, or even worse, the Nice Bridge.  I was thankful that Thomas was driving and grateful for the people who stopped to help.  All in all, it was a great first day!

Standing in front of two cherry trees.  I wonder if they are descendants of the one George chopped?

The tread had separated

Sunday was Mount Vernon.  We are pass holders and well-acquainted with Mount Vernon, typically we try and get there before 10 to beat the crowds.  This time, we got there shortly after 9, but we did not beat the crowds.  Well, we beat a lot of them, but the place appeared very crowded.  There were several school groups along with the usual families.  We had never seen the movie in the visitor's center and since I needed to feed Luke, we decided it was a good day to give it a shot.  We were warned that there were some graphic battle scenes, but we felt the kids could handle it (they can always close their eyes).  However, the warning was enough to make Kara apprehensive. She managed to hold out until Luke was done eating and then I had to take her out.  When Jack came out he announced that he had changed his mind, he decided to "work in an office like Daddy, and not be a soldier when he grows up." (As an aside--Jack obviously has forgotten about Thomas' recent deployment.)

We had a nice visit.  As always, the kid's loved the children's area.  We also saw the shearing of a sheep and spent some time walking around the grounds.  When we left, around 1, the parking lots were all full. Memorial weekend is not the best time to go, although since we opted not to see the house this time, they really didn't impact our visit much.

Kara wanted to pose for a picture.

Shearing of the sheep.  Interesting fact, Mount Vernon buys the shears from the same English company that George Washington used.

Looking into Washington's famous 16-sided barn

My cute family

The girls LOVE this dollhouse.  They make a beeline for it every time and could stay there for hours.

Luke's first trip to Mount Vernon

We stopped a few miles up from Mt Vernon and took a picture of Fort Washington, just a stone's throw away.

Jack and Kara declared themselves too tired to go to Pope's Creek on Monday. Anna was really upset. She wanted to "finish the Washington unit!"  Instead, we stayed around the house. Thomas grilled for dinner and it was a nice, relaxing day.  We were a bit disappointed to not go on Monday, especially because we had gone to the birthplace on the previous two Memorial Days and wanted to continue the tradition.  It would have been fun to say that we visited his birth place, boyhood home, and final home all on the same weekend, but, if there's anything we've learned as parents, it's that unwilling participants can make any outing miserable.

So, we went a week later.  Well, on a Saturday, so just 5 days later.  We left early and stopped at Walmart to let the kids pick out food for a picnic lunch.  They were super excited to have juice boxes and Lunchables (it's the little things in life).  We got to Pope's Creek around 10.  This time, we actually did a tour of the house, which was very interesting.  We enjoyed walking around the extensive grounds and our picnic lunch. I can't understand why that place isn't busier--it's free, interesting and beautiful.  I really wished I knew something about photography because the grounds are so picturesque.  The sky was very blue and the trees were very green.  It was a perfect day.

Running around the outline of where the actual house stood

Inside the Colonial house (built in 1932, before they found the foundation of the original)

One of the few (only?) trees that existed in Washington's day.

The girls leading the way on our hike.  They liked to be tour guides.  Kara would point out trees and say, "this is a tree a beaver could knock down with one bite."  Anna also commented on the trees, but her line was, "this is a tree that George Washington cut down, but he didn't get the roots, so it grew back."  

Enjoying their picnic lunch

I love this picture of Luke and Thomas.

The four kids.  (I have to get used to that 4)

After lunch, we decided to see Stratford Hall, since we were so close. Plus, Thomas was wearing a Washington and Lee t-shirt and it was funny to us (well, me anyway) to visit the birthplaces of both our University's namesakes on the same day.

Stratford is the birthplace of Robert E. Lee.  It was a bit more crowded than Pope's Creek. We got there at 1:45, just in time for the 2:00 tour of the "Great House." The tour was over an hour long.  The kids were miserable!  It was way too informative and detailed for them (our tour guide gave an oral ancestry that seemingly rivaled the ones found in the Old Testament). However, they were very well-behaved. The tour guide also wasn't kid friendly.  We went into a wing of the house and she told people they could look around, then appeared irritated at the kids for going in a room that didn't have a barrier.  I was actually a bit happy when Luke started to cry, so I had an excuse to take him and Kara out (unfortunately, he waited over an hour to do so). The tour ended about 15 minutes after we left and the other people in our group made a point of commenting on how Thomas and I should be very proud of how well our children listened. However, I also heard some people telling the tour guide that it was among the best tours they had ever been on.  Some truths are relative, I suppose.  Actually, the tour was good and very informative, we were just expecting it to be more about General Lee and less about the history of the house, its other occupants and life in general during that time period (all good stuff, just not what we were prepared for). The kids did like seeing the school room in the house and hearing about the tutor's disciplinary techniques.  Anna commented that she was glad her teacher didn't adhere to those strategies!  We may go back to explore the grounds and visitor's center a bit more another day.

Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee (much grander than where the Washingtons lived)

And that my friends concludes our Washington unit.

But, not our pictures.  Here's more from around the birthplace, just because it was so pretty.

Not a pretty picture, but that bull (either Lewis or Clark, I just can't tell them apart) was huge!

Kara's Special Day

A few months ago we realized that Kara had a perfect record at school.  Every day she brought home a sticker on her calendar, indicating another day with no no behavioral issues (a rarity in this rambunctious family). Thomas and I were duly impressed and told her if she managed to keep that up for the whole year, we would take her to Toys-R-Us and let her choose anything she wanted.  After seeing commercials for Build-A-Bear, she asked if we could go there instead.  Of course, we agreed.

Everyone who has talked to Kara in the past 2-months was made aware of what would happen if she continued her sticker streak. Teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, random strangers... In other words, Kara was excited. Very excited. We gave her some options on when we could do her outing.  It was very important to her that both Thomas and I accompany her, and that Jack and Anna stay at home.  That meant we had to do it when school was in session.  After her year of hard work, yesterday was the big day.  She stayed firm in her desire to go to Build-A-Bear and woke up early and ready to go.  Her excitement was contagious and Thomas and I were ready for a fun day. (The blow was softened for Jack and Anna by it being School Spirit day, which sounded to me a lot like Field Day.  However, it is not Field Day, because that is next week.)

She wanted a special outfit for her special day and put together this look by herself.

We left the house around 9:15 for the 45 minute drive to the mall.  During the drive, Kara wanted to play games.  We did "I Spy" and "What Color Am I Thinking?".  The color game is one Kara made up when she was 3 and she always wins.  Typically, Thomas and I will pick boring colors like blue or orange.  Kara comes up with some Crayola creation, like "rainbow," or "sunshine yellow."  After that super fun drive, we got to the mall just as things opened. We passed Claire's first and let Kara pick out some new earrings for her and Anna.

Then, it was on to Build-A-Bear.  Kara chose one of the Palace Pets, Ariel's Treasure, as her stuffed animal. For her sound, she chose the "My Little Pony" song.  We asked if she wanted to change Treasure to one of the ponies, but she was content with putting the pony song into the Palace Pet.  She liked filling it with stuffing and loved giving it a "bath" and "blow dry".  Then, it was on to choosing clothes.  She picked out a dress and accessories set.  Twenty-five minutes and $63 later, we were done.

Putting the heart in Treasure

Her favorite part

Ready for the ball, or lunch.

After a quick stop at Yankee Candle's Semi-Annual Giant Sale, we left the mall and were off to lunch.   Kara got to choose our destination and she picked Ghengis Khan, a Mongolian Barbecue place.  Kara loved picking out all the items she wanted in her lunch.  It was a nice, quiet lunch.  From there, we headed home, but not before stopping off at Sweet Frogs to complete her special trip.

Normally we limit toppings, but not on her special day.  I think he bowl was 30% yogurt and 70% candy.

Luke was very cooperative for the entire trip.  He woke up once to eat and slept the rest of the time.  It was nice to spend time with just Kara.  We try and do things individually with all the kids, but usually it is a quick trip to the store, not a whole morning/afternoon of undivided attention.  It was fun for all of us.  Kara is already trying to decide what she will do after she has a year of good behavior in Kindergarten.