Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Trip and such...




My friend Priscilla needed someone to watch her little ones on Friday, so I decided it would be fun to have them over. Ruby loved it. It was a bit challenging with four little ones all on my own, but overall they had a great time together. They did all sorts of craft projects together like fingerpainting and making valentines. We spent tons of time eatting, Ruby loves to eat right now and will say she is hungry at a whim. So...we sat down a few times to eat together. They also read Noah's Ark together really nicely. It was a fabulous experience for Ruby and I was happy to have them over, such little cuties!
On Saturday, I travelled with Ruby and Elsie to visit my friends in Ellensburg and meet up with Mike in Yakima. Ruby and Elsie were awake the entire ride from Cheney to Ellensburg, but did great! No crying at all, yay!

We first stopped to visit my friend Michelle and another friend Justine joined us for a playdate. It was so nice to see them after so many years. Their kiddos were so grown up. Ruby really connected most with Michelle's daughter McKenzie. They played together in her room most of the time. They came out for lunch and then went right back in after they were finished. When they finally came out, they both were all dressed up in princess dresses. Ruby had on a cowboy hat with her dress and some plastic shoes, quite the outfit! I was really glad to see her have such a great time. Michelle also has another daughter, Macie. She is 18 months and just so adorable. Such a little ham. She spent most her time trying to catch up with Ruby and McKenzie. These are both friends of mine from high school, I am so glad that we have stayed connected over the years. The visit was wonderful and I hope to do it again in April.

Our next stop was at another high school friend's house in Ellensburg named Amy. Ruby loved her little dog. She had it on a pink leash and Ruby could not get enough of it. The doggy was small and Ruby has always wanted to walk a dog, so she finally got her chance. Amy's boys are a bit older than Ruby, so they really didn't play much together. We chatted for a bit and then frosted some sugar cookies together. Of course, Ruby loved that too. It was just really fun to spend time with an old friend. We are both teachers too, so lots to talk about in that subject area.

We then headed to Yakima. Not my favorite place, but it was really nice to see Mike. We found his hotel room easily and surprised him in his room. Ruby and Elsie were thrilled to see him after his was away Friday. They laughed and jumped on the bed, it was really cute. We went to find a place to eat and then headed back to the hotel room. Ruby was wanting to go home and was a bit worried, until the movie "Cars" came on and then all was fine in her world. Mike and Ruby stayed up late and and watched it together. Elsie and I fell asleep pretty quickly.

In the morning, we had continental breakfast downstairs and then headed out to see if a place called "Kids Castle" was open. It is a place that is full of bouncy toys and trampolines. It was closed, so we met up with my cousins Rachel and Jimmy outside and headed to the mall with them. Most of the stores were closed because it was so early. We did find some toys for Ruby to play on though, so she was really happy. I was excited to see what the valley mall looked like. It used to be the run down mall in Yakima, but now it is the only mall and they have remodeled and added all sorts of good stores. They also added an upstairs food court, we went upstairs and Ruby and Elsie played in a small play area as we chatted. We mostly talked about trying new types of foods, Jimmy thinks we need to branch out a bit. I am open to it, but not wanted to try any sushi (raw kind). Elsie went through a tunnel and enjoyed being down on the mats to play.

We then went to meet up with Mike and decided to eat at a little diner near the mall. The food was so-so, but it was packed. We enjoyed the atmosphere though and it was within our budget. We also had a few moments to talk with them which was nice too.

After this, we went to Kids Castle with them and it was actually open. So much fun, and Rachel and Jimmy joined us. Ruby had an upset stomach, poor girl. So we spent quite a bit of time in the rest room, but she did get about a half our of jump and play time in which was really nice. As we were leaving, Jimmy gave Ruby a candy necklace and me a rose for Valentine's Day. So sweet.

We drove from here to Tri-Cities, about an hour. This time to visit our friends Neal, Janessa, and Sam. They made us dinner and we chatted for a while. Ruby played so nicely with Sam, they enjoyed playing with a flashlight and hiding under a table covered with blankets. They also watched a movie together. They loved every moment together. Ruby kept saying that she was staying the night with Sam, so I decided to stay. We got ready and then Ruby realized that we weren't going home and wanted to sleep beside Elsie and I. This didn't work, they were wide awake and I had one on each side of me without an inch of area left to move. I quickly realized that we were not going to sleep well and packed up our things and headed home. It was 9:30 pm and we made it home at midnight. Both girls slept well on the way home and I picked them up and placed them in their beds. They slept the whole night through. It worked out okay...just wish I would have realized this earlier in the night so we weren't travelling back so late at night.

Monday was pretty low key...just caught up on all the housework I had missed. Thank goodness I didn't leave the place totally in shambles. My friend Janelle stopped by and stayed for a few hours while Mike worked on the truck. She brought her boys in and we had a nice visit. Ruby enjoyed playing with Luke and they were really nice to eachother. We tried to make it to a cookie party, but were a bit late. We stayed awhile to chat with Angie and her boys and then headed home. I made our famous spagetti dinner, Elsie LOVED it. She was slurping and gobbling up the noodles. So cute. Elsie took some steps this night...I prompted her to come to me, and held my hands just far enough she would have to let go and walk to grasp them. She did reach out and let go and actually took one step. I thought it was really fun watching her think about letting go on her own and trying to take a step all on her own. She also started saying "Da! Da!" on this day, and has been saying it ever since. So exciting, Mike has been waiting for this moment to happen anxiously.

On Tuesday, we stayed home the entire day. Just another catch up day for laundry and dishes.

Today, we went to a playdate out in the valley. Ruby enjoyed playing with the other kiddos. They had a weiner dog that she loved and a bouncy toy too. Elsie ventured out a bit too. We then headed out to Four Lakes so we could get together with Angie and her boys, we walked a mile loop together which was so refreshing. I just love being outdoors.




Ruby put together a curious george puzzle all by herself for the first time today. Yay!

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