Last week we had a visit from Shelby. She came up to, hopefully, help with the kids a new baby, but apparently this little girl did not like those plans. So, instead, we played. The day Shelby got here, it was raining and cold. Surprise, surprise. But, I forgot the city was turning off power that day for work, so the house was about 63 degrees when we got home. It was a little cold. Luckily, we were only home 2 hours, and then the heater kicked on.

Wednesday, we stayed home so friends could come over, since that was the day their power was scheduled to be turned off. Thursday, we headed off to Pike’s Market. It was barely raining, so it turned out to be a good day to go. We grabbed some lunch and watched this band play while we ate. They were pretty good, and the girl would even dance on her wood to add to the music.

We bought a bouquet of flowers that Jameson picked out, but Ella insisted on carrying in the house. She almost tipped over, because the bouquet was awkward and heavy for her.

Jameson showed Shelby how to beat the asteroids and fight the birds in Happy Action Theater. Best game to get kids wiggles out before bed.

Monday came and still no baby. I figured I needed to be in the hospital by Monday in order to be out before Shelby left to go home. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. The only day, I think, Shelby didn’t freeze. So we walked to the park. That’s about 2 miles round trip. Plus, I was pushing the stroller. Shelby offered to push, but my point was to try to go into labor. When we got home, I vacuumed the house, mopped, swept, did laundry, and dishes. Do you think any of this helped? No. Oh yes, I contracted through all of it, but it did not help progress anything.

Really funny, though. Ella was watching the water shoot out of the ground, when it disappeared. She was checking out the whole, when the water turned back on and shot her in the face. I was laughing pretty hard. She shook it off, but made sure to steer clear the next time.

Tuesday, we took Shelby over to the Microsoft campus and met Kevin for lunch. We ate in their “cafeteria” which is ridiculous. Pretty much a mini mall but with a better food court. We walked her over to the store, and tried to go to the museum, but it was closed for something. Instead, we headed back to the Commons and played with the microsoft surface they have there.

After their game, we took the kids home and Kevin headed back to work. Wednesday morning, we took Shelby to the airport and dropped her off with no baby in tow. We had fun, though, so we can’t ask for more.

Jameson asked Dad to play safari. When asked what that meant, this was the result.

It means Dad is the jeep. The kids were loving their safari ride.

We got to spend a lot of time together as a family this weekend. Friday started with a doctor appointment where I was told I was 2 cm dilated. Makes sense. Last week, I had tons of pain, but I was surprised. I’ve never made it that far without already being in labor. Don’t misunderstand. There is no labor pains going on here.

Anyway, I had talked to Kevin about meeting him for lunch. We’ve actually never really been over to the Microsoft campus other than trick-or-treating. Kevin thought that would work out, so I called him as soon as my appointment was over to let him know we would be on our way. It also just so happens, the first Friday of the month is family day. We met up with friends there, and the kids had a blast. They started with a few carnival games, and got prizes… even if they didn’t win. Jameson was determined to knock the ducks down, though.

Ella was just enjoying her sucker while Kevin got us some lunch. Jameson was busy playing pinball on the machine next to our table.

After we ate, Kevin took us through the Microsoft museum. The kids loved this. It’s like a giant ipad. Can I say that? Compare a microsoft product to an apple product? Oh well. The kids were putting puzzles together.

They played a little kinect as well. Then we headed into the Microsoft store. The kids got a new game, which I think I am going to love. Jameson was running in place all night, wearing himself out. On our way back through, we stopped to let the kids make a Fathe’s Day craft.

We need to take advantage of family day more often. I guess each month is a different theme, too.

Today, Saturday, we did a little shopping. We headed down to the outlets, and we’re able to find Kevin some clothes for some good deals. Jameson was also in need of pajamas. All his shirts show his belly, and his pants are about 2 inches from the ground. Carter’s had their pajamas on sale 70% off plus, I had a coupon for another 20% off. Needless to say, he got quite a few pairs, and should be set now. After shopping, we took the kids to Sub Zero Ice Cream. I’ve wanted to check that place out, but it’s a pretty far drive. Since we were down that way, we thought we’d check it out.

It’s pretty fun. You tell them what ingredients you want, including type of cream, flavor, mix-in, and how hard you like your ice cream. Then, they spray it with nitrogen.

Jameson was not a fan of the smoke. Is it smoke? I don’t know. Anyway, he did not want it touching his clothes. They flash freeze your ingredients to make ice cream, and then dish it out to you. It was really good. And, they mentioned that they are in the process of trying to open up more locations, so they may be closer in the future. I wish they were, it was  a pretty fun concept and really good ice cream.

The kids both crashed on the way home. I realized we should probably do a few more things while we can, before we are home bound by a new baby. So we’ll see if we get out for a few more outings this week. Either way, we had a fun weekend.

This pretty much sums up Ella right now. She loves Nemo, loves her hand-me-down Buzz Lightyear pajamas, loves her high heels, and loves her baby dolls.

Every spring, Kelsey Creek Park does a sheep sheer festival. I always see the signs, but we’ve never been able to make it. This year, we decided to go. Kevin had already planned to kayak the river, so I took the kids that morning to the festival. We got there just in time to see the sheep get their hair cut.

Ella liked watching the sheep, but Jameson was bored after one sheep. They actually cut about 4 every hour. So we finished watching and took off to see what else there was to do. They had some rabbits out of cages the kids could pet. Ella loved it. She wouldn’t leave the rabbits to continue to see what else there was.

I finally got her away from the rabbits. We got some kettle corn, and while I was getting that, the kids watched the dogs below herd the sheep. Once we got our popcorn, we headed down to get a closer view. I think this was their favorite part. They would let the dogs out and have them herd the sheep different ways… splitting sheep up, directing the sheep to the corners.

Kevin finished earlier than we thought, and could have met us, but parking was crazy. So we told him we’d meet him at home. Unfortunately, that meant that I had to push the kids up hill the whole way back to the car which was pretty far away. So yah, by the time we got to the car, I was worn out and contracting. But we made it.

Monday was supposed to reach 80 degrees. That is hot here. So we packed up and headed to the lake. Ella is my little water baby. She’s never been afraid of the water. But, my days of having her sit with me on the blanket and eat are over. She loved the water. (She’s in the orange swim suit with green bucket.) Jameson found the raft I bought at the end of the season last year, and played on that the whole time. (He’s on the raft in the first picture.)

I soaked up as much sun as possible, and ended up with a slight sunburn. You wouldn’t think a sunburn would feel good, but it feels good to know the sun was finally reaching us here in Washington. We also finally got to use the wagon the kids got for Christmas. It was awesome. I don’t know how I will fit everything plus a baby, but we’ll figure that out later. For now, I was content to be the beached whale. And now, I actually have a a few tan lines. Who knows when it will be warm enough for the beach again, but we loved it.