March Birthdays

So I have taken a big long break from blogging because I have been frusterated and discouraged with all the time I spent trying to upload pictures only to have them not turn out the way I'd hoped. I'm going to take a "picture break" and at least start getting some posts back up here.

So, March had three family birthdays - Keira's on March 11th, my brother Patrick's on March 21st and mine on March 28th.

My big girl Keira turned 4 and I was nervous to get her excited about anything - considering the horrible birthday we had when she turned three and we were all sick. This year, however turned out MUCH better. Her and I had such a fun day. We dropped Mia off at my mom's and then I took her to Starbucks for a kids cocoa and a donut. Then we dropped off her paperwork to enroll her in the pre-school down the street from our house. We took a potty break and then headed to West Linn. There is a salon there geared especially for kids called Sit Still. I had booked a manicure there for her. She was SO excited. She loved the special treatment. Then we met my sister and her daughter at Red Robin for lunch. Then we went to their house so the kids could play for a couple of hours. They were both beyond ecstatic. Plus, I was looking forward to some time to be able to chat with my sis without having to watch out for little Mia. Afterwards, we went to my mom's to pick up Mia. When we got home, Keira took a little rest and then it was round two. Trav's mom came over and we met his sisters' at Izzy's (house) for dinner. The day turned out perfect. I thanked God repetitively for such an amazing day. Everything worked out so well...it totally made up for last year.

We had a small b-day party for Keira on Sat. March 14th at Papa's Pizza. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the kids had a blast playing in the kids area. It was nice to just be able to get there, set up, have the party and leave. The only bummer is that we had a two hour time limit so we couldn't just hang out as long as we felt like it. There were other parties booked in our spot. Saturday is a crazy day there! Although, I would highly recommend going there at opening time - 11am. It worked great in getting our food fast and making the most of our time there.

My brother's b-day was so fun. He turned 34 and wanted to go rollar skating! We got our family together and went to Buster's Bbq in Milwaukie. It was SO good. Then we headed to Oaks Park and I whipped out those old roller blades and we all went skating...well everyone but Travis and Mia. Poor little Mia didn't understand why she couldn't go out there with us. I think Trav was a little frusterated having to watch her. I think she would have a blast doing that when she gets a little bigger. We all had so much fun we decided to make a girls skating night. It's good excercise, too!

Lastly, my 33rd birthday was SO much fun. I started celebrating the day before by going out to breakfast with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Kendall, Travis and the girls. We went to the Hotcake House on Powell. Sort of spendy but pretty good! We used to go there a lot with my parents. Then, later that day, we went to dinner with my mom at the Macaroni Grill. She had a gift card to there. OMGosh - it was amazing. All the food tasted so good.

Travis and my mom were in "kahoots" (sp??) together and got me a laptop for my birthday!! I am using that right now as I type. Trav had researched prices and found a really good deal with a $100 off coupon and it is SO nice. I was ecstatic. He even uploaded all of my pictures on it and put some programs I would use on it - basically he did everything he could to get it completely ready for me to use. I was VERY impressed.

On my actual birthday, I met my sister for a day of shopping. I am so NOT a shopper - she is WONDERFUL to go with. She helps me stay focused and has so many great ideas. I got so many cool things that were great deals. I am now accesorized with scarfs, dangly necklaces, and a hat and have some WAY cool additions to my wardrobe. I feel a lot more confident that I could go shopping on my own and do alright although it will still probably be overwhelming for me. We had such a fun time and she has such a great eye for picking stuff out!

Trav and I and the girls were going to go out to dinner but I was ready to rest. Plus we found out the restaurant we were going to go to didn't open until 5pm and the girls were taking late naps. We opted instead for Burgerville cheeseburgers in front of the tv. lol. Then we were off for round two of b-day fun. We dropped the girls off at Nanna's. Nate and Teresa dropped Kambrie off there, too and went out for a fun night of bowling! We had the best time - we laughed so hard. Trav's sisters showed up for a bit and Meghan bought me a very potent drink. It was very yummy, though!! After bowling, the four of us went to Buffalo Wild Wings to hang out for a bit. They had these very goofy hats that we all had to try on.

Oh, and my sister bought me flowers, too - which...I might add proudly, are still alive on my kitchen table without my cats eating them! That is an accomplishment in and of itself. :-)

March was a fun month in our family. :-)