Some more pictures from Kendra's visit

Yep, there are more (courtesy of Kendra).

Weekend Visit

*** Caution: this is a huge post. Gigantic. Plus a billion pictures. Feel free to stop now and just skip to the next one. Don't say I didn't warn you. ***

Ken's sister, Kendra, came with Lee and her kids Brooke and Avery from lovely, warm Florida to spend the weekend with us -- and the snow. It was the first time the kids remember seeing snow -- and boy did we have enough for them :) We were lucky yesterday to have a gorgeous winter day here. Almost 30 degrees (heat wave for us) and beautiful blue skies. These are the days that make me love winter.

The kids played outside in the snow all morning and then we took them for their first sledding experience. They all did great and had a blast (well, except for Evie who wasn't too sure about this whole thing). We spent the evening checking out the Mall of America and most of the kids went on their first real roller coaster ever. They were all (really, really) scared but were, again, just great. Luke and Kevin have basically be running around after Brooke and Avery for 48 hours straight and Baloo has been loving all the people in the house. We all went off to church today and are looking forward to dinner all together. Now we just have to convince them to move out here too!

Avery's first taste of the snow

Brooke checking it out too . . .

Kevin and Luke making snow angels

Uncle Ken playing sled dog

Ethan, AKA stay-puffed-marshmallow man
Avery loves the snow!

Evie all bundled up

And (kind of) liking the snow

Luke and Kevin toting the sleds up to the hill

Some great sledding shots:

Luke showing his sad face after he went down a HUGE hill with Daddy, they both flipped off the sled and he landed face-first in the snow with Ken on top of him.

The Barringer sibs - Kendra, Ken and Jeremy

Our Barringer family

Jeremy, Mindy, Kevin and Ethan

The funny things kids say

A few recent gems, courtesy of Luke:

At dinner, after asking a questions which apparently Daddy answered out of turn: "I didn't ask you, I asked Mommy. Are you Mommy? No, I don't think you are." (seriously, what a little sassy-pants!)

To cousin Kevin, who had just told Luke how excited he was they were going to the mall with the crocodile. Said with hands out and complete with very exasperated look: "Kevin! What are you talking about!"

In the car on the way to church, when asked to stop spitting: "But Mommy! I'm just watching the sparkles come down."

Shopping alert: seeing green

I am a little obsessed with all the green out for spring right now. I have picked up a few sale pieces -- like this shirt from Downeast Basics (you have to love their prices)

and this sweater from the Gap (now on sale!).

Also -- if you're lucky enough to have an H&M nearby (thank you, Mall of America -- seriously one of the best things about where I live) -- they also have some great, cheap stuff (I got a beautiful green trench from there a month or so ago.

My only regret? That I can't wear yellow (stinking reddish hair and pale pale skin). I love the color yellow that's everywhere now. How cute is this trench from the Gap?

Have fun shoppin'.

My baby's all grown up and got pigtails

Well, sort of. But I did wake up this morning to find Ev howling as Ken was busy tying her little, itty bit of hair into 2 pigtails. I simply love a girl with 2 pigtails sticking straight out. I have been plotting, collecting all sorts of cute little hair ties and bows and flowers. Seriously, it was a little ridiculous. But it looked so darn cute!

Love, love.

The crazy week continues with me finally having a few minutes to post a few pics. Hopefully much less rambling and way fewer typos and grammar mistakes than my last few posts (hmmm. maybe I should try reading these things first).

Anyway - we love Valentine's day. Well, frankly, I love any kind of holiday and always have. My parents were great about celebrating all holidays, big and little. When we were kids Valentine's day meant pink stuff for dinner and care packages at college -- we still get packages every Valentine's day. I spent most of my Valentine's days unattached (lots of strings of short-term boyfriends) until I met Ken -- but really, how can you hate any day that promises an excuse for all the chocolate you can eat?

We did our "pink dinner" on Wed evening -- pink pumpkin chocolate pancakes, pink scrambled eggs, pink lemonade, berries and red juice to drink. Ken sent me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers at work Wed night (nice move, really honey!) and we actually had a babysitter and went out for a great dinner downtown that night. I finished the evening by cuddling both kids to sleep in the big rocker (well, Luke was evidently faking as indicated by the picture) and then sleeping in my own bed with my hubby for the first time in a week. Really, a terrific day to be greatful for those little and big loves in my life.

New favorite thing: Girls' Weekend Out

Chicago!

My girlfriends from highschool and I had been talking for a long time about getting together in Chicago. I'd been dying to see "Wicked" and when my (wonderful, wonderful) mother got tickets for my herself, my sis and I we decided it would be the perfect weekend to get together. We'd done a couple of great trips together as teenagers with our moms (New York City, the Mall of America) and it really felt like old times. It's amazing how we can still hang out, 3 marriages and 5 kids later, after maybe emailing a few times a year and still feel like no time has passed. Except we talk about slightly different things (and are a little less embarrassed about our Moms going into Victoria's Secret -- which they did and totally grossed us out as 16-year-olds).

Me, my cute pregnant sis, lovely Mom

My friends and our great moms

Anyway, "Wicked" was great. Just really really superb. Great music. GREAT cast (the woman playng Glinda was the funniest character I have ever seen). Seriously, go see it if you get a chance.

We then spent Saturday just hanging out, getting manicures and pedicures, eating a ton (seriously a ton -- and this great cafe downtown has the best Beignets -- New Orleans powdered sugar doughnut sugar concoctions -- I have ever had), doing lots or shopping and generally reliving some old good times. It was a blast. A few things I learned about Chicago: you can shop all day (and we did)and literally not leave the same block, they have amazing food pretty much everywhere, and the American Girl store is absolutely insane. Our wonderful hubbys held down the forts, watched kids, and generally spent a ton of time building forts and playing games. Thank goodness for old, great friends. This will definitely need to become a yearly tradition.

And then I came back to real life . . . a bunch of night shifts . . which explains my brief blogging hiatus :)

My sis and I

Laura, Christy and I on the streets in Chicago