The American Dream

Several years ago, Grandma Carol gave Emily an American Girl catalog that had been sent to her house. For the next several months Emily paged through the catalog, read it at bedtime and even slept with it. She wouldn't rest until she had one of those dolls. We finally relented when she turned 6. Now she is getting ready to turn 9 and her grandest wish was not a birthday party with bouncy houses, but a visit to the American Girl store. 

The cherry on top of her fondest dream was to visit the store with her very first friend, Kaylee, who moved away from our town a couple years ago. Since Kaylee's house is on the way, we thought that was a splendid idea. So we loaded the kids up, drove to the big city and...

arrived where dreams are bought. 

I would wager there is more dollar value on the shelves of this store than in your average jewelry store. The girls were perpetually amazed, gasps of delight accompanying every turn. We told them they could each get one outfit. The choice was agonizing and delightful at the same time. 

Then each doll got a new hairdo. 

Jane couldn't stay away from the VW bug. It was $350. And a toy. Here I add that Chris once bought a whole truck for $500. It could haul wood and lawnmowers and large electronics. This car has lights that turn off and on. I can see why they want $350 for it. 

Each doll left the store with a new hairdo

and a new outfit.

The experience only got more fancy when we added some mall food court Chinese food. 

I asked Emily what the best part of the day was. I thought she would say something about the beautiful doll accessories or the thrill of having her doll's hair styled by a real certified doll stylist. She said, "Getting to see Kaylee was the best part of the day". 

It's nice to see she has her priorities in the right place. 

You'll be the Grandest Lady in the Easter Parade

So today is Easter. It felt a bit rushed this year among all the laundry and mild exhaustion from our trip. But it was great fun nonetheless.

We kicked off the weekend with a Good Friday Easter egg hunt hosted by our friends, the Martins. It was chilly in the park, but the kids were enthusiastic nonetheless.

Followed by refreshments, which I had decided to abstain from on account of my travel bloat. My abstinence went out the window when my friend Lisa brought out the homemade donuts. Willpower can only get you so far. 

While enjoying her loot, Jane decided her toenails were in need of a bit of color. I offered to do it, but she refused, saying she wanted daddy because "daddy is a good painter". Ouch. Oh well, we all have our strengths. And I cannot tell you how much I love seeing Chris interact with the kids. He is an amazing dad.

Yesterday we dyed eggs. Jane's favorite part was when an egg would break. Because then she got a snack. 

But most of the eggs survived long enough to get a dip. 

It's inevitable that the kids will lose attention during this activity. That's okay. When I pull the eggs out, I don't leave a brightly colored dribble on the counter top. 

As usual, the kids need loot. 

Their reaction was somewhat subdued. We later found out that was because they had sneaked down before we woke up and gotten a basket preview. 

Oh well. We still let them eat candy while we hid eggs. 

I love the enthusiasm of the egg hunt. 

I think we went a little overboard on the number of eggs. Note to self: There is no need to buy more plastic eggs next year. Your current supply is more than sufficient. 

Every few years General Conference falls on Easter Sunday. This year that happened. So we enjoyed listening while the kids ate more candy (and mom and dad dipped in a bit as well shhhhhhhh......)

The kids did their Easter program in church last Sunday on account of General Conference. Somehow in the hubub of leaving town we forgot to get pictures of them in their Easter dresses. Just imagine one girl in a sparkly dress and one girl in a purple dress. Both blond. Both missing multiple teeth. Both adorable. You get the idea. 

Happy Easter!

Spring Break New Mexico Style

This week the kids had spring break. We decided that we would take our first family road trip to mark the occasion. No, we've  never been on a road trip with our kids. Yes, they are 6 and 8. And they are terrible travelers. They NEVER sleep in the car. So, up until this point, trip=airplane. And since airplane=expensive, our family trips haven't been too frequent. But since the kids are now old enough to go an hour (and no more, trust me) between pee breaks, we decided it was time..

We went to Santa Fe. It was a first for all of us and I must say it was a great destination for our spring break.

The weather was perfect. Spring was busting out all over and downtown Santa Fe was so gorgeous.

We started out by touring this beautiful cathedral.

And then did some shopping downtown.

Followed by some Mexican food.

I kind of dislike Mexican food. But this was amazing. Seriously amazing. I could have eaten it until I puked, which would have been fortunate because then I would have room for more. 

Our time in New Mexico included lots of hiking at Bandelier National Monument. In Bandelier, a lot of the caves and pueblos that Native Americans lived in are preserved. It was so cool that I worry the kids are ruined for hiking in the plain old woods. 

There was a museum at the beginning. That didn't last long. The kids wanted to get out and see the ruins. 

The squares that make up the circle below are rooms of old pueblos. Pretty cool.

In order to reach the rooms dug out of the mountain, you had to use ladders. The kids were champs.

But the last room, called the "Alcove House" could only be reached by a series of very long ladders. Jane bowed out of that one and hydrated with daddy while Emily and I climbed. 

That's a little girl

on a big ladder. 

Lots of grown adults were too scared to do it, but they missed out. We were rewarded with a great piece of history and a beautiful view. 

Then we went and hiked through some more ruins. Mostly we were just trying to keep up with Jane. 

She hiked 6 miles through some pretty challenging terrain that day and was still full of energy at the end of the day. 

I don't think you're supposed to climb on the ruins. (the circles are where they put the timbers to support roofs)

That is a beautiful sight.

After the hike, we promised the girls some time in the hotel pool. But not before we had visited a super fancy chocolate shop. We got a couple truffles a piece. 

(this one is a chili caramel)

$30 of chocolate doesn't last long when you have two kids who have spent the day on exercise and fresh air. 

After an hour in the pool, it was time to reward ourselves with some Cowgirl BBQ. 

Six miles can take quite a toll on a little kid. 

The next day we traveled back through New Mexico and most of Colorado. Note: New Mexicans despise bare concrete. Every surface that could be decorated, was. 

On the way home, we stopped at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. It was lovely. It was nice to enjoy the fresh mountain air while looking at the animals. 

The girls got to feed giraffes. They are still talking about their long black tongues.

Jane fell in love with this one handed gibbon. She kept waving her little arm at him to show him that she was his friend.  

Emily loved the snakes. Every time we turned our back, she was trying to speak parseltongue to the snakes. She was very disappointed when it didn't work. Especially on this Burmese Python. 

Personally, I thought it was a little freaky to have just a chain link fence between me and a tiger. But it was cool to get close to the animals. 

In the end, the girls came home with Amanda the Panda and Hedwig the Owl to remember their trip to the zoo. Despite the fact that we saw neither panda nor owl while there. 

And on the way home, there is always time for pizza with cousins

Emily isn't too sure about this behavior. She is beginning to be mature and easily embarrassed. Now is the time I can start getting her back for colic. Muahahahaha!

Our short visit with my sister's family was a perfect end to a great trip. We had a great time and the kids will remember it for years. Also I'm hoping they learned a thing or two. I know I did. I learned that $4 truffles are wasted on kids. Happy Spring!