30th Birthday Extravaganza

My husband really pulled out all the stops for me this birthday.  It's a big one, I suppose, as I turn 30, but I wish every year could be the "big one" because today has been so great!

First, when I came upstairs this morning, he was there with a Beans & Brews tan-mocha and cinnamon buns from Great Harvest Bakery.  He knows me so well!  He showed me the gifts that he had wrapped for me (he's gotten really good at wrapping!) and the card he wrote to me.  Before opening the card, he sat and talked with me as I got my hair ready.  He told me not to get too dolled up as a hint for one of today's plans.  After getting ready for the day, I opened my letter.  Inside was a sweet note from Bobby and today's itinerary that he had planned!

#1 in the card was our coffee and breakfast (that I didn't have to cook!).  One thing that put my birthday over the top was that the kids were in SUCH a good mood today!  Trey was beyond happy to have Daddy and Mama both home, and he really enjoyed his milk and cinnamon bun while pushing the stroller around the house.  Gia was really excited that it was my birthday, and I think she was looking forward to being a part of the surprises that Bobby had planned.  One really cute conversation I had with her went like this:

As we're sitting on the couch, Gia put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You are going to LOVE your presents."  I gave her a very excited face and asked her, "Do you know what they are??"  She said, "No."  Funny girl!

#2 in the card was going on a family hike.  This is one of my favorite things to do, and Bobby had planned for us to go on our favorite hiking trail.  He mostly got the kids ready and changed Trey's poopy diaper, and he gathered the backpacks so that he could carry both kids.  That's right, my husband is muscle man!  We finally got out of the house and on to our hike.  Although it was really warm outside, it was absolutely beautiful.  The giant dandelions were out, as well as these beautiful, fragrant flowers that surrounded the path.  We hiked, took pictures, and went as far as the kids would let us before coming back down.  It was so beautiful and a great time to be out there together.  We were the only ones, too, which was great!

#3 in the card said that I could choose Chinese or Zaxby's for lunch.  I chose Chinese, so Bobby dropped me off to pack (that's right, pack) while he went to get Chicken Fried Rice with the kids as well as a "surprise."  We ate lunch together and Trey devoured his!  It was really well made today, too!

#4 was eating cake and opening presents.  After lunch, Bobby took Gia into the kitchen to prepare the "surprise."  They were in there for a long time, and then out came Bobby carrying a cake that looked like it was on fire.  That funny man had lit 30 candles on top of an ice cream cake!  He's been joking with Gia that Mama's cake will have so many candles that it will burn the house down, so he carried out the joke!  This morning Bobby when we were getting ready and Bobby was talking about my birthday surprises, Gia said, "And her cake is going to burn down the house!"  She takes in everything she hears!  The cake had Rocky Road ice cream in it because Bobby knows it's my favorite :)

I opened my card and present from Bobby's mom earlier in the day, which was a pair of khaki Toms!  It was my first pair, and I love them.  After the cake I opened Bobby's gifts.  He had also gotten me a pair of Toms that are navy!  I'm a spoiled girl :)  The other two gifts relate to #5 on the card...

#5 was that Bobby had booked a hotel room in West Valley for us for the night.  He planned for me to go ahead of him and have a few hours to myself, and then for him to join me and take me out to dinner.  So, his other two presents to me were Oreos and candy for me to take with me and enjoy while watching TV!  I accidentally forgot my desserts, though, so we'll have to enjoy them another day at home together.  I was a brave girl (if you know me, you know I hate driving when I don't know where I'm going ) and got to the hotel without getting lost :)  It was a relaxing 3 hours to myself, just blogging, watching Gilmore Girls, Food Network and 19 Kids and Counting, and getting ready for my date!

Bobby got to the hotel just before 6pm, and by that point I had my fill of "alone" time and couldn't wait to spend the rest of the night with him!  We went to an awesome Italian restaurant for dinner.  When we walked in, we thought that maybe we were going to be awfully disappointed, but it turns out that they sat us in a very private area and we ate some of the best Italian food of our lives.  We both hope that we get to go back there sometime soon.  I had spaghetti carbonara and Bobby had a butter-herb New York Strip with herb-buttered spaghetti noodles.  So. Good.  I wish I had taken a picture!

After dinner, we dropped our left overs off at the hotel and went to get coffee at the Beans and Brews around the corner.  It wasn't as good as the one that we have here in our town, but we had a good time being together and talking.  Here's the only picture I got of our coffee date.

After coffee, we went back to the hotel and Bobby let me watch all the shows that I love (mostly 19 Kids and Counting).  We also watched about half of Harry Potter #6 before falling asleep.  Bobby tickled and rubbed my back for pretty much the whole evening and we enjoyed hanging out, just the two of us.  The next morning, we watched a little of the Food Network and then went down to get breakfast and brought it back to the room.  Bobby was mad because he had specifically asked if they had waffles when he booked the hotel (because I love them), and they said absolutely yes, but did not deliver on that promise.  I actually bothered Bobby way more than me, because the breakfast was really good and then had one of those mocha-hot coca machines.  Back at our room, we studied the Bible together while we ate, which was one of the best parts of my birthday.  After that, we had to pack up and get back home to pick up the kids.

This was honestly one of the best birthdays I've had as an adult.  Next year, I don't want any presents.  I just want to re-live this day!

Homeschooling Fun!

When Gia turned 4, we started doing some school at home about 3-4 days a week.  It's only for about 30 minutes and nothing too stressful for her, just something that is fun and will hopefully prepare her for kindergarten next year.  Trey has also been doing "school" along with us by watching his ABCs, numbers and colors on youtube videos.  And it's working!  It's amazing how that second child picks up on things so quickly as they watch their older sibling learn.

So, Bobby and I plan on doing traditional school for our kids (probably a charter school in the area), but watching them learn together in the mornings seriously makes me consider homeschooling.  It's so much fun and I know exactly how to teach Gia that speaks to her specific learning style.  I also love implementing all of what she's learning through out the day.

We have a weekly schedule for our school.  Now, this is very flexible because she's only four and because living the life of a church-planting family means that our schedule is never predictable.  But, ideally, and what we strive for, is to have a schedule for her learning process.  Every week we focus on one Bible verse (memorizing and understanding), one mathematical concept (this week it's counting by 10s), writing one letter (this week was L), learning blended sounds (we just use flash cards and go over a few of those daily until she learns them), sight words with flash cards, etc...  I'd also like to add in a social studies concept, but we haven't done that yet.  

I figure that Gia is going to have SO MUCH to learn all at once in kindergarten, and I would rather my 5 year old not have to stress about learning her ABCs along with the concept of Atoms and historical figures.  I don't want her to be bored in school, but I also don't want her to get stressed when she learns (which tends to be her personality).  I secretly hope that she doesn't get picked from the charter lottery so that I can have an excuse to keep her home one more year and homeschool her for kindergarten, but know that what is probably best for her is to be in a classroom setting with other children, learning in a structured environment.  I'm already dreading letting her go, and I'm just thankful that the charter schools around here are only a half-day kindergarten :)

Here are a couple pictures of Gia and Trey singing "Head, shoulders knees and toes" on youtube.  I love that they like to learn together!

Trey - 19 months & Date day

Today was another date day for our family:  Bobby and Gia went to the coffee shop, and Trey and I went to feed the ducks.  Later, Bobby and Gia joined us at the park and we hung out there until the heat became unbearable.  I tried to keep Trey safe near the water while also getting some good pictures of him.  He's 19 months now, and growing so fast.  At his appointment last week, these were his stats:
Weight:  27 1/2 lbs (90%)
Height:  75%
Head:     95%

Most of the duck's food ended up in Trey's mouth.

He's in 2T clothes, but still in size 4 diapers.  He knows when he goes potty in his diaper, but I'm not ready to potty train him yet.  When Gia and I do school in the mornings, Trey does his school on the computer with youtube videos.  He has learned all his colors, how to count to 5 (and how to say 1-10), and is starting to learn his ABCs.  His vocabulary is SO big, I swear he learns 3 new words everyday.  He's inquisitive, likes to give other kids turns, can definitely be determined when he wants his way, and is most happy when Bobby, Gia and I are all around him.  His favorite color is yellow and his favorite activity is probably playing in the water.  He also loves for us to read stories to him and for Bobby to bark like a dog and chase him around the house.  Usually now if he is grumpy, it's because he's hungry (I have to feed him something about every 2 hours).  His favorite food is macaroni and cheese, and maybe pancakes.

Blooper shot:

Giving hugs!