Here it is

My new minivan :)

So pretty! So nice & comfy & spacious & full of areas to keep things. Yay! And I can put the kids in separate rows so I can hop on back & sit by one of them if I need to.

I'm so happy.

I never dreamed I'd get this giddy over a minivan :)

We did it!

We got a minivan! It's too late to do much other than post a pic from Toyota's website, but I just had to announce it! We totally thought we were going with the Honda Odyssey, but we looked at the Sienna's & fell in love. And I did NOT like the features (or should I say "lack" of features) on the Odyssey.

So now it's official: I'm a suburban minivan mama. Oy vey! At least I'm not a soccer mom....yet!

Summertime

Mom was so excited when we told her that Dave & Nicole were coming up to meet Olivia over 4th of July weekend. She'd wanted to host a family party for quite sometime, so this was perfect! Unfortunately Dad's new barbeque hadn't arrived yet, but that didn't stop us. We invited everyone!

Dave & Nicole came up with the kids, and Kathy was her for the week anyhow. Dad's cousin Marsha drove over from Roseville, and Brenda came up with her gang from Oakdale. Michael couldn't make it, but his daughter Danielle & her son James accompanied Brenda & Sabrina. It was great to have so many kids together. We didn't even notice that they were there; they were having so much fun! And since everyone wanted to hold Olivia, I was able to enjoy myself as well.

It was a wonderful afternoon & evening and we can't wait to see everyone again.

Under the Sea

Well, I still need to paint, but here are some pics of the kids bathroom. I know David wasn't too thrilled with me changing the bathroom, and I did love the tropical/palm tree theme we had going, but it's now a kids' bathroom & I thought it should look that way, you know?

It started out innocently enough; we needed "stickies" for the tub so Brandon wouldn't slip. I originally picked up the palm tree ones from PBK. Well...after I got Brandon the sea critters sheets I knew I had to get him the cute stickies. So I went with my mom to exchange the stickies. But the collection was big time on sale, so...







All I have to do now is paint the bathroom, remove the palm tree pics from the wall, & put up the new decos. I got the wallies from this collection at PBK & I'm going to put them on wood plaques painted white & then lacquer them.

yay!

I did it! I customized my header! I feel so proud of myself!

The Deal

Well, I went to Gymboree today & did my return (top & socks). They didn't have long sleeve body suits for Olivia because we're a "hot" store. Oh well. Guess they won't get my money...time to order online.

Though it was nice to be able to see the clothes up close & personal, you know? Did change my mind a bit. And I talked to my mom on the way over to the mall & she wants to get Brandon his yellow fleece jacket again. Yay! And even if she doesn't, I still have a $30 credit that I can't use online. And I think I'm going to return something else too (maybe) for another $17-18.

Anyhow, I got this jumper & onesie from the new Pretty in Plums line


And I still got the long sleeved ivory onesie. Mostly for her Cherry Pie jumper once it gets colder.

Then, I was good. I got only stuff on a good sale for next summer. So I paid $5 shipping, $4 tax, and $61 total for the above items (which cost that much on their own) and the following from the Island Fun line:





Liv's gonna be stylin' next summer! And I'll get to order some bows for this as well. But I'll wait on that since I'm sure her hair will be a lot longer next summer. Hopefully long enough for pig-tails!

Happy shopping!

Gymbucks!

Okay, so I don't have all the gymbucks that I should. But I do have 2 (thanks Kathy!), and I do have a $24.50 return to make. So I can go shopping for some stuff. And then I'll be good & wait (as best as I can!) until the other stuff goes on sale.

But...I do want to get some things! Like this fleece jacket for Brandon. I got him the orange fleece one last year from the Construction line, & it was the perfect weight for all winter. So this year we'll get yellow. Cool. I'm not diggin' the Dig Dig Dig line (ha! pun intended!), so I'll wait to get him more clothes when the new athletic line comes out & goes on sale. Patience....

As for Liv, well, of course I'll have to get her something. I'm not sure which I'm going to get her now & which I'm going to wait for. Darn gymbucks! If I had all of mine I'd be good. This is the outfit I love It reminds me of something I had as a child (I think). The other is a few things put together. This jumper is cute & I like it better than the brown one. I need to buy Livvie more dresses since I can! And then of course the cardigan, onesie, & tights to go with it. And the crib shoes would work with it too.