Grocery Store

Lauren and Ben emptied our pantry the other night and made a grocery store.

They were cracking us up. They were so serious about their sales.

They are very smart business people. Apparently they purchased this food for 3 cents each but each time was being sold for $2 each. Quite a mark up!

Lauren trying to sell her most favorite food ever- Mayo!

She cracks me up!

Lauren was so excited to pick our first ripe tomato. As soon as she picked it she took a huge bite just like an apple. This totally makes me gag. I hate the texture of tomatoes. I like the taste but can only handle them cut up in small pieces in salsa or on a sandwich.

She loved it and chomped away. This girl loves her veggies!

Poor Little Benny Boo

Poor little Ben came down with some random bug this weekend and it him like a freight train! I've never seen him so sick. He just sat on the couch and stared into space. We all felt so bad for him and wanted a chance to cuddle with him.

He looked up at me and said, "Mama, nigh nigh." Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep. It felt like I had a little baby again, which was kind of sweet actually.

Finally a little smile! We had to keep towels strategically placed all around him because we had one major puking session on the couch! No fun for anyone, especially Kevin who had to clean it up:(

Party Mama

Lauren came down dressed like this and I said, "Wow, you are quite the beauty queen" and she said, "No, I am not a queen, I am a mom and I'm going to a party and I need you to babysit."

Turns out this party was in Australia and she had to fly to get there. It was a dinner party that was just for moms, no kids & no boys. I don't know what circle this mama runs in but it sounds wild & fun! We got some good video of her chatting about it so I'll post that later!

Pillow Pet!

Lauren has been begging for a pillow pet for the last few weeks because of those non-stop commercials on Sprout. We decided that if she slept in her bed for 5 nights straight she could get one. Low and behold, she did it! She was even sick 2 of the nights and woke up crying with a fever but just called for me because she didn't want to get out of her bed and ruin her 5 day streak! Pretty impressive I'd say:)

We went and bought the silly thing last night at the mall so she could have it first thing when she woke up this morning. She was SOOOO excited when she got out of bed!

Checking the last box on her chart.

Way to Go Lauren!

Now she better sleep in there from now on...or the pillow pet just might disappear:)

They are actually growing!!!

Getting sick of garden pics yet?! I'm just so excited that my plants are actually growing. Maybe it is because someone (Kevin!) kept telling me there wasn't enough sun in our backyard and they wouldn't grow. I do enjoy proving him wrong every now and then:)

Our little cucumber!

This one makes me mad! This green pepper is growing so nicely but there is a little hole in it where a naughty little bug entered it. I'm still letting it grow just because I like watching it, but we won't be eating this one:(

And our favorite veggie we've planted so far, the snap peas! They are so fun for the kids to just pick and eat. Next year we plan to do a lot more of these.

The "kindergartner" and "baby Nana"

Lauren wanted to pretend she was going to Kindergarten the other day. Here she is, looking so grown up!

Ben and "Baby Nana" had to see her off.

Ben's latest obsession is Baby Nana, whom he named all by himself. He loves her very much and insists that she sleep with him every night along with pup, baby (different than baby Nana), 2 specific blankets & at least one book (usually a truck one). His crib is getting crowded!

Our big kid is off to kindergarten! The scary thing is this is just 1 year away, I am going to be one of those moms I always made fun of crying. I'm already getting sad just thinking about it!!!

Riding the Carousel

Lauren always wants to ride the carousel at the zoo but I never have any cash with me. The other day I actually had a few bucks so I let her ride it.

She loved it and wanted to ride again and again.

Ben on the other hand did not. I bought him a ticket but he clung to me for dear life and wouldn't even touch the horse. Oh well Benny, maybe next time!

I give up!

Last summer we made Tie Dye shirts and they were a total flop. I thought we'd try again...

Claire, Hayley, & Aunt Tracey have made them many times before so they gave us some tips on how to fold the shirts & they recommended keeping them in the dye for 24 hours.

We decided to let them soak for 48 hours, then rinse them, then put them in vinegar. I thought we were going to have the most vibrant tie dye shirts ever but...

I washed them and this is what we have! Oh well, they are better than last year but I just can't figure out what the secret is to having vibrant tie dye shirts. Lauren's over her tie dye phase anyway so Ben is the only one who will wear them and he's not too picky...yet!

Martina McBride!

We went to St. Michelle Winery to see Martina McBride on Thursday night. She was fabulous & we all had the best time.

My cousin Cole doesn't like mainstream music so he gave his ticket to Lauren. Lucky her! It was her first grown up concert and she was pretty excited to get to go.

We were trying to take preconcert pics (since they don't allow cameras) but she just kept being so goofy.

We had a great time together. She was up and dancing all around and kept looking through the binoculars. I took a bunch of pics with my phone but have no idea how to get them on my camera...I'm sure I have a cord somewhere that will do the trick...but who knows where that is!

Cousins Galore!

We had so much fun with all of our California cousins in town! There were 10 family members visiting and it was so busy but so fun! Lauren had a great time swimming in Kirkland. She thinks my older cousins are soooo cool. And they are:) Miss Claire just got accepted to Biola and will be attending this fall- way to go Claire!

Miss Emma digging in the sand. I think she tried a few bites too:)

Ben finally warmed up to Aunt Tracey on her last day here!

Mama & Lauren. I love her sweet little face here.

The girl cousins. Hayley, Claire, Val, Liz, & Marie.

Jacob & Lauren

Most of the Prentice cousins (missing 2).

Ben playing on Pa's Harley. Little does he know he will never ride it...if mama has anything to say about it anyway!

This motorcycle is more my speed!

Lauren was sad to say good-bye to Hayley:(

Hadley Jane having fun at the park!

This is VERY brave of Ben- he usually is scared to swing!

Emma!

Lauren & Jacob being grown ups and buying lemonade by themselves. Lauren said, "Jacob, let's pretend you are the dad and I'm the mom and I have a baby in my tummy" and he said, "okay". too funny.

she seriously felt so grown up!

checking out the ducks

chocolate milk & bee movie before bed, a pretty good combo!

getting ready for a ride to Jetty Island on Nana & Pa's boat

We loved Jetty Island and can't believe we've never been there before.

another sp of us:)

family shot

digging in the sand. the water here was actually pretty warm despite the colder temps.

Jetty Island was so fun to wander around. It is so close too! We will be going back soon.

Hads & Lauren in their cute suits

Both kids had to have daddy holding them!

Lauren & Hadley were playing Starbucks. They were so cute.