Date Night

We dropped off the kids tonight at the Tae Kwon Do studio.  They got to have a ninja party, complete with glow sticks while we enjoyed a dinner for two at PF Changs. 

The wait was over 45 minutes, so we worked our way into two seats at the bar.

We each got kung pao shrimp with brown rice.  It was soooo good.

After we finished, we drove across the street to the AT&T store.  Kelley upgraded her iPhone since her old one was having repeat problems that were really frustrating.

Then we went to Barnes & Noble and found books on night time photography and TCP/IP.  Good stuff.  We arrived back at the karate studio early and walked the aisles of Target for awhile before picking up the kids.  We caught the tail end of ninja karate ball being played in the dark.   The kids had a blast.

And so did we.

More Snow

We received more snow overnight.

This time it didn't stick to the roads.

It barely dusted the soccer fields in front of school.

I think the kids were a little disappointed they still had to go to school.

Chuck E. Cheese

The kids had been good this week and earned a special trip to Chuck E. Cheese.

They were excited to each get $5 of tokens and quickly ran off to play different games.

They split up on me, so I was wandering back and forth between each kid to see what they were doing.

They both did well with the squirt gun.  It also helped not playing against an opponent.  :)

I also wanted to play wac-a-mole, but Chloe wouldn't stop playing it!

She also rode the half-ride ferris wheel.

Both kids earned a tremendous amount of tickets that they had fun showing off to me.

I think they had just as much fun feeding the tickets to the counting machines as they did earning the tickets from various games.

The part that took the longest was deciding on which toys or candy to 'purchase' with their tickets.

Afterwards, we went to the carwash.  Both kids had been begging to go.  They love the carwash.

And now I love it more than ever before.

In spite of being covered with soap and brushes, the carwash has THE absolute best lighting for taking pics!

I love laid back weekends with no agenda, other than to spend time with the kids having fun!

Mohawk Lunch

We were having a lazy morning.  Owen still had his mohawk from the day before.  Lunch was breakfast and consumed in our pajamas.

We had a quiet protest.

And an art showing of a dog with numbers.

The older they get, the closer they are becoming.  They share personal space without fussing at each other.  Sometimes.  This makes me happy to see them be friends.

Weekend Karate and Dinner Out

Chloe had some tough push-ups to do during Tae Kwon Do this morning.

They made up for the hard work with a game of Karate Ball with the largest ball ever.

I didn't feel much like cooking tonight, so we decided to use one of our gift cards to Chili's that we got for Christmas.

Turns out Owen didn't feel much like eating.  :(  He was very quiet throughout dinner, but insisted he wasn't sad or angry.  He just wasn't hungry.

Dancing Machines

The kids are both all amped up over learning a dance routine to Justin Bieber's song Baby, Baby, Baby.  They had me download it to iTunes and were dancing to the song after coming home from Tae Kwon Do.

Dylan was wound up and wanted to dance, too.

And even though Dylan was running around like a crazer, Owen and Chloe were still dancing away to Justin Bieber.  :)  These kids are focused!

Karate Kids - Flying Mantis

Tonight was the night for kicks and leaps and leaping kicks.

I love the overbite of concentration on this girl.

 Nice jump, Chloe!

Pets

Jezzie is routinely on my lap when I'm working during the day.  And Dylan comes in regularly to check on me for possible ear scratches and in the hopes that he may get a special treat (which are hoarded on top of my desk).

Jezzie is his mother hen and will lick his face clean.  She likes to focus on his eyes, so he is respectable.  It is in the evenings when he is lying down in the family room that she will lick his paws clean.  I love that these two are such good friends.

Homework

Chloe has been doing really well in school.  A complete 180 from the beginning of the school year.  Homework is becoming less and less of a struggle, which is nice.  We are glad she is enjoying school and having fun learning.

Those are smiley faces in the foreground that she has received for good behavior.  She also tells us that she likes math.  That it is her favorite.  Because it helps her learn.  Amazing how young they are when they learn how to say things they think will be well received...

Jezzie Loves Her Daddy

This is where Jez hangs out every night.  She just can't be close enough to Todd.  It doesn't bother her at all that a computer is taking up most of his lap.