What a week!!!

I love this one. Aubree LOVES her sister and Kenzie is always trying to make sure she is OK. This truly captures their relationship. Kenzie and her chipped front tooth and all. Love it!!

And yes... she is still bald.

Warning: Long post ahead... had to write each detail for my remembrance later on so I can laugh at it someday, it does sound quite awful after reading it, but I promise, I'm laughing now...read at your own risk:)

So this last weekend was a weekend I was looking forward to for a long time. I am a person that needs something to look forward too cause it makes me be able to get things done quicker and I'm much more happy because there will be a "break" soon. I doesn't necessarily always have to be a weekend away. I'm even happy with a planned date night. Seriously, I'm pretty easy to please... ha ha.

So our friends Conrad and Mandie invited us up on a tradition that they have of going up to Tamarack during their off season. We stayed in this wonderful 3 bedroom 3 bath house, with a hot tub, bbq, huge deck, tv's in every room, and everything else you would want. Kenzie played to her heart's desire with Maycie and Jaxon (my friend's two oldest) went swimming in the hot tub 4 X per day and ate junk and watched movies over and over again. I think they watched Tangled like 6 times or something. She was in heaven. As well was I. All we did was eat, hot tub, sit and talk, and play card games. We did nothing, but it was an absolute blast and so much needed. Needed in the first place but after a week like last week, more needed than ever..

That in and of itself is another story. Sure I'll share it, why not.

So the beginning of last week our car broke down. You are thinking...it's about time the Subaru gave up, but no it's not the subaru that has 250,000 miles on it and is a 1993 and is just a piece of junk, but I have to say one of the best pieces of junk out there. It was the Trailblazer. It wouldn't start. In the middle of this happening Steven had to finish some big project at work before we could leave to Tamarack so he literally was working 20 hour days all last week so he could get it done. He would leave early, not come home until 1-3 in the morning and go do it again. He was exhausted but still able to make it (I swear he can make it wayyy less sleep than I can, why is he that way, I wish I was like that). One night he came home ate dinner went to Mutual and then came home and worked on the care ALL NIGHT LONG trying to fix some things. Oh, that didn't help anything. So after one of his 20 hour nights he came home and worked on it for the rest of the 4 hours in the day, and still nothing happening. Nothing was working. This poor kid was sooo exhausted and so tired. He NEVER complains though, once again, wish I did that too, never complained. So he said, how are we going to get to Tamarack??? This is the morning of the day we are supposed to leave. He went to work and opened and then tried to make that day a vacation day and then work on the car some more to see if something else would work, but work was too busy that day so he couldn't leave. I'm looking on the internet trying to find the cheapest car to rent out there. In the middle of this my best friend Mandie must have heard my plea up in Tamarack. She just called to make sure we were still coming up there and I told her what was going on. She then offered their other car to us. I was soooo grateful though I felt guilty that we had to borrow it. So getting a ride there was another deal. My parents were both working, my sis in law just had a baby and no more room in her car for my kids cause now she has 3 wonderful kiddos. I had no one to ask, so yes I asked my visiting teacher!! Can you believe it. I actually asked her. She was soo sweet and was very willing. I just told her. "This means I'm desperate if I am calling you for help." I guess that is why we have them right. She was such a help to me that day. Thank you Heavenly Father for giving us visiting teachers!! I then go out to the garage to look for my wallet so I could go to the store after getting the car (it was in Steven's car and I asked him to put it on the counter before he left but he forgot) no wallet to be found. I call him and he says, "yep, it's right under the seat where you left it." So no wallet. I scrounge around to find the check book because we NEVER use it. I find it and then call Steven back and get my drivers license info just in case people ask for my ID. I feel prepared and ready to go. So then my VT she comes and picks us up takes me to my friend's house and I unload the kids and away she drives. I open the garage with the code. My friend told me where to find the keys and I go to open the garge door to the house and it was locked. "This is NEVER locked." What the heck. So I put my kids in the car and Kenzie keeps yelling at me "Mommy go where?" I begin to walk around their house hoping that something is open. Nothing. She told me her sis-in-law should be there. Her car was on the side of the house. I rang the door bell for like 5 minutes, no answer. We were stranded. So then I called my friend's cell phones trying to see if they knew why their doors were locked and if her sis in law was really there. They wouldn't answer (later found out they were in the hot tub). So I sat in the car ans said a little prayer...then 5 seconds later Conrad answered. I told him everything was locked. He called his sister trying to find her. They really thought she was for sure there. So I went to the doorbell and consistently rang it for 5 minutes (not lying). I was yelling up at the window where I know her room is. Not coming, not coming, FINALLY the door opened. They were getting ready, had the blow dryer and shower going and couldn't hear the door bell ring. It was his sister's friend. She looked at me like I was absolutely crazy...which I really was getting to the crazy stage by now. I just wanted to get to Tamarack. No matter what it took. I got the keys and drove off. Thank heavens. So I went to Aubree's doctor because I knew she had an ear infection. Yep she sure did, had to go get her antibiotics and then we had to go to the store for a few more things. Remember I have my check book and my ID info but no actual ID. I get all the groceries I need and head to the register. She takes my check and says "you've used checks here before right?" I said "probably not, I never use checks but I'm extra ready today because my husband has my wallet and I don't have my ID but I have all my ID numbers and info, so we should be good." She said " we have to have your ID if this is the first time you have used your checks here, you're actual ID we have to scan." I said "well just try scanning the check through and see." I had my fingers literally crossed. Steven was about to be home in 15 min. so we could go to Tamarack and I was in a huge hurry. The scanner denied it, the cashier looked at me and said "it didn't go through." I begged for them to take it but they absolutely couldn't take it. I then began to do the most embarresing thing ever... I started to ball my eyes out. Not just little tears, large tears, yuckying crying voice. All of it. I just asked her to take the bags out of the cart. "It's not your fault I know but this is just my last string for the day" She then began to say that they can reserve my groceries if I want to come back. I said maybe I'll be back, we'll have to see. I was still crying. All the way out the door to the car, crying. It was yucky. During this Kenzie is yelling "mommy sad, why?" So sweet but just made the moment worse because I was just mortified of what was happening. Luckily we got home, went to Freddies on our way out and got to Tamarack about 1 hour later than we planned. I can't tell you how happy I was to see that place. I literally wanted to kiss the ground when we got there. It was all worth it. Though Steven was so tired he fell asleep in the hot tub, it was so nice to have him with the family for 2 solid days which hasn't happened since we had Aubree 9 months ago.

So when were there my friend gave me an early b-day present. She is a wonderful, extremely talented self taught photographer. I'm so lucky to have her as my friend. She watched my kids for a half day while I was a at work the Monday before we left. She herself had a busy day that day and did a session with my kids. I had wanted to do a 9 mo old session with Aubree and she did both of my kids and surprised me with a tile that had my kid's pic modge podged on it and the CD with the phot session she did. What a wonderful surprise. It is so wonderful. Above are just some of them. Aren't they so sweet. What a gift!! Straight from the heart!! Love her!!

And no our car isn't fixed yet, doing the crazy one car game between us two. Steven rides his bike to work, 10 miles. He says, well I've wanted to get a gym membership, guess this will do for now. ha ha. Hopefully it will be fixed soon and we can about our lives.