More Big Trucks!

I know it's hard to believe, but for once, we had a weekend that was even too busy for me. I don't usually mind things being booked solid, because nothing to do and all day to do it in is murderous when it comes to small children. They do not know how to have a good lie in (though we've taught Ellie that she's not allowed to be up before 7, and on certain weekend days, we'll tell her she's not allowed out until 8. Like this Sunday morning, when she went to bed at 10:30pm.)

Friday night we had a fun last night with Lisa and Greg and Mike and Patty, and then Saturday morning our first party of the day was at Waste Management. You heard me. Turns out, you can host a party there, with a room for balloons and cake and snacks, and then take a tour of the facility, for zero dollars. And for the five and under set, the garbage trucks are INSANELY popular. The kids loved it, once we got over the hump of forcing them to wear safety gear. While I was trying to put on Ellie's hat and vest she was weeping about how "IT DOESN'T LOOK PRETTY!" Tough crap, it's not pretty to get run over by a dump truck.

Came home, put them down for naps (which Ellie did not take) and then we headed out to Pari's house for Rahim's first birthday party. It was such a fun night. Mila and Ellie are thick as thieves, probably because they are basically the same little girl, only two and a half years apart. And Pari's family is so wonderful and welcoming - they're like my extended family. We ended up staying until after 9pm because the kids were having so much fun together (except for Rahim, he had to go to bed an hour before. But he loved his cake while it lasted!) Highlights included getting to pick fresh oranges and squeeze some orange juice, doing play doh, and running around like loons in their jammies.

And then neither kid slept on the way home. So yesterday was a bit rough. We had friends over for a little bit of football time, and were supposed to go as a family to Nina and Thalia's birthday, but Adam was so wiped that instead Tim took Ellie by himself, and I enjoyed a little bit of quiet time in the house, because I also needed a nap. Tim and Sara hung out with the kids so I could go to the gym, and then we had dinner and watched the Packer game and were in bed early.

Gigi and Grizz's flights got delayed and messed up, so they will stay in Chicago over night as a special treat to Lisa, and then be home before lunch tomorrow. This vacation hasn't been so bad, because we've all been so busy and had nice visitors in town. The word is that it's been a great trip. Dad says Prague and Budapest are some of the most beautiful cities they've been to, so maybe next year Tim and I will go for two weeks! (what! A girl can dream!)