With only a week before Easter, I realized that the kids still hadn't seen the Easter Bunny at the mall. We made what we thought would be a quick trip , but we ended up staying at the mall most of the day. In the middle of the mall they have a hurricane simulator machine which puts you in the middle of 78 mph winds. Jen being Jen jumped right in and loved every minute of it. Once she was in we realized it might not have been such a good idea right before pictures with the bunny.

Whenever we stand in line for either Santa or the Bunny or loose a tooth, I am always waiting for "the question". Jen is truly so naive that I have always said that she will be 12 and still believing while Jimmy tells her " Come on Jen think about it". Well, I got a question, but not the one I thought it was going to be. Jen didn't ask me about the costume, why the bunny doesn't talk, or even if he is real. She actually asked me and I quote " Why isn't he blinking?" Uh maybe because he has plastic eyes - I didn't know what to say so I told her to ask him to have a staring contest.

In the same area they had a butterfly house set up. We have taken the kids there before and they love it. It's a greenhouse with hundreds of butterflies flying around.

This year Jimmy even got into it. The last couple of years he has just stood still not wanting much to do with them. We also adopted a butterfly to take home with us. I thought the kids are old enough this year and it would be fun to watch the caterpillar turn into the same kind of butterflies we had seen in the greenhouse.

Also, on our list was shopping for an Easter outfit for Jimmy. What he hasn't grown out of, he has put holes in the knees, so that was a must. He did not want anything to do with any of the clothes Jen and I picked out for him and he showed us what it was that he wanted to wear -a Sponge Bob t -shirt. Uh, I don't think so.

And of course Jen had to try on the leopard print drench coat. Who knew they made such a thing in her size. She did look cute it in though. After all was said and done we were in the mall for almost 4 hours and I think we did everything we could have done all in one day.

HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY!!!!!!!

LESSON LEARNED

Jim and I took the kids to Warren's outdoor ice skating rink on Monday, it's been something that Jen has been begging us to do. Unfortunately, half of her genetic makeup comes from me, which I got from my mom which was not looking good for her. To our surprise, she got on the ice and didn't stop. She had a great time and ended up with blisters from all of the skating.

Jimmy however did not like it so much. He found out real fast that the ice is very slippery. He has been watching hockey and Olympic speed skating and I think he thought it would be very easy to do. After only a few times around the rink, he was done. He found the snack bar,and was just fine snacking and watching everyone else.

Well, true to family tradition, I fell and watched my wrist swell. Good thing for me, there were Concentra Urgent Care signs posted along the rink as if they were placed there just for me. Some torn ligaments and a brace later, I have learned my lesson and will not be going on ice skates, roller skates, or anything else on my feet.