A Great Treasure Hunt!

Friday, my mom was here, and sometimes when she's here, we go "treasure hunting". That means to go and find great treasures at garage sales. Well, as you would expect, treasure hunting can sometimes be hit or miss. This time, it was definitely a big hit for everyone involved. We went to Longview because we figured that we would have more places to choose from. We found all of our loot at only three places. Here's a list of all of our great purchases and their respective prices (be warned, you will be amazed at the quality and prices of these deals!)

1. Mary: An old wooden school desk in very good condition - $12 (bartered down from $15)

2. Mary: Two fruit pictures for my breakfast area wall - $3 for the set

3. Dane: Playskool brand kid's roller blades - $2 (paid for with his own money)

4. Mary: Bible Adventures tin box with story cards, puzzles, coloring sheets, CD - 25 cents

5. Mary: Wildlife Treasury animal info cards with case - 25 cents

6. Mary: Macmillan Early Science Activities with case - 50 cents

7. Sydni: 2 pairs of never worn sandals for spring - 50 cents each

8. Mama: Little Tikes big plastic doll house for granddaughters - $1

9. Mama: Really big parking garage and car track for grandsons - $5

10. Mama: Several children's books - I think 50 cents.

11. Dane: Brand new in package West Coast Choppers toy motorcycle - $1 (with his money)

12. Mama: Brand new black leather wallet - $3

13. Mama: John Deere tractor toy for Jed - I think $2

14. Mama: Cute chip basket with dip bowl - $3

15. Mama: Sweet little soft baby doll (looked new or gently played with) for Sydni - $2

16. Mary: Candy Land game-Brand new still with plastic wrapping - $3

17. Mary: Cute Okie Dokie brand cupcake onesie for Sydni next summer - $2

I think that's everything. Needless to say, we were so excited! It was really funny because, for some reason, we went in my Camry, instead of Mama's Explorer, which has tons of storage room in the back. Anyway, three of our purchases were pretty large, and along with Sydni's stroller that stays in the trunk, we physically did not have enough room for all of our stuff and ourselves, too. So, that leads to another great part of our day! Somehow, I managed to fit the school desk in the passenger front seat, which seemed like a miracle to me. Well, at the place Mama got the parking garage and doll house, we discovered that it was going to be impossible to fit everything in the trunk, so she asked the lady to hold the dollhouse for her until she could pick it up in her Explorer on her way back home that afternoon. So, that was fine. All morning, Lane had been golfing with his friend, Bruce, for Bruce's birthday. Well, as we were following signs to another garage sale, I realized that it was going to be near the golf course Lane was at. So, I told Dane we would look for Lane golfing as we drove by. Just as we were about to pass the golf course, we passed Lane in his car. I called him, and asked if he'd like to turn around and go to one garage sale with us, and then we could all eat lunch together. So, he agreed, and Mama told him he could choose the restaurant, since his birthday is tomorrow (Sunday). So, to end a fantastic and fun morning, we got to eat lunch at Red Lobster! If Lane hadn't been there, we were planning to just eat at either McAlister's or Jason's Deli for a sandwich, so Red Lobster was definitely much better! On top of that, we got Lane to go and get the dollhouse and take it back to our house in his car. So, it all worked out! Thanks, Mama, for the great day of fun and for the great lunch!

I feel like I'm rambling, but that's kinda the way I roll, so here I go some more...

Once we got back to my house, of course, we went through all of our loot. And, yes, that means that Dane got to skate for the first time. I got a video (make sure to pause the music playlist over on the left) and some pictures of the event. As he was skating, I mentioned that I had some skates, too, so he asked me to skate with him. So, I did. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of that. I'm sure that we'll get one soon, since he asks me almost every time he puts his skates on. Needless to say, it was lots of fun and made us laugh a lot!

Dane was also very excited about his new desk. Lately, I've really been working with Dane to sit still at the table with me and color or paint or read for about an hour. He has so much energy, so this can be a challenge for him, which translates to a similar challenge for him at church in Bible class. So, I figure that, no only will our time together help to give him some experience dealing with times of order and structure, but it will also give us time alone together during Sydni's naps, which I think is very important for him right now as he adjusts to being the big brother.

So, I figure that we'll use the new desk for our time together. As we were setting it all up, he kept saying, over and over, "I'm so excited about my desk!" It was so sweet. I've had so much fun with him this weekend, and I am reminded constantly about how fast he is growing up and how much of a blessing he is to me. So much joy is stuffed into that 34 lb. boy!

And, Miss Sydni Lee - well, she's just our little lady, and it doesn't take anything to get her to smile really big these days! She's doing so well, and she's growing up quickly, too. Any time Dane is around, she just watches him so closely. She's either completely in awe of him or completely baffled by him, I'm not sure which! Here's some shots from earlier today...

That's all for now!