The Build a Bear Surprise

We surprised the kids this past Friday with a fabulously fun day because well, frankly, they deserve it. They are awesome kids and we love them dearly. We rarely do anything super "fun" and spluge worthy because we are generally pretty thrifty with our activites. And of course, we function on a pretty tight budget.

But, all this came to a halt when we received our tax refund in our bank account Friday morning. We already had virtually every penny of our refund budgeted out for important things - like say, paying off our car and replenishing our savings account - but we did factor in a few fun items for ourselves and the kids! Yay!

I bought the kids a few Spring outfits, D got a new toddler bed mattress, the baby got a new high chair, and D got a remote control car (I am still not quite sure how that snuck in there!). Anyway, we ALSO budgeted in a day at Build a Bear for my little sweeties. They are very accustomed to wandering in the Build a Bear store to just browse around. We do it every time we're at the mall. C has only been allowed to make one bear in her entire life. D has never made one. After all, these little bears/bunnies/puppies dressed in life-like clothing can be ridiculously expensive. This is why we normally steer clear of the franchise for actual purchases.

Anyway, we told the kids we were heading to the mall so I could run an errand. First we drug them into Babies R Us so I could pick up a high chair for the baby. They went along like little troopers as we then headed to the mall. We didn't tell them where we were going and why we were there until we walked in the Build a Bear store and I bent down and asked C, "would you like to make one?"

Her little face lit up and she took one glance at the row of flat lifeless animals. She then made a split second decision and grabbed a purple fluffy puppy. Seriously, I think she thought I might change my mind if she took too long to decide on one, haha. Her decision was made in less than 5 seconds. We let D choose one as well, and of course, he also chose a puppy.

As usual in the store they stood on the petal while the employee blew the "stuffing" into their new friends. They kissed and rubbed the little hearts that they then shoved inside their animals. They bathed, blow dried, and groomed their little furry friends and then they chose outfits and filled out birth certificates.

As if the whole Build a Bear experience wasn't exciting enough for them, we then left the mall and took them to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch (another place we have hardly ever gone...as in, maybe twice ever). The kids had a ball playing games and eating pizza. They won tickets and rode rides. B and I were so happy to be able to give them such a fun day. Even he and I had a blast!

Here are a few snap shots of the Build a Bear experience:

At the end of the whole day, as I tucked C into bed, she thanked me for the day. It may have been the highlight of the whole experience for me as her mom.

"Thanks for giving me this awesome day!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome, baby. You deserve it." I said.

Although all I essentially did that day was frivolously spend way too much on stuffed animals, feed my kids pizza, and let them ride a few silly rides, I know in my heart that we built memories as a family. And in my mind, memories like that are worth $84 for one day of fun every once in a while :-)