Brand New Toys

Isn't it funny how you can totally go overboard once you decide to loosen the purse strings a little?

I did that this weekend. Since my husband took our camera to Iraq, I have been trying to scrimp and save to buy myself a new one. I hadn't gotten very far but I suddenly found myself with a little extra cash in our account.

I told myself I deserved a little reward, so the kids and I marched on over to Best Buy. I was probably the easiest sale the camera department had all day. I knew exactly what I wanted and just pointed to it. "I want that."

I was already in love with my brand new Canon PowerShot SD 750 before I even had the battery charged. It is so cute and small! It fits right in my purse but still takes awesome shots.

I had secretly planned to take the kids to the Caldwell Zoo to try out my new camera. But the weather forecast predicted a 50% chance of rain, so we headed to the Boardwalk instead.

I'm not normally a big picture-taker but today I was shooting pictures and video left and right.

Somehow my treating us to a new camera, a movie, a carousel ride and lunch out turned into me treating the kids to Build-a-Bear accessories and brand new Shining Star stuffed animals too.

The couple of extra hundred dollars I had in my account are now more than gone. But I have two freshly spoiled kids and dozens of pictures to share with my husband.