busy week!

we have had a super busy week! i don't have any pictures uploaded yet (i tried not to take many pics this week, as i feel i took enough for the entire year on our trip!)

this week we went to kinsmen playground and then went for a nice trail walk after (realized just how out of shape i really am!)

we did ikea for playtime and lunch

we did toys R us for some summer splashing fun!

we played in the pool on the deck (ok i admit, i wasn't playing in it, just the kids)

we did some bike rides (i walked), some playground playdates, a moms night at heather's house...

and tomorrow is the kids' year end playschool playground day which should be fun... we haven't seen the teachers or school friends in over 2 weeks... very weird considering we have seen them DAILY this year! i'm looking forward to tomorrow!

sunday is hallie's birthday party! i still am not sure i have everything ready.... like the food portion of it! and it's supposed to be so so so hot. i hope we don't all melt. yikes!!

california pictures!

i've been back now for almost a week and i haven't blogged... sorry! i was busy catching up on life i think! i've emailed some of you the pics already, but just in case you missed the email or didn't get an email, here are our CALIFORNIA PICTURES!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8159&l=3907d&id=599646345 album 1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8165&l=d8e3d&id=599646345 album 2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8170&l=e6efe&id=599646345 album 3

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=8173&l=68c11&id=599646345 album 4

fun times

last week we went to kinsmen park for a picnic and play, with friends juanita & kids, and sara & kids... it was to celebrate liam's 8th birthday!! the park was almost empty, weird! i guess it was a bit windy...

we went for a nice walk with some moms from another mommy group we are in, it was a beautiful day for it! thanks krystal for the YUMMY cupcakes... so good i had 2! (don't tell anyone!)

last weekend

our neighbors had a garage sale, so we joined in too! the kids loved spending the weekend outside! saturday afternoon there was a t.towne carnival too! it was put on by terwillegar church and it was GREAT! exceeded my expectations, that's for sure. there was face painting, popcorn, cotton candy, tons of carnival games with little prizes, 2 bouncy castles, and a petting zoo! ALL FREE! i love this community!!

hallie blowing bubbles for emmy!

big boy kai! garage sale fun... and the workers ripping out the sidewalk and pouring new... great timing... NOT!!
big girl emerson

family pictures!

updated pic

updated house pic. rock is done, cedar shakes are still not done and no word on when they are coming... (for both peaks)

the plan says that our front veranda will be wide open, with full width stairs and full width sidewalk. how lame! it will look like we have 2 driveways, it is so wide. we are trying to get that changed to have a railing come across half of the veranda and then a small width stairs, sidewalk. we shall see.

and still no driveway. blah. just when we thought we were getting one, the city decided to come and rip out all the sidewalk in our "wynd" to re-pour it. i guess there was a problem with the slope of it?? weird. but very annoying. now no one can use their drivepad due to no cement, therefore the street parking is packed!

last weekend...

emerson enjoying the sand...

emmy in the swing
hallie hangin' out

kai on the swing

hallie...
emerson really liked this...


emmy eating an apple on our walk last week

kai on the swing, daddy pushing...
hallie on the swing, daddy pushing

mud mountain

this is mud mountain. our kids love it and will be so sad to see it go... they have their trucks on there, shovels... they love it.

kai at hallie's soccer game
mackenzie's birthday cake! very kewl
happy birthday mackenzie! hallie is having her face painted by the bday girl.

stress

i'm stressed... i feel like i have a bunch of playschool stuff to do before we go -- i am photo mom for both kids' classes, and any last minute photo requests are now being thrown at me... to do ASAP. i sent an order online to walmart the other night, only to have them call me this morning to tell me to resubmit it. GRRRR....

then memory book moms are hounding me for lost or missing pictures of certain kids from certain events. there are 2 more events to photograph before the end of the year. we leave next week on wednesday and the school year ends the following week we are gone. pressure pressure!!

playschool - my kids have mother's day teas and i have to figure out babysitters for the other kids so that i can attend... only thing is i have dayhome kids to factor in, including 1 that needs to be picked up from school mid-way through the tea. sometimes i hate having extras to worry about... but i think i have a plan.

also, planning hallie's birthday party. i finally figured out a location and now i have to get invites out BEFORE we go.

don't forget about my sister's wedding. i'm in charge of the bridal shower, which also requires invites that need to be mailed before we leave. i just only received the list today, and it wasn't clear who i need to invite or not... more work to figure out who is who!

hmmmm what else? laundry is piling up, blog is being neglected, kids are being ignored (ok not really but i feel like they are, compared to when i'm not stressed) hmmmm there is just no time! oh, and this whole soccer thing -- it's monday and wednesday evenings, which doesn't seem like much... however wednesdays kipp also has soccer at the same time... which complicates things.

ok have to run, bed time -- i keep staying up later to get things done, but then it isn't fun the next morning!

croc wash

i had to wash the croc collection today... the kids have been playing on mud mountain (the pile of mud in our backyard) and therefore, a washing was due. it looked so funny to see the pile of crocs in the sink, i had to take a pic!

soccer!

quick update

i have been so busy.... aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!! it was so nice outside today! loving this weather!

good news - our passports arrived today! i wasn't overly worried, but OTHER people were starting to get me worried about it! so one stress is gone. yay.

playschool is almost done. 1.5 weeks left only :( it makes me really sad to think about actually... but at the same time i'm looking forward to not having a busy schedule.

our trip is coming soon, can't wait!! starting to think about if we have the proper clothes to pack for HOT weather!

we had a great day today... walked to the park (all 5 of us, which is somewhat rare these days) and played for a couple hours. i had kid-free shopping this afternoon (just boring groceries and costco) and then we all went to my parents' for dinner tonight. BBQ yummmm!!!! it was awesome!

not much else is new. kara (my best friend from jr. high) and her boyfriend, Elisha, came for dinner last night. it was great to meet him and kara hadn't even seen our new house yet. other news, kara is meeting up with us in california (she is going at the same time, for another reason though) and she'll spend a night with us and one day. leanne (my other best friend who lives in california, we met in elementary school) will spend a few days with us too. it'll be like a big reunion! (last time we were all together was my wedding!)

ok gotta run, desperate housewives is on! i'll update with pics ASAP, most likely not until tuesday evening.... maybe daytime if i'm lucky!

TRIPLE TAKE!

KAI ~19 MONTHS

HALLIE ~18 MONTHS

EMERSON, 18 MONTHS

DOUBLE TAKE!!

EMERSON, 18 MONTHS

HALLIE, 12 MONTHS

today... friday

today, friday, was the first time all week we spent a half day at home. the rest of the week we have been busy busy busy it seems, and taking full advantage of the park DAILY! today was the first day we didn't make it to the park, however we did sneak a later afternoon walk/bike in. we walked/biked to the lake and the kids played with the rocket launcher kai got for his bday last fall. the neighbors joined us.

otherwise, this afternoon was spent playing on our deck, even enjoying a fudgsicle!

bobcat!!! we got our yard somewhat smoothed out, due to our recent basement leaking :( hopefully this helps. rough grade hopefully next week, driveway in may... things are coming along!
it's not often i get decent pics of kai! he runs from the camera!
this slide actually belongs to our neighbors now. we sold it... and we have our new play structure sitting in our garage, waiting for our grass!!! luckily, we still can use the slide until the neighbors have their back deck built.

more...

thursday kai's playschool class went on a gymnastics field trip, and friday hallie's class went. i went both days. both kids did really well... and i'm not just saying that because i'm their mom! i think both are suited for stuff like this, and today the gym coach said that hallie is super strong and well coordinated! i think we'll sign up again for gym in the fall :) unfortunately, i didn't get any great pics of kai yesterday but here are a couple of hallie.

and emmy at the park yesterday
mr. kai

HOT day!!

(ignore the underlining... ??) thursday was such a hot day! we went to the fair with friends sara, madison, cooper and baby dexter. liam has thursday afternoons off too, so he was with us as well. the kids loved the fair, and we went to the playground afterward to take advantage of the beautiful weather!!

kai, getting tired and grumpy and saying, "no more pictures!"

hallie - dressed for summer!!

sara and baby dexter

emerson climbs up the stairs and goes down the slide on her own! wow!

at the fair... kai was a bit nervous on the rides (just like daddy) but he actually did this one twice! hallie puts her arms up in the air, she loves rides -- just like her mommy!
hallie & madison, they had a blast!

this was a FAST ride the girls and liam went on, and loved!
this one was also pretty fast, the loved it!

kai, holding on tight!

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