31 cents

Yesterday Brian took Kinsey on a date to Baskin Robbins while I was at AWANA with the other kiddos. Baskin Robbins was having their annual 31 cent scoops so they were PACKED but they had a great time and Kinsey was super happy to spend time with daddy. Usually she has a hard time seperating from me on Wednesdays but knowing that she was going somewhere special helped her...it was the FIRST WEEK (since September) that she didn't cry! Too bad we didn't figure this out months ago..there's only one more week:). Thanks for taking pictures Brian!!

buddies

Braden was able to have a playdate with his buddie Braeden this week and they had a great time! It's amazing that these guys are five now...kindergarten age! They've been good friends since they were three and have a blast playing together:).

glasses

Braden had his five year check up a few weeks ago and they discovered that he may be nearsighted. After going to the eye doctor it was confirmed that he IS and needs glasses to help him see far away. Because the kids don't really watch tv I never noticed him squinting and he's always been able to read the street signs as we drive by. We're having a hard time trying to figure out when to have him wear them because the ophthalmologist said that if he wears them for reading his eye sight will get worse....he reads ALL the time!! (Although he also said that as he gets older they'll get worse regardless.) I don't want him to have to carry around an eye glass case so we keep forgetting about them. I think we are going to start having him wear them whenever we leave the house....check out the cuteness:)!!

Strawberry Pickin'

pickin', runnin', tastin', playin', pullin', laughin', chasin', huggin', walkin', sweatin'.......all make for a great time at the strawberry patch! can't wait for our next trip there...but first we have to get through our 13 lbs of berries:).

lots of legs

Kinsey LOVES to find caterpillars, ladybugs, and really anything with a lot of legs. As soon as she finds a new 'creature' she'll squeal with delight, come in to show me, and hang on to it for as long as she can. It's so funny to me that this time last year she'd SCREAM if a bug came anywhere near her...I'm liking this much better:). Only problem is when she forgets to take the bug back outside.

Birthday Parties Galore!

Last weekend after the wedding we came home to lots of birthday parties! It started out with two parties on one day...one Spiderman themed and one Batman. The kids had a blast and enjoyed LOTS of sugar:). The next day we celebrated with a dear friend and enjoyed watching her attempt to blow out trick candles....32 of them!!

Granny's Surprise Visit

On Monday we got a surprise visit from Granny!! The next evening she came back for dinner and some quality time with the kiddos. We were so excited to see her and happy for the surprise:)!

no more training wheels!

I taught Braden how to ride a bike without training wheels the same weekend I taught Cailey. He has a great sense of balance so I thought I'd try to teach him and he did AWESOME!! The first few days there were some falls but each day he got better and better and now he doesn't need any help. With teaching them both how to ride I've learned that the hardest part for them is learning how to 'start' the bike without someone holding it. Braden's mastered that skill now and is doing great! GREAT JOB BUDDY! I'm SO proud of you!!

Auntie Anne's Wedding Day

kinsey and braden were SO adorable
and we were told by many people that they
'stole the show' walking down the aisle!

kinsey immediately started dancing like this..
so cute! i curled her hair with a curling iron
thinking that it wouldn't stay that way but was
pleasantly surprised when it did!

there was not ONE family picture (out of a ton)
where everyone was looking at the camera OR
everyone had their eyes open...grumble, grumble
I needed a crazy friend to get them to smile:)!

Daddy dancing with his Cinderella girls

i NEVER pay to get my hair done but decided to on a whim...
it turned out great!

cailey was a HUGE help and example for the flower girls:)

it was VERY hard to get them to smile in any shots
where i wasn't the photographer...and for some reason
i couldn't even get them all to smile when they did pics with each other...
oh well!

my favorite picture of all!

after the wedding:
we let the kids change b/c we didn't want their
clothes to get ruined AND their little feet were all
hurting!

dancing to 'Cinderella'...and yes...i did cry:)

my boy asked me to dance:)

dancin' with auntie anne and grandpa
(anne and i lived with grandpa one summer
during college)

The morning of the wedding we took the kids to see the house I grew up in and some other places I wanted to show them. Then we headed to the mall for make up and an impromptu hair session. Once we got to the beautiful church that Anne grew up going to (and still goes to) everyone changed and got ready for pictures. Cailey became quick friends with the other flower girl (who is Kinsey's age) and helped her to feel comfortable walking down the aisle. The kids did great in the wedding (other than one of them walking to get me in the middle of the ceremony......great for comic relief!) I had a great time hanging out with Anne, helping her get ready, and meeting friends that I've heard about for years. The kids were super psyched about being able to dance...at one point they had played a bunch of older slow songs in a row and Cailey went up to the DJ and asked if he could "put on some groovin' music':)! The kids were SO tired that they fell asleep within 15 minutes of being on the highway.

WE LOVE YOU AUNTIE ANNE!! CONGRATS!