workday turned family day!

Saturday morning I had to work at a Kids Expo for a few hours. About 4 hours into it I saw my beautiful family walking towards me! I was NOT expecting them to come...I thought they might come today for Mother's Day (they did last year) but I was so excited to see them! This year they had SO much more for the kiddos to do and the great part is it's all free. Highlights include: all three riding on horses (NOT ponies), jumping in a bounce house two times, watching a COOL magic show (Brian and I couldn't even figure out how he was doing it), Cailey getting a tennis lesson, Braden petting a Macaw (which we JUST learned about in preschool), Cailey and Braden sitting in a REAL helicopter and firetruck, eating popcorn, cotton candy, AND a funnel cake (I know it's a lot, but they all shared and it's NOT like they get it everyday!), hugging mascots, playing games, making crafts (a Mother's day card and a necklace), swinging on a swingset, and Cailey's favorite...getting her face painted! ALL this in a nice and cool airconditioned building:)!! They were all very well behaved considering it was WELL past naptime and they were loaded with sugar! I only had the 'take along' camera which is dying...I keep it in my purse for times like this. I'm SO glad I had it, even if the pictures didn't turn out that great. I was SO bummed because while they were on the horses it wouldn't work!!! Kinsey on a horse for the first time and no pictures...so sad!

Kinsey LOVED going on the horse and was waving
and blowing kisses when the ride was over! She didn't
like the cotton candy but loved the funnel cake!

Braden was SO excited about the helicopter and horses...oh,
and of course the snacks:) His favorite by far, though was
the bounce house...I heard him giggling so much in there!!

This picture is my favorite one of
the day! She was seeing herself in the
mirror for the first time...true happiness-
not a fake smile..I LOVE it! And it was
the highlight of her day! She also wants to learn
how to play tennis now:)

Mother's Day 2008

cailey

Cailey made the top one is from home
and she made the other at school

braden

braden

Braden made the top one at home,
the second at preschool and the third
in ABC play with me...he even typed
it himself:) (with spelling help)

kinsey made this card for me:)!!

My mother's day cards from the kiddos...I LOVE that Cailey and Braden can write, type and share their own feelings now! Don't get me wrong, I love all the crafts they did in preschool too....but these are extra special!

old toy, new game

We constantly have baby toys out because at LEAST twice a week we have lots of babies here. The other night when I was cooking dinner I was fascinated because the kids were actually playing together...nicely.....creatively! Cailey would push the star on top of the toy and it would play music for a minute or so. While the music was playing they ran all around the outside of the rug while laughing! As soon as the music stopped they raced to the yellow rocking chair...whoever got their first won that round....basically musical chairs. They played it for a LONG time and we so happy while doing it! Who knew a baby toy would entertain 'big kids' for so long!

the worm that didn't squirm....

Yesterday evening we were outside in the backyard and Cailey said, "ooooo, a worm!" Next thing we know she's holding up her 'worm'. Maybe if you zoom in you'll be able to see what it really is...we couldn't help but laugh because her face was priceless!! She had peeled the silicone caulk off of where the siding meets the deck. I suppose we should have been upset, but we weren't...we just thought it was so funny!

a new outfit!

We moved into our house over 4 years ago and A LOT has been changed since then. It is now a brand new 19 year old house! EVERYTHING from the siding, windows, flooring, paint, light fixtures, appliances, hot water heater, and plumbing are new. It's been a work in progress but I finally feel like we are done for a while! We've had a lot of house 'emergencies' hence all the new stuff. The latest 'new' thing is the roof. I have always hated the red roof am I'm SO happy to replaced it with a prettier one!!! (Yes, I do think it's pretty:) I'm not going to post before and after pics of the inside today, but I will show you the before and after of the outside.

2004

2008

berry happy bakers!

After Cailey got home from school today I decided it would be a great time to tackle all those berries we picked! We've been using them on cereal and in milkshakes but I hadn't gotten around to baking until today. Sooo the kids helped me slice, dice, measure, mix, and pour all the ingredients! They had so much fun making the bread that I decided to let them make some muffins too. After the muffins we smushed and simmered some sugary strawberries to make syrup for our pancake dinner (that the kids decided we were having as soon as they heard me mention that I could show them how to make syrup)! Everything turned out awesome..my fav was the bread...the kids loved all of it:)! They each had AT LEAST FIVE pancakes!!! I couldn't believe it...they kept asking for more and they LOVED painting the strawberry syrup on each one! While I was driving Cailey home from Awana tonight she said, "wow mommy, it's a good thing you had us to help or you never would have been able to make all those things...we had great attitudes so we got it all done!" What a great perspective...next time you are rushing to finish something remember those little 'helpful' hands.

my friend Laura tells me I have every kitchen tool...we don't eat
eggs, but LOVE using the egg slicer on berries:)

The outcome:

YUM

strawberry patch

Saturday we took the kids strawberry picking and they had a blast! The weather was perfect...not too hot, not too cold:). We ended up picking 16 lbs.....oops! Who knew that two full buckets would end up being that much! My plans for the berries are strawberry shortcake, strawberry bread, muffins, milkshakes, I froze some, and we'll eat lots! Oh...and topping for pancakes:)!

kinsey's favorite thing to do was SQUISH the strawberries
up and watch the juice run down her hands and arms! Cailey
LOVED running up and down the rows!

Braden worked so hard to get the best ones and would ask us
EVERY time he picked one if it was red enough:)

new park find!

I discovered a new park the other day and the weather was gorgeous! The kids and I had a great time playing, chasing, and going on a nature walk!

Braden did awesome on the climbing wall!
Check out my daredevil girl!! She loves to
climb...and scares me constantly:-)

they loved these slides...so did I!


cailey asked if they could carry walking 'chains'....she meant
walking canes:)!!

Kinsey's 2nd Gotcha Day!!

the day she came home...she loved the bouncy seat!

always a climber!

Our sweet baby Kinsey came home exactly two years ago today! I couldn't wait to meet our "Asian girl with pigtails!" (Her head had been shaved...so we had to wait awhile on the pigtails). When she came off the plane she was smiling and hasn't stopped since!! On the car ride home, however, she screamed the WHOLE WAY because she wasn't used to having to ride in a car seat. It took a few days before she could get in her car seat without crying..no...make that screaming!

She's a happy, empathetic, joyful, daring, sweet girl who likes to climb on whatever can be found and be barefoot at all times. She constantly brings us laughter and joy:)! I still find it amazing to think that God CHOSE her for our family. Out of all the babies we could have, He chose for Kinsey to come live in our family. Thank you God for such a wonderful blessing! Help us to shape her into who you want her to be and to always encourage her and lift her up.
I am very thankful for her birth mom and the decision she made to give Kinsey to us. I can't imagine how hard that had to be...but I hope she feels peace about it. We are truly blessed to call her our daughter....our baby. Happy 2nd Gotcha Day my sweet baby!

Some things are better yellow....

My friend, Janet, did a post on white popcorn the other day. I had NO idea what that was and wanted to try some. (She says it tastes a lot better than our yellow popcorn kernels.) I saw her on Sunday and she gave me some to try:). That night we tried some and I am disappointed to say that our family didn't like it. It seems stale to me...Brian thinks it is weird too. We sent some with Cailey to school today and she brought it home UNEATEN!!! If you know my child at all, you know how shocking that is! She came home and asked for the 'old' popcorn. Sorry Janet...but we're sticking to the yellow stuff:).

the chop.....

before...................after

before.................after

my accomplice

Last night Janet went with me to get my hair CHOPPED! I'm glad she went because I needed a LOT of reassurance once it was done. I still don't know if I LOVE it, but it's hair and it'll grow back. I DO think it's much better than the before pics though! I have never been big on doing anything to my hair...usually I just take a shower and go (with WET hair!!). I hope this new cut is conducive to that because I treasure my sleep and don't want to have to get up early to fix my hair! We had such a great time that we're going back soon to get Janet's hair done...so look for it:) (Now you HAVE to do it:-)!!