Week 24

Lots and lots of fun this week

-We took the kids to see Toy Story 3 on Saturday. They were enthralled. I love how easy it is to take them places (most of the time) now. And we had dinner at Panda Express - gotta love kids and chopsticks!

-Father's Day! Kaitlyn helped me plan breakfast in bed for Sam, and even woke up early to help make it. She insisted on the green waffles :) We had a low key morning, during which the kids and I ran over to give Grandpa his gift. And we spent the afternoon/evening with Sam's family. I'm pretty sure Sam enjoyed himself - he's a great dad and deserved a good day!

-Our first hot dog/marshmallow roast of the year! Tyler tried a hot dog IN a bun for the first time - what a surprise. We didn't even ask him to do it. After a few bites the hot dog ended up on the plate to be cut up and eaten with tooth picks. But we are so happy he's starting to try things along with Katy once in a while.

The marshmallows, of course, were fabulous - both with/without the graham crackers.

-Warmer temperatures yesterday sparked an impromptu sprinkler party with the neighbor boys. Kaitlyn turned the sandbox into a "beach" and had a great time laying out in the sun.

Week 23

This week:

Kaitlyn was in the Kamas Valley Fiesta Days Princess Program. She loved it.

Sam spent the last month in Canada with the Air Force and was supposed to make it home just in time to see the Princess thing. But (par for the course with the military) a plane was broken and he got delayed for 3 very frustrating days. We finally picked him up Tuesday afternoon and are SO happy to have him home. It's amazing how much a little time apart makes you appreciate each other and you enjoy the time more when you see them again.

Finished up the week with card night triple baby shower - so fun! I love time with the girls.

Week 22

Dance Recital! It took up a good deal of our time on Friday and Saturday but it was worth it. The kids did a fantastic job and seemed to enjoy it. Aren't the cute?!

They also finished our neighborhood playground (RIGHT next door to our house). The kids have been watching it come together for weeks now. And even though we had a busy Saturday, the kids really wanted to help so we took some time that afternoon and helped them finish spreading the bark. The kids have been out playing on it as often as possible ever since.
(*need to post photo of playground)

The kids have also been playing "Magic Show" a lot this week. I have been amazed by their creativity and ingenuity. They shut themselves in Kaitlyn's room for hours "practicing" then call me back for the show. They set up her room with all the chairs they could find along one wall facing the bed, and using stuffed animals for most of the "audience." They also made tickets for everyone and made me "wait in line" at the door. Then both kids put on their "capes" (blankets tied around their shoulders) and the show begins.
Their best trick (and frankly, it's hilarious) is making Tyler "disappear." He takes off his cape and knees down in front of Kaitlyn's bed. Then Kaitlyn holds her cape up in front of him and says the magic words. We pause while there is a lot of wiggling coming from behind the cape - because Ty is crawling under the bed. When the cape is removed, Ty is gone! (except for the foot or the hand that didn't quite make it under the bed! lol) See? Hilarious. I love it. And I think it's really something that a 6 year old and a 3 year old would come up with that concept and excecute it all on their own (even more so since Ty doesn't always want to cooperate with Katy's plans).

The sudden warm temps on top of recent snow and nightly thunder storms has the river flooding pretty bad. It has been quite the site. We have taken a couple of drives out to see everything. They even had to sandbag a bunch of houses along the main road in Oakley. Of course we didn't get any flooding by our house. But the water system got contaminated and we haven't been able to drink our water. You don't realize how much you rely on something until you can't use it - it's been hard.

Kaitlyn has also had practices for the Kamas Valley Fiesta Days Princess Program every day this week. The big event is on Saturday, then they have a bunch of "appearances" throughout the summer - parades, rodeos and such.

Week 21

Lots of photos from this week!
Rediscovered the stick horses - they had been needed at dance class until now. That head tilt is so funny - it's what Ty does when he's trying to pose for the camera

Park time with Grandpa and Grandma

They were having a "giggle contest" in which they took turns trying to make each other laugh.

Memorial Day - I was just going to take the kids to see the flags at the cemetary but it turned into a bit of a learning experience for our inquisitive Kate.

Summer is here! We've had our first full week of really warm weather and we've been loving it. We turned on the sprinklers for the first time this year and everything.
Kaitlyn was in a bit of a "mood" one afternoon - the poor girl had had to give up playing with 2 different sets of friends in one day due to the friend misbehaving and not being allowed to play anymore - so to try to bring her out of it I had her start a list of all the fun things she wants to do this summer.

Week 20

Random shots from the week

Grandpa wanted to document the water level on the river so the kids and I went up there with him. I spent the whole time worried they would fall in but their only concern was where to find the next rock to throw in the water.

We've got a lot of tulips and daffodils coming in this year and I've been so excited to see them. It's a good thing they don't seem to mind the snow.

Peanut butter from the jar while watching cartoons. Oh those kids!

The Pet Parade at Elk Meadows Rest Home (where Grandma Alene is now the recreation director). The kids spent weeks "training" Grandma's dogs for the event and even took the time to make them costumes (with Gma's help of course). It was a bigger event than I had expected and kids and residents alike seemed to enjoy themselves.

Ty, Dakota, and Gram (who goes to Day Care there twice a week) They all got suckers at the end.Kaitlyn and Tuffy, and her good buddy Taitley with her dog.

And a trip to the dentist. Yes, Kaitlyn picked a Whoopie Cushion as her prize for no cavities. She thinks it's hilarious. She tried to get me with it - had put her pillow on the couch with her blanket spread over it all hiding the whoopie cushion and told me "I just want you to be comfortable, Mom." She and Ty also think it's fun to pop up from behind the couch and sqeeze it at me. Too funny.
Ty was great too. No cavities and he let them clean his teeth, no problem. They're very impressed with my sweet kids. Ty got one of those giant balloons you can "bop." I didn't have any cavities either - but I didn't get a cool prize.

Week 19

Quick rundown of the week
-Saturday was up early to drop Sam off at the base for another voluntary deployment. I mean EARLY. Out the door by 5:45AM early. Then errands and lunch with The Girls. The kids had spent the night with grandma and grandpa.
-Final 2 days of Kindergarten countdown. Monday they got to pack a lunch and eat in the cafeteria. Tuesday they did a little program for the parents and were finished.
-Hello Summer Vacation. We're not quite ready for you and you obviously aren't ready for us. It's definitely not shorts-wearing weather out there this week. So we entertain ourselves inside plenty. I've done a lot of cleaning and reorganizing too.

Ty pretending to be a puppy

Kate imitating me, trying to get a photo of Ty the Puppy

Week 18

Time for Dance Photos! I decided to try playing photographer again this year. In the middle of the chaos of trying to get 16 two-three-and-four year olds in one place at one time I was regretting my decision. But we got it done and the photos aren't half bad.

Later in the afteroon on Friday the kids went back to the rest home to help hand out flowers after their Mother's Day program. Gram was playing her accordian when we got there, so we got to enjoy that for a few minutes before the kids were put to work. All those "grandpas and grandma's" just love the kiddos, who got all dressed up for the occasion.

Mother's Day took up pretty much the entire weekend. We spent Saturday morning with Sam's family. Then Wyatt made good on his promise of giving me a date night when I did his taxes so we dropped off the kids with him (at Mom's house haha) and Sam and I went to the movie and dinner. We also decided to stop by the Outlets while we were out and picked up some Sketchers Shape Ups for me for Mother's Day. We took the kids home, and the three of them (the kids and Sam) locked themselves in Ty's room for a little pre-mother's day planning before bedtime.

Everyone was up bright and early on Sunday. I got to lounge in bed pretending to be asleep while listening to the gang prepare breakfast (pink waffles) that they brought in to bed for me. Kaitlyn had the cutest little card and magnet that she had made at school. Then I got to lounge around some more while Sam started in on lunch prep. My mom and dad came over for ham, twice baked potatoes, and homemade rolls (that the kids helped roll out). After lunch we took the kids to the park. Then I spent the rest of the day lounging - seriously, didn't have to lift a finger to clean up dinner or break up fights or anything I didn't want to do. Ahhhh. Why can't Mother's Day be more than once a year? :)

The final highlight for the week was Kaitlyn's field trip. She was dead set on me going along to help chaperone so of course I complied. We went down to the This is the Place State Park (it's pioneer stuff.) The kids enjoyed it, though it was a bit more educational than they would have liked. But the kids were all surprisingly well-behaved (all things considered) and even the crazy, crowded, loud bus ride won't deter me from volunteering for another one...maybe. :)

This is Kaitlyn and her friends Sydney and Violet.