summertime blues

I just loaded all of my pictures from the summer onto my computer and it made me miss the summer fun. I miss my family. I wish I could take each day for grated when I am with them but thankful that I don't. I could only load a few of the MANY that I took. I would like to share some of my best parts with you. I long for the lazy days of SUMMER...

Best Memory number 1) Spending time with my family
My cousin Jeralee graduated from High School. Here I am with my grandma and papa. He is like my dad. I don't think I could love these two anymore than if they were my ACTUAL parents. No two people (aside from my mother, who is in NOT ONE picture b/c she refuses to get hers taken) could have taken better care of me growing up.

Best Memory Number 2) Thompson Park
Jeralee and I took the girls to the park on a very cool and blustery afternoon. The kids had so much fun playing. Karsyn could have stayed on the swings or played in the rocks all day long. All of the things there are made of natural or recycled materials which is sooo cool on its own. I do remember playing on these same structures as a kid and I was able to share that with my daughters. Makes my heart smile and long for home.

Best Memory Number 3) Building the bonds of cousins
Blood is thicker than water...Nothing is as strong as a family bond. You may have best friends but it doesn't hold a candle to a friendship inside your family. Here is Kaitlyn and Karsyn watching a movie with their cousin Maddison. We spent the whole summer with Maddison, Haylee, and Emmie. We laughed, we cried, we pulled each others hair and we laughed some more. I also love this picture because you can see how sun-kissed everyone's skin is. We spent the summer swimming in my grandparents salt water pool, Kaitlyn learned to swim and Karsyn learned to count to 10.

Best Memory Number 4)Oldest and dearest friends
Here I am with one of my very best friends, Nikki. We graduated high school together. We had a cook out and got together with a few of our other friends. We had a great time. We could have spent the entire night together laughing and talking if we hadn't been forced out by the hoards of mosquitoes. MONSTER MOSQUITOES!!! I love you Nik and miss you!

Best Memory Number 5) Enchanted Forest
The wind and water against your face, so much fun in just one place. Hang on for a wild one, hang on for a coooool one. Enchanted Forest, water safari, where the fun never stops... We always take a family trip to theme park. Since my sister and I have younger children we really can't go to a place with roller coasters. We chose to go to Enchanted Forest. It has rides for all ages. We leave early in the morning, drive the 2-3 hours it takes to get there and spend the entire day then drive back. It is so much fun. The kids loved it. The water, the rides, storytown, all of it. I am so glad that we do this every year. We did this while I was growing up and the tradition continues.
This is just a small snip it of how much fun we had over the summer. I could probably fill the pages of a book with all of our adventures. I can hardly wait for summer to roll around again to make some more memories.

Trick or Treat, Smell my feet!!

We had a hard time deciding what to be for Halloween this year. Kaitlyn has wanted to be Jessie since this summer but when we went to purchase a costume they were either sold out or so cheap looking I didn't want to spend that amount of money. I had homemade costumes all my life growing up so when my mother suggested that she and my aunt make Kaitlyn's Jessie costume, I jumped at the chance. Well weeks came and went with no word about the costume. I was getting very nervous that it wouldn't be done and get here in time for Halloween. The search was on, I looked at every website on the internet. Nothing seemed right. We finally found a costume that fit Karsyn. We still couldn't find something for Kaitlyn. WE HAD TO MAKE A DECISION!!! Every costume I showed her she would say yes I love that, so I thought well this will be easy. As soon as I would get off the internet I hear, mommy I want to be Jessie... so here we were again... I needed to get a Jessie costume. I talked with my mom and she said we can do it. So here are the final results.

Karsyn wanted to ride at first but soon just wanted to run to each house, leaving us in the dust.

Here is the first house we stopped at. Karsyn was so excited that she tried to open the door before the lady even had the candy in hand. lol She was such a big girl running ahead of her older sister. She said trick or treat and thank you at every stop. Kaitlyn on the other hand just held out her bucket which was so surprising to us because she is soooo outgoing.

We chose to go to this neighborhood because it is right behind our old house and they have this really cool house on the corner. I have never seen it on Halloween however so if you have seen this house in the daylight, you haven't seen anything. It was like a mini outside haunted house. We (the adults) loved it. Karsyn was not so sure, I had to carry her through and up to get her candy. Kaitlyn wasn't scared and we even stopped out front for a quick pic in front of one of the many blowup lawn "ornaments"

Karsyn would stop and "rest" after every couple of houses. I say that with quotes because we later realized that she was stopping to snag a piece of candy out of her bag every time. If you look closely at the picture she is holding a piece in her sneaky little mitts:)

This is the end of a wonderful Halloween. We had so much fun this year and can not wait to do it again next year!!

Ready, set, read:)

Today we had a unexpected "snow day" minus the snow. Our school canceled due to a water outage. Kaitlyn has been begging for a library card so I thought what perfect day to head to the library and get this process started. I called my neighbor and piled three kids (with car seats) and two adults into the truck and off we were. We headed to the local library because that made the most sense. We were turned away for not having enough "proof" that we lived in the city limits. **Really?? Would someone seriously drive to a rinky dink town just to swindle them out of a book or outdated VCR tape??** Sorry... So we headed home to see what we could conjure up to prove that we did in fact live right down the street. We return a few minutes later to find out that she was not old enough to get a library card and also that they no longer issue "library cards", its all on the their computer and you just show your own ID. Poor Kaitlyn:( We did find some really good books though so we are home now and have already read all three books (images above) we were allowed to check out. Until October 7th we will continue to enjoy the wonderful gift of these books. I think we may have to check out our old library to see if we have anymore luck with them. Until next time Happy Reading!!

Karsyn Emiko Marie is 2 years old!!

Karsyn you are the sparkle in my day. I didn't know I had any more love to give until you came along. You filled up a space that I didn't know was vacant. You are my little shadow. You like to follow mommy around all day long which is very endearing and tiring all in one:) You have a smile that lights up the room. I love the way you smile and giggle when mommy tickles you. You love your big sister and try to mimic her every move. I love that you know what you want and DON'T want in
this world right now. I love that you are willing to try anything mommy cooks for you. Milk is your favorite drink and cheese is you favorite snack which is wonderful because the doctors thought you were allergic to milk when you were a baby. So glad that wasn't the case. You are mommy's BEAUTIFUL tomboy. You would be happy as a lark to be playing in the mud or rocks all day long. You are my
firecracker and not one day is without entertainment when you are awake. You are definitely learning to make your mark in the world!! You are so smart. You can count to 10. You can recognize a few of your shapes and colors. You love to jump on the trampoline or any unoccupied bed:) I am so proud of the sweet little girl you are.
You had a dual birthday party shared with your cousin Madison. You were born on her
birthday:) The party this year was cupcakes and ice cream sundaes. We spent the afternoon in the backyard having a blast. You loved all of your presents. Some of your favorites were Backpack from the Dora show, your musical instruments and all of the Toy Story coloring books. I love you Karsyn Marie! I can't wait to see what year two has in store for us! XXOO

Kaitlyn Shigeko Rose 3 Years old!!

Kaitlyn you are the light of my life. It is amazing how a 1st child changes how you view the world. I never knew that two big beautiful brown eyes would be my kryptonite. You surprise me every single day. You are so smart and funny. You are such a girlie girl by nature. You were carrying my purse around the minute you could stand up. I used to sit you in the sink in the morning while I got ready for work and you would just watch in amazement:) You are a good big sitter, which has taken a long time for you to enjoy the role. You love art and you are very creative. You love to paint and "write" your letters. You can paint a masterpiece and put on a broadway production all in one afternoon. You love to jump and miss all of your friends at gymnastics. I love how independent you are and that you like to make decisions. You love when I let pick out what to wear to "school". I love that you call you friends, "my guys".
You wanted a princess party which we thought was most fitting for you. I made you a tutu to go with your birthday shirt. You loved and didn't want to take it off even for bedtime. I also try and make your cake every year, they are not always the greatest but you love them anyway!! I made you a castle cake with you were so excited about. You woke up late that afternoon and were a little shy at your party. Daddy had to hold you as you opened your presents. You hid under the table until it was time to open more presents. You finally warmed up to all the guests when it was time to blow out the candles. At the end of the party you told me, " I luff my party. I luff all my guys at my house. I luff my presents".
Sometimes I forget that you are only 3 years old. You are so mature and the conversations we have had, have left me wondering when did you learn to talk like this?? You love to read stories, I love that you track your print with your finger just like mommy when you read to me. The first book you ever read by yourself was Me and My Sister. It was so heartwarming to hear you say (read) the words on the page. I love you Kaitlyn Rose!! I look forward to more milestones that we can share:) I'm glad that you loved your birthday!

Love is in the air...

I always knew that spring was the time for love. I think the movie Bambi coined the phrase "twitterpatted". What I didn't know is that no one, no matter size or age is immune to loves spell. Today I went to pick up the girls from daycare, as we are leaving Kaitlyn has to go back and give Brennan a hug. She turns and says, "I love you Brennan" UGH!! The spell has already been cast at the age of 3... It was so sweet and sincere. It actually give a sense of vulnerability and strength wrapped up in one that you wish you had but only a 3 year old can possess.

Each day is a new surprise:)

I can't believe it has been two months since I posted last!! YIKES!! Kids are growing every more and more each day. I swear every time come home from a visit with daddy they look a few years older at least.

Kaitlyn's birthday is just around the corner, which is shocking to me that she is going to be 3 years old!! It feels like yesterday that she was born. She is getting so grown up in her mannerisms and her conversation. She used to just say sorry but now its, "Sorry mama for not picking up my toys." She told me the other day that I have "Dora" hair and that I was pretty :)

Karsyn's language development is starting to increase also. It is so cute to hear her count with Kaitlyn or chime in here and there on the ABC's. She went so long without really making any sounds at all. She is very laid back child but also as stubborn as they come... She is gentle and always wants a hug or kiss. She is now saying sorry also and wanting to hug you.

Easter was a treat this year. They were able to look for eggs and RIP apart the eggs to find the surprise awaiting them. Karsyn didn't really get the idea that the chocolate eggs had foil on the outside so in they went and then out they went...LOL Kaitlyn (once she caught on) showed us that she is going to be the kid that other parents roll their eyes at while hunting eggs bc she would run in front of Karsyn and take all the eggs for herself. HA HA HA!

Sorry about the picture placement, I still haven't figured out this whole blogging thing yet;}