Just another day

I want to blog about how I did something really cool today but I didn't. This is just a filler blog so you know we are alive. Today I:

• read the scriptures
• fed, bathed & changed children multiple times
• created the menu for the week
• made a shopping list
• made Dr. appointments for Kyra and myself
• filled up 4 - 7 gallon containers of water for emergency use
• transferred children to dance class and observed while wrestling Ryder
• balanced the checkbook & paid bills
• folded and put away a the weeks laundry
• read books to children
• ran 3 miles
• returned library materials
• had "school" with girls
• grocery shopped for the week

Tomorrow I need to:

• read scriptures
• attend library activities for girls
• make some batches of baby food
• make a batch of power muffins to freeze
• make a hair appointment for myself
• see what I should do about our brand new dryer that forgot to stop drying
• upload 6 months of pictures to Snapfish
• organize Ryder's clothes
• find a good dentist around here
• find a good painter around here
• paint my mirror
• run 3 miles

So I probably won't be blogging about anything cool tomorrow either. We'll shoot for Friday. It is wide open.

Happy Birthday Babe!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

Purple dress with flowers

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way Kyra fell in love with dresses. Then they had to be purple dresses. Now it is purple dresses with flowers. She has one favorite. If you are observant you will have noticed that she is wearing this dress in almost all the pictures of her on this blog.

What makes me smile is how she acts when she wears her special dress. She doesn't walk, she prances about. She doesn't talk, she whispers delicately. She doesn't dance, she twirls with grace. Something about it makes her feel just like a princess. And isn't that what being a little girl is all about?

Sand Castle Builder

I always knew my Mother could do many things. I did not know however, that she is an expert sand castle builder.




My Mom came out for a quick visit and we are having a great time. We picked her up at the airport and headed straight for the beach. She was born and raised 5 minutes from the ocean so I should not be surprised at her skills.



We went to Huntington Beach this time. It was very windy and the waves were strong and fast. She jumped right in and taught us all her ocean tricks. What a fun time. Except for the moment when Kyle tried to strangle me with his boogie board. Fortunately, I was able to escape.

The Joys of being a Veterinarian's Wife

How brave are you? Warning: If you click on this picture you will think my husband may have murdered someone in the woods instead of just saving a gentle mule from an untimely death.

First Days

Breckyn started preschool



And dance class.

We also started our Library baby class for Ryder and Story Time for everyone.

This stage in life is wonderful. I treasure each day we have to explore, play and imagine together. One by one my babies will start leaving me when Miss Breckyn starts kindergarten next year. Tear!

Adventure of the Day {5}

With school and other activities beginning for us this past week, we have started reading and doing activities from these great books.

I really like them and the girls have been LOVING it. They beg for "school time" each day. We will still manage to fit in crafty and tasty adventures here and there, but mostly we are working out of these books and playing our no-prep, go-to games: hide n seek, various types of races, kick the can, blinds man bluff and red light green light. Here are the latest creative adventuring we have done:

Rock painting - they've been keeping them under their pillows to help them remember to say prayers.

Making and playing with Sponge Balls

Edible Playdough (peanut butter, honey, powdered milk)

We need your opinion!

This is Kyle. With all the kids starting school a new topic of discussion has come up in our home. When we planned our first two kids, they were supposed to be two years apart in school. Well, where we live, the cutoff date is way later than expected so that they'd only be one year apart in school. Kyra would start kindergarten the year after Breckyn. I don't think it's a good idea for two sisters to be so close in school. Wouldn't they compete for friends/boys/etc????????? On the other hand, some people say two girls so close in age would be best friends. What do you all think? I need your opinion! Please respond within the next year so we can make the best decision. I don't want to start Kyra then change our mind and make her repeat the same grade or something like that. I've seen siblings one year apart in school who wouldn't even acknowledge each other in the hall. I definitely don't want that to happen. I was two years apart from my brother and it was perfect.

A note from Ryder

Hey everybody. I'm Ryder. I used to cry for my mama every night anywhere between 2-4 times depending on how I was sleeping that night. Come a little closer.

That's better. So, I figured the only thing left for me to do in order to be the most perfect little boy in the whole world was to sleep all night. My mom complained about it a lot, and since she is usually pretty good to me I decided to go ahead and give her what she wanted.

You should see how happy she is now! She was sure it was just a fluke! Afterall, I'd never done it before. But then I did it again and again and again. Four nights in a row now. I really am perfect now. See?

Here I am doing my new trick. It's okay, come a little closer. I won't wake up.

Afterall, I am perfect.

Up to lately

We have had a busy streak lately that has left us a bit adventureless. At least, in our traditional sense of the word. We have had a lot of fun. Kyle's brother came for a few days with his family. The girls LOVE their cousins and can't wait to play again with them.

We went to Sea World, a first for our family and that was awesome. We'll for sure go back, but not on a Saturday in the summertime.

Monday we went to Newport Beach. The waves were SUPER gentle, so no boogie boarding this time. The girls loved it though.

Later today we are going to paint rocks! Ooh, the fun never ends around here ;)