Overnight Getaway

Daddy had some time off from work for his birthday and our anniversary, so we spent a night away in Glen Rose. We came to this same hotel last summer. It's a great place to spend the night in a hotel room and swim in the pool. It's also just an hour and a half away. 

We arrived around noon on Thursday. The girls went with Daddy to unload the car so they could take a ride on the luggage cart. Kyle and I watched from the hotel room.

We had a quick lunch in the hotel room and then swam for only a couple hours. I think the anticipation of the trip wore them out. For the past two days, the girls had been packing for the trip, stuffing their backpacks with everything they would need -- things like flash cards, baby dolls they never play with, and old photos. They kept saying, "I wish we could go to the hotel today! and Kyle would say, "I want to go to show and tell!"

Since the kids were tired that afternoon, we had a little "rest" time before going out to dinner. This is how that went:

The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel -- the highlight always being the pancake machine. We had some time to kill before the pool opened so Daddy taught the girls how to play horseshoe while Kyle and I collected rocks. 

We spent the rest of Daddy's birthday in the pool. We were the only ones at the pool the entire time. We were there for almost 5 hours! Mommy's shoulders were burned and Makena's face was getting pretty red so we called it a day around 3 pm. 

Karis practiced swimming and got much better and more confident. When we got in the pool the first day, Kyle was too scared to get off the steps. But after two days, he walked off the steps by himself and floated on his own. He kept his mouth closed (see photo!). When he was floating, he would announce, "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" and then Makena would mumble, "Why is he saying he's swimming? He's just floating!" It's a start!

 

Summer Craft Time

When we have down time at home, Karis always wants to do a craft. So far, our crafts have been simple and the girls love them. The other day, we worked on some foam mermaids I bought at the craft store. They were quite detailed and the girls did a great job.

Karis always takes the longest, whether we are at home or at the library craft time. She takes her time and enjoys doing it.

Makena was so happy with the final products. She loved playing with them afterwards.

And while the girls did crafts, Kyle happily watched a show by himself on the iPad in his undies. 

Bubble Monsters

What happens when you leave three misfits in the bathtub unattended? They pour in lots of bubble bath and turn the jets on!

Daddy came home for lunch so I left the kids in the tub to make him lunch. Karis was not in the tub (at the time), but playing with the other two. She came running to tell us there were lots and lots of bubbles. Daddy went to see what was going on and Karis kept saying, "Mommy, come look!" "No," I told her. I didn't want to see what kind of disaster they created. She came back again and told me to come see all the bubbles. I asked, "Is Daddy mad?" Only after she told me he wasn't, I was brave enough to look. There were a lot of bubbles but they were all contained in the tub. Phew! It was hard to get them bubble-free at the end but the giggles and smiles were well worth it!

How could I be mad at these faces??

Potty Training Kyle

It was finally time to potty train Kyle! He was ready probably about a month ago, but I was waiting for school to be out so we could spend a couple days at home. 

On Tuesday morning, he put on Paw Patrol undies and for the most part did great. He had two or three accidents, but a lot of successes. He loved getting an M&M, a fruit snack or a white chocolate chip every time he went. The next couple days, he still had a few accidents each day, mainly in the late afternoon when he was tired. He would tell me in the sweetest voice, "I just forgot." He did great when we ventured out of the house.

The biggest challenge was to get him to poop on the potty which he had never done and didn't want to. It took a couple days, but he finally used the potty and was rewarded with a new matchbox car!

After six days, he finally had an accident free day today!

Happy Father's Day!

Boy, do these kids love their Daddy. During the day, they tell me they miss him or want to call him to tell him they got hurt or that they did something exciting. They love to spend time with him whether it's just checking the mail or going for long bicycle rides. He is a fun, loving, protective, and wise father.

The kids happily took these pictures for me because they truly believe he is the BEST daddy EVER!

Mommy's Birthday

To celebrate my 41st birthday, the girls made me cards/pictures and all of them showered me with lots of love. We went out for dinner at LA Burger (a Korean burger place). Everyone loved the food, it didn't break the bank and I didn't have to get up 10 times during the meal. It was fabulous! My kids, in their sweet little voices, sang and wished me a happy birthday. I felt truly blessed!

Against Derek's wishes, I made my own cake and some white chocolate mousse. I was bored the day before because we were stuck at home potty training Kyle. Even though I made the components, Karis put it together and decorated it with berries. 

Summer is Here!

Our first week of summer was off to a slow start. On Monday morning, we had to stay home to wait for a garage door repairman to come to the house. The kids were quite bored and cranky. I could tell they were tired so even after the repairman left we stayed home the rest of the day. Kyle took a three hour nap and the girls both fell asleep on their own at some point in the afternoon. All last week, all three kids were waking up at 6:45 am so they had some catching up to do on their sleep!  They played together much better after naps. 

The following days were full days! On Tuesday morning, we picked up one of Makena's friends and took her to the splash pad with us. We met up with one of Makena's friends who moved to Iowa. It was a hot day but the kids played for about three hours. Afterwards, we ran an errand (took three girls to a shoe store -- yikes!), got some frosties to cool off, and then headed home to play until Makena's friend got picked up. 

On Wednesday, Makena wanted to go to The Tubes (a church's indoor play structure), so we packed a lunch and headed over there. The kids played hard and we spent about another three hours there. They didn't want to leave! 

The girls don't believe me when I tell them they are way too big for the baby swings.

After The Tubes, we picked up Karis' friend to take her with us to the library for craft time. When we got to our friend's house, Makena decided she wanted to stay there instead, so we left her there. Kyle and I checked out books while Karis and her friend made super hero capes. 

On Thursday morning, we went to the library for story time. Afterwards, I took the kids to Walmart to buy some needed items. In a moment of weakness, I went down the candy aisle and picked out some candy. We went to deliver some candy to Daddy at the office (just an excuse to see him). At church, we met some friends and ended up playing with them for awhile. They were headed to the movie theater to watch Cinderella, so we tagged along. Makena hadn't been to a theater in a long time and it was Kyle's first time. The little guy was tired and not very interested in the movie, but he couldn't get comfortable enough to take a nap. He was pretty fidgety at certain points, but we got up and walked around the back for awhile. Towards the end, I had to break open the bag of M&Ms we bought at Walmart. That kept him quiet for the last stretch and we were all able to enjoy the movie. The kids had so much candy that day --- I may have heard one of my daughters tell me, "You're the best mommy ever!" during her sugar high. 

After a busy week, we stayed home on Friday. I needed to do some things around the house and I knew Kyle was due for another nap. After dinner, we got ice cream and ate it at the dog park so Ryder could get some exercise. Then it was family movie night!

I know every week of summer won't be like this (full of fun things to do and the kids aren't bored at home fighting), but I'm thankful for this great start!

Family Friday Nights

We recently made Friday nights a family movie night. We eat breakfast for dinner, order pizza or make our own pizzas. 

The girls are catching up and watching some familiar Disney movies. They haven't seen very many so far, so now they're finally getting a chance to do so. 

I'm surprised how Kyle can sit through a whole movie. I don't remember the girls having the attention span to do so until they were a bit older. Kyle enjoys the movies just as much as the girls!

Kinder Graduation

The Kindergarten Class at Mockingbird Elementary

Ms. Carlton and Ms. Mitchell presented Karis her diploma (Karis did not like getting on stage!)

Ms. Carlton had a sweet class of kids. It was fun getting to know them. 

Karis has learned and grown up so much this past year!

 

 She sure is going to miss Ms. Carlton over the summer. 

A family picture with the graduate and her cranky siblings who did not enjoy sitting through the hour long ceremony. 

Karis became friends with Makena and Talia the first week of school. It's been fun getting to know their families throughout the year. Karis made friends with all the other girls in her class as well as she was very well-liked. In their Mother's Day book, the kids had to complete the sentence "I love my mom more than ________" Her friend Vedika said "Karis"! She calls Karis her bestie.  

All the kids received a Classroom Award. Karis' was "Most Contagious Laugh"

And now we have a 1st grader!