Vacation -- The Fun Continues!

On Sunday, we drove around Derek's old neighborhood. We stopped at a playground where Derek used to play. The kids loved Rocket Park!

We then visited Derek's friend and his family. We had lunch and spent the afternoon hanging out at the house. 

Makena wanted to take the baby home.

Kyle was a bit bashful around the cute girl.

The kids learned how to play bocce ball. Kyle got in on the action too. Check out Derek's face as he protects Karis from Kyle's ball. Who knew where the ball was going to land!

We left our friends' house to meet Derek's stepfamily for dinner at Ach n Lou's. It was a nice evening of catching up and having them meet our kids. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures.  

The next day, we took the kids to Blackberry Farm in Aurora. It was a perfect place for our kids. They had pony rides, a carousel, a train ride, an ice cream stand and a playground. What else does a kid need? It was a hot and humid day, but the kids had a great time. Unfortunately it closed at 3:30 pm so we didn't have as much time as we would have liked. 

That night we ate at Portillo's, one of Daddy's favorites. Here is a picture of our well-behaved kids at the restaurant -- right before they started fighting over the purple crayon!  =)

We got back in the car right as the rain started. After the rain, a cool front moved in and it was in the 70's the rest of the week. We loved the cool weather!

Ahh, Vacation!

We just spent eight days in Illinois and Indiana visiting friends and family. The last time we visited as a family was five years ago. This trip was long overdue! 

We drove up early Friday morning. The plan was to leave at 4 am, but we didn't get to bed late, so we woke up at 4 am and were on the road at about 5 am. We put the kids in the car with hopes that they would sleep the first couple hours. The kids got into the car and were wide awake, giggling and pretending to be asleep. Kyle was singing Let It Go. Perhaps he was reminding his parents that we were getting ready to embark on vacation with three little ones and we needed to "let go" all our pre-made plans and just go with the flow!

The kids didn't nap much in the car, but they did really well with the long drive. We arrived at Aunt Stephanie's at 9:30 pm. Kyle had just fallen asleep but the girls were awake and excited! 

The next day, we spent the afternoon on the river at Jimmy's place. Kyle went on his first boat ride. 

 

Karis rode this boat 5 years ago when she was only 6 months old.

Jimmy's boat stopped working, so our ride was short. While they tried to figure out what happened, we just hung out on the boat and enjoyed the water.

Derek and I rode wave runners for the first time. So fun!

Playing in the Fox River. 

Jimmy's friend took us out on his boat. It was a fast boat and the kids loved it!

When it was nearing dinner time, so we headed back to Stephanie's for pizza and baths. What a great way to spend our first day, unwinding from the long car ride. 

Our Birthdays

Derek and I went out for sushi on my birthday. Before we left, we had cake so the kids could enjoy it to. 

After the picture, I walked around the other side of the counter so the kids could help me blow out the candles. 

By the time I got to the other side, there were no more candles for me to blow out!

Makena was sad that she didn't get to blow out any candles.

For Daddy's birthday, he went out with some friends earlier in the week to a shooting range and dinner. On his actual birthday, we took a cake to his work. 

Since Makena didn't get to blow out my candles, she got to help Daddy blow out his. And all was well in her little world!

That same week, we also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary! 

Fading Naps

The time has come when Makena is going to stop taking naps. She only takes a couple every week now. She will stop taking naps at a slightly younger age than Karis which surprises me. Makena has always needed more sleep than Karis and usually takes pretty long naps.  

It'll actually make bedtime easier when Makena stops taking naps. She's not tired at bedtime on days she takes naps and then comes out of her room a lot after we put her down. This keeps Karis up and keeps her from falling asleep. 

I can usually tell on the days when Makena is going to need a nap. Half the time she obliges and goes to her room to lie down. But sometimes she pushes back and it's pretty funny. In a whiney voice she tells me, "I've taken lots of naps already." Or the other day when she was losing the argument, she turned and marched to her room saying "I'm going to take three more naps and THAT'S IT!" 

Kyle's First Haircut from Daddy

Kyle has had several haircuts, but this was the first time Daddy cut his hair. Look at those cheeks!

Kyle was patient and turned his head when asked.

He combed his own hair when it was all done.

And then gave Daddy a thumbs up.

 

So handsome!

Bye Bye Bunnies

Our baby bunnies are gone. So sad. A week or so ago, we went out to look at them. One bunny settled itself half in the burrow and half out of it -- they were getting so big they could barely all fit in it. We kept our visit short because the bunnies were always frightened by our presence. 

A few minutes after we left them, Daddy came home and wanted to see the bunnies as he had not seen them in a few days. Kyle was excited to show Daddy the bunnies and ran to the burrow. It scared the one that was half out of the burrow. It took off and ran around our yard. Derek called for his work gloves and then wrangled that poor little bunny. It took him two tries to get the bunny to stay in the burrow. 

Later that afternoon, more had left the burrow. The next day, we only found three hanging out in different parts of our yard. We no longer checked on them since our grass was getting long and it was hard to see them. 

Derek mowed the yard the other day and they are all gone. I'm sad we never got to pet them as we all so badly wanted to do. I hope they're making it okay on their own. I know they left a little prematurely. 

  

Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrate Daddy! He is our hero. 

We can't draw hearts big enough to show him how much we love and adore him. 

He is our spiritual leader who cares for us in every way.

He's the kind of dad that comes home from a long day at work and jumps right into a tea party. 

We love our Daddy for who he is and all that he does for us. 

The only thing he doesn't do so well, is share his favorite dessert that mommy makes him once a year!

Oh, and we like having a funny Daddy too!

Little Swimmers

Karis and Makena had their first swim lesson today. Their classes are at The Y for the next two weeks (30 mins, M-Th). The last few days, they went back and forth between being super excited and not wanting to go. I could tell they were a little nervous this morning as they both were full of questions. 

They did some simple exercises with their swim teacher. She was very sweet and encouraging. Half way through the class, Makena turned around and said, "Mommy, mommy, I like the swimming lesson so far!"

I'm glad they are in the same class and get to be together. 

They did great today and loved the class. They are excited to go back tomorrow. Kyle got to have lunch with Daddy at work today while I took the girls to their swim lesson. Since the girls were nervous about the class, I was thankful that Derek had the time to hang out with Kyle so I could focus on the girls. Going forward, I'll be busy keeping Kyle occupied and out of the pool for a half hour.

Spring Time in Our Backyard!

It feels like summer, but it looks like Spring in our backyard. The flowers we planted have sprouted. I finally got around to buying some pots and dirt. Karis picked out some flower seeds, and we now have two pots of flowers. We can't wait until they bloom!

And not too far from our plants, baby bunnies were born! We weren't too sure what kind of animal they  were at first, but after a few days, it's clear that they are bunnies.  

We check on them every other day and they are growing fast! There are about five or six of them packed into the little burrow. Look at all the ears! 

They are so cute and fun to watch. I'm definitely more excited about them than the girls. I'll be so sad when I go to visit them one day and they're gone. Don't be surprised if we end up with a pet bunny...  =P