Monday, April 22, 2013

HBD 2013

This past weekend we traveled to my hometown for HBD 2013.  It was fun as always! The kids really enjoyed the carnival this year.  Poor Mckinlee was only tall enough to ride 3 rides, but she loved riding them over and over. Caleb, unlike previous years, had no fear and rode everything.



After the first day at the carnival we visited a local restaurant and had some amazing ice cream.  Tangerine swirl for mama and daddy, and Superman cones for the kids.



Nick and I went out with some friends from high school one night and saw basically every one I have ever known....joys of a small town.  One of the last nights we took Caleb to the carnival after putting Kinlee to bed.  That was amazing. There were very few people there, we walked on all the rides, and they gave him extra laps.  No lines=happy kid and mama.

We spent the rest of the days visiting Papaw's and Grammy's, the tiki bar, and exploring down town.  The kids especially loved the parade, and  I swear they ate candy the entire time.  Mckinlee was biting through wrappers and all. She learned very quickly that all you had to do to get candy was wave and say "hey".








It was a great weekend that passed by all too quickly.  We are now home and back to reality.  Caleb's first t-ball practice is tonight.  I have to take him because Nick has a test....I'm praying this first practice goes more smoothly than his first basketball practice.
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Gymnastics Wednesday

Today has been busy busy busy.  I have spent every free moment doing laundry, packing bags, cleaning, and trying to get ready to head to my hometown for the weekend.  It's HBD's again!! Woo hoo! The kids and I took a break from the chaos of the house to attend gymnastics.  It was amazing today.  It was not crowded at all, and they had the equipment set up in such a cool way today.  The kids did not stop moving and running the entire hour we were there.



After gymnastics Caleb begged me to go to Frisch's, and since they still needed to eat lunch I gave in.  Lunch was great, and the kids acted wonderful!! Always a plus! I asked them for some pretty smiles and this is what I got......






Oh dear!

After lunch we headed for an oil change, and now I am back to packing, cleaning, and finishing up laundry.  I am excited for this weekend! Have a great rest of the week friends!

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Monday, April 15, 2013

Sandy

Today has been a fun day with the kiddos, and for that I am grateful.  We have only had one tantrum, which is a MIRACLE, and I have enjoyed watching them play and have fun.

This morning we first headed to the local library to meet with Caleb's speech therapist.  The kids were able to play a little before she arrived, and Mckinlee and I read books while Caleb met with her.  I was so excited because she told me that he scored a 100% today with his G and F sounds.  She said that she is re-submitting his data this week, and she truly thinks he is no longer going to qualify for speech therapy! I am so happy about that. When we first began this process Caleb was thought to have a speech disability, but here we are 6 months later, and he is scoring 100's.  His speech has improved so much over the past few months.  He is still difficult to understand at times, but most kids are, and he is talking our ears off.


After speech the kids played a little bit longer at the library, and then we checked out tons and tons of books.  I love to let the kids go through the library and just pick any book they want to check out.  We keep the books in a basket in Caleb's room, and every night before bed the kids go and pick a few to read.  We either snuggle up on the couch or in my bed and read them all.  Kinlee loves to prance back and forth from the basket to the reading spot saying "My Book".

I had initially planned to return home after the library, but I decided that since we were out we should just head to Otterville.  It was not crowded at all, and the kids had so much fun.  Caleb even colored his first connect the dots coloring page, and it turned out great.  He did it all by himself.











Since it was pretty we played outside a lot at Otterville.  The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand.  I am now on a mission to find big trucks like this for Caleb.  He was in heaven scooping the sand with the bulldozer, and pouring it into the dump truck.  If anyone knows where I can find some for a good deal, let me know!



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Saturday, April 13, 2013

This Past Week


Here I am a little behind once again.  However, a week behind is better than my posts have been in the past. This past week has been great. Lots of warm weather, outside activities, and friends.  Have I told you how much I love Summer and everything that comes with it?  No? Well, I do, and if we ever had an opportunity to move South I would take it in an instance. Winter is for the birds, and this year the Winter lasted a little too long for my liking. This post will once again be random, but those are the best posts....right? :)

Last Saturday was Caleb's very last basketball game.  He was feisty when we first arrived, but then the coach asked him to play for the green team since they were missing some players, and he was in HEAVEN!! ***Note to self, make sure he is always on a green, blue, yellow, white, or orange team...NOT RED! After the game they had a little awards ceremony, and he got a medal.  He loved it.


His basketball pictures came in.  HAHA. I am sure 10 years from now these kids will look back on this picture and asked what was wrong with my child......gotta love his stubborn, shy side.


Caleb and Kinlee also finally got to meet sweet baby Landon.  Caleb and I have prayed for Landon every night since he was born, and Caleb was so excited to finally get to hold him.  I blame the Hartke's for Caleb's fascination with me having "2 baby brothers in my belly named Lucas and Collins.  He wants them to come out so he can play football with them when they get big".....Oh boy!



We have taken advantage of living in the country by hiking a lot as a family.  The kids LOVE it.  It reminds me of my childhood, and it is so fun to watch them explore.  Caleb loves walking on the rocks at the river, and Kinlee enjoys throwing them in. Walking across the tree bridges is also a HUGE hit with little man.





They have gotten a lot of use out of their race car.  Bella likes it to.


Park days with friends are always a great time.  The duck face on little miss is her new pout look.  DIVA!!!



These two are also becoming more and more smitten with each other every day.


Just because they are cute I will leave you with one more.


So, I am caught up once again.  Lets hope it stays that way this time!

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