Beginning summer

This last Saturday we went to the lake with friends. The kids loved it and the water wasn't too cold. At first Brennon wanted nothing to do with it and the yucky seaweed, but he warmed up....
Katelynn thought of it as a pool and didn't mind going under and playing in it all afternoon.
The sand was a hit, although not quite as good as the real beach.
Brennon is finally into a toddler bed. I was so worried it would be a difficult transition, but a week later, he has been great and not come out of his room yet. Boys are definitely easier in some ways!
A few great summer shots of the kids at Katelynn's preschool swim party....


Katelynn is now a preschool graduate. Thank you to her teacher for keeping her busy and entertained for 2 years (trust me that is a lot to ask, I know!). She will always remember how much fun it was and how much she learned. She is definitely ready for Kindergarten!

The last few weeks

Time has flown by and life has been busy. I have tried to fit in work and play. Yesterday I enjoyed a lunch with my old friends from cosmo school. They are so fun, I miss seeing them every day.
I have also been doing a lot of hair and I love it! Last weekend I did the bride and her bridesmaids for a wedding. It was so fun to be a part of her big day!

We have also been hanging out at the pool with friends. We are so lucky to have so many great pools here in Lantana. This was taken Memorial day with several other families from our ward.
I have also been baking, as always. I've decided I love to bake. However, I am not the best at it, so I feel like each time I do I work on perfecting the recipe. Katelynn asked to make a pie with me and I decided to do a Martha Stewart apple pie and took the time to learn about making the perfect crust and actually took the extra time to do it right (love the internet). It made a huge difference. This was definitely the best pie I've ever made. It was soft and a little chewy, not too flaky, and a crust you actually want to eat. Now I only wish I was this excited about cooking. I think I need to take a class or something to learn more about cooking too.

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and let them ride their first roller coaster. As you can see, they loved it!
Our ward had a pancake breakfast. They did such a great job honoring the veterens and then cooking up some great cakes! They even sported chef hats!

Brennon was so hungry, he went after the butter! Love 2 year olds!
And I always have to throw in my favorite picture of the kids this month...

Yes, I'm the new singing sensation!

OK, so if any of you watched Oprah today you would have seen me! Can you believe it, I made it to the Oprah show!! Yes, I put in extensions and became about 10 years younger and got darker skin, but this is all to fool you as to who I really am..... J/K But there is a new singing sensation named after me!!! (Too bad she spells it Charice, but still a cool name) Anyway, if you haven't heard her, check her out, she is amazing!!
http://www.oprah.com/media/20090429-tows-charice (the end is the best part)

She has already sang with Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. Anyway. I thought it was cool. I have only met one or two in my life. Go girl!

Our life lately

We have been very busy the last month. Even though Matt has been working a lot, we have fit in plenty of fun (you know us!). We just wanted to update everyone on what our family has been up to.

We had another murder mystery dinner and did a Texas western theme. We love how all our friends are always willing to play along and make it a blast!
We have had a lot of rain in Texas this month. So much one day that it created huge puddles on the golf course by our house. I was headed to the store and saw the puddles and ran home to grab the family to go run in them. There were some twice as deep, but our camera died.

The kids are so cute together lately. Katelynn lured Brennon into taking a "rest" with her on the couch.
Katelynn talked me into building a stable for her horses with her. Brennon thought it was a great fort for himself!
We also went to a drive in movie and let the kids overdose on sugar and stay up way too late, but it was worth it!

They also had a fun mini golf place at the drive in...


I redid the play room/waiting room area upstairs and had to show off my great finds. Most of this was from yard sales, including the shandelier($10).

This week's star of "Dirty Jobs"

OK, so I think in all my career of being a mom, I have just today done the dirtiest thing I have ever done (and I've done dirty, trust me; including throw up, spit up, diarrhea). I even hate to admit it, but I know I will someday laugh at it, so here it goes.

First of all, I am trying to potty train Brennon this week. I believe I wrote a long time ago that this is the worst job ever (with Katelynn) and I am reminded all over again. So after 3 LONG days and doing nothing but potty training, I am trying to decide whether to push forward or give up. Anyway, on to today. After dinner Brennon was standing on the chair with nothing on (after many loads of underware laundry we have resorted to this) and I came over to take him down. The chair was all wet along with the floor. It was a big puddle. I, thinking I was being logical thought it was too much to be pee and his cup was right by him with pink lemonade. I assumed he had poured his cup out. So, my tired, not thinking self, smelled it and went on to put my finger in it and taste it. OK, you are all already laughing and know what's coming, so I don't have to spell it out to you. Anyway, I am now mortified and will never be that naive again!

So I am now desperate and about to ask Matt to quit his job and train him for me! He will probably never really appreciate what we women go through to get our kids trained.....

Easter in Texas

Farewell to freedom

We decided to enjoy our last few days together as a family before Matt headed off to his new job. Camping a few weeks ago got us excited to go again, but we wanted to find somewhere a little more remote with some scenery. We found the perfect place in OK called Turner Falls park. Here is the view from our campsite:

The kids had so much fun and it was nice to just let them roam and be kids without being bored all day at home. They were so excited!
Katelynn met a girl there and they were so cute. The girl yelled to her mom and I "Come take a picture of me and my best friend!" (after knowing Katelynn for 2 hours) Katelynn will always be so easy to be friends with and I love this about her
Even Sierra had a blast. She got to go for a swim and took full advantage of it.
This was the falls there. Not quite the cascades(you Virginians know what I mean), but it was really beautiful.
Katelynn and I played in the water and I felt like a kid again. It was so fun running around in the stream.



When we got back we headed to the Lantana spring festival. Of course we had to wait in line to get a horse painted on her face. I was impressed and wished we had asked for it on a canvas. ;)
Then they got to go on pony rides, the petting zoo and bounce houses. So much fun!


It was such a great weekend, I was sad to see it end. Now we are I guess back to being a normal family. I do feel so blessed that life worked out the way it did and I had time to focus on my dreams and then get so much family time after. What a great year it has been! Thanks to Matt for all he has put up with and for being the best father and husband in the world!