Just catching up

That's entertainment!

Recipe for a good time at our house? Tape and some willing participants!

The Dude

Pumpkin Patch

This year we did take a family trip to the pumpkin patch, but sadly we have no pics to document it. That's what you get when you go with a tired baby and a crazy boy! This is Evan's field trip to the pumpkin patch with his school. This is always an eventful trip, but this year is his last year in preschool so I wanted to make sure I captured it. I can't believe he's getting so big. All parents feel this way, but crazy as he is I love his little guts!

Halloween 2011

So basically Paul handled Halloween. I had the chance to go to San Francisco for the weekend and I took it! Most of the pics are off the iPhone so they aren't top quality, but hey a memory is captured none the less. Paul ended up taking the kids up to HB for some fun with our old friends the Ebmeyers. Thanks guys for hosting the party! They drew on pumpkins and went to a trunk or treat. Evan was really into Halloween this year. He looked forward to dressing up and was all about trick or treating. I made it home on Monday (Halloween) and handled that part of it. Thanks to Paul for giving this mom a weekend off and handling the holiday yourself. I think its safe to say a great time was had by all!

Kate turns 2!

Kate turned two last week! It's crazy how fast that happened! We did a little family celebration followed by a short lived trip to the pumpkin patch. Let's just say she partied a little too hard at her home celebration! She got a fun little play kitchen and grandma hooked her up with all the fun stuff you need to fill it. Her favorite present was her princess shoes. Her eyes lit up when she put those shoes on. The thing with kids is you just never now what the hit might be. She would have been happy with those shoes and that's it. She has figured out how fun a kitchen can be though -the evidence of such fun can be witnessed on my floor right now! She has become quite the little lady. She loves to accessorize. I have taken to hiding bows because if she sees one that's not in her hair, she will freak out until it is. There are days that she walks around with what appears to be a shower cap of bows. For the most part I don't fight it- I think it's cute. Plus if I have to pick my battles, this is one that I don't care to win. She's learned her colors and we have discussions all day about the color of lots of things. Her favorite thing to do is read. The nice thing about that is if she's quiet and nowhere to be found, she's usually sitting around a pile of books looking through them. Evan even had a fun time helping her celebrate this year. No jealous fits, and no freaking out about presents. He was genuinely interested in helping her understand how awesome this whole birthday thing can be. Happy birthday nugget!

Randoms

Swimming with Dad

It's tough to have the funnest dad around! My kids LOVE swimming with their dad. Paul is pretty good about taking them a few times a week after work (this is usually when I get dinner ready uninterupted!). No family photo session is complete without pictures of our neighbor Max. He spends many a night at our house! He and Evan are like peas and carrots. Evan has started swimming like a pro this summer. He floats, dives, and swims all on his own. I'm so glad that Paul loves the water like he does- my kids will not be water weenie's like I am!

Can you feel the love???

This pic sums up a lot around our house lately. Evan loves Kate to death sometimes, and sometimes he doesn't. He was actually trying to help her here, but it went terribly wrong! Instead of immediately helping her, I did what all good moms do- I took a picture! Evan though they fight at times like all good brothers and sisters do, last night they were up in their room having a 'bow party'. Evan was putting all of Kate's bows in her hair in order to avoid going to sleep. Funny how they are best buds when they have a common goal. I also overheard Evan telling Max (our neighbor and psuedo-kid) "be nice to Kate. She's my sister." Even though I wasn't supposed to hear that it made my heart sing! That's what family is all about!

Kate the Great

I haven't posted about this girl in a long time, or anything else for that matter. We have had one busy summer and with a little down time I've just been lazy, but I'm snapping out of that! Kate is rounding the corner on 2 years old. She has started to show some signs of that! We've had a few tantrums and some freak outs over nothing, but I suppose that's par for the course. All that aside, Kate is mostly a big sweetheart. She is funny. She laughs at herself (she is so her father's child) she laughs at Evan, and she laughs at me. She has started saying 'Hi' to strangers at the store. She totally makes it a game, she sees a stranger come, say hi, and wait. If they say hi back, she cracks up like that was the greatest thing that ever happened. She has a serious shoe addiction. I was looking at shoes the other day and took her out of the cart (no need to worry about her running off when there are shoes involved) she held her flip flops in her hands and tried on shoes like it was her job. It was hilarious! She is currently obsessed with a pair of pink Old Navy flip flops that she stole from her cousin Charchie (Charlie). She wears them 24/7. I'm serious. She wears them in the bath, shower, and pool. I have to let her know that I will be putting the flip flops back on after I put her clothes on. She wears them to bed. Yes, I said it she wears them to bed. It was cute for the first couple of days, but I'm getting ready to have them 'disappear'. She is trying to keep up with her brother more and more everyday. She now officially owns the trike, and attempts the scooter. He gets so annoyed, but I love it when they play together. There is nothing sweeter than hearing your kids laugh at or encourage each other (in good things). She has some bad habits that she has picked up from him as well. For instance answering 'poop' when I ask her a question. Evan thinks hilarious, I think it's disgusting for not even two year olds to talk like that. Needless to say this girl keeps it hoppin' around here!

My Life

Sometimes life gets a little mundane. Being a stay at home mom is rewarding but boy does it get monotonous sometimes. The other day as I was cleaning dried up Lucky Charms off the floor for the umpteenth time, I glanced up and saw my kids. They were both doing their own things, minding their own business and I realized why I do it. I love my kids. Pure and simple- I love them. So one day when you two get the chance to look back on my mothering skills (which aren't perfect), just know that amid all the chaos- your mom loves you.

Tahoe Part 2

Well I never got motivated enough to edit my pictures, so I just picked a couple and put them on here. Needless to say Tahoe was great. Family, lake, hikes, lack of sleep and all sorts of laughs make for a great trip. More to come next year!

Tahoe Preview

We had a blast this year in Lake Tahoe (as usual). My kids ran free for days! These are just a few of the fun moments I captured on our trip. I wish I could say I was motivated to narrow down and edit all 600 plus shots I took of our week- but I'm totally not! Oh well! Maybe after an inspiring few days at Education week, I'll feel up to it!

Peru

This year during our trip to Lake Tahoe we had a very special occasion. My nephew Zach received his mission call to Peru. His call came after he had already left for the trip. His mom had it FedEx'd and we had a very special family home evening. Let's just say he was surprised! It was all sorts of awesome in that room and I get teared up just looking at this picture. Congrats Zach! We hope you will have an awesome experience.

Beach Days

Summer is almost over, but our beach days are not! Our kids are so spoiled with the beach it's ridiculous! When we went to Lake Tahoe last week Evan asked what we were going to do that day, when I replied we were going to the beach he asked "why?"! They have no idea that everyone else was just excited to go to any beach, let alone the ocean! Here are just a few highlights of our trips this past few months.

San Onofre

Last Monday we spent the evening at San O. Apparently there was a storm happening somewhere because the waves were HUGE and the scenery was beautiful. I have never really shot landscapes but these were some of my favorites. I love having Paul at the beach because I get to click away while he watches our kids. Heaven!