walking at the nature center

we had a wonderful post-christmas celebration with the stahl's and before we headed home we spent the afternoon at the nature center. it was the perfect ending to a great visit. the weather was amazing and the kids loved walking on the trial and playing on a giant playscape. even graham enjoyed a few trips down the slide! the kids all loved having g and g hold their hands and run and play!

post-christmas with the stahls

we had a great post-christmas celebration with the stahls! more gifts . . . rollerblades for the big girls, a gas station for b.c., and a lalaloopsy for kam! and some really cool p.j.s and toys from they cousins! we had a wonderful christmas dinner and dessert too (kind of made up for the christmas dinner of pancakes that we'd had!). so nice to have everyone together. makes my heart smile.

a visit with g and g ... and sam too!

g and g came for a visit! it's been a long time since they've headed this way! we had lots of fun! the kids couldn't wait to show them their chicks and anything and everything that had changed since their last visit . . . on sunday we went to the rockin r . . . a local water park. despite the high heat and CRAZY winds, the kids had a great time (it was nice to have four adults to split up the kid watching too!). we went to a great dinner at the monument cafe, played games until late at night, and enjoyed a relaxing monday morning at home!
graham and sam (g&g's chocolate lab) became instant friends . . . they were both worn out after the two days together!
we were having so much fun we forgot to snap any pictures! what a great weekend! :)

park time with g&g

what a beautiful day for some park time with g&g before they headed home. we brought a picnic to one of our favorite parks and hung out for a couple hours! :) it was great. it was so fun to see all four kiddos playing so independently of each other . . . climbing, swinging, jumping, and balancing. it is so cool to see b.c. thinking he can keep up with the big kids! :) they had fun showing off to g&g! :) and of course the afternoon wouldn't be complete without a little meltdown . . . ken freaked out about a bug (and daddy snapped the great picture - above and to the left!) :)

st. patty's day with g&g

we most of spring break week at g&g's having fun . . . and completing classes for the upcoming transplant! we had great intentions of fitting in lots of fun stuff . . . but spent more time just hanging out and enjoying time together! we tried to go to the zoo on tuesday. it was "full" when we got there . . . so we drove around looking for a movie place . . . and ended up playing at a cool park and getting an ice cream. you'd think the kids would have been disappointed . . . i was! i wanted to see the animals . . . but nope! they thought it was great! :) what awesome kids! we played at the neighborhood park, played with toys at g&g's, celebrated ken's and s's birthday with family, and played some more! (ken got her dream gift from g&g . . . an american girl doll! she is so in love with her! :) ) grammy surprised the kids with matching st. patty's day shirts to wear! they sported them around market street . . . doing lots of silly poses . . . kenzie is the ultimate "high fashion poser"! kam loves to do her "minnie pose" or stick out her tongue! ken likes to do something crazy! and b.c. loves to show off his belly to anyone who will look! we had a great lunch . . . YUM! and then did a little shopping . . . and then the kids all had gourmet cupcakes! we finished the afternoon with a carousel ride at the mall and sonic drinks for the ride home! :) thanks for a wonderful visit g&g! :)

celebrating with family

the day after christmas we travelled to grammy and grampy's for a two day visit! the girls had a great time with cousin s and we all loved meeting baby a! what a beautiful, sweet baby! we opened presents and had an amazing christmas dinner (i think it tasted even better when grammy does ALL the work - thanks mom!). we opened presents . . . $5 stocking stuffers for the adults (a hit again this year!) and the kids were spoiled by lots of great goodies . . . lucky, lucky kiddos!
the next day we met for an amazing pizza dinner and got to see the dancing fountains right outside! what a treat! it was so nice to have such a great visit with our family!
it was our first time travelling with "the machine" . . . uh! the dialysis machine! despite lots of alarms in the night from the machine, we were able to travel relatively easily . . . it's like having a 5th child!
after lots of playtime, cooking hot dogs and marshmallows outside on the fire pit, and assembling and decorating a really cool gingerbread house we headed home. a perfect ending to the christmas holiday!

weekend with g&g

what fun! we spent the day on the lake in our ghetto boat, but had a great time. the girls LOVED every minute of it . . . and even b.c. was a little bit happier in his life jacket! the lake wasn't too crowded first thing in the morning and the weather was perfect!
the girls tried tubing for the first time! :) it was awesome to watch! first, kam, mck, and i gave it a whirl! it was a little too much for kam, but she had fun. then, ken, mck, and i rode. mck LOVED when bailey went fast . . . giggling like crazy! ken, on the other hand would almost start crying when we went fast! (i think she is a little like me!) then grammy took a ride with the girls! it was so cool!
then grampy took a whirl at teaching ken to water ski . . . that didn't go so well . . . but we'll try again soon! we keep telling her she'll have to try it again or mck will beat her and be up first!
we had snacks, flooded the engine, and swam! :) it was a great day on the lake!
can't wait to do it again! and next time . . . we'll bring the camera! :)
we went to dinner all together too . . . a rare treat for us these days . . . in fact it was the first time we've eaten out as a family since bailey got out of the hospital! the kids cleaned their plates . . . and, to be honest, so did i! so nice to have some yummy "normal" food! i think even bailey enjoyed the meal! :)
on monday g&g bought trees to plant in honor of bailey's dad . . . they even helped plant them . . . it was hot and our yard is rocky, but they got it done and they look great!
we couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend! :)

a little fun in the sun!

the kids, grammy & grampy, and i headed to have a little fun with the kiddos to the rec center pool! this is a fav of our family! it is the perfect pool for the big age spread we have! :) everyone is happy for a very long time! :) it was so wonderful to have a few extra sets of hands! the kids had a great time splashing, swimming, and sliding! the only thing missing was daddy! can't wait till he's all better and can join us!

fun at g&g'S

the kiddos and i headed to spend a few days at g&g's! we all had so much fun! from swimming, to a trip to the mall for pictures, ice cream, and play, we had a great few days! the girls were little water bugs the whole time. ken is practicing her diving, mck and practicing her cannon balls, and kam is just enjoying being more independent. b.c. is all over the place! he loves to be in the water or just running around exploring! the girls made super-cute cupcakes with sarah, too! we even celebrated father's day with the whole fam a little early and had a super yummy meal at taste of texas! we had a great time . . . next time daddy needs to come!

gifts from grammy (and grampy!)

the kids were so excited to open their valentine gifts from grammy today! :) what a treat after our crazy day! the girls got little treat bags with candy, jewlery and money and bentley is in love with his froggy! so much fun! :) even b.c. got in on the action! thanks g&g! we love you!

trampoline time!

we took advantage of a visit from grammy and grampy to have grampy help put together the trampoline! :) it was a little chilly, but they got it done in just a few hours . . . then we all got to enjoy the fun! :)

weekend at grammy and grampy's

we had a great time hanging out at grammy and grampy's this weekend. . . the weather, despite some rainshowers, was great! the girls loved playing in the pool and just having fun! :) b.c. had a weekend of firsts . . . his first roadtrip and his first "dip" in the pool (okay, only his toes touched the water, but it was a first!)! the girls also enjoyed a little bit of time with "baby sophia", whom they just adore! :) we had a great cookout and some yummy dessert before heading home on sunday! :)

4th of july

well, we broke tradition again this year and headed out of town to see grammy and grampy for the fourth! (usually we enjoy the small town feel of georgetown for the holiday!) hanging out by the pool and relaxing and enjoying the girls sounded so much more appealing than braving the heat for the day!

we had such a nice day! we had delicious chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast . . . some in the shape of the u.s., lincoln, washington, and an eagle! :) we put on our bathing suits and literally spent the entire day by the pool!

the girls are little fish this year . . . ken and mck are swimming so well . . .ken is really working on learning to dive in and mck is loving swimming without a float . . . she is scary to watch though, spending LONG periods of time under the water! kam loves the water too . . . it's been tough trying to get her to keep her head out of the water to keep her ears dry! she likes to put on her chest floatie, arm rings, a water ring and hold a ball and walk into the water . . .HILLARIOUS to watch!

grammy did a great job making a wonderful cookout for everyone! and the homemade chocolate chip ice cream with her homemade hot fudge was the best! :) (okay, the best part was that she didn't really let me do anything other than relax, but the food was really good too!)

we went to watch the woodlands fireworks that night . . . what a wonderful end to the day! the fireworks were great . . . one of the coolest finales ever!

visit to grammy and grampy's

with bailey out of town, and all of us needing a break from the house . . . we headed to g &g's for some relaxing time . . . okay, so life isn't exactly relaxing ever around here . . . but a little time by the pool was nice! :)

the girls were little fish! :) mck was swimming all around with no float the whole time - jumping off and swimming to the side . . . even practicing diving for things at the bottom of the pool! WOW! mck went from not wanting to jump off the rock or the side of the pool when we got there . . . to two days later jumping off the rock with no one there to catch her and only one layer of foam in her float! AMAZING! and little kam . . . well, she wasn't scared from the start . . . kind of makes you nervous! she walks in with her floaty, goes under, drinks a bunch of water, and comes up smiling and coughing! :) we really have to keep an eye on her! :)

we spent a lot of time in the pool and just hanging out! :) it was great! we went to market street to see the "dancing" fountains and get an ice cream. the fountain is really cool . . . lot of fun to watch! :) we got some ice cream . . . kam picked marshmallow with m&m's, ken picked cotton candy and mck picked cotton candy with sprinkles . . . but ate everyone else's and then couldn't finish hers! :)

we walked over to the splash fountain where kids were running through in clothes and bathing suits. the girls all sat on the wall . . . not one of them even attempted to go touch the water until i said something about them being "weird" kids for not wanting to touch the water . . . they all chimed in with something about wanting to . . . pretty soon, they were all SOAKED! they all ran around having a great time until it was time to go and they realized they didn't have clothes to change into! :) they all got to ride home in their skivvies! a big treat! :)

we had a great time . . . then grammy offered to watch the girls for a couple days! :) ken and mck stayed for the weekend! it was nice to have a break and they had an awesome time! :) they didn't miss me a bit! :) it was really nice to have some time with just kam (and not breaking up any fights!) it was amazing to me how much easier just having one kid was . . . what are we doing having a fourth? CRAZY! :)

when i picked the girls up they were so excited to see me, but more excited to see kam! it was really sweet . . . of course the sweetness lasted only through the night . . . everything quickly returned to normal! :)