a day at the zoo

a day off from school meant a day at the zoo for my monkeys! we had such a nice day. really perfect weather, the kids were in great moods, and we had great friends with us too! it was wonderful to spend the day outside just enjoying the kiddos! ken and mck were very interested in reading the info at the zoo . . . kam (plugging her nose in many pics!) was very into the smells, and b.c. just thought everything was cool . . . but really loved the orangutans! i think everyone though the coolest (and grossest) thing we saw was an elephant peeing . . . it literally peed a bucket-load! it was really neat and i think we talked about it for days!

yes, those are my kids in a dog cage!

ha. this was too funny not to capture on film! :) we got a new dog cage for brock and the kids thought it was soooo cool that they could all fit in it . . . along with graham. they literally played for 45 minuted in the cage.

halloween 2011

okay, the kids looked pretty stinkin' cute this year . . . what a fun day it was! the kids could not wait to get home from school and put on the costumes! we had our usual scary dinner . . . mummy dogs, zombie brains, and witch fingers . . . and then it was off to get some candy! the kids were a big hit . . . they were pretty cute all walking together . . . and mck and ken each took a little one by the hand and took them up to the door when they were getting tired! b had the "trick or treat" thing down . . . anything for candy! they kids had a blast . . . and got way too much candy! we ate a few pieces and then called it a night . . . i think the switch witch may be coming . . . hahahaha!

pictures with cousins!

wow. trying to get 6 kids to smile all at the same time is tough! :) think we got some cute shots of the kids . . . being kids! the bailey bunch sure do love cousins s and a. can't wait for more get-togethers!

little fishies!

the kids and i have been passing the time away at grammy and grampy's by swimming EVERYDAY . . . and i mean EVERYDAY! it is so wonderful to have an instantly fun activity right in the backyard and i am starting to wonder how this could ever get old. everyone is happy! everyone is all smiles! i think i see a pool in our future!

easter 2011

easter 2011 will go down as one of the best! :) what an amazing weekend the kids have had! :) the fun started friday afternoon with the "peeping" and continued through the weekend! the kids LOVED coloring eggs this year and were so much more independent! it was fun to watch ken and mck coming up with designs for their eggs . . . while kam and b.c. just loved that they got to be involved! :)
the kids woke up easter morning to eggs in their slippers . . . build-a-bear gift cards for the girls (yes, i am a glutton for punishment) and a bulldozer car for b.c.! :) then it was downstairs for easter basket opening . . . holy crow. it was almost christmas! :) buckets of goodies from us including new towels and bathing suits . . . and baskets with goodies from mr. e.b. himself! :) wow. these kids are spoiled! :)
then it was outside for easter egg hunting. NO ONE needed help. we just got to point out the occasional missed egg. . . and stand back and watch them having fun! this year the eggs were filled with money, hair "goodies", fruit snacks, and gum . . . we were candied out from the peeping! :) we had a confetti egg fight and just enjoyed the morning! :)

then it was time to get dressed up and head to . . . a baseball game! :) the kids had a great time, but it sure was HOT! :) we sat on the grass, walked around a lot, and just enjoyed the day! :) then it was dinner out (yay! no cooking!) and some time at home to relax. what a perfect day!

we got peeped!

omg. this was the coolest thing ever! some sweet friends and their bible study group "peeped" our yard . . . covering it with more than 1000 peeps, 300 eggs and more than 15 pounds of candy! it was CRAZY but so wonderful! :) the kids were in heaven. ken tried to collect as much as she could, mck looked for things she would like (purple peeps!), kam jusst enjoyed grabbing and eating as much as possible, and b.c. tried to look sneaky as he pulled peeps up and ate them right off the stick! even rocky, s'mores, and cooper got in on the treats! :) what an amazing afternoon! :) this is something the kids will talk about for a very long time! thanks miss j and miss b! we love you! :)

first splash day of spring

so the kids finally convinced me that 89 degrees was warm enough for splashing! :) what a great way to spend a friday afternoon! :) mck was CRAZY and got totally wet right away . . . the water was FREEZING! ken would not be outdone by her, so she got soaked too! kam was a little slower to get wet, but by the end, she was all in too! little b.c. wasn't too sure what to make of this. he's not big on baths . . . so he took a long time too warm up to the idea of standing in freezing cold water with his three big sisters splashing around! by the time we were ready to head in, b.c. was having fun! :) i think we're in for lots of fun this summer! next time . . . we break out the sprinklers! :)

a trip to the austin zoo

oh how we have missed our bff's! we had such a fun time hanging out at the austin zoo for the afternoon! so many cool things to see . . . and even better friends to hang out with! :) it truly amazed me how interested the kids were in the goats! hello, we have goats! they still thought it was so fun to feed all the farm animals! i think the highlight of the afternoon was the lion . . . roaring and spraying, the GIANT pig at feeding time, and of course the train ride! :) ken had a story about EVERY single animal in the park, b.c. LOVED the choo choo and talked about it the whole way home, kam thought the turkey was pretty cool, and mck was happy to be with a&d! can't wait to see our bff's again soon! :)

our gingerbread village

the kids had a blast decorating a gingerbread village this year. everybody picked a house to decorate and went crazy! :) kam was fast and covered her house with all sorts of treats! b.c. pretended to decorate while sneaking as many candies as he could into his mouth! ken sat for a long time trying to add all sorts of cool things to her house! and mck, well, mck decorated her house for A LONG TIME piling as much as she could onto the tiny structure . . . and managed to eat about a pound of sugar in the process! :) the little village looked great! :)

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!

super bowl sunday!

we joined our bff's for a great game of football and yummy snacks! :) (okay, so the kids and mommies weren't really into the game . . . but it gave us an excuse to get together!) the kids had so much fun playing together, we had so much fun chatting, and b.c. enjoyed checking out his first football game! :) he was decked out in his football shirt and taking in all the action! :) the kids finished the evening by eating cupcakes with yellow and black frosting (not sure what i was thinking there!). they thought it was fun . . . i was stressed! kam was proud of herself for picking yellow and not being a mess! :)