cocoa, cookies, and friends!

kam, b.c. and i hosted a fun playdate . . . cookie decorating! :) we had lots of last minute cancellations . . . which left us with just a handful of close friends! :) what fun! :) kam and b.c. had so much fun decorating! kam LOADED her cookies with as much as she could . . . making one for each member of the family! and b.c. had fun just decorating (and eating) one! :) we drank some cocoa, ate some cookies, and had lots of fun playing until lunchtime! :) nothing like lots of sugar to get you in the holiday spirit!

a new do! :)

ken got her hair CHOPPED off! it looks adorable . . . although i think she might look 3 years older! :) it is so cute to see her checking herself out in the mirror and swinging her head around! :) we have to spend some time fixing it in the morning . . . but she gets to wear it down now (that was becoming a battle because she wanted to wear it down but it was in her face and crazy!). sooooo cute! :) she wanted it shorter . . . i wasn't that brave this time . . . but maybe next time! :)

time with aunt sarah!

there was a surprise knock on the door thursday evening and the girls were thrilled to discover aunt sarah with goodies in hand! what a fun treat! it was so nice to have some time with her! we brought the girls lunch, did a little shopping, went to six flags, made bird feeders, and just enjoyed hanging out! we can't wait for her to surprise us again! :)

frightfest 2010

with a surprise visit from aunt sarah and some beautiful weather, it was the perfect day to head to fiesta texas for frightfest! bailey had us stop at cabela's first . . . the kids like that place more and more! b.c. thought it was so awesome! after getting his "oil-less turkey fryer" we drove the rest of the way to fiesta!

i swear each trip there gets more fun! the kids get braver every time! they are anxious to ride by themselves too! it is a treat to stand back and watch them having so much fun. ken is nervous to ride anything the first time . . . but almost always loves it! mck is really brave when she gets on the ride, but has second thoughts when it starts . . . she is up for trying anything! kam wants to be big enough to ride all the rides and wants to ride without mom and dad whenever possible. and b.c. is in heaven when he gets to ride anything with a steering wheel!

there were lots of cool characters to see . . . and some scary ones too! the kids had a blast riding the usual things and a few new rides! it was so wonderful to have an extra set of hands and the kids enjoyed having sarah there! :) what a fun weekend and start to this month! :)

mck's star of the week project

mck finished her star of the week poster today and did such a great job! we waited until the last minute . . . my fault . . . so she did the whole thing at once. she told me the answers and i wrote them . . . then she colored pictures for each answer and we glitter-fied the whole thing! :) we used every shade of purple glitter we had . . . then added a little silver! :) gotta love mck's taste!

some things you should know about mck . . . mck's fave food is applesauce! her fave animal is "hippopotamuses"! :) she wants to be a fairy when she grows up and if she had a wish she would with for "fairy wings"! :) mck's fave place to be is a bouncy house and her fave thing to do is art projects!

countdown to halloween

oh how i love this time of year! :) we decorated three weeks ago! and this morning we started opening the haunted house! we did the house in shifts . . . the big kids before they went to school and the little kids after the girls left on the bus! we started the year off with silly bands and boo berry cereal! ooooh! something fun to look forward to each day! :)

munchkins at the museum

kam, b.c. and i headed there for a fun morning. the museum was empty so we had the chance to explore everything without the crowds! kam knew exactly what she wanted to look at . . . kitchen, storytime, the train! b.c., on the other hand, spent most of the morning trying to climb in and around virtually everything he could see! he enjoyed exploring the toddler area too! we can wait to head back with the big kids sometime soon!

g'town airfest!

the bailey bunch headed to g'town airport for the 2010 airfest . . . it was one HOT morning! the girls were excited to check things out . . . and b.c. was in HEAVEN. it was like he new this was cool! he walked around like he owned the place! we toured the planes pretty quickly . . . and then decided it was time for some ice cream to cool off! :)

a few "mommy" days!

for the first time i got the chance to leave all my little munchkins and spend a few days . . . doing absolutely nothing! :) i joined bailey on a business trip . . . so he was busy and i was on my own and had no car . . . in california . . . at a resort with several pools . . . in the middle of the week! it was really quite wonderful. nothing exciting, just a lot of "me" time, which i think i was desperately in need of.

the kids had a great few days and had lots of time with grammy! what a treat for the kids! they went on and on about how great their time with grammy was . . . so much so that they didn't miss me too much! :) kam and b.c. came to pick me up at the airport . . . kam was so happy and smiley - so cute and fun to see! b.c. just kept staring at me . . . like he wasn't sure if it was really me! after i talked to him a bit and got him giggling he said "mom" . . . and not just once, but several times on the way home. what a treat to come home to! ken and mck were so happy to come off the bus and see me. i got giant hugs. it was really like christmas! :)

thanks so much mom for giving me a few much needed days . . . i cannot tell you how much i appreciate that! i didn't worry about the kids one bit! :) just get ready . . . next summer you'll have all 4 all day! :)

little dancer . . .

kam is soooo in love with her ballet class. so in love, in fact that she puts her outfit on as soon as she gets out of bed . . . and wears her outfit ALL DAY LONG! she looks so darn cute all foofed up! she loves her teacher, loves her class, loves the songs . . . and pays so much attention to everything! i love listening to her talk about it.

she asked me to take pictures of her this morning with her ballet bag (her hello kitty backpack!). b.c. kept trying to steal the show and running in front of the camera! :)

4 eggs!

the day finally arrived . . . the girls collected 4 eggs from the coop! our hard work has finally paid off! now we just need to convince all the kids to eat them! :)

little monkey!

little b.c. is such a monkey these days. he will literally climb up something and then sit there proudly waiting for me to see him! he knows he's not supposed to climp up on the playroom storage . . . but how can you get mad at that sweet face? he thinks he is so darn cool . . . it's hard not to agree! :)

no school . . . it's raining!

i woke up to the radio station announcing "no school for g'town"! i shot up . . . i checked the news and the internet and couldn't believe it . . . g'town got over 15 inches of rain through the night. there was so much flooding that school was closed! what a treat for the girls . . . i let them sleep in . . . ken shot out of bed at 7:30 and panicked becasue she knew it was light out and it's pretty dark when we leave for the bus . . . she was getting dressed when i told her! she took her clothes off, put her p.j.'s back on and jumped up and down! mck was soooo happy when she finally rolled out of bed at 8! and poor little kam (who only gets to go to school one day a week!) was devastated! she was so sad . . . and she now thinks that any time it rains we don't have school!
we had a fun day of pancakes, p.j.'s, watching t.v., and playing . . . this is what the playroom looked like at 9:00 a.m. . . . imagine what it looked like by 6 p.m.! :)

countdown to disney!

our disney trip is getting closer . . . so it was time to start counting down! i left the girls with construction paper, disney stickers, a list of how to spell disney things, and headed to the grocery store! :) i came back to a pile of neatly labeled strips . . . totally decorated with things they were excited about seeing at disney! even kam got in on the illustrating! too cute. mck drew come great pictures . . . her tink is to adorable! :) ken even made a cool thing to hang it by that says "coutdown to disney"! i looped them all together and had it hung up when they woke up in the morning . . . now i am not sure if it was such a great idea . . . it reaches from the upstairs to the downstairs . . . they couldn't believe it and said "wow, we have a long time till we go!" :) hoping it goes fast! :) we could all use a fun week together! :)

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! :)

my little bus riders!

so, it took some convincing, but mck finally decided she was ready to try the bus . . . just in the morning! we were ready early, took a leaisurly walk to the bus stop, hung out and played around . . . and then ken needed to go potty. so, we ran back home . . . and called it our trial run! :) we knew we would make it the next morning . . . and we did! :) the girls had a great ride to school and are even ready to try the afternoon too! :) what fun! :)

kam's first day of pre-school!

kam's first day of pre-school was AMAZING! she was sooooo excited! she woke up with a huge smile on her face and couldn't wait to head out! :) she told me as we were about to pull up to the school, " mom, you know you have to drop me off!" i told her i was going to stay and hang out with her . . . she said, "NO! you can't you have to drop me off and go home!". she was ready for some independent time i guess! :) she hung her bag up, put up her lunchbox and went straight to the rice table. . . no tears, no sadness, she was just happy! :) i felt sooooo good leaving her there. her teachers are sweet and so attentive and have lots of great things for the kids to do! so, b.c. and i headed home . . . just the two of us! it was a weird feeling!

i couldn't wait to pick kam up to hear about her day . . . she couldn't wait to tell me her "five things" just like the big girls! :) she got an sweet note from her teachers and an amazing summary of her day! she did LOTS of art projects that we'll get to bring home next week! :) she can't wait to go back . . . i am so happy for her! :)

after we picked the big girls up we went to mc d's for a first day or pre-school ice cream! :) what a great day! :)

an egg update . . .

okay, sooooo cool! ken, kam, and i were eating lunch and saw mck's chicken walking around the coop in the middle of the day! the chickens usually leave for the day and come back in the evening . . . the kids say they go on a "daily adventure"! kam's chicken ("cupcake sprinkle pants" . . . remember she's 3!) has been hanging out by the house everyday all day long since she started laying eggs . . . so we thought maybe mck's chicken ("fancy") was too! fancy was nesting when we checked on her . . . and when we came to check in the afternoon we had TWO adorable eggs! :) how fun! :) the kids expressions when they see the eggs are priceless! they think it is so cool! they take turns "gathering" them each day! :) now if i can only get them to eat them in things other than cupcakes and pancakes! :)

my little gymnasts

ken and mck started gymnastics and LOVE it. they are sad that it's only one day/week! :) it is a lot of work and a lot of paying attention, but they love that too! :) they both seem to be doing really well! :) and the best part for me is . . . it's late enough that i don't have to bring the little kids with me most of the time . . . and the classes start 15 minutes apart . . . so we aren't there all evening . . . AND i get to watch them both at the same time! :) so fun! :)

ken's first project

so this is ken's first second grade project! :) i kind of forgot to take a picture at home so this was taken in the van, on the way to school, at a stop light! :) she did such a good job and did almost everything with no help . . . not that she ever wanted help before, but i felt the need to "hover" . . . i kept reminding her to be neat and take her time . . . she did great! :) so proud of my little ken! :)