Saturday, February 19, 2011

Outdoor fun...

It was a GORGEOUS weekend last weekend. So, Hubby decided it was time to pay attention to our cars. He spent all afternoon Friday and morning on Saturday taking care of his truck. it had some issues we thought we needed to take it to a mechanic for....but Hubby fixed it! He was so proud of himself. Then as a Valentine's gift to me, he detailed my car on Sunday. I loved it, even though now I don't want anything to spill in it or it to get dirty at all! :)
Since he was outside with the cars, the kids got lots of time to play outside. Since we do not have a play filled backyard, we play out front....so one of us has to be with them! They had so much fun.
Pumpkin has gotten really good at roller skating. She outgrew her first skates and got new ones this past Christmas. They are a little more grown up and she had to get used to them. Well....she is used to them now! :)


Yes....this is Pumpkin dancing the "robot" while skating down the driveway. I forgot to switch my camera to video for it, but it was so funny.....you can see her style looking at the 2 pictures. Scary thing is that she has better moves than her momma! :)




My boy. I was trying to get his furrowed brow. When he is concentrating or figuring something out, he furrows his brow. This did not quite capture it, but it is a darn cute picture!


I do not get these looks captured with my camera too often. I look for the smiles and happy moments. But...these looks are just as precious. This is his get away from me with that camera look! :)

"Oh MOM, I know we have been playing outside for 3 hours, but I don't want to go inside and take a bath!"



It has been so much fun playing outside lately. We have some new neighbors with kids and have gotten to know some other neighbors. Yesterday there were 8 kids playing outside after school. It is a lot of fun and this is why we moved to this neighborhood years ago. We could see this happening. It is neat when kids knock on the door to play outside with your daughter! There will probably be more pictures/video of outdoor adventures coming. I LOVE this time of year!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A love filled day...

It is funny how Valentine's Day changes over the years. I remember when Hubby and I were first dating, we made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. It was filled with nice dinners out, flowers, gifts, lots of planning and commercial romance.
How kids have changed that! :) We spent Monday evening with a nice home cooked meal of Hubby and the kids favorite foods. We had heart shaped cupcakes and just hung out as a family. Even though times have changed....I almost like these days better! This is what life is about, the simple things and the love we share together. Hubby and I will have time once the kids are grown to go to dinners again, but for now, I am really happy hanging with the 4 of us!
My attempt at cute Valentine's pictures :) My adorable man this morning told me the cutest thing. I was carrying him back from bringing Pumpkin to school. The kid is HEAVY! So, I asked him if I could put him down. He said "No". I asked him why....he then grabbed my arm, cuddled to me and said "Because I love you too much!"......how could I put him down then?!
This is what I got when I asked him to put his hands together again. I like to try multiple pictures.....this was not quite the Valentine love I wanted to capture :)

My sweet girl. She was sad since she had school and church on Monday. But...she perked right up when she saw dinner and the cupcakes. Man....love these guys!


Hope you had a day filled with love, friends and family!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My sweet girl...

My girl is growing up! There are times I look at her and realize how quickly the time is flying by....
She likes it when I braid her hair when it is wet, then it gets to be curly the next day. Since there was something sort of big on TV on Sunday, it was a perfect time for early baths and a good hair braid session! Since it had plenty of time to dry overnight....it was CURLY yesterday! Since Pumpkin has my hair, getting it to curl is quite a feat :)

She has grown up so much. I love that she is learning and expanding her horizons. She is still loving school and really picking up on reading. She still sometimes struggles with wanting to be home....I do hope that feeling stays for awhile though! It is nice to know she wants to be with us during the day. I am just so excited to see what she does in the years to come. I know she will be full of adventure and surprises!

There will be a post coming any day now with our first lost tooth! It is VERY wiggly and we can see the next tooth coming in. Very exciting times around here :)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Momma's Boy...

This boy is my boy! To say this kid likes books is an understatement. One of his favorite places to go is Story time, whether it is at a friends house, bookstore, or library. He loves to read! The other morning before taking Pumpkin to school he grabbed a book to "read". I could not help but snap these pictures :)



He loves us reading to him as well. We read before naptime and bedtime. Whatever book we read to him, he wants to cuddle with while he sleeps. Usually Hubby or I get tired of reading before he does! I love it! He may look like a mini-me of Hubby, but he has my love for reading....

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Fun Family time...

Dear friends called us Saturday morning and asked us to go to the Zoo with them at noon. We had not hung out as two families in a long time....but it was during Critter's nap time. We debated and then realized that a nice family/friend day was worth a tired Critter! :) I am SO GLAD we went. It was a gorgeous day and it had been ages since we had been to the zoo...
For some reason (Pumpkin) it has been hard to get pictures of the kids where they are both looking at the camera and smiling...not making goofy faces. This was as close as we got. No matter what they are doing in the picture, I am cherishing the ones I get with them. I am trying to get better about getting pictures with them....so they know I was actually there for all these fun times :)
What better thing to do when you are at the zoo looking at animals....but to climb a tree! This is so Pumpkin. She is my princess tomboy! She loves adventure, but loves all things girly as well. I am so curious as to where this one goes in life...

They all had to take turns on this frog. What I love the best is Pumpkin "hiding" next to the frog. I told her I wanted pictures of each of the kids....I got it....sort of! :)
She had such a great time. I am glad that she still gets enjoyment out of days like this, especially when the other kids are younger than she is. But, she adores these friends of ours and it made her day to spend time with them!

Is it okay to get sad about how fast she is growing up?

One thing that all the kids talked about from the time we got to the zoo was the StingRay area. I love that Pumpkin asks every time to go here, but usually pulls her hand away before she actually touches any of the animals. When she does accidentally touch one, she is not sure how to react. I was holding Critter back....even with his sleeves pushed up they got soaked. He was trying to touch the bottom of this pool. He loved it! He is usually my Mr. Cautious...but not always. When he decides he likes something or wants to try it....he jumps in feet first!
What they were trying to touch...
Like I said, it is hard to get a "nice" picture of them. They are now into making all these goofy poses and faces. I do think it is pretty cute!


Thank you B and family for the invite :) It was such a nice day. I am so glad we went and we will have to do it again!

Now, onto more adventures!