Summer Stuff

We all enjoyed watching the Olympics this summer.  It was a bummer that so much of it was replayed after the kids had to go to bed though.  Bekah really wanted to stay up and watch the gymnastics, but even I couldn't stay up that late!  One day while watching the games, Bekah decided to create the Olympic rings in Legos!  She's a creative little girl!  And since Brandon didn't have many green Legos, that ring is extra creative!

 

  And, whatever Bekah does, Karis wants to do too, so here she is posing with the rings! 

Having a sister is.....

 (Bekah created those letters out of Legos too!)

 Summer time is watermelon eating time!

Can you see all the watermelon running down her arms and shirt!?!  That's why we ate it outside!

 These kids and myself polished off an entire watermelon!!  Yum!!

First Day of School

August 6th was our first day of school!  So far everyone is doing well and adjusting to our new routine.  We've got 2 weeks under our belt, so we only have 170 more days to go!

Kooking Karis

Karis was kooking up some krazy kreations!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last week I had yet another birthday.  These birthdays keep coming around whether I want them to or not!  I am thankful that God has blessed me with another year of life and a wonderful family to celebrate with!

Todd left early for work, so I didn't see him that morning.  But, he had made an early run to Panera and brought home some yummy bagels for my birthday breakfast.  The kids and I just hung out at home most of the day, and they even took care of themselves for a while in the afternoon so I could relax in bed and watch TV, read, and snooze a little!

When Todd got home from work he took us out for a yummy dinner at Cheddars.  The weather was really stormy that night, so our options for things to do were very minimal.  We ended up going to the mall where it was nice and dry and walking around for a while.  Then we stopped for dessert at the Homeade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen.  (Calories don't count on your birthday, right?!?)

When we got home, I got to open some gifts from Todd and the kids.  It was a very nice day!

On another note, Karis is about to lose a tooth.  She lost her first 2 teeth when she was in China.  So, we were talking with her about that and asking who pulled her teeth in China.  She kept telling us a name that we can't understand.  It sounds kind of like she is saying the name Donna, but who knows what she is trying to tell us?!?!  Anyway, Todd got me a couple of new exercise videos for my birthday that both show a photo of Jillian Michaels on the cover.  Karis pointed to one of the pictures and said it was "Donna."  So, now you all know that Jillian Michaels pulled Karis's teeth in China!  She is one silly girl.  Now that she knows it's funny she tells us all kinds of crazy things like the neighbor's cat pulled her teeth, or maybe it was the dog.....

July 4th Celebration!

We always enjoy having Todd home for July 4th and celebrating the birthday of America!  We spent the afternoon with our church family at our pastor's pool.  As usual, he cooked some wonderful BBQ, and we had plenty of great food!  Karis will tolerate getting into the pool now, but she's not a huge fan yet.  The first time we took her to my parents' pool, she would not get in the water and screamed when she got splashed.  We've taken her to a splash park and the seminary pool since then, and on the 4th we were able to have her in the water not screaming, and she even tried to learn to kick her legs!  I think she will learn to enjoy the water someday!

We typically spend the evening of the 4th celebrating with our neighbors.  They put on a wonderful fireworks show!

 Daddy is teaching Karis about sparklers!

 Watching the "snakes"!

We're all ready for the show!  You can check out my Facebook page for some videos of the fireworks show.

Proud to be an American!!

My 3 Cuties!

The kids all decided to wear guitar shirts the other day.  Any time Karis sees a guitar she thinks of her BaBa who plays the guitar in church every Sunday!  So, the kids had guitar shirt day in honor of him!

Wonderful Changes

I know we've only had Karis for less than 3 months, but she has changed so much already!  I can't wait to see how much more she will bloom over the next several months and years!  The photos on the left were on Gotcha Day, and the photos on the right were taken in the last week!  We are so thankful that God brought our precious daughter into our lives!

Fathers' Day

Fathers' Day starts out pretty much the same every year.  We eat a quick breakfast of cinnamon rolls before Todd has to head out to church.

Todd has to leave early for church, so the kids are just waking up with their lovely bed hair!

After church we took Daddy to one of his favorite restaurants - Buffalo Wild Wings!

The kids pooled their money together to get Todd a video game that he wanted.

And Bekah decided she needed Princess Leia hair for the special occasion!

We love you Daddy!!

Happy Anniversary!

On June 17th, Todd and I celebrated 17 years of marriage!  Since Grandma was in town, we were able to go out and celebrate while she stayed home with the kids.  Todd surprised me and took me to the English Grill at the Brown Hotel.  We both enjoyed a hot brown from the place they originated!  We even got free dessert since it was a special day!  (We had to ask for the dessert to go since we had to make it to our next stop on time.)

After dinner, Todd took me to The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!  The show was very entertaining, and we both enjoyed it!

After dinner we snuck our dessert into Wendy's and took advantage of their FREE coffee offer and had coffee and cake before heading home.

I am very blessed to have a husband who loves God and me and our family very much!



Lego Party!

Brandon celebrated his birthday with a Lego birthday party!

 Having lunch before the party.

Playing with Brandon's huge Lego collection.

 We had a contest to create the most creative vehicle!  Then they had a contest to see whose creative vehicle could actually roll the farthest!

 They played a Lego chopstick game to see who could pick up the most Legos using only chopsticks!

Then it was time for cake.  Yes, those are Lego bricks.  We were fully prepared to get a cake from Wal-Mart, but Brandon said he would gladly eat ugly Legos!

Present time!

 Who can build the tallest free standing tower?

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 They played a game where each boy added 3 or 4 pieces and this is what they created.  Now, they just have to figure out what it is!

The Lego boys!  I think everyone had a good time!