Happy Easter!

Wow - is it already May and I am just now posting Easter pictures? Oops! That seems to be the trend these days - the busier and busier we get, the less time Mama has for hobbies, such as pictures and blogging. We had a wonderful Easter this year - we spent a relaxing Saturday in beautiful weather at church and out to dinner with my family. Then it rained all day Easter Sunday. You might think that would be a bad thing, but we actually loved it. It was a forced day to stay home and enjoy family time.  Tanner cooked us some amazing meals and we did no less than 20 egg hunts all around the house!

"CAR"son turns 2!

 

"Car"son turned two in January right about the time we realized how much he was embracing his name. He is car obsessed - all day, all night, everywhere. He gathers up as many as possible in his hands (caught by the camera above) and wants to carry them everywhere he goes - bed, bathtub, upstairs, downstairs, in the car, to the store, etc. This may be true of all little boys at this stage, but it is so endearing to us to see our little baby all grown up, carting his cars around and making car noises all over the house. He has turned into a little buddy that melts our hearts with the funny things he says and makes us laugh with his neverending clumsiness. Kenzie even gets a kick out of the hilarious things he tells her and comes to report the funny sentences to us. She is also there to help him gather all his cars from point A to point B. All three of us adore this little guy and are so thankful we were blessed with him two years ago!

'The Boat'

 

'The Boat' has been such a big part of our life for about six months now, so I thought I might as well introduce it to our family and friends. You might be saying to yourself 'I don't see a boat' or 'What boat?', and well, you would be right. There is not a boat per say, but the kiddos have named Carson's closet and the blue Aerobed that they sit on 'The Boat'.  The Boat has been the source of hours of fun for them while mommy is doing chores. Their favorite thing to do in the boat is read although games, puzzles, cars, trains and tents have all been a part of the fun. They usually pile more books than I can imagine in the boat and just sit there and read together. Sometimes I even catch Kenzie reading to Carson and Carson answering Kenzie's questions from the books. Of course, I also find carson standing  and jumping in his hamper too. ;)

We have come to love the boat and this is one simple, cute thing of their childhood that I hope they do not outgrow anytime soon and also hope they will remember. I am glad I got a picture of it to capture the memory for years to come.

Happy Halloween

We had a blast at Halloween this year. It is one of my favorite holidays and I love to decorate and try to really make it a fun memory for the kids. This year our memory making got cut a little short as TONS of trick or treaters started showing up while we were just sitting down to our annual candlelit halloween dinner of fish sticks and mac & cheese. I know that seems like a random dinner, but I had that as a kid and for some reason it has stuck with me and now the kids look forward to it too. While trying to scarf down food, all of us got in a frenzy opening the door, talking to the neighbors and Kenzie was ogling all the other kids costumes. So, dinner went out the window and we put the kids in their costumes really quick and hit the road.

Kenzie is a professional now, so she was on the candy hunt as fast as she could possibly go between houses. Carson got the hang of things about halfway down the street and was running through yards up to the door yelling his version of 'Trick or Treat'. He also remembered to say his 'Thank You' too, most of the time with his back turned while he was headed to the next house, but he said it none the less.

Oh yeah, costume background - Carson was a lion because we got the costume as a hand me down from Ava, but it fit him just perfectly. I love his little face and his hair in it. Although, when I went to put it on for the first time all he did was scream and cry and say 'No like it' over and over again. I thought we might be in trouble, but as the candy hunt began on Halloween night, he forgot about not liking his hood and hand covers. Turns out it was super cold and it kept him warm anyway. As far as Kenzie goes, she did not like any costumes in the store that I took her to see and neither one of us had any good ideas about something to make as she didn't really want to be anything. Then one day at lunch, we were sitting at the table and she said she'd like to be a mommy for Halloween. She is really into the baby thing right now and she got REALLY excited as we dreamed up all the things she could do to look like a mommy. I got her organized with her twins, a baby bjorn, and her stroller. She packed her diaper bag and went in my room and grabbed a tiny purse that she put her play keys and cell phone in. She was delighted when it all fit on her stroller handles with her plastic pumpkin! She really played the part well right down to the sunglasses on her head!

Here are some pics of our fun - enjoy!

The Zoo

Tanner took the day off Friday and we took our first family trip to the zoo. It was a cloudy day and there was hardly anyone there, which you might think are negatives, but those two things made our zoo trip fabulous! We had all the exhibits almost to ourselves and the animals were out and about. Carson didn't enjoy it as much as Kenzie, but he was pretty content to stare at the animals when lifted up to see and very much enjoyed pushing his stroller around all over the place. Kenzie had a blast - she loved all the animals for the 60 seconds that her attention span lasts. The highlights for Kenzie were the train ride, feeding the parakeets, crawling through tunnels like a mole rat and getting to see the toddler gorillas.

Mackenzie is 4!

Time flies . . . it really does. That saying is probably overused and has lost most of its impact, but I really feel it right now - where did the last 4 years go? It hit me like a ton of bricks that my baby girl is 4 and growing up SO much everyday. I adore her now more than ever - her inquisitive looks with those 'big browns' while learning new things, her giggle box and infectious laughter, the way she loves her little brother and how happy she is just being together everyday. I am so blessed to have her - she has changed my life and my heart and I can't wait to see how much we both grow over the next year.

Here are some pictures of her last minute indoor Angelina Ballerina birthday party at the house. All the mouselings had an awesome time even though it was a little crowded. Two years in a row we've had rain. Maybe one day I'll learn not to plan an outdoor birthday party!