seven

 years

ago

on

a

cold

and

windy

march

morning

this

7lb 3 oz

precious

baby

girl

was

born

oh

how

i

adore

this

beautiful

loving

compassionate

giving

sweet

caring

hilarious

lia









spring break

one of the perks of sam working at a college is getting a spring break.

we didn't go on a family vacation last year so we were super excited for this and the fact we had our income tax money in the bank made it even better.

we had a few idea's of where to go but decided with a roadtrip to kentucky to visit the creation museum.

it was about an 8 hour drive.  the longest trip we've ever taken with the kids. 

they did great!

 the trip took us through 5 states.  the girls thought that was super-neat and had a ball writing down all the states they've been in so far.  since i had packed a cooler of food for lunch and dinner we only made 2 short potty breaks.

while we were in kentucky lia turned 7!

it just so happened they had her favorite resturant in town.

red robin!

she loves those root beer floats!

they even sang happy birthday to her and delivered balloons as well as a yummy ice cream sundae (in 3 bowls) so everyone was happy!

she was a bit confused at first

but loved every bit of it

this kid loves ice cream!

this poor girl forced a smile only so i would leave her alone.

and this guy had to share his ice cream with dad which he wasn't too happy about.

our only family photo of the vacation

after lunch we headed to the nearest mall so lia could get her gift from us--pierced ears!

she told me she was nervous as we walked into claires.  as i held her hand tears filled her eyes as she whispered "oweey" to me after the first ear was done.  the second ear went off without a tear.  she couldn't get to a mirror fast enough.

the next day we headed to the creation museum.

it was incredible!  the girls are looking at an exhibit about fossils.

they had a lot of interesting information on dinosaurs.

the next few photos are in the noah's ark area

the walls and floors are all wood just like the ark.

sofie is answering questions on that tv screen about the ark.

kye loved this little model of the ark

he also enjoyed listening to noah answer questions about his time on the ark as well as all the animals that he took with him.

this little guy had a saddle on him inviting kids to jump on.

we took advantage of the photo opp

first like a cowboy...

then side-saddle like a lady

oh how my sofie loves to pose

kye gettin a little squeeze

after this we headed off to lunch

after lunch we had tickets to the stargazers show in the 3d planetarium.

the show was about 20 minutes--long enough for kye to get snuggled in for a nap.

since kye was asleep we were able to take our time and really enjoy the remainder of our time there. 

the ride home didn't go as smooth.  2 hours into the trip kye was crying while saying, "home please.  me home please."

thanksgoodness we packed his army guys he played with those fellas half the way home.

while i haven't gone on a spring break trip since cancun back in my college days-i'd have to say this was one fun trip.  4 days was perfect-we had a ball but were sure glad to be home.

we're already throwing around idea's for next year!

the slumber party

lia turned 7 last week.

she invited 4 friends over to help celebrate.

3 of them are friends from church.

2 of those she has known since birth.

and the 4th one is her cousin.

the party started out with a cowgirl/western theme.

notice the plates, napkins, etc.

then she decided she wanted a purple cake.

so we ended up with a multi-themed party which was kinda fun and perfect for lia's fun personality.

they had a great time playing together.

when i asked lia what her favorite part of the party was...

...she quickly answered, "eating candy late at night in my bedroom."

she got bunches of candy and gum with her gifts and i wasn't thinking when she scooped it all up and headed upstairs.

the next morning as they were rolling up sleeping bags and packing their stuff i discovered what was left of the candy and the gum--

only empty wrappers.

i'd say her first sleepover was a success!



happenings...

-kye started speech therapy last week and is already talking clearer.

-sam and i had a day trip to chicago.  i spent my day at ikea buying stuff for the house which turned out to be mainly for the kids.  sam spent his day at the closest starbucks and sporting goods stores--he bought nothing.

-we spent the following day putting away, hanging and arranging everything we bought.

-we spent an evening at a mardi gras craft party making beautiful masks.

lia had glue and glitter everywhere including her hair

kye used his mask to enhance his cowboy outfit

sofie spent most of her evening watching the caricature man.

she took her art box to bed with her sketching her own caricature's.

-kye fell asleep in the bathtub yesterday.  so glad that i still sit in there with him.

this is how i found him this evening.  he had just gotten out of the bath and was snuggled in watching a movie. 

-somehow we let lia talk us into having a sleepover for her birthday.

the party is friday.  she sent out cowboy invites and is still in deep thought as to what her cake will look like.  she is super excited!

finger puppets

last week we had the privilege of watching this--

part of sofie's language lesson included these cute little finger puppets

everyone enjoyed the show

this girl loves to teach

even though she talks about being a mom or a doctor that delivers babies when she grows up...

i really wouldn't be surprised if she became a teacher

she adores kids especially babies

and if she can handle this kid who definitely gives us all a run for our money

i'm certain she could handle a room full of first-graders

thanks sofie for a great show!