Week 15 and a very happy birthday to the oldest kiddo!!

This week has been all about the K-meister! Six! It is so hard to believe he is six! We kept the whole party idea pretty quiet this year and decided to head over to a friends house for a cook out, cake and presents. The dude made out like a bandit! Bike, roller blades, money, new wallet, Wii games, DS games, a GA jersey that he hasn't taken off in 3 days now....I think I'm going to have to sneak it off to wash it in his sleep.
This is how his birthday morning started:

and this is how it ended:

Two cakes! Yes, one to take to school which is seen above and then the other for dinner.

Presents!!

No, we're not crazy! He didn't get drums for his birthday. He did enjoy playing them though! From the looks of this picture he seems like a natural.
And that's it! Another year done...another year older. It's crazy how fast time flies.
In other news we've settled in quite nicely from our camping trip. The dogs, kids, and of course us adults were all exhausted! We've enjoyed somewhat of an unproductive week.

That picture in the middle of E is a new fun app I've found on my iPhone. When I need a good laugh I just pull that picture up.
And of course, lets not forget the chickens, as they do feel like they rule the roost!

These little girls are getting bigger and bigger everyday! You can see in that bottom picture that little BBQ is about ready to fly the coop.....So with that being said-it's pretty obvious what we'll be doing this weekend. Yep, building them their new coop for outside. We are going to attempt to build them something called a chicken tractor. Wish us luck! I'm sure I'll be back with pictures and hopefully no stories of loss of fingers in the process.

My sweet Keagan

To this day my sweet boy I still sneak into your room to check on you. I love to lay my head on your pillow and to feel your breath against my cheeks. I watch you and wonder what you're dreaming about. I can't believe in a little over a week you'll be 6 years old. You truly are my little angel and I love you!

Snapshot in time. February 2012

"Time will never stand will and those moments that bring us such joy become memories in an instant."~Unknown

• You will be 6 years old in two months!! Where has the time gone?
• You've lost two teeth and your top two teeth are now wiggly. Yikes!
• You have grown into such a little man since starting Kindergarten. You say things sometimes and I feel like I'm talking to an adult. I often wonder where you get that wisdom from.
• Your dream is to currently be in the Army.
• You have zero interest in school and many times come home with an incomplete. We're struggling on getting you past kindergarten. Your teacher says you are too busy daydreaming and playing to get your work done.
• You are very compationate and care about others' feelings. 
• You love to snuggle, hug, and kiss. As long as no one else is looking.

• You just turned 2 in December.
• You are our dare devil.
• You show so much interest in animals. You can name them and tell us what sound they make.
• Your love for books is wonderful. You've got some of your favorites memorized.
• Temper! You have a temper. You will scream, kick, and throw yourself down if you don't get what you want.
• Your sweet tooth is just like your mommas. Luckily you love to brush your teeth or else I think we'd be in trouble.
• Your vocabulary is growing leaps and bounds. Everyday you are telling us something new.

This is it boys. Just a snapshot in time~The good, the bad, and the ugly. Each stage you two hit brings us more laughs, more heartaches, and much more sunshine to our simple little life. We love you

Neighborhood

Today we took the route off the beaten path.....We didn't go our normal way around the block. We didn't ask if K wanted to take the short or long way....We just went. We went out into the woods. We passed the houses that we normally avoid. It was amazing to me what we saw. They were normal. I saw a family sitting on their front porch.....I saw a wheel barrow up against the house as if someones been working today to prepare to keep their family warm. I saw trees with beautiful purple berries, wooden benches, carved pumpkins. It was wonderful.
We finally got out into the woods and I watched my boys bloom. They loved it. Rugged land, beautiful trees, out on the 4wheeler and stroller. It really couldn't get much better. Actually it could have.. If I had my camera I would have been in for a treat, but alas, I didn't. I only had my phone and had to make due with what I had.

Doggy park at Cleveland Park

We had fun today. We've all been a little couped up in the house this weekend with Daddy under the weather. Finally today he's been feeling somewhat better and we decided to ask K what he wanted to do. His answer, "Doggy park!" Okay! Sounds good to me....Free, fun, and the weather is beautiful. We packed up a picnic, grabbed the dog, and headed downtown for a late morning of fun.
This beautiful fall weather just has everyone begging to go outside. It was perfect!
This photograph was taken by the up and coming photographer, K. :)

The flowers were BEAUTIFUL! They even found a little tunnel.

I didn't really get any good photos at the doggy park....With two little boys and a dog, things were a little crazy. Boodro was in his element though and we did have a lot of fun at the playground afterwards too. It's not very often that we have nothing planned and don't have to hurry you boys at the playground. Today we were able to just sit back, eat our lunch and play.

Two halves make a whole and you boys are our whole. <3

It's OCTOBER!!!!

Alright boys..... We're getting ready for Halloween.....I've made the wreath! :) The Halloween decorations will hopefully go up this weekend, and the costumes have been bought. My Warrior Ninja and lil' sock monkey are ready to be in full swing!! It should be a fun season.
I'm struggling a little on how to keep the two of you entertained. We normally hit up the apple orchard and pumpkin farm but I had no clue that between kindergarten and after school fun, you K, would already have made two trips there....I'm sure we'll come up with something! Let the good times roll!!

bath time is.....Uh, not always a fun time

Right now I deal with two different boys when it's time for a bath and/or shower. One LOVES to get into the bath but when it comes to washing of any kind he screams bloody murder. He simply wants to get into the tub to play with his cars and trucks and get out on his terms. My other one hates to take a shower and will make every excuse in the world to not get in but then once he is in I can not coerce him to get out for anything.
It can be exhausting each night.
I had seen an idea floating around on the web for a fun and entertaining bath time and had thought a little about it but then forgot about it until today. I was in my most favorite craft store picking things up for Christmas presents and I saw that they had a sale on glow sticks.  15 for $1.00! How could you go wrong!?
So this was our bath time....

I'm not sure I got all their dirty spots....And I'm not really sure I care. :) I was able to kill two birds with one stone and get them both "clean" at one time and there was zero crying involved!! After bath time was over they each collected their own glow sticks and now they are running around the house entertained by them. It was one of the best dollars I have spent in a while!

Evil Kenevil

K has been asking for a new bike. We know he needs one. His is way too small. Every time I see him on his bike I think of the little clowns riding around in the circus trying to entertain the crowd. Anyways, we decided to give K a challenge. If he wants a new bike, from Santa, then he is going to need to learn how to ride a big boy bike with NO training wheels. Santa doesn't give big boy bikes to big boys with training wheels.
Day 1. (Yesterday)
Crash and Burn.....
Burn....
       Burn....
                Burn.....
                        Burn.....

But what will power and determination my big boy has. We went out for Day 2...and even though he has some practicing on turns and such he is like a whole new kid!!!

K! You are doing it!!!

And doing it........

And doing it again!!! ( I love that face!!!)
I think by Christmas this little man is going to be a pro. All I know is Santa's Elf's better get busy making a new bike for a big boy because it looks like he'll be more than deserving of one come Christmas morning!

Let The Feast Begin!!

I was reading another blog, as I often do, and I saw where this very creative momma was throwing her kids a back to school feast. I thought the idea was brilliant! Here it is K's first year in "real" school which means it's a perfect time to start a new tradition.
I immediately set the plan into action. Luckily I wasn't too busy at work and spent my lunch hours crafting crowns, shopping for goblets, and coming up with the menu.
I don't consider myself to be too creative and pondered what on earth to put on these crowns. I finally came up with the idea of using the meaning of their names. K's stands for ball of fire (which really couldn't be further from the truth), and E's means outdoorsy or river settlement. That was a tough one.

I also made the center piece using matching flowers that went so well with the goblets and plates.

and for K's little keepsake token I ordered the most beautiful stained glass star from a very talented couple. Not only was the star beautiful but it was so carefully wrapped. It was just perfect!! I'm so worried they will stop making these beautiful stars before all the years of school are up. I'm tempted to by several now, while I can. :)

The food was wonderful. We had a big taco bar, chips, dip, ice cream, and the most delicious cupcakes. Once dark fell, we continued the feast by playing with our glow in the dark King's sword.

Fun times were had by all. I can't wait to do it even bigger and better next year!

Class of 2024

Well my little one....this is it! Starting Monday you will officially be a Kindergartener. You are so excited and as nervous and sad as I am I can't help but to be just as excited for you! This is a whole new world. I have no doubt you will be one of the teacher's sweet favorites, that you'll make some great friends, that you'll get in trouble at times, and that we'll fight at night because you'd rather play cars than do your homework.

Your little brother looks up to you so much and wants to be just like you. I really hope that you're eager to come home and show him all that you're learning.

Your school is so welcoming. I love all the art they have around the building and the theme is so cute. "We're Wild About Learning!" I just hope YOU are wild about learning. :)
Your teacher's names are Mrs. Roach and Mrs. Stevenson and I think you're going to like them a lot. I already have your little schedule and I'm so happy to see that activities like Art, PE, Music, and Library are still an important part of the kindergarten day. Now you'll also get to participate in computer lab too. I can't believe you'll be starting to learn Math, Writing, Reading, Science, and Social Studies. What a big kid you are! By the end of the year you'll be a kindergarten genius. :) I love you K and can't wait to see you succeed this year! I asked you a few of your favorites and here were your answers. It'll be fun to see the changes at the end of the year.

Good Luck this year!
xoxo,
Mommy