Tablerock Lake 2010

Father's Day 2010

Chipmunk Point - Breckenridge, CO

The kids first experience with hiking (and our first experience having to carry Giya the whole entire way!!) This lookout we renamed Chipmunk point because there were dozens of chipmunks eating seeds left out for them.

Building a snowman in CO in June

Yes, it snowed the first two days we were in Breckenridge, CO for our summer vacation. We used socks on the kids hands to be "gloves" so they could make a snowman.

Snow times this winter

We had quite a bit of snow this winter - fun in the yard and the snowman (that Dad mostly made)

Cousins at birthday party

Someone was a little worn out and didn't really want to be in the photo.....

Asher's Birthday - Sir Knight

Asher is 5 years old now and I can't believe it. He had a great party and the top gift of the day came in from The Hares in Georgia - a knight costume. He has been carting it around upstairs and down and having a knight session to "fight the bad guys" every day since. We just finished the Narnia book series and then watched the first two movies.

King and Queen

Asher and Giya made crowns with Nonnie and were using Giya's doll stuff to gather their "kingdom" and princes and princesses.

With cousins at New Years

Painting the bathroom

Lance has been adding in a bathroom in our basement. When it came time to paint it, he was out of town, so I enlisted some little helpers who were all too willing to get dirty. Asher really stuck it out and "helped" me the whole time. Giya on the other hand, got some paint on her "skivies" and decided to call it quits.

Big Truck Show

Daddy took them over to the grade school nearby recently for the "touch a big truck" show. They were so excited they got to ride a school bus around the parking lot....oh, the little things.

Man vs. Wild

Ever since we let Asher watch Man vs. Wild on Discovery channel, he has completely transformed into a little British adventurer in the yard and in the house. I found him with the broom, some of Giya's ribbons and a shoelace, trying to "climb" the staircase. Out in the yard he was building a "fire" with some sticks and leaves and jumping off the fort and pulling his "parachute cord" (also one of Giya's hair ribbons). He hasn't gotten Giya involved most of the time, but she has her adventurer limits and usually wanders back to puzzles or books. So now he tells us that he wants to grow up to be a soldier and then turn into Bear Grylles. He even calls a glacier they way that British people do, pronouncing it "glahh - seee - air". He also has this thing about wearing two shirts, because that is what Man vs. Wild does to stay dry.....

Summertime fun

After a splash and swim in our "backyard pool" we were having some cuddle time.

Second Wedding

The kids did MUCH better in this wedding - I'd say they were a hit. For Giya, it was all about getting to wear pink and toss the flower petals.

Happy Fourth of July

Just some happy and cute kid pictures from one of our favorite places in Wichita - the zoo.

Family Vacation

We went for a long weekend down to Tablerock Lake to test the kids tolerance for boating and all things "lake". Since I am a complete lakerat and want to buy a boat soon, we had to test the waters (literally) to make sure it didn't freak the kids out. To my complete happiness, they loved it and they passed the test with flying colors.

In fact, the first morning out on the pontoon (we rented), we pulled into a cove for the kids to jump in and swim. They were a little nervous at first, but quickly got excited and loved it. Asher was jumping in by himself and swimming over the the ladder. Giya jumped into Lance after about the third time, she jumped in to him and said "I'm so glad you are here, this is a great lake."

They actually cried to leave........

The Elder's visiting

Michelle, Aaron and Riley stopped over for a couple of days on their trek from Seattle to Virginia. To stay with tradition, we took them to the zoo and saw the tigers up sooooo close. Giya has (i think) her first crush on Riley. She wanted him to do everything with her - poor guy.

Orange Backyard Pool

Annual trip to Dexter, Missouri

I braved it again this year and took the kids by myself to Missouri. I really lucked out this time and mom and dad helped with the travel and driving ALOT. We had a great time riding the tractor, playing the trombone, playing in the sprinklers in their backyard, the Children's Museum in Malden and at Bass Pro shop on the way back in Springfield. Asher told me when we left that we would have to go back next week......hmmmmm not going to happen that soon.

My cousin's wedding - Nebraska

Luckily the kids were not in the wedding, so they got to have more fun. They met some of their second cousins for the first time and third cousins (i think this always confuses me). Also, the brother of the bride is in a local band and they played for awhile at the reception. The kids just sat there eating and bobbing their heads to the beat.