B-day and Wedding Pics

Karson is finally enjoying the bouncy!  Until recently, he was still afraid to get in it and jump.  Now, he climbs right in and jumps and rolls all around:)

 The kids love it when Keith brings home big posters to color on.  We were busy all afternoon tracing eachother onto the papers and coloring to make it look like real people.  Kassidy did mine all by herself!

We celebrated Keith's birthday a day early since we'd be driving to Ohio all day on his actual birthday.  Kaleb picked out a new tie and socks for Daddy.

 Karson helping to open gifts:)

 Kassidy picked out this Mario T-shirt and some new shoes for work all by herself!

 Of course we had to throw in some new Browns gear, too!

  

 Then we headed out to Outback for Keith's birthday dinner.

 To top it all off we went to Yogurt Mountain...YUMMY!!!!!  (If you are not familiar with this place you must go.  You get to choose whatever flavor/s you want along with whatever toppings, as much or as little as you want.  It's so much fun:)  But beware...do not let your kids do it by themselves because they'll end up with some not so tasty creations!)

 The next day we headed to Ohio for Aunt Emily's wedding!  (Keith's step-sister)  The rehearsal dinner was very nice.  Kaleb was just "in love" with Gabby, one of the flower girls.  They kept trying to kiss each other and played the whole time! 

 Playing hard to get

 Grandma and Kassidy

 Daddy and Uncle Jimmy (Keith's step-brother)

 Grandma even surprised Daddy with a Browns birthday cake!  It was really special:)

 Daddy and his mom

The morning of the wedding I was able to visit my best friend, Kim, and her little girl, Molly.  We were only about 20 minutes away from their house.  We had a super time together talking and playing and going out to lunch.  Molly is the cutest and happiest little 1 yr old:)  Next time I have to remember to take the camera!

My little ring bearer and flower girl!!!  They did an AWESOME job, too!

 Kassidy was so excited to be with the girls the day of the wedding and get her hair done, too!

 Grandma being seated by her boys.  Doesn't she look great?!

 The beautiful garden area!

 I was so proud of Kaleb...he did exactly what he was told to with the rings. 

 Aunt Emily and Uncle Bryan...married at last:)

 Karson playing with my shoes

 The kiddos loved to swing on my free arm...I didn't last very long, though.

 Kaleb and Gabby...they went everywhere together

 Ahh!!!  Another kiss!!!  (We really did have a talk with him about this and how it is not appropriate, etc...obviously it didn't work!)

 Kassidy refused to dance with her brother!

 Kaleb LOVED to dance and did so non-stop the whole reception.  He even tried to do some break-dancing!  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of that.

 Grandpa and Kassidy

 Father-daughter dance

 Our Father-daughter:)

 Gotcha Grandpa!  (He hates pics and always turns away or puts his hand up but I gotcha this time!)

It was a great wedding and reception, very pretty outfits, great food, beautiful location, nice weather.  It really couldn't have gone any better.  Emily looked amazing in her dress and the new couple looked so happy together!  We wish them the best of luck and many years of happiness!!!  Thanks for letting the kids be a part of your special day, Em!

The day after the wedding we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a little cookout with some family.  It was GREAT to see everyone and catch-up and get some relaxation in before driving back to SC.  We had a great long weekend!

Time for School!

This school year will be totally different than last year. Last year only Kassidy was gone during the day, I home-schooled Kaleb, and Karson was only 1 1/2. This year Kaleb started Kindergarten which only leaves me with Karson during the day. I'm a little bit sad that Kaleb and I don't have that special time together anymore. It was really neat seeing him learn new things right in front of me! I am glad though that he is so excited about school, meeting new friends, riding the bus like big sis, etc. And, I am SUPER excited to have lots more free time with Karson! Being the third child, there's been plenty of times when he hasn't gotten my full attention or didn't get his pick of a game or activity. I can't wait to spend quality time with my little man teaching him his letters, numbers, playing games, doing crafts, etc. I know he will enjoy it, too:)

Here's my big 2nd grader:) Mama got her this outfit and she's been saving it for her first day of school! Notice something missing??? Hint...look at her teeth! She lost both front teeth within the same week, right before school started.

My Kindergartener!!! (It still sounds weird to say that! He shouldn't be that old yet!) All ready to go with his new Cars 2 backpack and lunchbox from Mama:)

Big sis is ready to show lil brother to his classroom!

And here's sweet Karson...so sad that he couldn't go to school too! He just sat here and pouted for 30 minutes!!! He wouldn't even look at the camera! A little bit of Elmo on TV cheered him up finally:)

The kids had a great first week of school! Kassidy is already busy reading, answering questions, learning new spelling words, and doing 2 digit addends in math. Kaleb has enjoyed 2 share days, meeting new buddies at school, learning songs in music, and playing fun games in gym. They both started the extended day program at school this week (the 2 days I work) and so far they love it:) They have time for snack and homework then lots of play between the playground, gym, computer room, library, and art room. Kassidy has already shown how responsible she can be by completing her homework at school on her own. Both kids are getting up to their alarms, getting dressed by themselves, then meeting us downstairs for breakfast. It's a huge help that they can do that part on their own:)

Stay tuned for Labor Day fun and Emily's wedding (where Kassidy will be a flower girl and Kaleb will be the ring bearer).

Summer Catch-up #1

WOW...I cannot believe summer is over!!! Well, over in the sense that school just started. We had so much fun and did many exciting things the past 2 months. Here Karson is painting, obviously. He decided that painting on the paper just wasn't fun enough, so painted his arms and face, too:)

For a week in July, Kassidy and Kaleb went to Ohio to spend time with family. This was Kaleb's first time going without mommy and daddy and boy did he have a blast!!! They kept busy all week playing and swimming, golfing, having sleepovers, etc. When they came back home 3 of the cousins came to stay with us for a week. Here's some pics of our fun-filled week!

Zoo-Kaleb, Maddie, Kassidy, Ben, Sara, Alex, Olivia, Karson, and Evan. Maddie, Ben, and Olivia are the cousins from Ohio and Alex, Evan, and Sara are cousins who live here.

Even the big kids had to play on the kiddie playground:)

It was hot dog day at the zoo and guess who the kids saw??? A news person! Of course, they called him over and asked to be on TV. They sang the hot dog song from Mickey Mouse (you know, hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog!) and were asked how the hot dogs tasted. Ben said...they taste like weiners! He is so funny!

Ice cream too:)

We always get a picture on the bear. Unfortunately, it was too small for all 9 kids! The boys didn't mind climbing the tree:)

We ran out of food to feed the goats, so the kids used some leaves. The goats gobbled em right up! After all, leaves are organic, right!?

Off to the big playground!

The next day we visited Kelly's pool. Kassidy, Kaleb, and Sara did the diving board for the first time! The kids really got clever with jumps and dives and even flips:)

The uncles got a workout throwing the kids!!!

Kaleb and Ben on top of Karson's playhouse.

What kid doesn't like to play with Playdoh? None of these kids...we spent an hour or so building and creating...so fun:)

Craft time!

More swimming...we have lots of little fish in our family:)

Stay tuned for another summer catch-up post...