Showing posts with label iphone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iphone. Show all posts

Friday, June 14, 2013

a little bit of life ~ spring edition

One of the ways I'm going to get caught up on this silly blog is by doing one random post to cover lots of little things that we did throughout the spring.  Most of the photos are from my phone, so they're not the best quality, but they'll do.  What I love about having a camera on my phone is that it's always handy...it's not always easy to lug around my big camera or sometimes special things happen during ordinary times.  It's great to be able to capture the moment easily and it's fun to look back at all the pictures too.  There is no rhyme or reason to these and I'm fairly certain they are all out of order, but they were little bits of life that I'd like the remeber.

Carter and Asher on their field trip to the Water Resource Center.
I chaperoned this one and had a fun group of four boys.  Asher and Carter were thrilled to be sitting in the back of the bus on the way and I was squeezed in there right along side them.
First grade boys have very intersting conversations :)

I was skeptical of how this field trip would turn out, but it was actually pretty fun.  I liked that the kids were engaged, doing hands on experiments throughout much of the two hours.

My little group (plus one)
Austin, Carter, Asher, Joey and Brooks
A funny story...on the way home, Carter shared a seat with two girls from his class.  I have noticed a cute interest on their parts before but it was sweet to see Carter interact with them.  And I have to say, he was so much calmer and well behaved.  He told me later that they made up games and pretended to be animals while the other two asked questions to figure out what animal they were.  I think Carter needs to be friends with more girls :)

I needed to run a few errands after picking up the girls from preschool one day (I usually have three for carpool, but Shannon had picked up Gracie that afternoon).  After making a few returns, we headed to the food court for a super nutricious lunch at McDonalds.  I'm not a fan, but I knew the girls would love it.  They had spinning ballet fairies in their Happy Meals, so they were over the moon!  Sometimes it's the little things.
Funny enough Kaitlin and Kennedy were dressed exactly the same (on accident) ~ same cute navy dress with cherries and a red trench.  Even though they look nothing alike, we had about half a dozen people ask us if they were twins.  They thought that was pretty fun!

What would a trip to the mall be without a quick ride on the lawn mowers?!?

Kennedy came home from church with this sweet craft on Palm Sunday.  I had to chuckle that Carter was omitted :)

Kathy and I were able to enjoy a nice evening out celebrating her birthday.  We tried a new Thai restaurant and it was so delicious.  Great food and even better company ~ it was the perfect way to celebrate a special friend!
I adore Kathy and thank God for bringing her into my life at the most perfect time! 
Happy Birthday, friend!

Another little birthday celebration...this time for Kennedy's bff, Lauren.  Lauren had a family party this year but we wanted to make sure that we celebrated her special day, so the girls had a fun afternoon treat at Menchies.  (what would a birthday celebration be without a princess crown?)  We love Lauren, she is such a sweet girl and I love that she and Kennedy get along so well.  We are lucky to have her!


Bennett and Carter
Unfortunately we were in Arizona for Spring Break when B was up visiting but we were lucky enough to be able to meet up as we flew home and they were flying out.
A fun lunch at Red Robin with two very silly boys.  These two are great friends!

Carter is loosing teeth left and right around here!

Kennedy had a nice shiner after attempting to walk Jake ~ he took off running and she forgot to let go of the leash, down she went.  She had a nasty scrape on her cheek and one on her shoulder.  She stood up crying but as soon as she realized that she hadn't lost the dog, she was fine.  Our girl is tough!


Kennedy and Lauren enjoying one of many baseball games

Kennedy learned to cross the monkey bars ~ and she was so proud of herself!  I'm not certain that she's been able to make it all the way across again, but she was successful on this attempt!

Snack Shack duty
Just looking at this picture makes me laugh...it had been a rough day for me, and I was dreading heading to the ball park to work in the snack shack that evening.  But thankfully I was with my two sweet friends and we were able survive on laughter.  We were in so far over our heads: working an industrial type grill, making hot dogs, hamburgers, using a fryer to make french fries and tater tots (they were actually really delicious), sending ice flying as I made snow cones, etc.  But it was fun.  So fun to be able to have deep from your belly laughs as you're struggling with life.  It was a great escape from the real world, although I can truthfully say that none of us will be exploring careers in the food service industry.  And I will never order food from the snack shack either :) 

Kennedy and I had to head out to Beaverton to get the car serviced at the dealership.  She managed to charm her way with the salesmen and ended up with a pink hat (which, knowing Acura they probably sell for $40), a few snacks and a bottle of water.

Kyle and I enjoyed a rare night out with friends and had so much fun! 
We bar hopped our way through Camas.  We tried new places (K'Syrah, Harvest and Birch St. Bar) and had so much fun.  Whenever we go out with Heather and Patrick, I come home with my cheeks hurting from all the laughing.  They surely know how to have a good time!

A rainy baseball game is made more enjoyable when shared with a friend!

And this is a testament to how crazy life has been over the past few months.  My ironing pile(s) were out of control!  I spent a six hour stretch ironing just to get to the bottom.  It was brutal, as ironing is not one of my most favorite chores!  Happy to report that the pile is now gone, at least until the next load of laundry is washed.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

catching up

Our month has been busy...between baseball, Mother's Day, school commitments and trying hard to organize life a bit, there hasn't been a lot of time dedicated to our blog.  I've been trying to snap pictures with my phone when I can think about it. 
So, here is a look at what we've been up to this month:

Playing with Brady at Grandma and Papa's house
Papa made a house out of a furniture box - the little ones had lots of fun playing outside with it in the sunshine.
Taking a ride in the wagon - it's fun to pass along special toys and clothes to Brady.
We have been having the most beautiful spring weather these past several weeks, and I'm loving it!  I think we are all a bit happier when we can get outside to play.
Our small group at church:
The Vohs', Phelans, Grices, Zeamers (thanks for the photo, Kathy!), Borreviks and Carolus'
We joined this group back in October, and it has been such a wonderful experience.  There are six couples and 18 (!) kids and it has given us a fabulous spiritual community.  We are different in many ways, but our time together is never short on laughter and fun.  I am so thankful for these amazing people and am grateful that we are a part of this group - knowing that we are there for one another gives such a great sense of peace.  I am looking forward to many more years of growing in faith together.
With these sunny, warm days comes ice cream!  While the car was getting an oil change, we walked over and enjoyed a yummy treat!
Sharing
Carter and Brevin
One afternoon, we met up with the Pikes at our gymnastics center.  They have open gym a couple of times a week, and Carter is always begging to go.  It's been hard for him to sit and watch Kennedy having fun during her gymnastics class all year.  Although, I think it's providing a great lesson, as well, it's important to support our family and it's not always about him...that second part is harder for Carter to grasp, I'm afraid.
Swinging!

Kennedy and Emery

Carter's class just finished up a science unit where they studied farms.  They were fortunate to have chicken eggs in an incubator for the month and five hatched!  Five cute little chicks were welcomed into the kindergarten classroom by very excited boys and girls.  Each student got a chance to hold them - sitting on the floor just in case they fell.  The kids were so gentle and sweet, not squeezing too hard.  Carter's poor little chickie kind of jumped out of his hands and fell to the ground, but it didn't seem phased.
Kennedy wanted no part of them - wouldn't even pet them.

Carter and Ryan
Good buddies

Kennedy and Kaitlin
This month at Kennedy's school, the teachers are doing assessments with each child, so parent volunteers were needed to help supervise play time at the end of the day.  (Another photo from my thoughtful friend, Kathy, thank you!)  I love any opportunity to be in Kennedy's classroom.  These little ones are just so much fun.  I also like to see Kennedy's interactions with her classmates.  I will be honest here and say that we've really been having problems with her being nice to her friends lately.  She can be plain mean and it's more than a little scary.  Both Kyle and I think friendship is so important, and we definitely want her to show love to her friends, classmates, neighbors, etc.  I just don't know what to do.  I encourage her to use kind words but sometimes I'm so embarrassed that I simply don't know how to handle the situation.  As parents, we put so much pressure on ourselves to have "perfect" children.  While I realize that is completely unrealistic, I honestly pray that my children are loving and kind to the world around them.  Parenting is hard with Kennedy - she is a challenge, but she can also be so wonderful.  I wish I knew how to encourage that sweet side and stamp out the mean one.

Our sweet baby Sloane turned 1!  She is a doll and we love her to pieces.  It is so sad that we can't be with her to help celebrate her special day.  Happy Birthday, Sloane!  We love you.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Fun with my iPhone

I have finally joined the masses and have an iPhone.  I am even texting (gasp!), can you believe it?  We still don't have a texting plan, so I use is sparingly, but it just seems like the way that people are communicating these days.  And what can I say, I tend to follow the trends.

I've enjoyed taking pictures with my phone and find it to be a lot easier than lugging our camera around.  Here are some pictures from the week - InstaFriday we can call it.  (a few other blogs that I follow do this, in various ways, and I've always thought it would be fun)

Kennedy and I went to a local bagel shop for lunch last week
Some art from school was on display and they had given all of the children a little gift certificate.  After a morning at the mall, we had a fun lunch together.  It was a wonderful way to spend the day with my girl!


Kyle and I enjoyed 24 hours kid free, courtesy of Ken and Diane.  They took the kids to Cirque Du Soleil and Kyle and I took advantage of it.  We enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine, watched a movie, went to church and then sat out on the deck at Who Songs and just talked.  It was FABULOUS!  We both felt refreshed and reconnected.

A beer at Cinetopia before our movie

After church on Sunday we headed to the river (with the rest of Vancouver!) and enjoyed some drinks out on the patio soaking up every second of the sun.  It was funny to see people grabbing for umbrellas or fanning themselves...I wanted to be hot.  It felt like we needed to fill up our tanks with as much sunshine as we possibly could!

a giant margarita
it was delicious!

Carter played at Estella's house on Monday after school.  It was another gorgeous day, so they played outside, sprayed each other with the hose and ate Popsicles.  Carter didn't want to come home.

I worked all week, during the day, which is not normal for us.  I actually kind of enjoyed it.  I think it was a combination of knowing that it was only for five days and just feeling "normal" again.  Although I enjoyed my time at work, it was so wonderful to come home and to be greeted by my loving littles.  They were extra huggy and said how much they missed me.  It was nice.  Very nice.

And here is where I spent the majority of my time this week.
I was learning new instrumentation at work, so I spent the week in training.

Lots and lots of tubes
Each of these donor tubes represents up to five life-saving blood products.
I'm proud of the work that we do at the Red Cross.

Kennedy and Carter spent Wednesday out in Hillsboro with Grandma and Papa
They had a lot of fun and
Kennedy was tuckered out.
She fell asleep during the car ride home and we tried to wake her...this is how far we got.
Our sweet Jake was watching over her as she slept.

LEGOS!  Carter received lots of Lego sets for his birthday so many nights have been spent building and constructing.
Oh Carter.
Today Carter was asked to go to his room for a little quiet time and this is how I found him...
reading one of my magazines - In Style - trying to read the words and enjoying the pictures.  
Funny stuff