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.

always playing catch up...

It pains me to see that my last blog post was nearly a month ago, but it is also a testament to the life that we've been living this month.  It's been a whirlwind, a mix of fun and committments, loss and celebrations.

Our life. 

And since my main goal of this blog is to capture our life so that one day Carter and Kennedy can read about their childhood, their parents, their friends and family, I felt like I needed to do a short post and explain why there has been such a lack of documentation over these past four weeks.
Between two vacations, birthdays, school, baseball, a milestone anniversary, work, etc., there just hasn't been a second for the "want to's" ~ life, when we have been home, has been about the "have to's".  Laundry, grocery shopping, dance lessons, homework, the day to day of life.  So, while I have wanted so badly to document the fun things we've done this month (before I forget any of the details), I just couldn't.  I hope to.  I hope to soon. 

There is so much that I would like to share...

November Update

November has been one very busy month, hence the lack of blogging on my end.  Who knew?  I kept thinking that things would slow down and then something else would come up and  life would get crazier.  I would like to say that December will be "less" but who am I kidding?  With Christmas and all of the fun traditions that come along with it, life will continue to move along at a break neck pace and I will do my best to keep up with it all.

I've got about a dozen posts that I need to write and I will get to them as soon as I can, but in the mean time here is a little bit of what we've been up to:

Carter started his first season of basketball.

Kyle is coaching and the league is through the Parks & Rec so it's not competitive, just a lot of fun for the kids.  Kyle's doing a great job as coach and the boys seem to be enjoying themselves.  Carter loves it!  He is constantly asking to go out front to shoot hoops and is always very excited for his games.  He's pretty competitive and his mood is dependent on how well he plays.  The first game (although he only played about 10 minutes, because he had to rush off to his last soccer game) went great - he scored six points and was pumped!  Unfortunately the next two games didn't go as well - I'm not sure if it was the pressure he was putting on himself or better defense by the other team, but he only scored once during each game.  He's kind of a ball hog, which is a little embarrassing, but he's trying so hard that I just let it go.  The fourth game was awesome!  He did such a great job - had ten points, passed and dribbled well.  I was so proud of him.
It was a lot of fun to watch.

happy to be playing

Having fun with his friends.
All of the other seven players are either friends of his from school or church, so Carter has a great time!

Kyle is such a great dad...and a good coach too!

Carter and Andrew

These two have been on every team together and have so much fun.  When they are in together, they only pass each other the ball, which is funny, but they are both intense and are doing great.  I love to watch their friendship grow...

a sweaty little defender

I will definitely say this about Carter, when he's out on the court, he's hustling.  He seems to put forth more effort in basketball then we've seen in other sports.

#3

Carter lost his third tooth - his permanent tooth is already coming up, but in the mean time his smile is a little more holy :)

Someone wanted to wear a shower cap like Mommy...

I couldn't resist a few pictures of my cutie!

{a little of this, a little of that}

Sometimes I feel like a broken record...saying the same thing over and over.  And over again.  Our life seems to be extra hectic lately.  I find our weekends often over committed, but they sure are fun.  Exhausting, yes, but so fun!  A couple of weekends back, we had a zinger of a weekend and managed to survive.  I wish I would have snapped more pictures, but I'll just have to recap the fun with words instead.

Saturday morning, I got off work a few minutes early and rushed to meet Kyle and do a quick kid swap in the Starbucks parking lot.  He was helping our dear friends, the Grices, move into their new home.  Thankfully there were a lot of guys helping out, so they were able to get everything loaded and moved in four hours.  We are so excited for Zack and Rachel and their new home!

While Kyle was moving, the kids and I managed to run a couple of errands and then get home, get changed and head off to Carter's baseball practice.  It was cold and wet and not a whole lot of fun.  Also, Kennedy managed to throw a major fit.  So major that I had to put her in the car, strap her into her car seat and leave her there for quite some time.  This nice man walked by my screaming child, locked in the car and muttered "wow.  She has some lungs."  Thanks sir, as if I was not already sufficiently embarrassed.

After practice, we headed home, ate a quick lunch and got ready for Lauren's 4th birthday party.  It was such a fun party, held at a local frozen yogurt shop.  The kids had a blast and both professed their desire to have their next birthdays at Menchees! 

sweet friends

Happy Birthday, Lolo, we love you!

From the birthday party, we rushed back home, grabbed a healthier bite to eat and raced off to church for our small group time.  I always love these couple of hours together and am so thankful for this group of families.  The kids love playing with their friends and Kyle and I get some quality time with quality friends!

I think I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow!

Sunday was equally as busy and just as much fun.  After church, I said goodbye to Kyle and the kids and headed downtown to meet the girls for our monthly brunch.  Typically we meet at someones home, but this month was a special one - we celebrated Shanda's engagement and Kirstin's 35th birthday - so we went out and tried a great restaurant, Screen Door.  Such amazing food, although be prepared to wait...we waited 2 hours!  Yes, you read that right, 2 hours to be seated.  Thankfully we were with friends and were able to catch up and enjoy our time together.  And the food was worth the wait!

Lindsay, Lisa, Kirstin, Cheri and Shanda. 

The two hour wait for brunch put me a little behind schedule, but I raced down I-5 and was able to meet my dear friend, Ali, at Bridgeport for a quick chat.  She was in town celebrating her dad's 70th birthday and we were fortunate enough to squeeze in a little visit.  She's expecting baby #3, a sweet boy, any day now, so I was so thankful for the chance to see her pregnant again.  She is beautiful inside and out.  Such a treasured friend!

It's amazing how much talking you can pack into an hour - I'm sure we could have easily talked for another 10, but we always cherish the time and laughs we have together.

How cute is my sweet friend?  I adore you, Ali, and am so grateful for our time together!

A few errands later and I was zooming back into downtown where I met up with Diane and Val.  For Christmas I had purchased tickets for us all to see Wicked together.  It's one of my very favorite shows and I was excited to share it with them.  We met for a quick drink at VQ and then headed over for the show.  Oh, it was as wonderful as I had remembered it!  The singing was incredible, sets amazing and the story unforgettable.  It was truly a fabulous way to spend the evening!

A few more random (cute) pictures...

Instead of getting ready for school on Monday morning, Kennedy decided to play dress up instead.  She's in her butterfly costume from Halloween two years ago.  But she was so proud to have gotten dressed all by herself.  I think she was a little bummed that I wouldn't let her wear it to school!

She can be a turkey, but we love her to pieces!  I can't get enough of that smile!

Managed to get dressed and out the door on time!

A small miracle, I assure you.