It's Soccer Time!!!

The girls started soccer last week and oh has it been interesting!!! This is Isabella's second year and Margaret's first. Let's just say on the first night of practice I had to leave early but when my husband got home with them he was fit to be tied. Apparently they both cried, for different reasons, during practice and he just doesn't understand what is wrong with them. I guess I need to remind him that they have half of my gene pool going on in them, not just his. Not that I am not competitive, just not in team sports. I am actually just more competitive with myself if that makes any sense. The story I got was that Isabella lost control of her ball was embarrassed, which brought on her tears, while Margaret was just plain tired. When I asked Margaret the next morning why she cried she said, "Mom, my feet and legs were so tired that they couldn't stay awake".

Last year Isabella got in there with the rest of the kids but wasn't really aggressive. This year I see a huge difference so far. When they do dribble races she actually tries to run fast to beat the other kids. We have our first game in a few weeks so I am anxious to see how she will play. Margaret is doing a great job of just trying to listen and keep up. We did make it through the second practice with no tears, that in itself is a big deal.

Soccer Star

Great kick!

Margaret in action.

Isabella, Margaret, and Addison

Sisters!!!

Dinosaurs Unearthed!

Last weekend we took the kids to the coolest exhibit at Union Station. It was opening day for Dinosaurs Unearthed and it was packed with tons of fun, educational activities for the little ones. I was a little nervous that it might scare the little bitty (Margaret) but she did really well, even when we toured the life sized dinosaurs. We started off with a fossil dig...

this then led us into the exhibit of the life sized dinosaurs. They were huge and very realistic looking with movement that the kids could control and tons of loud dinosaur roars. Walter was in hog heaven. I couldn't even get a picture of him in this room because he was moving around so fast from excitement.

The lighting wasn't very good in this room and the dinosaur behind them was really hard to capture but it was one of our favorites.

Margaret loving on her daddy while waiting to go into the 3D Imax Dinosaur Movie. It was so fun to see the kids in their big 3D glasses reaching out to touch the dinosaurs as they moved across the screen. It really seemed like they were close enough to touch. The movie was very educational but yet still attractive enough to hold the attention of my oldest two... not so much Walter. He liked it most when the dinosaurs were fighting. He is such a boy!

My bug and I

We ended the day with a trip to Build-a-Dino. This is just like Build-a-Bear only with, of course, dinosaurs. Here is a shot with Walter helping to get his dino filled with stuffing. The girls went a bit crazy in this store buying everything from underwear, sequined sandals, purses, and sunglasses for their trendy dinosaurs. Kyle snuck off with Walter and when they were done his dinosaur was dressed as Darth Vader, imagine that!

Overall, I think that this exhibit is very worthwhile for kids of all ages. Definitely a must see while it is here in Kansas City!

PreK Spring Program

Okay, I am only a few weeks behind here guys. Here are some pics of Isabella's Spring Program from a couple of weeks ago. She did a great job and was not even nervous! She had been practicing her songs and actions at home the week before the program so on the day of she was geared up and ready to go.

Hitting sticks along to the beat, all done while singing. I don't even think that I could do both at the same time:)

Isabella and her best bud Abby!

Stop and smell the tulips!

Lately things have been completely crazy at our house, just as I am sure it is at every household around the world. Lots of changes going on here: new baby, Kyle's work, and finally spring time. Although I am thankful for all of these changes I do find myself not taking the time to stop and enjoy the moment that I am in without focusing on the so much that has to be done. My goal this week is to take a cue from my kiddos, I am going to try to slow down and try to enjoy everything around me.

Headed to Kamp!

We are officially headed to Kamp this summer. Kyle is volunteering a week of his vacation to doctor at one of his favorite places on earth, Kanakuk Kamp. He was a camper there as a child, a counselor there as a college student, and it has always been an experience that he wanted to share with his children some day. We took the whole family to an information meeting during the winter just so that Isabella could get an idea of what kamp is like. It is an overnight camp so they do not take them until they are six or seven but we thought we might just expose her at this meeting and then again next year to see if she was interested. Of course she was because the people there were awesome and everything looks so exciting... little did I know that her daddy would be interested in going as well:) He looked into volunteering and it all worked out for our whole family to go spend a week at one of their kamps. We are very excited for a week filled with lots of activities for the kids, tons of time outside, beautiful Tablerock Lake, and the spiritual impact the Kamp will have on our family. I cannot think of a better way to spend a family vacation!

Easter

Okay, picture overload here and I am sure that I could add more because there were so many fun ones. We had a fantastic Easter with both of our families this year. I must say it was just great to all be together with nice weather and some relaxation. Here are a few shots from our fun weekend!

Egg races at Mimi and Papa's house.

Having fun coloring eggs.

I think this one dropped more eggs than she colored.

Look at how serious this guy is.

Loving on the Easter bunny at the egg hunt with Nana and GranStan.

Couldn't get the little man to stay in the picture.

My one and only good shot.

Looking like a southern belle!

We loved having Daddy here this year.

Pretty as a Princess!

The Farm

I have been so MIA from my blog lately so for those of you who actually follow us I apologize for the absence. No, I didn't have the baby yet... my only excuse is that life is busy with these three munchkins and this mama is tired! At the end of the day the only thing that I look forward to doing is crawling into my big bed and getting some sleep because I know that this baby girl is going to wake me around 3:30 a.m. for some serious kicking!

A couple of weeks ago we kicked off the spring season with a trip to one of our favorite places, the Deanna Rose Farm. We were there for opening day and the kids had a blast. Isabella and Margaret were most excited to see if Pipi the milking cow was still there. We have seen her there for the past two years and she was a favorite of my girls. I think it is mainly because every spring we go she is pregnant again and as Isabella says, "Kind of like you Mommy". Boy does this make me feel good:) Gotta love the honesty. Unfortunately she isn't there right now, not sure if she will be there at all this year. One of the newest additions to the farm is the Bank. When you visit the bank you get a booklet of questions to answer and you have to go throughout the farm to get the clues and answers. This was right up Isabella's alley and kept her interested while we were there. We have gone for so many years I was worried that she might be bored with it this year but this activity held her interest and was very educational. They change the questions each month for the kids to change it up and keep them interested, very cool in my opinion.

We finally got this girl on a horse and she loved it! She immediately had to call Papa to let him know. He promised to have one at his house each time she came to visit this summer so that she could practice riding.

This little guy loved the farm. Last year he was young enough that he couldn't enjoy it completely or really probably remember much about it. Here he is in the school house practicing his writing skills:)

Having fun in the flower garden.

Margaret's favorite is still feeding the goats. I begged her to ride the horse but she refused. Maybe by the end of summer I can talk her into it.

He thought these guys were so funny. Each time they took food from him he would laugh.