Labor Day weekend

We were so happy to get out of the 110+ degree weather this past weekend and head up to the cabin again. It's so refreshing to be able to just let the kids run around and play outside.

Jake ready for combat with his "gun"
bang, bang!
Oh no! He's been hit!
Not sure if he's all the way dead though...
Better finish him off just to make sure.
Now, what's wrong with this picture? Lol!
Jake and Gav just chillin in the hammock while sharing an old fashioned orange soda.
Life just doesn't get much better than this.
Love the orange mustache.
Jake getting ready to eat a grasshopper. This one is for Grandpa. ;)
Kailey playing with a baby horny toad that Jake caught. There is always some sort of reptile/amphibian creature waiting to be caught by Jake. :)

Of course they wanted to keep it, but we let it go.

Gavin "fixing" his Jeep.

Cute Ashlyn chomping away on that finger. She's been doing that a lot lately since she's teething again.

Jake picked a dandilion to share with Gav.
The forest is full of beautiful dandilions like this.

Well, at least there was until my kids got to them all. :)
Maybe he should blow a little bit harder. ;)
Then Kailey wanted me to take some pix of her in her Halloween costume...
So we did.

She'll tell you that, "fairies are real because the tooth fairy is real."
We had to get a matching one for Miss Ashlyn too!

I think we'll call her the slobbery teething fairy. ;) Oh well, still cute anyway!

Piggies to love

Last weekend Jake and Kailey each got a new pet guinea pig. I found them for a great price on craigslist and figured that I would rather them spend their time this way than playing video games or watching T.V.

I think that they make really great pets. They like to cuddle and eat right out of your hand. Jake named his Piggie.
Kailey absolutely adores hers that she named Teddy. The moment we brought them home she was pushing it in her stoller, putting doll clothes on it, and having a tea party with it. She has always dreamed of having her own little pet like this.
So happy! Can you tell?

So adorable

I find it absolutely adorable how she looks for her little belly button...

and how she rubs her blankie against her nose with those chubby little fingers. In fact, I find everything about her absolutely adorable!

I just love...

those little curls that flip up in the back.

My Ballerina

Kailey did a such a great job today at her ballet recital. It's always so fun to watch her light up on stage. I will have to post a video clip later once I get the DVD.

Btw, we made her wash that stage make-up off right away. It scares me how grown up she is looking!

Nappy Hair

I love Ashlyn's cute natural curls. I love them even when they're all nappy!

Birthday Party Pics

I had fun this year planning Jake and Kailey's Birthday parties. I'm glad that I spent time and effort into making their days special. I wanted make the most of it since I will probably only get away with doing silly parties for a couple more years before they're "too cool" for that.

Jake wanted his party theme to be:

Chronicles of Narnia! The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. My sister and I had fun making his invitations while she was here visiting. Thanks again Aunt Kimbee!

The white witch had frozen creatures in their cups that they had to rescue...


We had popcorn and strawberries with a chocolate fountain (Jake's favorite).
Kailey obviously enjoyed it too!
Aslan cupcakes...

We also played pin the tail on Aslan, and had a lion pinata.
His favorite gift was the battlemaster from Mom and Dad.
The foam swords were a big hit as party favors. Happy 9th Birthday Jakers!

Kailey wanted her party to be a Tangled theme. Here is a pic of the front door.
We had a treasure hunt to find the lost sachel. Of course it had enough tiaras for each of girls to have one.
They had a contest to see who could get Flynn's nose right.
Pascal blowers.

It was Jake's idea to hit the pinata with a frying pan. Lol!
Lanterns of course.
They decorated braids with flowers and colored pictures of Rapunzel.

And we also painted the wall that I coved with paper.

Happy Birthday Kailey Girl!