More Outside

Kyle has started to get into baseball. He is trying to teach Katelyn how to bat.

Kelsey prefers tag to catch.

Katelyn and Kelsey were really great at water breaks.

I have to sneak pictures. Once people see the camera they start posing and showing off.

Our New Addition

Okay, yes, whatever you're thinking is most likely true. This is Kelsey (Mommy named her from the Tiger books) and we found her at PetSmart during adoption day. We were told she is a boxer mix, born April 1, 2011. She came home to our house June 24 and we are having a great time with her. I think it helps that the kids are older and that she has a short coat. I haven't found mountains of hair anywhere! We had her house trained in a little less than 3 weeks and we are starting formal obedience classes this week as a family.
This picture, and the one above, are Kelsey celebrating the new Smurfs movie. These were taken the day after Kyle's chalk picture, which included a river and a lake. She had her first trip to the groomer and when we came home the first thing she did was roll in the chalk.

We fell in love with her freckles. Especially Kyle because he has them, too.

A happy pup, rolling in her yard.

She loves being outside with the kids. Here she is catching the bubbles Katelyn is blowing.

Outside

We finally had a day that wasn't too hot outside. Katelyn always gets the bubbles out first.
Kyle must have artsey type parents or something. He always goes right for the chalk. Each time he does a picture it ends up being huge, taking up half the patio.

Another getting along moment. I wish there were more of these in a day.

Another Project

These are our North Carolina Snowmen. Snowpeople, excuse me. There is a grandma and papa, cousins, aunts and uncles--it's our own family reunion!

My happy girl! She loves playdough and will sit for hours keeping busy.




Kyle didn't want to play with us at first, but once he got into it he was a pretty happy camper!



She had to have a picture with our snowmen.



Sorry you got left with pink, Kyle.





Thinking about the cake she is making for Daddy.




This moment has now been recorded in history. They are playing nicely together. No hitting, no yelling, no stealing from each other. Aren't they cute?

GRRR!!

I'm so frusterated with the layout of this thing! I don't know what I'm doing wrong! Everything looks good when I'm in the posting part, adding pictures and such, but when I post it to the blog---BAH!

Katelyn's 6th Birthday

Princess Katelyn is just growing up too fast for my liking. She was very happy that Daddy got home in time for her birthday. Because of the timing, we knew we would be on our road trip most of June. She didn't seem to mind celebrating a little early. That meant she had several birthdays this year. The one we did, the big family one at Cindy's house, which was super fun to be part of, and another with Grandma and Grandpa Hess.

Katelyn thinks she knows all about first grade, how class will be, what she'll wear, who will be there, where Kyle will be, how lunch works, it's all pretty funny to hear her talk about! She had a group of girlfriends last year that she is sure will all still be there and in her class. I hope it all turns out even close to how she has it planned. I'm ready for "The Fit" when it doesn't. Sigh...

Pool Party

Okay, a bit of backround for these pictures. It is early morning, the day after we set up the pool. I awake to the sound of splashing water outside my window. I dash downstairs to the backdoor, eyes unfocused, muscules still shaking from being ripped from their relaxed state of sleep so suddenly. I shove open the door and find my lovely, adorable, too-smart-for-their-own-good, children. They have the hose running, the camera out on the windowsill, and the entire back of the house dripping wet. After my moment of fear someone would not be okay, and finding everyone to be physically safe, I was too mad to speak. I pointed for them to get in the house and we moved on with our day.....after a time out. I discovered the pictures they had taken a few days later. This is what they do when they're alone.

Mermaids

Look at my little water babies! Aren't they cute? Katelyn is our aspiring model and poses for everything. She was really excited about setting up the pool and being outside. Kyle didn't seem to be in such a great mood on this particular afternoon. That's why there aren't any close-ups of him. Mr. Grumpy-Face wasn't getting his way, again. These were taken before Brad got home from Africa, so late April or early May. It was just getting hot enough to be almost miserable. My next post will be some of the mischief that goes on at our house.