Part 2

We went to the park one day and also played tennis while we were there.  The kids had so much fun on the playground and the big kids LOVED playing tennis.  It was a lot of fun.

Papa and Liddy

 

Kash, Matt, Ella

Kash was so afraid to step off the ledge onto this, but once he did it he realized it wasn't a big deal.

Matt had a very important job of holding the purses.

Nikki literally waited in line for a turn on this thing.

She tried to balance on the curb...not a good idea.

Evie is obsessed with Bailey and says, "BayBay."

Kash loves all things sports.

Papa and Nana know what they're doing on the court!

Poor Bailey was dragged around the court by all the kids.

Mandy, Liddy, Whitney

California Trip: Part 1

 For Memorial weekend we went to California to visit my family.  Mandy and Nikki met at my house and then we headed to Glendora.  The weather did not cooperate the first couple of days so we were not able to go to the beach:(  So two nights in a row we went over to the Jackson's to hot tub! It was so fun and of course the kids ended up getting in the freezing pool anyways!

 Ryan, Liddy, Kash, Mandy, Ella, Matt, Evie, Lindsay

 Ryan lovin on his sweet baby!

 It didn't take Matt long to get in the cold water with them.

 Evie and Liddy hanging out together.

 

 Ella and Kash decided they wanted to jump off the wall.  You can see Ella is a little nervous at first but they ended up going up 2 more levels! They have no fear in the water.

Who needs a pool?

Not us.

Ghosts

Ella and Kash were sleeping in Ella's room and they kept coming out claiming there was a ghost in the bathroom.  Matt told them to go back to bed or they couldn't sleep together.  Later when he went to check on them they were both fast asleep but he noticed that they had barricaded the bathroom door! 

Poor Ella

Ella and Evie were playing on the bed and Evie jumped up while Ella was above her and her chin slammed into the top of Evie's head.  This caused her to bite down hard on her tongue.  Ella kept complaining that her tongue hurt and I told her it would be sore for awhile and didn't think much of it.  As the day wore on I finally took a look at it and realized that she actually had two huge chunks hanging off the sides of her tongue! I felt so bad that I hadn't taken her more seriously.  The poor thing talked with a lisp for the next few days!

Sand Hollow

The kids love swimming at Sand Hollow.  This time neither Ella or Kash wore a life jacket, they are swimming like crazy.  It makes me so nervous, especially with Evie around.  You just can't relax when you have 3 of your kids in the pool.  We had Ella's friend Megan with us too, so I was constantly keeping track of 4 heads.  Good thing Matt was there to help. They did great though, they are little fish.  

Here is Gina, coaxing Evie into the pool when we first got there.

Evie, Gina, Emily, Adam

Kash loved jumping over, sitting on, and punching the water that shot straight up.

Evie was nervous to go down the slide at first so Megan took her.

Emily practicing her floating skills.

Ella, Matt, Kash

She started going down by herself on her stomach.  She would laugh when she got to the bottom every time.  How can you not love those legs?

Megan, Ella, and Kash on the lily pads.

Adam, Kash, and Emily

Emily in mid-air, I think she missed the rope!

Every time Evie is about to jump she puts her arms all the way back.

 Matt took Evie down the slide and then threw her to Mike to catch.

 

 Kash went down all by himself.

 

 Laffy Taffy break

 

 For the last 45 minutes we were there I stayed with Evie while she played on the slide.  She was obsessed with it! It was the cutest thing because she was so happy and actually SMILING.  These pictures are priceless for us!

She found a little spot to stop and take a break, and then she was off again.

Ella the inventor

Ella is constantly making different contraptions, tying things together in intricate ways, being creative, and mostly just using her imagination.  This girl definitely has an imagination.  She can play in the backyard by herself perfectly content.  Kash is the opposite of this!  Maybe some of her imagination will rub off on Kash and he can share some of his computer skills with her.  She asked me to come outside and I found her with her latest project.  She made herself a rope swing.  She tied a sprinkler around her stomach and tied the opposite end in the tree.  Then she would jump off of the chair and swing and land on the ground. 

Our two puppies

Ella and Kash are constantly playing "kitties" or "puppies."  I am often told, "My name is not Ella! It's puppy." They crawl around and bark or meow and expect me to know what they want without talking.  One morning they came downstairs as puppies so naturally Matt gave them their cereal on the floor.  Thankfully Evie was still asleep or this would have been a disaster.

Moving on up

This is Kash on his last day of preschool.  He will be going to the 4 year old preschool class next year with his same teacher, Ms. Mickell.  He has done great this year and yes, he is the biggest kid in his class! I think he better get used to that:)

 He was excited to give his teacher her gift.  She has been so great and we are so glad he will have her again next year.