an evening out

Most of our evenings lately have been spent doing this.

Being outside. Riding bikes, playing in the street and at the playground.



 Kenny and Aiden are the only ones that have bikes,

so we take turns.

Now that Aiden is an official rider, he is a maniac.

He rides his bike constantly. Every day.



The little Miss just likes wandering around. In the road,

in yards, etc. Sometimes shirtless.

A lot of times, pants less too.

And the Momma just enjoys having her camera back :)

a very cute tornado

This girl tries my patience. She is sweet, and she is mean.

She gives kisses and hugs, and then she rips your hair out. She makes Aiden cry.

Almost every day.

It's amazing how much we all love her.

Especially Aiden.

How could you not, when she makes this face?

it's like living with a tornado

There's something in every room that she isn't supposed to get into, but she can't help herself.

I don't really mind that she pulls out all the towels, hot pads, 

washcloths and bibs from the drawer.

I'm used to that.

It's that while I'm picking up the towels, she's emptying the dishwasher into the floor.

And while I'm attempting to handle that,

 she pulls all of the garbage bags out of the box.

So I set her in the front room while I get the kitchen straightened back up.

And she empties the toy bin, while turning the tv on and off.

In the bathroom, she empties all the drawers of everything. Also she loves to turn on the

bathtub faucet that is so conveniently placed on the side of the tub.

And then play in the water.

In my room it's my nightstand. She likes to tip it over. Onto herself.

And empty my pajama drawer.

In Aiden's room she is the creator of all kinds of mayhem, we'll just leave it at that. Which is why she's not allowed into Aiden's room. Ever.

Her room used to be the safe one. I don't really care that much if she emptied her own drawers,

pulls the books off the shelf, and spreads diapers around the floor.

 It's the easiest room in the house to pick up.

But now her favorite thing to play with in her room, is the computer desk

(which needs to find a new home, we're just not sure where quite yet)

which houses our envelopes, staples, THE COMPUTER, etc.

She looks so innocent, right?

She is the reason I can't ever get anything done.

The reason it's often easier to forget about chores and go sit outside to watch her play.

And the reason my life will never be boring again.

my husband is THE BEST

August 22nd, 2011. It was a great day. It was the very first, official day of school, and that night Aiden and I got to cash in on my birthday present, tickets to see Tuachan's production of "The Little Mermaid". The show was amazing. Aiden and I both loved it, and when it got over, we went out to meet some of the cast members. He wanted to see Sebastian, and since there weren't too many people surrounding him, we went over there. While Aiden was waiting for his turn to see him, I tried getting my camera ready for a picture. Rats. It wouldn't turn on at all. I assumed the battery was dead. So for the rest of the night, we just met the ones he wanted to. He shook hands with King Triton, and gave either Flotsam or Jetsam (not sure which) a hug. We went home. I was pretty devastated that I hadn't gotten any good pictures, so I plugged my battery into the charger so that I would have a working camera in the morning. The next morning, I put the charged battery in the camera, and switched it on. Still nothing. Rats again. And I cried a little. That was my dream camera. and we definitely didn't have it in our budget to purchase a new camera.

Fast forward to Friday, September 16th. We had plans to go to Vegas Saturday to visit Capri's birth parents. When Kenny came home from work, we decided a spontaneous overnight trip might be fun, but we didn't want to go all the way to Vegas to stay the night, because we hate Vegas, and even a one night stay in Vegas can get expensive. So we went and stayed in Mesquite for the night, at the Falcon Ridge Hotel. The same hotel we stayed in with Capri when she couldn't leave Nevada. We got there just in time to go out to a buffet dinner at the Eureka Casino. I am not a fan of casino buffets, but Kenny really wanted to go there, so we did. And it got better from there. Nearly everything was some kind of seafood or steak, so most everything was something I refuse to eat. I steered pretty clear of all of the seafood, but most especially the huge array of oysters, still in the shell. After we ate (and I complained about all the seafood) Kenny offered me $200 to eat an oyster.

Since the beginning of our marriage Kenny has been trying to get me to eat things I don't like, using any means possible. And up till this day, it didn't work. I told him there was no way, the only way I'd even consider it, is if I could have a camera. The camera of my choice. I was completely shocked when he told me ok. So I thought about it for a couple of milliseconds, then stood up, got a plate, and picked out the smallest, least nasty looking oyster I could see. I took it back to my table, took a few deep breaths, argued with myself for a minute or so, and slurped it down. With a lot of soda and chocolate cake. I felt pretty nauseous till about the next afternoon.

Sunday we were sitting around talking, and looked at our finances to determine how and when to make our big purchase. The camera I wanted was pretty expensive, and after we came back to earth, I realized it wasn't going to be possible, I couldn't spend that much money on myself. I almost cried. I hate reality sometimes.

Then Monday came. Dinner was ready and Kenny wasn't home, so we ate without him. After dinner I took the kids out back and we played in the yard for a while. Kenny came home pretty late, about 6:45. With a bag in his hands. He handed it to me, and of course, it had my camera in it. I just about cried again. I seriously have THE best husband ever. He knew I wasn't ever going to go out and buy the camera I wanted, so he went and got it for me. He's the very best person I know, and I'm lucky he's MY best friend.

And this baby and I? We're going to have some fun.

sleeping beauty

Last week I went and laid Capri down for her nap. She usually just lays right down and goes to sleep, but occasionally (if she's especially tired and ornery) she cries for a few minutes before she gives up and goes to sleep. This was one of those times. After about half an hour, I needed to get into her room to get something, and since I was sure she was asleep, I took a chance. I went in, and when I looked and saw how she was sleeping, my heart just melted. She was sleeping sitting up in the corner of her crib. After I took a picture, I got what I needed from her room and then I helped her lay down and left.

Aww, isn't she sweet?