Bebe Gear

My dear friend Katherine makes wonderful "upcycled" clothes out of recycled materials. Her cute dresses are super adorable and have inspired me to break out the camera in ways I haven't done before, and doing so has shown me a whole new side of my adorable daughter....I never knew she was such a natural in front of the camera! Here are some of my favorite shots from the last few months.

The picture that started it all...


































You can see more of Katherine's clothing and buy it at BeBe Gear

Our visit to the Dentist

The kids' went to the dentist for check ups this week. Little miss Randi had one cavity and needs to work on brushing the teeth she has left a little better! However, Ryan earned a Super Star sticker for being such a good patient and having no cavities! He was so proud of himself, and we were very relieved that this appointment was much less traumatic than his last visit was for both him and ourselves! I'm afraid our little boy is growing up.

Movie night at our house

We were invited to join a few other mom's in a summer movie night swap. So far this summer, Randi has seen Bolt and Monsters vs. Aliens at her friends houses, but tonight was our turn to host. She was so excited when I told her everyone would be coming over and started preparing days ago by making everyone movie tickets and customizing their popcorn holders. She also chose the sign for the movie poster and went with me to the party store and picked out all the colors for the balloons. Shortly before everyone was to arrive, she asked me to move her little table outside so she could greet her guests and give them their tickets to the big show. She told Ryan he could be her assistant, and he was glad to oblige. I think the sunglasses where a nice Hollywood touch!





I couldn't resist the opportunity to snap a picture of that toothless smile!




Ryan was in rare form today...




Now showing....UP!


The boys...Michael, Ethan, Bryce & Ryan


The girls...Randi & Tatum


This is one of my favorite pictures from the evening...
notice Randi's finger pointing at the boys?
Well she was telling them to be quiet and behave!
And the funniest thing about it was when she said it, she sounded just like me!

Catch of the Day

The first thing Ryan said this morning was "I want to go fishing". So despite the fact that all the rivers and lakes are still closed, Michael packed the kids up and found a quiet little hole for them to drop some lines into the water. It was warm this afternoon, and the river was moving pretty quick from all the water that's being released right now, so he truly did not expect them to catch anything or stick with it very long. But right after Ryan put his line into the water and before he could even get Randi baited, Ryan's cork was going under, and he reeled in a nice little bass. Not to be outdone by her brother, Randi got her line in and caught another little bass within minutes. The kids were over the top excited to tell me their fish tales when they got home but wanted nothing to do with the fish when Michael put it on their plates for dinner!

Randi is keeping the tooth fairy really busy!

Randi's teeth are falling out like crazy. It seems like half her teeth are loose and the last couple of days, we've lost a tooth a day. First it was one of her bottom teeth; it was super duper wiggly, but again, she wouldn't let me near it, so it was there one morning and by afternoon it was gone...lost somewhere between oatmeal for breakfast and pizza at Costco in the afternoon. Randi was so worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't come if she didn't have the tooth, so I told her to write a letter explaining the situation. This is what she came up with:


The next day during swim lessons, Randi kept messing with her big tooth on the top that has been getting looser and looser every day, so I had a feeling it was getting pretty close to coming out too, so after her lesson was over, I asked her if I could look at it, and sure enough, it was hanging by a thread. Not wanting to risk loosing it like the lower tooth the day before, I was able to distract her for a second, get my nail under the edge of it, and just popped it out. It was so ready to come out that she hardly realized what I'd done and was shocked and surprised all at the same time. The only problem then was I had to figure out where to put the darn tooth so I wouldn't loose it before we got home! Luckily it made it home and under her pillow safe and sound and she racked up a few more bucks from the very busy tooth fairy who knows where our house is by heart right now!

Summer is here!

Summer fun has officially begun!

Randi, Emerson & Caroline wasting no time getting into the pool!


It's a bird, it's a plane, it's supergirl!






Our first day at Schlitterbahn with our Mom friends.
Randi & Bryce hamming it up for the camera.


Arg! We're pirates!


I love what summer does for my 5 year old who doesn't think she needs to nap anymore! Yeah right!

Questions?

Life with two young ones is a never ending stream of questions... What are we doing today mom? Why can't I have another cookie? How come he/she got more than me? Why can't I be first all the time? What day is it? When is my birthday/Christmas? What's for dinner? Etc, Today was no exception, but in addition to the predictable, easy to answer questions, here are a few that got thrown at me this afternoon...

Do we all have to die?
Why do we have to die?
What happens to us after we die?
Why did meat eating dinosaurs eat their friends?
Why do you and Daddy spell things to each other?
Is everyone the same color?
Why did God make people different colors?
and my favorite...
Mom, why do I have these "things" down here (asked by Ryan about you know what!)

Oh my! Some questions were easier answered than others, but I'm still trying to figure out how to explain some of them again tomorrow when they question the glossed over answers I gave them today! Help, I need a manual for some of this stuff!

Happy Birthday Uncles Glenn & Jacques

Uncle Glenn & Uncle Jacques celebrated some milestone birthdays last month, so what better way to celebrate than with a surprise party. We had a last minute change of plans and had to bring the kids with us, but they were great and had a wonderful time. They'd never been to a surprise party before, so it was exciting to them and for a week straight after that party, the kids would hide all around the house and jump out and yell surprise. It was a fun new game!

Michael & Ryan waiting for the birthday boys to arrive


OK, they're getting close


Surprise!




Ryan & Cousin Courtney


Randi & Gee Gee




Randi dancing up a storm with Uncle Robin


And with Michael


I'd love to be a fly on the wall to hear what the guys were talking about






Ryan could hardly wait another minute for a piece of cake!


Yum!


The ensuing sugar high!


It was all too much excitment for one little guy to handle, so Dad had to carry him out to the car.