Digging Up Dinosaurs

So I'm a lame mom.  

Bladen got a really cool dinosaur digging set for his birthday 

BACK IN APRIL

from my brother, his wife, & their kids.  I kept telling myself to save it for a day when I wasn't quite so busy, but I'm realizing that there is no such thing as a "not busy day."

SO, I decided to be a decent mom again & I set aside some time to break open the dino pack.

Bladen was SO excited, especially when he saw the goggles & the hammer.  What kid doesn't like a good hammer to hammer things with?  There was also a big block of clay, but he wasn't sure what that was for.

I showed him how to use the pick & hammer to break apart the clay.  Once he realized he was allowed to break something, he went all out.  He was CRUSHING that thing.  He loved every second of it.

He was surprised when he found some dinosaur bones inside the clay.  Once he realized something was inside, he pounded harder & harder & harder to see what it was.

The set was really fun.  It wasn't too terribly hard to break apart the clay block, & the "bones" were nice & sturdy so they could withstand the beating of a 3 year old boy & his hammer.

He crushed the block to powder & collected all his dinosaur bones.  Next we took them in the house & washed them off really well.

He was SO EXCITED when Mommy showed him how to put the dinosaur together.  I was impressed.  It was a darling little T-Rex sculpture.  He LOVED it.

He loves to march it around making "BOOM" sounds every step his dinosaur takes.  Then he'll growl his big dinosaur growl.  I love my little dino man.

Thank you Justin, Cari, Korbyn, & Brinley for a FANTASTIC birthday gift.  Bladen loved every second of it.

Boys are a MESS

Why is it that girls can go days without making a single mess, but boys are a complete disaster after 20 minutes?

We went to a friend's birthday party at the park this week & 20 minutes in, Bladen came running up to me looking like this. . . 

What in the world do you have in your hair?  And how did it get there?  

Never mind. . . I probably DON'T want to know.

Craiger just watches & laughs at his big brother.  Together they're going to be quite the companionship when Craiger gets a little older.  They're a mess, but they're sure cute.

Allergies

Poor Cadence.  She's had problems with allergies since she was a baby.  Every time I take her to a Dr. to ask about what we can do to fix the problem they always tell me her allergies aren't bad enough to worry about.  It's SO frustrating.

Well, Tuesday night, we had a SCARY night due to Cadence's allergies & now I FINALLY have the okay for allergy testing.  We have NO IDEA what did it to her, but she was allergic to SOMETHING & she blew up like a balloon until her eyes swelled shut, she had hives all over her body, & she was having a hard time breathing.

My poor baby.  I was SO scared.  We ended up taking her to the ER so they could give her an Epi-Pen shot in the leg which she HATED, but she immediately started getting better after the shot.  They ordered allergy tests which will happen this week sometime.

Hopefully soon we'll get some answers to what exactly she's allergic to so we can do what we can to combat it.  I NEVER want to go through an experience like that again.  I love my sweet little girl & almost lost her that night.  Thank heavens for answered prayers.

I love you Cadence.

Typical Day with the Girls

So what do you do when you do when you hear silence upstairs?

Some might enjoy that there is some quiet, but not me.  If there's silence, there's most likely

TROUBLE.

I dashed up the stairs as fast as I could to see what my little munchkins were up to & this is what I found . . .

Can we say

ADORABLE?

My little girls are definitely MY CHILDREN.  They had created a spa for themselves in their bedrooms.  They snuck some of the sliced cucumbers from the snack drawer of the fridge for their eyes & then they filled their toy bins with water & my foot soak to soak their feet.

This cute little moment in life is 

PRICELESS

to me.  I love my little angels.

Fun with the Weinerts

My dear friend Celeste came to visit us this last weekend.  Celeste & I were best friends when we were stationed in Germany a few years back.  In the 3 years I knew her, I was her VTer, she was my VTer, & we were VTing companions.  We've missed each other SO MUCH.  She just got stationed at Beale AFB which is about 4 hours from here.  I was SO excited when she said she wanted to come down for a weekend!

She is about to have a baby (a boy) soon so this was her last hoo-rah before that happened.  Her hubby had a TDY & school hadn't started yet for them, so Celeste & her daughter Kelsey came down for some fun.  Kelsey & Lorien were BEST FRIENDS in Germany.  

We took Kelsey to the aquarium here in Monterey to pass the time until Lorien got home from school.  My kids LOVE the aquarium here.

I think they had more fun playing with the hands-on crafts than they did looking at the fish.

They were only able to stay a few days, but we had a blast playing games, cooking, talking, & taking walks while they were here.  The girls are all pen pals & can't wait to start writing letters to each other again.

I was sad to say goodbye again.  We're moving soon so this will be the last chance I'll see Celeste for a while at least.  We're going to plan a fun girls' trip in the future when our other friend Chanda makes it back from Germany. . . she just got stationed there for a 2nd time!!  (SO JEALOUS)

Love you Celeste.  Thank you for such a WONDERFUL WEEKEND.

1st Day of School 2012

Although I'm not a big fan of the actual schools, I love the school schedule here in CA.  The kids get out of school later in the summer & start earlier in the fall.  Then they get LONG fall, winter, & spring breaks.  I think it's perfect.  My kids are bored of summer after a month & can't wait for school to start.  Hooray for the 1st day of school.

Lorien started 2nd grade today.  The girls love to match clothes so they all wore the same outfits for the first day.  

She was SO excited to show off her new backpack & lunch box.  She's been wanting Brave everything since the movie came out in June.  Merida has the same spunky free spirit Lorien does.  They have a LOT in common.

Cadence started 4th grade today.  This was a turning point for me because this is the first school year that I actually remember vividly.  I was 9 when I moved from AZ to UT & I was 9 when I met my very best friends (& we're still best friends 22 years later).  My friends & I were discussing this earlier today because all their kids are starting 4th grade this year as well.  It's so crazy because it seems like only yesterday.  

Cadence was SO excited to start school.  She was happy & hyper all morning in anticipation.

This is the first year Cadence has a non-disney backpack.  She is growing up & didn't want to look too "childish" around other 4th graders.  I was kind of sad about that.  They grow up way too fast.  But she picked out an adorable Jansport backpack that should last her a few years actually.  I'm grateful for that.

I'm so glad that my girls are best friends.  I love how they love each other conditionally, support one another, & root for each other in everything.  They make me proud.

Once the younger kids saw me taking pictures of the girls, they wanted to get in on the photo fun.  Taya is sure getting beautiful isn't she?

Taya is my wild-child, but she's also my little sunshine.  She won't be starting kindergarten until next year, but I'm thrilled to get to spend one more year here at home with her.  She brightens my days with laughter & smiles, & who can resist that dimple?

Bladen is my shy, little man.  He doesn't say much but he sure knows my soft spot.  He's got me wrapped around his little finger with his hugs & kisses.

And Craiger. . . what can I say about Craiger?  There's definitely a reason his nickname is 

MONSTER,

but seriously, he's adorable.  He's going to be a smart one.

Lorien got Ms. Phillips as her 2nd grade teacher.  She's pretty excited about it.

And Cadence got Ms. Balestrieri.  She is a cute, spunky, young gal.  I love her & I only talked to her once.  She's the perfect teacher for Cadence.

So I'd say we had a great 1st day.  The kids wanted to go to bed 30 minutes earlier tonight just so they can go to sleep & get to school faster.  It makes me happy that school makes them happy.