Monday, June 1, 2015

Summertime Fun

It has technically only been 2 days so far we have already had a blast our first few days of summer break. My goal this summer is to do as much as we can and be at home as little as possible. We have already created a bucket list of things we want to do this summer and so far we have already marked off a few things.

The first thing we marked off of our list was a visit to the zoo. Thankfully we have passes so we can visit anytime we want and our favorite thing to do it get there really early right when it opens to beat the crowds and enjoy the animals


We chatted with the prairie dogs 


Made friends with the goats. She kept saying "Mommy he loves me!"


Tentatively playing in the geysers and ran screaming every time the big one blew. I had forgotten to throw a bathing suit in our bag, but I did however have our trusty backup tye dye dress so we threw that on after she was done running and screaming.


Before we left I thought it would make our special day even more special if she got to pick something from the gift shop. We have never done this before so she was really excited. There was so much to choose from, but we finally narrowed it down to a soft white polar bear.She loves him just a little.


Another one or our favorite things to do during the summer is walk around the pet store and visit all of the little animals. Bonus if there is an adoption that day. Today we fell in love with the ferrets and wanted to show them our new polar bear, but the were too busy fighting to really appreciate his fluffiness. 



The next day we decided to hit up the Children's Museum where we also have passes to play whenever we are bored. I had packed our swim stuff since there is a splash pad included with our pass but someone wasn't too excited about that idea so we did not splash that day. Sadly they are also redoing the playground so we will have to wait until next time to climb and slide.

We always start off visiting the chicken coops and even spoke with the man taking care of the chickens. We were asking if their chickens lay eggs and what do they do with them since there are so many of them and not a lot of chicks running around. I wondered if they hatched them and if so what did they do with the chicks. He said they collected the eggs and took them home and he wanted to give us some fresh eggs, but they had already been taken out. I think it is so neat that the staff gets to take the fresh eggs home to eat. I swear everyone who works there is so unbelievably nice! The man said they taste like butter they are so delicious. I would still love to have my own  chickens someday, but Brent has used one of his marriage vetos and says no chickens so it is a no go for now. Also I don't know how chicken would fair with our dogs so no chickens for now.

We typically start off at the airplane where  Mckinley loads and unloads packages for 30 minutes and then we move on to the river for some fishing. We arrived so early today no one had even played here yet so it was still nice and dry.


After fishing it was time to do a little grocery shopping and as usual it was Mckinley's job to scan everything while she barked orders at me to put everything away. She is a tough boss.


Testing out future careers? We had actually had a conversation about this on the way to the museum and my girl stated that she wanted to do the jobs with the colors like the museum. I am still not sure what job this is but something with colors at a museum so that sounds pretty cool. 


After we got home we had to finish getting ready to go out of town later that day so Mckinley relaxed in her tent and ate a chocolate peanut butter sandwich (Justin's hazelnut spread) and strawberries while I finished rounding everything up. 


So far our summer break has been super fun and I am sure I will have even more fun things to report after we start summer camp and find more adventures to share. I see a lot of watermelon and popsicle eating in our future and maybe a park and river walk adventure!

Life Lately

Just a few random moments from the last few weeks. 



She still lets me rock her and sing after a bath. 
 
 
 
Her new trick. I call it the sorority girl.




The dress obsession continues




Not sure what that is or where it goes but. I am pretty sure it didn't go where we left it 




This is what she looks like almost every day after school and I am sure it won't be any different once we start summer camp tomorrow.




Bored playing with the vacuum tube

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Firsts and Lasts

Once again I can't believe the school year has already come to an end. This year was so much more emotional because it was also my babies first year of school which definitely brought the ugly cry out even more yesterday. So after lots of hugging, lots of pictures taken, and maybe a little wine I put together a few pictures from Mckinley's first school year.



Mckinley on her first day of school and last day of school.
 

 
I didn't get a chance to get very good pictures on her first day because A. I was super emotional and B. My students started arriving at my own classroom.



Graduation Day!



Mrs. Barbara and Mrs. Joy made Mckinley's  first year of school so amazing! I will never be able to thank them enough for making this year so wonderful!



Mommy and Mckinley first day and last day.



So here's to an amazing first year of school and we are already looking forward to next year!

Dance, Dance , Dance

When I signed Mckinley up for dance class this year I wasn't really sure what to expect. Would she be the kid rolling on the floor and hanging upside down on the bar or would she be the one crying in the corner the entire time. Thankfully it was not a waste of time or money because she absolutely loved it. We also had a pretty kick ass ballet teacher who has the patience of a saint so that definitely made the entire experience amazing!

Every Thursday Mckinley would wake up asking if it was dance day and skip into school carrying her dance bag with her tiny leotard, tights, and leg warmers (you better believe we rock some leg warmers). At first she was a little shy, but it wasn't long before she warmed up and started acting like her ole crazy self! After months of practice and I am sure a lot of blood sweat and tears from Mrs. Miller the big day arrived.

We had already practiced our stage makeup (she wants lipstick everyday now), but the dance hair was a whole other story. Sadly my poor girl has my hair and there isn't an ounce of curl in either of us. We basically ended up with a half up barely wavy style job with a ton of hairspray!




We had a LOOOOOOOOOONG talk when she woke up that morning about acting like a normal person because mommy wanted to take pretty pictures today and as you can see she really took that conversation to heart.




Keeping busy in between dances.



It is really sad that no one loves this wild child. Sadly Yaya and Papa had a cruise planned for the same week as the recital, but we made sure to take lots of video so they could watch when they got back.




 Dance Buddies.



I am so happy we gave dance a try and I hope she wants to dance again next year.



I am so very proud of my tiny little ballerina!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Oh Happy Day


Did you know that Mother's Day was created as a way to celebrate mothers who had or were in danger of losing their sons to war? That kind of gives the day a new meaning doesn't it. Instead of only honoring those ladies who are mothers I choose to celebrate all of the amazing women in my life wherever they are in their journey.  

I celebrate you ladies who spend their days wiping snot with your hands and putting things back for themselves at Target so you can get those cute shoes for your little, you are loved. To those who are waiting for their precious bundles to arrive whether it be by delivery, adoption, or other form of arrival, you are loved. To those hopeful ladies who are searching for answers, you are loved. To those women who have lost children before they got to meet them or met them and lost them, you are loved. And to those ladies who want  to be nurturers and caregivers in other ways, you are loved.


To all the moms out there who doubt themselves everyday (hello) or compare themselves to other moms (stop that). Your house may be a wreck (like mine), your may have to check if your kid is wearing underwear before leaving the house (yikes), and you may wipe your kid down with baby wipes every now and then because you don't have enough time to bathe them after school because their bodies are covered in mulch before going to the grocery store.

You are all honored, loved, and prayed for each and everyday.