Camping and Sea World

Easter weekend we decided to head to San Antonio for our first family camping trip and then go to Sea World. We stayed at a KOA and were not completely satisfied but we still had fun. Next time I want our camping trip to be farther away from a city and would like more wilderness.

Movie night before bed!

Had a hard time getting the fire started but Nick worked hard hacking away at some wood to make kindling for our fire. He did a great job! We cooked hot dogs and made smores of course!

Our new tent, it is AWESOME! We LOVE it and can not wait to go camping again. We need 1 more air mattress and it will be perfect. It will fit 2 of them!

So glad Kaiden likes the characters now. Zachary though only wanted to see them from afar. He tried to knock over Shamu when we walked over to take a picture with him. :)

Waiting to watch Shamu. Kaiden DID NOT want to get wet. Probably traumatized from the last time we saw Shamu and he got SOAKED! That water is freezing

1-2-3 Blast OFF

Nick bought Kaiden and Zachary a rocket. Nick used to make them as a child and thought it would be fun to make one with Kaiden. Kaiden thought it was AWESOME!!!!!

Proud of his new rocket

Ready for blast off!

Snuggle time

My boys are such snuggle bugs and I love it. My boys love sitting with me and watching TV. Kaiden is always playing with my hair and Zachary is snuggled up in my arms. Check out Zachary's bump on his head from where he hit the corner of the baseboard, had a big goose egg. I LOVE MY BOYS!

Rodeo Day

Last week we had Rodeo Day at school. Kaiden was very upset because we had no cowboy hat, no blet, and no cowboy boots. But I came up with a great solution. I dressed him in overalls, plaid shirt, and his rain boots and told him he was a farmer. Farmer Kaiden! We also had a stick horse and I had a bandanna at school. He borrowed the red cowboy hat from my coteacher, Mrs. Kristan. Is he not the cutest little farmer/cowboy?

At school they had pony rides for the older kids but since I am a teacher there I was able to get Zachary to ride the pony. I missed Kaiden's class on the pony rides but I am sure his teachers got pictures. Kaiden's class also did rodeo races and had a really fun time that day!

Zachary was a little scared at first but then he did good.

Like my shirt? I found it at Ross last year and I only wear it for Rodeo day at school since I own nothing western

Talking Marriage with Kaiden

So Kaiden and I had a conversation this morning that he started again about marriage. The way this boy thinks is hilarious!

K: Mom, I'm just thinking about who I am going to marry one day

Me: Ok, who are you going to marry?

K: I just dont know it is too hard, so many girls think I am cute.

Me: Well Kaiden it does not matter that they think you are cute it matters how you feel about them.

K: I just have to think, think, think. (with concerned look and hand on head)

Me: Why do you like to play with the girls?

K: Because Boys marry girls and girls marry boys

Me: Yes but why do you like playing with them?

K: I already told you that boys marry girls.

Me: You still need to be a kid and have fun and not worry about marriage right now, you have a long time until you get married.

K: But I think about it all the time.

Me: When you get older you will meet other girls so you may not marry the girls that you play with right now.

K: WHAT?

Me: You might meet someone in college or when you get a job

Me: I dont want you getting married anytime soon because then you will not be all mine anymore.

K: AH mom I will always be yours, I will love you forever and ever!

Well at least he got the part about how boys marry girls right!!! That's what the bible says! I dont know why he is so concerned about getting married at the age of 4 but it is funny to me. He really did have a concerned look on his face like he had to decide right then and there but just could not make a decision.

My favorite part was at the end when he told me that he will always be mine and that he will love me forever. Talk about knowing how to melt a girls heart! He is going to be a great husband one day and make his wife really happy. I just pray that he will continue to open up his feelings to me even when he gets older. I love our talks and I cherish them.

Peek a Boo

Our ZackZilla playing peek a boo with a tunnel. He was carrying it all through the house!

Kaiden and his balloon mom. Dont I look pretty?

Finally Our New Stove

We finally got our new stove! About a year ago we bought a new fridge, dishwasher and microwave made by Frigidaire professional series for a great price, but could not decide on a stove so we waited and continued to search. My dad works at Lowes and so anytime there was a good deal on a stove he would let us know. My older brother Chris bought the one we wanted about 6 months ago, but we were not financially ready to buy it so we let him take it. Well this past week right before we left for our cruise my dad told us about a great deal on a stove where we saved almost $500. We finally got rid of our nasty 1995 white stove that had a small leak and traded it in for a brand spanking new stainless steel oven with a 4 burner plus a griddle burner in the middle. I dont know all the cool things it does yet but I will find out soon when I start cooking!

Looks nice with our microwave. Now we just need to update the rest of the kitchen. The cabinets are the next thing on our list of things to do.

Cooking sausage on the new stove and preheating the oven to cook our homemade pizza. We even have a pizza button and a chicken nugget button! By the way the pizza came out yummy!

My Valentine

Here is my sweet Kaiden at his Valentine party at school. I wish I had a picture with both my boys and my husband because they are all my valentines. I love them all!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Zachary turned 2 on February 6! We threw him a Sports themed party since he loves balls. He especially loves baseball and is really good at hitting and throwing. It looks like we might have a future athlete on our hands with the help of BoBo(Uncle) Chris teaching him some tricks.

Baseball cake made by Nana and BoBo Chris! Zachary got all shy when everyone was singing to him, too funny.

Check out his new tricycle from mommy, daddy, Nana and Pops. It even has a bell on it. He cant reach the pedals yet but at least we can push him.

Reading a handmade card from cousin Cameron. Pops looks super excited in this picture!

Favorite toy was the Glo Doodle given by his friend Colin. Even the big kids loved it!

Outside Fun!

Kaiden and his new scooter from Christmas

Zachary loves his Maddie

Cooking Cousins

Zachary and Maggie cooking. Dangerous I know but the stove was not on!

How sweet, Maggie is sharing a cookie with Zachary!

Her face is priceless now, "Why did I just give him my cookie?"

"I think I broke my stomach bone"

Last night we had dinner at a yummy Vietnamese restaurant called VBistro. This is a must go to place!!! Zachary chowed down on their yummy egg rolls and Kaiden had this beef and noodle soup. I was impressed with how much Kaiden ate, we even kept telling him that he did not have to eat all of it since it was a big portion for him. He ate about 75% of it. When we were leaving he was complaining about how full he was. He looked like he had a huge belly when we got home. He then told us, "I think I broke my stomach bone." HAHAHA Nick and I were dying laughing.

Cause I'm so cute!

On the way home from church this afternoon Kaiden was talking about how he wanted 10 kids. Here is how the conversation between me, Nick and Kaiden went:

K- "I want a lot of kids! I want 10, 5 girls and 5 boys"

Mom- "10 kids, wow! So whose going to be the mommy?"

K - "I don't know. There are so many girls that think I am cute I just can't decide."

Dad- "Well who is your top pick?"

K- "I just don't know I have so many girlfriends. "

Dad- "Well pick your top 3."

K- "Reagan, Avery, and Sophie"

Ok first of all I am worried that my son wants so many kids, holy cow 10 kids (really?)! Second, how the heck does he have so many girlfriends? At least he has confidence in himself and knows that he is cute! I do tell him all the time how cute he is and how he has a cute little button nose. I guess the little girls tell him that too!

Christmas morning

"Santa came and really did bring my red scooter, hurry come look, come look. Santa came, he ate the cookies and milk, and my letter"...and on and on he went. This was all we heard Christmas morning from Kaiden. He was so excited that he was talking ninety miles an hour, running around, and would not stop talking. It was really an exciting moment as parents to see him like that. We had the joy of having my 84 year old grandmother, Mama Dot come visit us and she was at our house Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. I think Kaiden talked to her in her bed for about ten minutes before coming and getting us out of bed. We were up all night with Zachary who was suffering from croup so needless to say we were exhausted!

Later that day we went down to my parents (Nana and Pops) house to spend Christmas with the rest of the family. More on that soon!

Kaiden's red scooter from Santa! Zachary wanted it too!

Already riding like a pro all over the house!

His cool Batman pose with his new Batman shirt. He LOVES Batman even though he has never seen a single cartoon episode of him.

Zachary had fun ripping the paper off. But poor baby did not feel good and was doing his best to get excited. This toy was for his Engineer little mind. :)

Nick's older sister Sheena sent us gifts since they live in Michigan. I got a handheld cosmetic mirror with my name engraved on it and Nick got one of those caddy's were you keep all your stuff in. It even has a built in power strip so you can plug in multiple phones. This is suppose to keep his ipod, phone, wallet, etc. Do you think it is working yet? he has misplaced his wallet, does that tell you anything? HAHAHA He will get use to it, finally a place for his things so they wont get lost.

The boys got a tent with tunnel from us and I think our cat Kie loves it more than them!

Kaiden took a picture of Mama Dot, she was so happy to be with us and see the joy in my boys faces Christmas morning. We were blessed to have her.

Kaiden's Leapster Lmax. Now we just need to get him some more games!

I just thought this was cute of Zachary loving on our dog, Maddie. He does this all the time and is such an animal person.

Cookies for Santa

On Christmas Eve Kaiden sprinkled out Reindeer food that he made at school outside in the yard. It consisted of oats, glitter, and sprinkles so that the reindeer could find their way to our house. We also made chocolate chip cookies to put out by the tree along with a glass of milk of course for Santa. Kaiden also wrote a letter all by himself to Santa and put it in our special letter to Santa ornament. He was SO SUPER EXCITED the next morning when he found out that the cookies were gone, reindeer food as gone, the letter was replaced by a letter from Santa to Kaiden, and of course he got to see what Santa brought him for Christmas!

Jammin

Enjoy this video of Kaiden and his makeshift drum set jammin away!

Whoville

Don't my kids look like the Whoville characters from How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Kaiden was trying to be a bunny and of course Zachary wanted to do it too. I think they look a lot more like the kids from Whoville than bunnies. Kaiden is my creative child and is always coming up with something.

Ready for a snack

This video is priceless and really shows how much Zachary really is our little monkey. This is his way of telling me that he is ready for a snack and he does this everyday. He looked like he was so proud of himself that he even did a little victory dance.

Nativity Scene

Since we dont have an actual nativity scene yet, creative Kaiden decided to make his own.

Noah's Ark is the stable

A christmas bow is the Star

The Angel is Zachary's craft from church

Mary is from "Little People circus"

Joseph is from "Little People circus"

The Shepard's are Noah (from Noah's ark), and Quincey from little Einsteins

The 3 wisemen are Einstein and Wonder Pets characters

Of course there are animals too

The manger is an upside toy with paper for the hay

Baby Jesus is really a toy baby that he got from church

He was able to tell me the whole story and even a poem (Christmas Star, Christmas Star what do you see?) that he learned from school. I am so proud of him for being so creative and for being able to remember the whole story. He tells me that the most important thing about Christmas is "Jesus."