T. Kwasniewski Family

My best little helper!

2011-11-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Back to School

2010-08-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

Alexis was very excited that she picked out her new outfit for her first day of school on her own... especially her shoes!

BFF's!

Looks like trouble!

The girls are all loving First Grade!

Garden Picking

2010-08-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

Kayla washing the tomatoes she and Alexis just picked from the garden

Our Summer Vacation 2010

2010-08-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun

2010-08-30T18:14:00.000-07:00

Alexis new fish from her Birthday!
Friends Blueberry Picking! YUMMY

Daddy's Birthday and the Cougar's Game

2010-06-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

The girls had a blast at Great America for Daddy's Birthday! They even got their faces painted.

Riding the kiddie Roller Coaster with the Birthday Boy!

Mommy got to ride the coaster with Kayla for her first time!

Waiting in line for another ride!

Cougar's Game

Kayla got loose with the Camera again...

And she insisted that I take a picture of her funny face....

They LOVED watching the fireworks!

Our Ballerinas

2010-06-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Getting the Garden Started

2010-06-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

We decided to try to grow a garden from seeds this year.... and use the land on a relative's property to make it bigger than our small garden at our house....

The girls received some planing kits in their Easter Baskets.... they started their tomatoes and peppers from seeds for us too....

Also received some great gardening bags from Grandma, they were able to use those as well...

Throwing some extra seeds right in the garden! Still had to remove the hay at that point!

Cool Flower pots they received from some of their God Mama's

It was a beautiful family evening filled with gardening!

This is what the seedlings look like now!!!!

Kayla Turns 4!!!

2010-06-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Kayla wanted to have a sleepover in her sisters room the night before her Birthday... they can be so sweet to eachother sometimes!

New Balet slippers and a Fuzzy pink pillow! That was exactly what she wanted!

Three cuties at Kayla's party!

And then they found the snacks!

We were so glad that Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Pa were able to make it to the party!

Sisters.... xoxox

Our beautiful Goddaughter with her Daddy!

The Birthday Girl bouncing around!

My little buddy!

Kayla was so shy when it was time to sing Happy Birthday! She wouldn't look at anyone while we were singing!

Ready to open presents!

Happy Birthday my Little Princess!

Easter 2010

2010-06-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

Spring 2010

2010-06-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

Alexis Spring Sing... sorry for the blurrrrr we were kind of far away!

She has the yellow and pink dress on with the white sweater! She did so good, although she said
it was embarassing!

Family fun in Lake Geneva - It was still pretty cold out, but we had a great time.... especially in the indoor pool!

My Girls

2010-02-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-30T12:22:00.001-08:00

First stop Christmas Eve - Grandma and Papa's with a visit from Santa.... All of the kids were singing Christmas Carols waiting for Santa to arrive... there were a lot of kids this year!

Alexis isn't afraid of Santa at all this year!
Kayla did pretty good too!

Grandpa even got to sit on Santa's lap - he gave him his Christmas goose early! Hehehehe!

Alexis and Kayla were clinging to my niece from AZ, they were her little shadow and wouldn't leave her alone! I can see why though, she is such a little sweetheart!

Mommy even got a turn on Santa's lap!

2nd Stop - Christmas Eve at Nana and Pa's... had to get a picture of the girls with Nana and Pa before everyone arrived!

Great Grandma with Tony and his sisters and brother.

Alexis was very excited to see if we were going to get to see Santa 2 times this year!

All of the kids getting tired with Nana and Pa!

3rd stop on Christmas Eve - 10pm Mass to hear Grandpa sing in the Choir... they sounded great as usual and the girls were pretty good for having such a long busy day! I am grateful it is now 10pm Mass instead of Midnight, not sure how my Mom managed to keep so many little ones in line every year at Midnight Mass while my Dad was singing in the choir!

There's my Mama.... yes we take up many pews as a family so we were a few rows in the back.

Looks like Santa came while we were at Church!

All ready for the girls to wake up!

The girls exchange the presents they got eachother in their rooms before we go downstairs...

Alexis was more interested to see if Santa actually ate the cookies and the letter he left them than looking at the presents first!

She was so excited about every present and just kept saying Thank you!!!!

Kayla gets her own computer now, maybe she'll leave Mommy's alone!

Destined to be a rock star! Look at those eyes light up with that guitar in her hands!

They love their new guitars and microphone with stand! Too much fun to watch!

Alexis kept checking to see if her MP3 player was charged yet!

We are very blessed to have such a big and wonderful extended family, we had a Great Christmas, hope you did too!

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

The girls got to make their Christmas cookies for Santa with Daddy this year - they had a great time, especially with the pre-cut cookies I found at the store, they just had to decorate them! We left them out for Santa with a note from the girls and some carrots for the reindeer (Mommy didn't get that picture this year... oops!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Getting Ready for Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

Our visit to the tree farm to cut down the tree was a success! Luckily one of Tony's friends families owns the farm, and he was able to help us get the tree to the car (since Tony had hurt his foot).

Daddy with his girls on the beautiful winter day - we didn't even need hats or gloves this year!

The girls got their trees out and decorated in their rooms while Mommy and Daddy got the family tree ready to be decorated downstairs!

Kayla is loving the whole Christmas season this year! Getting too big!

Alexis is very proud of her tree that she decorated with her own ornaments all by herself!

They always get to take turns trying to put the angel on the top of the family tree...

Now we were ready to unpack the Nativity Scene

Took a family trip to the mall to see Santa and finish some shopping... of course Kayla shows her handy work with the camera! She loves taking pictures!

All ready for St. Nicholas to come.... The girls left their shoes out to be filled under the tree...

Alexis found all of the goodies first!

Daddy was excited about the girls new cookie card game.

Mommy is still in need of a good cup of coffee!

First big snowfall of the season - Alexis was in school, but Kayla got to help Mommy clean it up!

Mommy got to learn to use the snow blower this year since Daddy is still broken!

Of course Tony had to get pictures of me using his machine in his big hunting coat!

Kayla had so much fun playing!

They had hot cocoa all ready for me when I got in from the snow!

Trying to take the girls Christmas photo for our cards... that is always fun and takes way longer than it should!

These were two funny ones out of about 50 that I took where one had a really good smile and the other had a really cheesey smile!

Costumes and Candles

2009-10-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

The girls Halloween costumes are all ready....

Making pumpkin candle holders with the girls.... Alexis was getting over her cold and you can see it in her eyes!

Anniversary Getaway

2009-10-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

Had the chance to getaway to Lake Geneva for our 8th Anniversary...

Zip lining was a lot of fun!

Even though we don't really eat dessert, the waitress brough us a complimentary Anniversary plate!

Beautiful fall colors!

We even got to go golfing!

Tony took this video on one of his zip lining turns!

Fall 2009

2009-10-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Took our annual apple picking trip to Edwards Orchard with some of the family! It was so much fun, a little chilly, but not too bad!

Sisters! Some of them anyway, we were missing the rest of them....

One of our God Children.

Another one of our God Children.... and the girls...

Family Fun at the orchard!

Lou-Lou's boys...

My beautiful nieces.

I love this picture of Alexis!

Riding the tractor back to the farm....

Horsey Ride time - the girls were so excited to ride the horses!

Helping Mama decorate the front porch for fall....

Our pumpkin snowman - we got the pumpkins from the apple orchard and made him into a snowman! It's cold enough to feel like there will be snow soon!!!

Kayla's First Field Trip - Apple Orchard Time

2009-09-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

I got to go on Kayla's first pre-school field trip with her... to the Apple Orchard! One of my favorite places!

Checking out all the different kinds of apples...

posing for a picture..

This is my little goofball....

And she can be so sweet!

Getting some education about bees and their hives and why they love apple trees.

How the apples are sorted by machine....

And then it was time for some fun...

Apple Cider and donuts....

playing in the corn bin... even Mommy had to get in, it looked like so much fun!

Hanging with one of her friends, she let me burry her up to her neck.... she was too funny!

Dad's 28th (oops... 82nd) Birthday

2009-09-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Mom made some home made cream puffs and special fried chicken just for Dad on his Birthday!

Nephews Football Game and Kayla at Pre K

2009-09-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Of course Kayla was playing with the camera during the game!

Ravinia for Carrie Underwood Concert

2009-09-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

We went to see Carrie Underwood perform at Ravinia with Nana and Pa, the girls, My sister and our Goddaughter... it was a great time, but for such a great performer I would have wished we were closer! But it was a great evening under the stars listening to some great music with some great company!

Brought the tent to set up for the girls to lay down in when they got tired...

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-09-15T17:18:00.000-07:00

Kayla helping Alexis pack her lunch for her first day of Kindergarten - All Day!
Alexis eating a very big breakfast before school...
Mommy and Daddy with our big girl!

Standing by her cubby...

Kayla using the camera of course....

My sweet little girls...

Hanging out with one of their favorite cousins...

And with Mommy of course....

Playhouse, Garden and Sox Game

2009-08-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Daddy converted the swingset into a playhouse for the girls using wood from a friends deck. The girls absolutely love it!

Garden keeps growing, but the veggies don't want to ripen yet!

Kayla found the first big red tomato!

Girls first Major League Baseball game - The Sox didn't play too well, but we had a great time.

Our Little Bike Rider!

2009-07-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

Nana and Pa got her a new bike for her Birthday - it took her about 2 times around the block and she was riding clear and free.... of course we were out there with her while she was riding across the street - still trying to teach her to look both ways - kind of wobbly while keeping her balance, but she loves it and is doing great!

Lake Geneva Fun

2009-07-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Took the girls out to Lake Geneva for a short getaway.....

Hanging out at the beach - it was a beautiful day and a great evening to watch the sunset.

Also went on a boat ride with the girls - their first boat ride and they loved it! They really wanted to go in the water but it wasn't allowed where we were!

Blueberry Picking

2009-07-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

Took the girls with some friends to pick some fresh blueberries - man were they delicious! We got the whole bucket full and all of the kids had fun!

Wisconsin Dells with The Kwas's

2009-07-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

We went to the Dell's with Tony's family to celebrate his Mom's Birthday and their Anniversary. We stayed in an awesome entertainment bungalow that had plenty of room - couldn't even tell there were 14 kids there between 16 months and 13 years old!

Kayla excited to be the first one there to pick out our room!

Unpacking all of the food in the great kitchen that was provided...

Lounging on the middle floor living room ottoman, patiently waiting to go to the water park.

One of the kids recently learned how to crack a board with his bare hands - he did awesome and all of the kids enjoyed watching him.

On the way back from the waterpark I got a sweet picture of the girls in the lobby... they were pretty tired here!

And a family picture....

The next afternoon we went to see a water show... the kids had fun.

These people were amazing!

Nana and Pa enjoyed a carriage ride together! The kids all watched them ride away...

Pa trying to help Kayla go to sleep... she was so tired but didn't want to miss out on any of the fun that the rest of the kids were having!

Nana and Pa with all of their Grand Children.

4th of July 2009

2009-07-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Some of the kids with their sparklers....

Alexis and Kayla were playing on the ride on toys courtesy of my sisters neighbor!

The girls doing sparklers with Uncle Greg - Daddy was at work, so Uncle Greg was nice enough to help the girls do their sparklers while Mommy was taking pictures!

More Tee Ball and Mama's helper

2009-07-12T17:48:00.000-07:00

Alexis takes off after her hit....
Alexis running into home plate for the first time at her TBall game - she is still learning - the older boy behind her was waiting for her to run in! It was really cute!

Needing refreshment after the nice run!

Trying to bat lefty...

Needing some assistance on what to do next... the first base coach nudged her along....

Kayla took this picture....

Mama's helper helping me use some of our fresh herbs to make homemade spaghetti sauce...

She is always such a great helper!

Pre School and T Ball

2009-06-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

They had a cute little ceremony for the preschool graduates at Alexis school....

Alexis was so happy that some of the family was able to come join in her ceremony!

Alexis first time up at the tee with her new coach

Of course Kayla wanted to play with the camera since she wasn't playing T Ball....

Hey - where did the ball go?????

Alexis playing catch with her new team mates.

Kayla is THREE!

2009-05-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

We took Kayla to walk on a riverwalk and play at the park for her third Birthday...

Kayla took this picture - she kept asking to take pictures all day - so I let her... gave me a break!

They had so much fun playing on the hillside, walking by the river and discovering the different places along the way!

Alexis took this picture of Mommy and Daddy - I can't believe how big she is getting!

Yep -she is 3 now!

Trying to get a good picture of the girls - but the sun wasn't cooperating!

Kayla took these pictures....

Trying again to get a good picture of the girls...

Another picture courtesy of Kayla...

Cheesey face!

We went back to the park after dark and the girls had fun hanging around!Alexis picked out the book Purplicious for Kayla - they both love the book Pinkalicious and now they love this one too!

Spring Time Fun

2009-05-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Took advantage of one of the beautiful spring days and went to the beach! The girls love the water, even if it was still quite chilly!

My cool little girl - I think she just skipped a rock or something....

My girls watching the apes....

They love the bears too.

Playing outside on a breezy afternoon....

Daddy helping Alexis learn to fly a kite - she got the hang of it quickly on such a windy day and had it blowing way up high for about a half an hour all by herself!

She had so much fun!

The kite is the tiny thing in the bottom picture - it was really high!

The buds of springtime! Finally! We were so happy to have such nice weather!

Alexis had to do a 100 day project for school - we did Jelly Beans in groups of ten- helped her learn how to count by tens too! She is all ready for kindergarten!

My big 3 year old - I can't believe my baby is 3! She is all ready for pre-school!

Mommy and Daddy out for a date night!

Easter Time 2009

2009-04-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

This year when we colored Easter Eggs, both of the girls were not feeling well. Alexis worse than Kayla - Alexis only colored two eggs then took a seat on the couch... so sad.

Kayla had fun coloring most of the eggs with Mommy and Daddy by herself (Mommy had fun too!)

Waiting for the dye to sink in....

I also bought a roll in ink kit this year since the girls enjoy painting so much - they really liked it, by the time Kayla had done a few she was getting really good! Alexis joined us again briefly for the painting egg fun, but went right back to the couch.
We left the eggs out and pictures the girls made for the Easter Bunny!

Easter morning - Daddy made it home in time from work to see the girls find their Easter baskets, and Easter eggs just in time to make it out the door for Church!

Alexis found her favorite flower egg! She glued flowers all over her pink egg - it was her favorite! They were hidden in the basement this year! She still wasn't feeling so well, but she is all better now!

Birthday party at the pool

2009-04-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Birthday boy was too busy for me to get his picture!

Alexis was having a great time in the water! Can't wait for the summer to try to get her to some waterparks.

With some of her girl cousins...

With two of her cousins from AZ - Kayla was really sick on this day so she didn't get to come out to play in the water. She stayed home with Daddy.

One of my nephews jumping off the high dive -

Alexis went down this big slide twice with her cousins. she loved it!

Out for Mom and Dads Anniversary

2009-04-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Went to a great restaurant for my parents anniversary - music, dancing, singing and great company!
Mom with 4 of her boys

Dad with 4 of his boys

Some of my sisters and one niece.

Dad let us each polka with him - he taught us all how to polka when we were younger in our kitchen while we were doing dishes!

Dad even got up and sang!

We were all up and dancing by the end of the night!

American Girl Doll Trip

2009-04-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

We went downtown with the girls cousin to the American Girl Doll store for lunch! The girls had a great girls day out!

They even have a salon for the dolls....

Waiting patiently for our table for lunch.

The dolls get so sit right at the table with you to eat! How cute was this!

Auntie Jamie making sure all of the kids get across the street ok.

Misc. Pics of the Girls

2009-04-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

Kayla loves her baby dolls - it seems like everyday she adds a new one to her collection in bed!

Hip hop bride - Alexis playing dress up :0)

Kayla's reward for potty training!~

2009-04-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Took the kids to Disney on ice back in January as Kayla's reward for being fully potty trained!

They had a great time and so did we!

Girls Love Crafts!

2009-01-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

The girls have been having lots of fun with their new craft supplies they got for Christmas... they especially like Googly eyes!

And of course.... Alexis playing with Thumper!

Birthday in the City

2009-01-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

I was able to go downtown with one of my God Daughter's for her 16th Birthday with my sister and some of her friends... although it was freezing and the intention was to go ice skating (over a 2hour wait) we still had fun riding the trolley, walking in the City and shopping!

Me with my niece, hard to believe she is already 16 -

With her Mom...

The girls ready for some dinner after a long walk in the City....

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

2009-01-10T13:39:00.001-08:00

It was great to have my niece and nephew home from school for a little while!

Cousins hanging out watching the game

Mom opening some presents... I found this box of candies from the 50's, 60's and 70's online for her... it was one of my funnest finds of the season!

My oldest brother and one of my God Son's

Everyone helping out in the kitchen...

Christmas Residuals...

2008-12-29T22:16:00.000-08:00

Kayla cozy in her sleeping bag and pillow from Aunty Cyndi...

And of course playing with her stroller from Auntie Chrissy with babies stacked up as high as they can go!

Alexis follows Thumper around as much as she can... until she can catch him that is.....

Welcome Thumper Kwasniewski

2008-12-27T14:09:00.000-08:00

I couldn't get any pictures of the girls faces when they saw Thumper (that is what they named him) - but they were absolutely ecstatic to have a real bunny! I think Santa did a great job building his cage from scratch!

Alexis first time trying to get her bunny out of his cage....

He walked right up to her and she pet him and yelled - he is sooooo soft!

Santa left some carrots for the girls to feed to their new bunny...

He is so cute! We are loving the new addition to our family!

Christmas Pictures 2008

2008-12-27T13:50:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to the store the day before Christmas Eve to pick out presents for eachother - When I asked Alexis what she wanted Kayla to pick out for her she said "I don't want anything Mom, I don't need to take care of anything else except for a real bunny!" It was cute and she was very very serious... we explained to her that it is alright for her to get another present besides her bunny if Santa brought her one that is....
The girls opened their presents to eachother in their rooms first before we went downstairs...

They were excited to open their presents - Alexis practically tackled Kayla to tell her Thank you for the craft supplies!

Kayla loved her two new baby dolls that Alexis picked out for her... she is quite the little Mommy, although I'm not sure what to do about her constantly trying to fit about 7 baby dolls in one stroller at the same time!

Downstairs the girls were very excited about their bunny (pictures to come later) and anytime that he would move around in his cage, they would stop what they were doing and run over to make sure he was alright! Here is Alexis in action:

Of course Kayla held a baby doll most of the time we were opening presents!

The girls tending to the newest family member!

Kayla playing with more baby dolls....

Alexis with her new Barbie car...

And the only shot I got of opening stockings before the battery was gone! They did get some goodies in their stockings from Disney world and they were also very excited about that!

Alexis friend Angelina came over to exchange presents with the girls on Christmas afternoon - then they played make up of course!

The day after Christmas Nana and Pa came over to exchange presents with the girls... only a couple of pictures as my camera was still charging!

The girls helping Nana and Pa open presents.... and Alexis cuddling with Nana - how sweet!~

Later in the evening - Alexis was playing with her make up again! Nice pink lips - she thought she looked like the real Sleeping Beauty that we saw in Florida!

Another gift that she got which she played with right away - she got to decorate these wings by herself - well Mommy helped a little, what could I say it made me feel like a kid again!

We had a GREAT Christmas and are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to share it with.

Cookies for Santa

2008-12-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

Our plate of cookies for santa, some carrots for his reindeer and a letter written by Alexis telling him to have a safe trip and not get too cold in his sleigh!

Our Charlie Brown Tree - we have a real tree in our living room, but I used the top of a spruce tree in my garland and used the empty branches as our Charlie Brown tree centerpiece...

Our real tree - We spent Christmas Evening with Tony's side of the family, then met my family for Mass at 10:30pm and got home at about 1am - I left my camera in my sisters car when we went to Florida and returned Pa's camera to him therefore I didn't get any pictures of Christmas Eve at Nana & Pa's... the battery was almost dead on my camera that I retrieved from my sister at Church so I also didn't get many pictures of Christmas Day! What a bummer, but there's always next year!~

Winter Day Fun

2008-12-27T13:20:00.000-08:00

The girls were all excited to go play out in the snow - this was actually on Christmas Eve, not sure why the pictures say 12/23... after they played in the snow they came in and we made cookies for Santa while Daddy shoveled the drive....

They actually built a snowman and a kitty cat, but Mommy got busy and didn't get a chance to get out there to take a picture of the finished product!

Making special cookies for Santa....

I walked out of the kitchen to check on Daddy outside, and when I came back in this is what I found! Thankfully she didn't like the full mouth of frosting and didn't try it again...

Gingerbread House

2008-12-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

The girls and I attempted to put together a gingerbread house.... I neglected to read the directions before hand and didn't let the icing "glue" sit for an hour before decorating it because it was already close to bedtime! So it was pretty much a catastrophe, but we had fun while we did it!

Kayla is now potty trained! Yeah! No more diapers! She was too excited to finish the house after a trip to the bathroom and didn't put her pants back on... I washed the countertop thoroughly!
One of the mishaps - we dropped this piece of the house so we had a Mouse hole in our gingerbread house!

The girls had fun decorating the house themselves.... with a little help from Mommy!

We had to prop up the roof with toothpicks because the icing wasn't dried yet so it kept falling down on us, but the girls did a pretty good job despite that!

Cookies with Santa

2008-12-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went to have cookies with Santa....

All of the kids waited patiently doing crafts and eating cookies to have their turn with Santa...

Alexis friend from across the street gets her turn with Santa - her Mom did a great job organizing the event!

Alexis and her best friend!

And her other best friend!

Alexis gets her turn with Santa -

He took his time with each of the kids and really talked to them! Alexis told him that she wanted a pink bunny for Christmas - he looked at Tony and I and said "this year?" we said "yes Santa"!
He told Alexis she needed to be very responsible and take good care of the bunny, she said she would feed it, play with it and make sure it is taken care of!

Kayla did great with Santa - he wanted to talk with her and she got a little nervous, but she did a good job telling Santa she wanted a new baby doll for Christmas... and a bunny!

Hippo Video - Alexis singing...

2008-12-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Tree Hunting

2008-12-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

Kayla found this tree and thought it was just her size....

Both of them thought it was a good idea....

Still looking for the perfect tree....

My girl and I by one of the prospective trees...

I said "who has had dry pull ups for 5 days - Kayla says "me"!!! Yes, we are almost done with diapers I think... she has been dry for a week, lets hope for the best!

After we all icked out our tree - the girls waited with Daddy to bail it while Mommy picked out some fresh greens for the rest of our decorating!

The tree had some time to settle (that is after one broken tree stand and Daddy going to the store atleast twice to get what we needed to keep our chosen tree standing!)....

Alexis gets her turn at setting the Angel on t0p of the tree....

Kayla gets her turn...

The girls both have trees in their rooms this year and they get to use thier favorite ornaments to decorate them (while playing dress up of course!)!

The girls in front of our tree......

Waiting to unpack the Nativity Scene with Mommy...

Alexis wanted to unpack all of it by herself...

Alexis tired after unpacking all of the Nativity Scene Figurines...

The girls getting ready for the first night of Advent....

Animal Kingdom

2008-12-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Girls taking a picture with the big bug....
Kayla decided she wasn't afraid of Rafiki this time and insisted she take a picture with him...

The girls getting ready to go into the Animal Kingdom....

The Lion King Show - this show was actually very impressive - the girls were very entertained!

More Characters - the girls loved seeing them all everytime!

Kayla was sleeping when we headed out on the Safari - that was the longest line we waited in - it was about 30 minutes and not really that bad - but Kayla was tired and decided to take a little nap while we were on the Safari!

Alexis loved being up close and personal with the animals - some of them were even close enough that we could have touched them!

I just really liked these doors so I made Alexis take a picture in front of them (Kayla was still sleeping!)

Alexis liked this bench so I told her I would take her picture!

There was this tiny bird right next to her - I couldn't get a really good picture of it but it was close enough that I could have pet it with my hand!Waiting for the parade at Animal Kingdom!

Then on to take more pics with the characters... Mommy's favorite! There were two that the girls kept asking for that we never got to see - Daisy and Piglet!

We got to go on this dragontails ride about 5 times in a row - there were no lines and the girls loved it, it was also close to closing time!

Kayla waiving good bye to the characters at Magic Kingdom...

Gatorland

2008-12-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

We went to Gatorland (something for Daddy to escape all the Princesses!) when we were in Florida - he went there when he was little so we wanted to take a trip back to share it with the girls.... Lots of aligators!

We went on a walk through a swamp while we were there, although the bugs creeped me out a little bit, the trees and scenery were beautiful.
I learned where Spanish Moss (which I use for decorating or packing presents) comes from these trees - but before they are preserved they usually have some type of parasite called "chiggers" that have to be removed - interesting!

That night we went back to Downtown Disney and had dinner at a cool dinosaur restaurant - kind of like Rainforest cafe, but with dino's - the girls enjoyed it, so did we!

Sea World

2008-12-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

Our second day in Florida we went to Sea World - the girls enjoyed it... again it was very quiet, not a lot of people there and we got to see all the shows and the girls were especially excited to see the different Characters again - it was their favorite part of the trip!

A young man was nice enough to take this family picture of us - we were watching a pearl diving demonstration - it was pretty cool!

The girls really enjoyed being together on the trip -

Sitting outside of the shark tanks.... we ate at a cool restaurant below this where the fish swim all around you, it was pretty neat!

Of course Shamu made an appearance!

Playing the calypso drums.....

Alexis and I got to go on her first real roller coaster together - she liked it so much she made Daddy go on it with her too!

There was an awesome net type tree house to climb through - we were very high up here - it was fun to go through it with the girls and Daddy - he helped us all when we fell of course!

Kayla really liked this little dolphin - she didn't want to leave after we took a picture!

Their ultimate favorite part of the day - petting sting rays! We stayed at this spot for almost an hour while the girls pet the sting rays - Kayla was very hesitant at first, but when we started to leave she said "I want to pet one too, like Lexis"... so we stayed a little longer until she got to pet one!

Penguins! One of our favorites!

Magic Kingdom

2008-12-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

The girls had a great time at Magic Kingdom, it was their favorite day, although it was rather a long day, it was the perfect time of year to go with small kids.... we got to see everything and do everything we wanted with no waiting in lines! Talk about magical!

In front of Mickey Mouse's Tree....

They asked if anyone wanted to play duck duck goose while we were waiting for the night parade... Kayla jumped up and said "I do!" - so she went by herself...

She got picked and Daddy had to help her run around the big circle!

Daddy and his girls - we let them each pick out a light up souvenir at the parade - we didn't buy anything else all day and they were so good!

Dinner First Night at Disney

2008-12-01T16:27:00.000-08:00

Alexis loved this scene and wanted to take a picture on it.... couldn't resist on our first night at Disney - I told the girls that Mommy would be taking LOTS of pictures and if they wanted me to take a picture of something that they should tell me.... They were so good and had so much fun even though we were all recovering from our colds!

The lego store was awesome - They loved the life size Santa made out of miniature legos!

Getting ready to have dinner with Mickey and the gang!

Donald was first.... Kayla didn't quite know what to think of the characters at first - she kept looking around to make sure she was alright!

She did great with Minnie.....

Oh no.... Goofy - she wasn't so sure she wanted to take a picture with Goofy!

So Daddy and Lexis took a picture with him....

Kayla decided just to take a picture with Mommy! I was not feeling good at all in this picture, but there was no place I would rather be sick then at Disney World with my girls!

Daddy's turn!

Kayla was all ready for Mickey.... after this dinner Alexis told us her favorite part was when she got to hug Mickey - Kayla squeezed his nose! I didn't get a picture of Alexis favorite hug, but I did get one later in the week!

Disney Vacation at a Glance

2008-11-24T13:27:00.000-08:00

Lots of pictures to go through, laundry, emails etc... but thought I'd post these two videos real quick that kind of summed up our vacation - WONDERFUL!

Above is Kayla's reaction every single time she would see a character - it was priceless to Mommy and Daddy!

Alexis had so much fun and wanted to dance on stage just like the characters. This was taken while the girls were both patiently waiting for a Christmas Show outside of Cinderella's Castle. They were both very well behaved and we all had a great time!

Rosita's Field Trip

2008-11-05T14:14:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago - when it was still nice outside! - we went on a Field trip to Rosita's Mexican Restaurant with Alexis class.... the kids had fun walking there and Alexis got to indulge in one of her favorite foods - tacos!

She was so happy to have Mommy all to herself for the field trip - we left Kayla at home with Daddy!

Learning about the restaurant....

Trying to get the group together for a picture.... including siblings - quite the challenge...

Learning some history of the restaurant

Visiting the kitchen - it was very clean and all of the workers were very nice, we will definitely be eating there again since Mexican is one of Mommy and Daddy's favorite foods!

All of the kids got to wear the sombrero and shake the maraccas...

Happy to eat her taco - she loved it and wanted another one instead of the churro for dessert!

All of the kids had a really good time!

Posing outside on a beautiful fall day!

The kids had fun playing with the beautiful fall leaves!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

I spent the morning with my daughter's pre - k class trick or treating around the building....

One of the staff members who dresses up every year... the kids love him! Reminds me of my Father in Law- I know he would do the same for the kids.. They just love seeing what he will be!

Alexis showing Kayla her treats...

To the next office they go....

Kayla just waiting patiently for instructions... I can't wait to see how she does in pre school!

All of the kids getting ready for a picture..

Still getting ready- but Alexis decides to pose with Kayla in the mean time!

All of the preschool kids, plus siblings in their costumes~

back in class waiting for their turn at the spin the tail on the mummy... neither of my girls were too thrilled with the game...

Waiting patiently at the next station for the treats~

I love this picture of Alexis... I cropped it from a different photo - from all of the field trips I have been on and all of the class parties, she is pretty shy and quiet (just like Mommy), and this really captures her spirit... she is very observant and always watching what is going on around her.

At another station for a project - making a spider out of plates - she was very excited~

Back at home after naps we went to a neighbors house for dinner and trick or treating since Daddy could only be with us for a little while.

Some of the neighbor kids before we headed out...

Alexis playing the role of a kitty :0)

Lots of fun!

After all of the fun, most of the kids were ready for some down time reading a book on the couch! Me too ;0)

Newest Addition to Family

2008-10-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

I am a Great Aunt again! My nephew and his girlfriend had a very handsome baby boy a few weeks ago - these pictures are now old as he is much bigger now!

Auntie with Owen...

Proud Mama and Papa.

Grandma and Grandpa! It's hard to believe my sister is a Grandma already! We are all so excited to have Owen in our lives!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-10-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we took the girls to pick out their pumpkins for carving - they already painted theirs, but in the spirit of tradition we let them pick out a pumpkin for Daddy to carve for them!
Alexis and Kayla holding their little pumpkins before we cut out the big ones....

Last year Alexis did not want to help take the guts out of the pumpkin at all, so this year it was refreshing to see her try something new! Kayla was still kind of unsure how she felt about taking the pumpkin guts out!

Me and my girls roasting pumpkin seeds - we let them dry out for the night and the girls that evening had been playing dress up - excuse my little pink overall country girl and blue sundress girl in the middle of fall! They are holding on to summer as long as they can!

Our finished pumpkins - Daddy spent a lot of time carving them out - the one on the left is a spider web with a spider (Alexis choice) and the one on the right is a Cat (Kayla's choice because she wanted it to be like her sister is for Halloween!)

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

2008-10-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to get to go to the Pumpkin Patch on a field trip with Alexis class... it was the coldest day so far this year! I even had to get out the hats and gloves for the girls at the last minute.... I wasn't even sure if I had them for the girls it was so unexpected!
Alexis thinking "seriously Mom, in this weather you have to take pictures?"

Alexis's teacher is so good with all of the kids, especially the siblings... she took Kayla in to get in the circle for duck duck goose while we were waiting for the hey ride...

Kayla even waited patiently after Alexis's teacher had to leave her alone... I was quite impressed! In some ways she is definitely ready for pre-school!

On the hey ride- the kids had a great time!

Kids playing in the hey barn....

Even when the whole group was waiting together to take a class picture - Alexis was posing with her sister! I told Tony, we definitely have to have Christmas pictures taken for the girls this year!
Geese in the petting zoo.... they were right next to the kittens (Alexis is a cat for Halloween) and the Bunnies, (Kayla is a pink Bunny, although she thinks she is a pink cat :0)) for Halloween!

It was so cold outside that my camera almost stopped working! The shutters wouldn't open too well unless I held the camera close to me in my coat!

Kayla says to the "big kid" - "hey don't you know you have to say excuse me?"

Happy to take her turn on the slide...

The girls had a good time playing in the corn boxes at the pumpkin patch... especially with eachother!

Kayla says hello to some of the animals that were brave enough to stand out in the cold!
Standing in line waiting for the bus to pick us up and take us out of the freezing cold!

Costumes, a Forest, Cousins and Manthis...

2008-10-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

We took the girls to a local towns downtown tricker treating event... they looked so cute in their costumes and it was a great way to see if we had everything ready for the Halloween party!

After one of my nephews games, we took a walk through a little forest with the girls... there were a lot of kids back there that created bike ramps and the girls enjoyed watching them for a little while....

Alexis and Kayla had a sleepover with their cousins a few weeks ago... they had a lot of fun, but didn't have much time to get many pictures of the fall projects and other fun stuff we did! I was able to get a picture of them eating their ice cream (after dinner of course) and watching the Lion King, that was about the only time all 5 of them were sitting still!

Kayla was very lovey towards her cousin, but he was kind of wanting his own space! She just loves little kids, especially babies!

We were doing some fall gardening and preparation for winter when the girls noticed something standing on our brick ledge....

A closer look... it was pretty cool to see a Praying Manthis up so closely - the girls wanted to touch it, but I didn't know if they pinch or not, so I just let them look at him!

Girls painting pumpkins

2008-10-27T17:22:00.000-07:00

When we went to the apple orchard we let the girls pick out two small pumpkins each... we didn't want to get our big pumpkins yet. We let them paint them a few nights ago...

Yes, they have funny hair - they are already watching The Grinch who Stole Christmas this year and wanted to have hair like Cindy Lou!

They had a great time making a mess of my kitchen and painting their pumpkins!

Anniversary

2008-10-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

Last week we got to spend a night downtown for our anniversary... it was a great time!

We went to dinner at a Brazilian Steak House, walked around Navy pier and went on a little cruise to see the fireworks at the pier.

Favorite Fall Activities (Apple Orchard)

2008-10-09T14:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to a favorite Apple Orchard with the girls - it was on our anniversary and nice to spend it with the kids!

The girls got to go on Pony rides for the first time... they loved the ponies, they were great with the kids.

What a great Daddy walking with Kayla just incase she got scared and to make sure she didn't fall.

When we were by the petting zoo, there were two goats playing very roughly - they were jumping around and biting eachother... the girls didn't quite know what to think of it!

They spent a lot of time playing on the playground outside of the orchard....

Then it was time for their favorite part - picking the apples!
Kayla got right in there and knew exactly what to do... she was so cute!

She kept bringing the bin with her to the trees to pick the apples...
They just wanted to eat them right from the tree!
I even got to take a break from taking the pictures to pick some apples with my girls!

We went through the fence maze to get to the train that the girls just wanted to play on for the rest of the afternoon!

Kayla driving the big tractor - she kept asking "is this tractor real? can I drive it like Daddy's?"

Bowling Family Fun

2008-09-18T11:47:00.001-07:00

We got to take the girls bowling a few weeks ago... they had a pretty good time, and with the bumpers, Mommy even did pretty good!

After Daddy helped Kayla with the ball, she stood there and watched to see how many pins she hit....

Sometimes it took quite a while for the ball to get to them! Alexis would come and watch with her too! Kayla would try to sit just like Daddy!

Our little girls... notice Kayla's little pose, she always stands like this for pictures, it cracks me up!

Alexis was a little more animated after she would throw the ball... "where in the world is my ball going?"

Hanging out with Daddy....
Mommy's turn to help the girls with their bowling...

Alexis took these two pictures all by herself! She is getting pretty good with the camera!

Dad's Birthday Dinner

2008-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

We went out to dinner for Dad's Birthday last weekend - we went to a restaurant in the Del Webb retirement community - there was a great musician there playing the accordian. He even played some polkas that I got to dance with my Dad to!

Mom and Dad enjoying a great dinner out with the family.

Everyone enjoying the music well after we were finished eating... we hung out for a long time dancing and listening to the music.

Mom and Dad even got out on the dance floor...
We all had to get a picture of it!
We closed down the restaurant... it was a lot of fun and the people that stay in the community were a lot of fun, we all hope we are as lively and happy as they are when we are their age!

A day at the Park

2008-09-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last week we enjoyed a nice afternoon at the park with the girls - before all the rain set in!

Racing down the slide....
Mommy and Daddy's turn.... Alexis took this picture, she was quite proud of herself!

The girls love when Daddy helps them fly!

First Day Back at School

2008-09-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Alexis went back to school yesterday... Our big girl with her little sister... Kayla wanted to go to school so badly, but we told her she had to wait another year!

She got to pick out her outfit for the first day of school all by herself at the store! She was so excited to finally wear it!
Same teacher as last year, who she loves which makes it easier to drop her off at school for sure!
Right to business.... picking out her books for reading this week, I love the reading program the teacher administers for the kids. They bring home three books a week and when they bring them back they get to read them to the class!
Putting her new books in her cubby...
Me with my big girl!

Proud Daddy with his baby girl.... We can't wait to see what she learns this year!

Summer fun at the Fest

2008-09-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took the girls to a local fest at an airport... They enjoyed looking at all of the planes - at the bottom of this post is a video we took - we were able to see the Bomber from World War II take off with passengers in it - they were giving rides for around $400/person!

The girls hanging out in a Firetruck...

Alexis climbing up the very tall blow up play obstacle course.

Kayla was excited that she got to go on this rollercoaster with her sister (Alexis loves roller coasters)..... until it started moving!

You can see the hesitation in her eyes as soon as it started to move....

Uh oh... she's not very happy now.... The ticket guy was so nice to let her go on for free! I felt so bad when she started to cry but he stopped the ride and let her get off, he was very nice! The rest of the kids got to go on it again!

I don't remember the last time I was on a spinning sort of ride... but I seriously thought I was going to loose my breakfast! The girls enjoyed it though.

Farmers Market

2008-09-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

I took the girls to the local farmer market a couple of weeks ago where we found the absolute best plums, peaches and the biggest zucchini ever (of course we bought it!)
Kayla helped me pick out the peaches

They really enjoyed seeing all the different home grown veggies and fruits!

Back home, they couldn't wait to eat the plums and peaches, they loved them!

After they were done eating and were playing in the yard, they found a little tiny frog...
Of course we washed her hands very well after she held the frog...

Daddy placed it safely in our garden...

Inside Daddy had the bright idea to play Baseball with our tomatoes and the huge zucchini we found at the market! I had to put a stop to that before one of my veggies got hurt! Or before a tomato splatted on my kitchen floor!

Crops and News...

2008-08-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

We have been getting alot out of our Tomato plants recently... lots of salsa and tomato salads!

The girls are always asking me to take their picture when they are playing nicely together... I couldn't help it, they looked soooo happy!
In front of a corn field at the end of our street... it is really tall now! We periodically walk down to the cornfield during the season so the girls can see it grow... they are amazed now at how tall it is!
Our cherry tomatoes looking just perfect!
Kayla is doing alright with her potty training... still has a ways to go before the process is complete, but she has kept her underwear dry for the past three evenings!!!! Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Football Game

2008-08-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

One of my nephews football games was last weekend - he did AWESOME! He had 11 tackles! The girls were very excited to watch him....
but even more excited to watch the cheerleaders!
My girly girls with their purses in their dresses at a football game.... what am I going to do with them?

Niece's Birthday and Weekend fun...

2008-08-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Had fun last weekend hanging out with a couple of my nieces - having a pizza party, playing dress up and playing outside... And seeing another niece compete in the Village Idol competition at the local fair.... she did a great job on the stage and Alexis was sooooooo excited to see her on the stage!

The girls lately....

2008-08-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

We've just been hanging out enjoying our summer together the last couple of weeks.... Some pics of the girls.....

Making Butter....

2008-08-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

We did actually attempt to make homemade butter... My Boss's wife had made it before and it was sooooo delicious... ours turned out alright, but not as creamy and tasty as hers did.

Shaking the cream to make the butter....
Alexis was intrigued by the solid that was forming from the cream....

The finished product!

Camping Fun

2008-08-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went camping for one night with my sister and some friends as well as the kids... it was a great time!

Daddy swimming with the girls...

Kayla was happier up on the shore eating Cheetos (from auntie of course) than being in the water for some reason.

Alexis and her best friend sitting by the campfire after enjoying some s'mores!
Everyone relaxing after cleaning up from dinner...

Daddy putting the glo sticks on the kids so we don't loose any of them!

Cleaning up in the morning... not the funnest part and we'll definitely have to go for more than one day next time.
Of course they had to bounce in the jumpy house

And ride the bumper cars!

Kayla having fun watching them all... she took the picture below...

Birthday Party with Critters

2008-08-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

Recently we went to our Neighbors son's Birthday party with Little Critters. The kids loved all of the animals!