Kianna's New Trick

Kianna flipping

Bryce flipping

Trace pushing Braedon on the swing

Kianna and Trace had their friends, Bryce and Braedon, over for a playdate today. We went outside and Bryce began doing front flips on the trampoline, which caught Kianna's attention. She looked at me and said "Mom, can I do a flip?" Being a physical therapist, neck injuries freak me out, so I told her to go practice her somersaults on the trampoline. She did and I couldn't help but hear Bryce coaching her to go a little higher. Pretty soon, I look over and my little girl is doing front flips and couldn't be prouder. Bryce was super proud too for having taught her how to do it. Of course, Kianna couldn't wait for Kaylee to get home from school, so she could teach her how to flip. Kaylee, however, wasn't quite as excited to learn. Way to go Kianna, you are getting to be such a big girl!!!!

Kianna Can Tie her Shoelaces

Kianna was eager to learn how to tie her shoelaces before starting Kindergarten this Fall and so she did. Way to go Kianna!

Memorial Day Weekend 2012

Thankfully God answered our prayers and no one else got the stomach flu! Instead of the dealing with the stomach flu we had an action packed weekend filled with lots of family, a few friends, and yummy food. Here are the highlights of our fun filled weekend:

Thursday-

We made it safely to Iowa at 10:30 pm. The highlight of our trip was definitely our pit stop at The Wenzel's house along the way. We like to stop there to change the kids into their PJs, let them run around for awhile with their friends, and catch up with ours. They had some yummy popcorn waiting for us to snack on. What good friends we have!!!

Friday-

My mom and sisters

The Shannons

Matthew's Party

One of the highlights of the trip for me was running with my sisters, Stacie and Shelli. I have recently gotten back into running and so thought it would be fun to workout with them. We had a great time catching up while getting a workout.

The kids spent the morning and afternoon with Grandma Becki doing some shopping, going to the park, and eating lunch together. Trevor and I had fun doing some shopping while the kids were occupied. We have both been participating in a weight loss challenge since Valentine's Day and were in need of some smaller clothes. What a fun problem to have!!!

Our reason for coming back to Iowa was to honor Matthew's graduation from high school. We missed the actual graduation ceremony on Thursday evening, but spent tonight celebrating with our family at his party. Dinner was catered by Chick-fil-A. Yummy!!! He plans to attend The University of Iowa in the Fall with a major in Business. Way to go Matthew!!!

After the kids went to bed, Trevor snuck off to a movie with his good friend, Anthony.

Saturday-

Trace surfing

Check out our little Bethany Hamilton. Our kids love the movie "Soul Surfer". 

Trace

Kianna

Kaylee

Sweet Cousins

We spent the morning at Thomas Park with Grandma Becki, Aunt Sam and Bryker. The kids had fun playing on the new playground and running through the splash pad, although it was a bit chilly for that. We had a nice picnic and then headed to the much talked about "Orange Leaf" frozen yogurt shop. It was delicious and deserved all the talk it has received.

Becki cooked a yummy dinner in honor of Sam's upcoming birthday. They graciously invited my Dad and Sue to join us, so we could visit with them.

After the kids went to bed, I snuck off to visit with my good friend, Tammi. We stayed up late chatting. It was another great day!

Sunday-

We celebrated an early Father's Day with my dad.

Grandpa Wayne at the splash pad.

Uncle Rod at the splash pad.

Kaylee with Grandpa John's tortoise, Bennie the Jet.

Trace with Bennie

We had fun visiting our old church and seeing our friends there. After church, we headed to my dad and Sue's house for a nice lunch and a relaxing afternoon. My Uncle Rod and cousin, Jada, joined us for an entertaining trip to the splash pad. My dad can be such a kid. He and Rod ended up as wet as our kids by the time they were done. 

We headed to my mom's house for dinner where my grandma had prepared her famous chimichangas. What a treat they were. I got to see my family again and visit with my youngest niece, Rylan, which was fun.

Monday-

Our pool is officially open for the summer!!!

We headed back to Michigan this morning and had an almost uneventful trip. Unfortunately, right before our exit off of I-80 we hit a blown tire in the middle of the road. Thankfully we are all fine, but our car was damaged in the process. We have yet to find out how badly...

The rest of our evening was spent enjoying the warm weather and swimming in our pool. It feels like summer is here, if only Kaylee were done with school. She just has a few more days to go...

Kianna's Last Days of Pre-K

Butterfly Girls: Kianna, Callie and Ada

Trace's face was too dirty, so he had Elmo painted on his arm.

Rainbow Girl

Unfortunately, Kianna spent the last two days of "official" school home sick on the couch with the stomach flu. However, she bounced back and was able to attend her pre-K picnic and say goodbye to her friends and teachers for the summer. Each year they hire a clown who is a very talented face painter. Kaylee somehow finagled her way into attending the picnic instead of staying in class where she was supposed to be. It was a fun time had by all. Afterwards we headed home for baths and then jumped into the van and headed to Iowa for the long weekend. All the time praying that no one else came down with the stomach flu...

Broderick's Visit

Kianna up in our tree.

Kaylee climbing the tree.

Broderick showing off how strong he is.

Broderick came to visit us on Weds and stayed until Sunday. We had such a fun time catching up with him. He became such a big part of our family after living with us all last summer. He is one amazing guy and it felt so good having him around again.

Broderick's endless energy continues to amaze us! Our kids adore him and for good reason. He played tag with them, jumped on the trampoline with them, climbed trees with them, and even colored the driveway in chalk with them. He is one amazing cousin!!! He even got to see the girls' soccer games. Both girls scored 3 goals. Kaylee is really improving and is getting so much more aggressive. Way to go girls! Thanks Broderick for a great visit. We miss you already!!!

Mother's Day

Notice Trace in the background. He said he was too busy eating to be in the picture.

The girls made me one of my favorite breakfasts today, peanut butter toast with sliced bananas and a cup of coffee. Kianna even arranged the bananas into the shape of a flower for me. It was perfect. She also made me a t-shirt, which she decorated with fabric markers. I love it! Kaylee got me a bouquet of purple flowers, which are beautiful.

After a relaxing afternoon, we went for a family bike ride, where we enjoyed the perfect weather. The evening concluded with cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries. Yummy! Happy Mother's Day to our moms too. We love you so much!!

Mother's Day Tea Party

The girls and I had a tea party with our friends, Karen and Katie, at the new tea house in downtown Adrian. Of course Molly and Kit came along too. Kianna ordered a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, a cheddar muffin, a chocolate mousse tart, and some blueberry tea in her own teapot. Kaylee ordered the Little Lady High Tea, which consisted of triangle shaped ham tea sandwiches, heart shaped cheese, butterfly shaped crackers, a fruit cup with whipped cream, a scone, a chocolate mousse tart, and apple juice in her own teapot. I ordered a spinach and feta cheese quiche, a cup of butternut squash soup, a cheddar muffin, and some spiced chai tea. We had such a fun time enjoying each other's company, the yummy food and fancy teas. We also were able to practice good table manners. Afterwards the girls decided to model in front of some local attractions with their friend. What fun memories we made today. I want to do this again every year.

Kianna's Field Trip

Kianna's class went on a field trip to the Kids-n-Stuff museum. They had a fun time. Kianna's favorite activity was the climbing wall in honor of her cousin, Broderick.

Soccer

Trace dribbling the ball.

Trevor coaching Trace's team.

Kaylee taking a rest.

Trevor coaching Kianna's team.

Happy Kianna!

All three of our kids are playing soccer this Spring and loving it! The Centre just started their own league and are following the AYSO model, which we discovered back in Iowa. They are playing 3-on-3 and have fields that vary in length according to the kids' ages. It has been such a positive change from our experience with soccer last Spring. Trevor has taken on coaching both Trace and Kianna's teams and is doing a great job! He is so gifted at working with kids. He teaches them skills while making them laugh and have fun at the same time. Trevor is in charge of a group of 40, 3 and 4-year-old boys and girls. They are then divided into age and gender groups, so Trace is on a team with other 3-year-old boys. He has 5 stations he rotates to, one of which is a 10 minute game. The game is without question his favorite station. Being that he has a short attention span, he does not enjoy standing in lines. After about one rotation through his drills he will often cross his arms across his chest and pout saying he doesn't want to do that drill anymore. However, when it comes to the game rotation he is a force to be reckoned with. It doesn't matter who has the ball, his team or the other team, he wants it. In fact, he doesn't care if he scores in his goal or the other teams goal, he just wants to score. He scored 5 goals his first game, 2 of which were in the other teams goal. Last game he scored probably 3 or 4 goals, several of which were in the other teams goal. It appears he is going to be one tough little athlete! After his first game, I took him to get a drink at the water fountain and was in the middle of praising him for what a great job he did during his game, when all of a sudden he started peeing uncontrollably all over himself. At first I though he was spitting water out of his mouth, until it just wouldn't stop. It was one of those up and down parenting moments, when one moment I'm praising him and the next I'm upset and wondering what in the world is happening. Sometimes you just gotta laugh!!!

Kianna is also loving soccer and has really surprised us by how into it she is this year. She is super aggressive and is doing a great job! She loves to score goals. I believe she scored 5 goals her first game, 1 goal her 2nd game and 5 goals her last game. My favorite was when she stole the ball from the other team right next to their goal and then dribbled the length of the field and scored. It was so fun to see and she was so proud of herself! She is also working on passing the ball to her teammates and has done a great job at being unselfish with the ball. We are very proud of her!

Kaylee too is enjoying soccer. She has discovered a love for defense. She loves taking the ball away from the other team and has surprised us with a new level of aggressiveness. She is doing a great job and even scored her first goal last week. Way to go Kaylee!

Hare Bike Race

Trace at the start line.

Kianna getting ready to race.

Kianna with her medal.

Kaylee at the start of her race.

Kaylee on her trail.

Kids proudly displaying their new medals.

The kids had a great time doing their first ever bike race. It was a race put on by the city of Adrian and was free, so what more can you ask for? Trace rode his bike in a parking lot and raced three laps around some cones for 1/5 of a mile. Kianna raced along a street for 1/2 of a mile and Kaylee raced along some trails in the woods for 1.2 miles. Kaylee had never ridden on a trail before, so was pretty tuckered out by the end of it. She wants to do it again next year but train for it in advance. The kids all received medals for finishing their races, which they thought was pretty cool! Fun times!!!