Karlee's Birthday!!

 Karlee turned 5 on June 19th! I can't believe she is five and going to kindergarten! She has grown up so fast and is such a special little girl.  She is sweet, smart, helpful, loving, a great big sister and such a wonderful daughter! She has been so excited for her birthday and couldn't wait to turn 5:)

 

She woke up early on her birthday and wanted to open all her presents.  Jeff had already left for work so I let her open a couple and then I told her she had to wait.

She got this new dress and sandals so she was excited to have something new to wear on her birthday.

When we moved here I was kind of thinking I might escape the birthday parties this year since we probably wouldn't know too many people. Karlee didn't see it that way.  She wanted a party and since 5 is a big year I couldn't say no.  I am actually really grateful she has made some little friends here and has friends that she wanted to invite to a party.  I planned a simple little water party since it is summer and we have the pool up.

Here is the food table

Here are a few of the little girls she has become friends with since living here. Karson has also made a little buddy.

 

 They ate lunch outside.

 

Then they ran through the sprinkler and did water balloons.

 

Kyler had fun playing outside too:)

She opened presents.

I made cake pops for the girls and a little cake for Karlee so she could blow out the candles.

We bought the kids a trampoline a couple months ago for their birthdays this year.  We wanted to get it early when it was cooler outside and they could enjoy it. They have loved it and go on it all the time. We put the sprinkler under the trampoline at the party and they thought that was so fun.

Jeff was able to come home for the last part of the party so I let the girls go in the pool.  They had fun and I think Karlee loved her party.

When the kids left she got to open the rest of her presents from Grandparents and my sisters.

She played with her new stuff, went swimming again, and chose to go to Chick-fil-a for dinner because they have a play place and ice cream.

We are so thankful Karlee is in our family.  We love her so much and so glad she had a great birthday!

10 Months

 Kyler turned 10 months on the 29th of May. He is a busy busy baby! He pretty much crawls around the house making mess after mess.  He likes to get into cupboards, the fridge, the dishwasher and bathrooms! I seriously am chasing him and picking up after him all day.  He found the stairs and likes to sneak to them when he can.  He loves to crawl up them when he gets the chance. Even though he is a handful he is still the sweetest little guy that is pretty much always happy!

Kyler learned to wave and clap in the same day.  It was the cutest thing and he did it several times.  Ever since that day he has not done either again.

He found some chocolate and was just over by himself enjoying it quietly.  This isn't the first time that has happened either.  The kids are always leaving stuff out and Kyler always finds it.  He spills several drinks a day from them leaving their cups out.

He already wants to be just like the older two. When they are riding their bikes he kicks and squeals until I put him on. How cute is he in that helmet? :)

 Love his little face with his ears that poke out!

Giving mama an open mouth kiss!

Giving Daddy kisses!

Karson turns 3!

Karson turned 3 on May 24th! He seems so big now! He talks really good and says a lot of funny things.  He is a sweet little guy and we are so grateful he is in our family! This is the first year he understood what his birthday means.  He was so excited all month and couldn't wait for it to come.

It worked out that Aubrey was going to be in town on his birthday because she was flying back from a trip to St. Thomas and had a layover in LA. She got in late the night before his birthday so it was fun having her here.

Karson got a doughnut for breakfast because he loves them.

Then before Jeff left for work he opened some of his presents. He got lots of fun stuff from Grandma and Grandpa Zaruba and Aubrey and Ashley.

 Karson wants to be a Fireman when he grows up so he was excited to get this hat from Ashley!

 He played all day with his new toys.

Then for dinner he wanted pizza.

After dinner he chose to go mini golfing.  We gave him a couple different choices of things he could do and he picked golf.

When we got pack home Grandma and Grandpa Vocana's package had come so he got to open more presents.  He got a drill and more tools.  Karson loves tools right now and loves fixing stuff :)

Aubrey made him a doggy birthday cake that turned out so cute! He asked for a real dog but while we have kids in diapers that just isn't going to happen. I have enough poop to clean up!!

He loved blowing out the candles! I think Jeff lit them several times so he could blow the candles out over and over.

I would say Karson had a great birthday! He loved all the attention, picking what to eat, opening all the presents, going golfing, and having his own cake.  When he woke up the next day the first thing he asked is, "Is it my birthday again"? Ha, ha!

Swimming Pool

Since we actually have a backyard now we have room to put some things to do outside.  Our friends were getting rid of their above ground swimming pool so they gave it to us.  We have the perfect spot for it in the yard we have right now so it works great.  We filled the pool up a few weeks ago and the kids love it! Now I need to get working on their swimming skills. Both of the older kids do not like going under water so my goal for the summer is to get them comfortable swimming.  

Vegas Trip

We made a trip back to Vegas a couple weeks ago.  I kept telling Jeff I wanted to go back and visit people so he finally said just pick a weekend and we will go. I knew it would be a fast weekend and there was no way we would see everyone but it was still lots of fun!

We stayed with the Roses the first night. Karlee and Karson were so excited to see Addy and Mason. They had a blast playing with them. It was fun seeing their family.

Then on Saturday we stayed with the Reeves. Karlee was so happy she got to see and spend the night with Irelynn.

We had a great time visiting with their family as well.

I only took those few pictures that weekend.  Most of the other people we got to see was at church on Sunday.  I loved seeing all my friends! We got to stop by and see the Hucksteps on our way out of town. There were a few people that I was hoping to see and it just didn't work out but overall it was a great trip.  I'm so glad that Vegas is not that far away and we will get chances to go back and visit every now and then.

Spring!

Lately I have only updated when Kyler turns another month older but I wanted to document some other things we have done. 

At the first part of April we had visitors!! We are so happy when friends from out of town come to CA. Cami and Jennifer were friends I had in Vegas (they both moved out of Vegas before we did) and they came to go to Disneyland.  On their way out of town Cami and her family and Jen and her son stayed the night with us. It was so fun for Karlee to see Jayden and Ethan and so fun for me to see my friends!

The next week Casey and Shauna (also friends from Vegas that live in New Mexico now) came to San Diego for vacation.  One of the days they drove up to our house and spent the afternoon with us and had dinner.  Cohen was one of Karlee's very first friends and Karson and Brinlee are only weeks apart in age. We had such a fun visit with them.  I love when you haven't seen someone for over a year and you just pick up where you left off.

Karlee took a 3 month creative dance class here in a girl's home that really just does it for fun.  It was perfect! It was super cheap, Karlee made some friends, I stayed every week and made some friends with other moms, there was no costume to pay for at the end, and she had a great time. They had a little recital a couple weeks ago to show the parents what they did for the 3 months.

At the end of April I had a birthday. It was a nice day, I got some fun gifts, and we went out for a yummy dinner.  The only picture we took that day was with my phone.

Karlee had her last day of preschool! It ended a little early because her teacher got put on bed rest.  I can't believe she is going to Kindergarten in the fall! She grew up way too fast:(

Just 4 days after my birthday we celebrate Jeff's birthday. It was on a Saturday so it was nice he didn't have to work that day.  We had the Waite's over for dinner. We ate ribs, potatoes, salad, fruit, homemade raspberry oreo ice cream, and fruit pizza! (and no mom I didn't arrange the fruit perfectly on the pizza. It takes too long!)

Now the older two kids are so excited that their birthdays are coming up soon! Karson points to anything and everything in the store and tells us he wants it for his birthday.  So far he wants just about every toy you can think of, a boat (a big one), and today he informed me he wants a dog (he said a real dog). It is so cute and funny:)