Lake Tahoe

As a family we love to go hiking.  One of our favorite spots to go is Lake Tahoe.  It is so beautiful no matter what time of year.  A few weeks ago we went to check out the salmon run and then went on a hike.  It was so much fun and the kids loved it!

The salmon run was so cool.  I have never seen so many fish in my life.  The most memorable part of that outing was when we arrived at the fish Kyle got so excited that he headed straight for the river.  There were so many people that we couldn't get through.  Luckily the water was only a couple inches deep so Kyle only got his feet wet.  He sure was the entertainment with that one.  

After that it was time for our hike.  It was getting a little late so we had to hurry before it got dark.  Makayla did awesome and walked the whole way.  It is a pretty steep hike but totally worth it in the end.

Kyle refused to take a nap the whole hour and a half drive up there so after the hike he fell fast asleep.

On the way home we went to a little restaurant in South Lake Tahoe.  We were all staving and tired but it was a wonderful day.  We can't wait until spring when we can go again!!! 

Our Adoption Video

This is a little video that we made to prospective birth mothers and birth fathers to tell them a little more about our family.  What do you think???

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a little cutie!

I have been meaning to get a video of Kyle for a long time but we just got a new camera and I had to figure out how it worked.  Finally here it is.  I have to say Kyle was awesome.  He showed off all his tricks in one taping.  What a little cutie!!!

More Halloween

This year I when I got the kids pictures taken I decided to do Halloween pictures together.  I have never done professional Halloween pictures and I thought it would be cute.  I like to call these A Princess and Her Duck...

Our Halloween

It was another great Halloween for the Shawcroft's.  It started on Thursday night when we carved pumpkins.  Makayla drew faces on all the pumpkins and then Ben and I cut them out.  Kyle just watched and messed.  We had seven pumpkins all together but we only carved four.  They turned out so cute.  

Fallon celebrated Halloween Saturday night which we were very excited about.  I really didn't want to break it to the kids that we couldn't trick-or-treat since it was Sunday so thank you Mayor.  

Makayla wanted to be a princess for the third year in a row.  I really don't mind because I have a lot of fun every year making her costume.  She loved her dress which made me feel good.  She looked beautiful as usual.  

While we were walking I saw a girl dressed up as a princess with a long wig.  I told Makayla that everyone probably thought she was wearing a wig since her hair is so long and pretty.  The very next house we went to after getting her candy Makayla informed the people that her hair was real and not a wig.  It was so cute.

Kyle was the cutest little duck ever!!!  For the whole day Kyle cried and cried.  He had a really bad cold and didn't take good naps and was just really cranky.  Luckily when we actually started trick-or-treating he calmed down and loved it.  Man, free candy for looking cute?  Who can beat that?  Every house we went to the people told the kids how cute they were.  I love it when people tell me how adorable my kids are.  

This is the only picture we got this year of Kyle not crying.  You can't get much cuter than this!!!

This was their stash.  Pretty good for our little neighborhood.  It is pretty nice around here because most people give you a handful of candy not just one piece.  It was funny because we went to a church member's home and after Makayla got her candy she yelled to me, "Mom, Pat only gave us one piece!!!"  Overall it was a wonderful day and evening.  The kids went to bed great that night and weren't even full of sugar!

5 years old and 18 months old...

Wow life has been pretty busy around here and therefore my blog has suffered.  But hopefully things are slowing down and I can get back to updating it more often.  We recently had pictures taken of the kids.  I was so happy with how they turned out.  Enjoy!!!

Makayla is loving Kindergarten and getting so smart.  I can't believe all that she has learned in such a short period of time.  She loves her teacher and her friends and everything about school.  She still has such a sweet personality.  She always wants to make everyone feel happy and included.  She has made a good little friend at school named Kaylee.  Makayla loves calling Kaylee her best friend.  I love seeing her so happy.  We love you Makayla and are so proud of you!
  

Makayla 5 years old..

Makayla just finished her first season of soccer.  She did amazing.  She ran and ran in 90+ degree weather and never complained once.  She loved it and it was so much fun watching her!

Now for the little monster.  Yes that is what we call him around here.  Kyle is the sweetest, cutest little guy but he loves to cause trouble.  It is hard to get upset with the little guy when he looks like this though!!!  Kyle loves playing with all his toys and anything else he can get his hands on.  He is learning new words every day and still uses a little sign language.  He loves reading books and taking every last book off the shelves that he can reach.  He loves giving hugs and kisses which just about melt my heart.  We love our little boy so much and can't believe that he is already 18 months old!

Thank you again to our wonderful birth mothers and birth fathers.  We love you so much and are so blessed to have you both in our lives 

My Little Star

You can imagine our surprise when Ben was looking in the newspaper and saw Makayla!!!   She is in the back-middle in the blue and white shirt.  (Her birthday shirt from Grandma Harward!)  Read the article to see all the juicy details...