Apple Hill California

Our family has come to love going to Apple Hill every fall.  There is tons to do and it is beautiful but the best part is all the apple foods!!!  You can't leave without having a carmel apple, apple fritter, apple pie with ice cream, or a nice big juicy apple!  The first thing we have to do each year is get faces painted.  This is one of Makayla's favorite things to do and Kyle loves to be like his big sis.  They both loved how it turned out.

There are such beautiful flowers at each of the farms.

Kyle loved the goats and this pig.  He loved picking leaves from the trees and feeding the animals. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of apple trees everywhere.

And these are my little posers.  Overall it was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to continue the tradition next year!

Lake Tahoe Salmon Run

We love to take the kids on day trips whenever we can.  We are lucky to live in an area where there are a lot of places to go that aren't too far away.  We think it is great education for the kids to learn about Nevada and nature and all that good stuff!  This year we went to the Salmon Run in Lake Tahoe.  We did this a couple years ago and it was so much fun.  It is a beautiful little hike to the salmon.

My sweeties!!!

When we got to the lake the salmon were all over.  It was beautiful.  They were all trying so hard to swim upstream to lay their eggs.  The kids were amazed and so were we.  This is such an amazing sight and we love being able to share these experiences with our kids.

As you all may know bears love salmon.  There are so many people watching the fish that we never thought we'd need to worry about them but...

WE ACTUALLY SAW A BEAR!!!  It was really cool.  We were a little nervous because it was a baby bear and we all know about mama bears but we only saw the baby.  Ben took a picture, I picked up Kyle and had Makayla right by my side, we took a look at the bear and then it ran off.  I have to admit it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen!!!  I think the kids will remember this experience their whole lives!

And them my little monkeys decided they needed a little nap after their hard day!

First Day of Preschool

A few of my friends and I decided to do a little ABC preschool with our kids this year.  Kyle was so excited to be going to school on his first day.  He loved being just like his sister.  His only problem was that he wanted to bring a lunch too just like she does.  Kyle is getting so smart!  He is learning so many things every day.  We are so blessed to have this little guy in our family.  We love you Kyle!!!

7 years old and 2nd Grade!

Makayla is now in 2nd grade and she loves it!!!  She loves her teacher (so do I!!!) and is making new friends.  This year she has a few more girls in her class so that is nice.  She loves going to school every day and I love that.  She is such a smart, sweet, and amazing girl and we love her so much.  I know I say this all the time but it just seems like yesterday she was a little baby and now she is 7 years old!!!

This year Makayla got to have a friend birthday party.  We decided on an olympic theme since both boys and girls were invited.  We split them up into teams and they competed in lots of events.  It was a little crazy since most of the kids were late because of soccer but they all had so much fun and it was a big success!

Makayla wanted a rainbow birthday cake so this is what we came up with.  I have to say the kids were totally impressed!!!

That night we celebrated her birthday with just our family.  When we watched the olympics this past summer one of Makayla's favorite events was the rythmic gymnastics.  We got her this ribbon and she loves it!  She is also really good at it.  She already has dreams of being in the olympics doing rythmic gymnastics.  She says she can do everything but the flips!

Makayla had an amazing birthday.  We love her so much and can't imagine our family without her in it.  She brings so much to our family.  She is so loving and patient with Kyle.  She is my best friend and we love having girls days out and she is still and always will be daddy's little girl.  Thank you so much Krista for doing what you did and giving us our perfect little girl.  We love you Makayla!!!

So You Think You Can Dance...Makayla

For the last couple of years Makayla has loved to watch So You Think You Can Dance with us.  She has decided that she wants to try out for the show... in 11 years when she is eligible.  I don't know if it will still be around then but it is so fun to watch her practice.  The other night we decided to record her audition.  Enjoy!!!

Kyle Turns Three!!!

I can't believe my little boy is three years old!  The time just seems to be flying by.  We love Kyle so much!  He brings so much happiness to our family.  We are so proud of him and can't wait to see what life holds for this amazing little boy.  The day started out making his cake.  I had found several birthday cakes online and let Kyle pick which one he wanted.  This is the one he picked out.  It turned out so cute and Kyle loved it!!!

Kyle got to pick out his dinner that night and he chose pizza with sprinkles.  So, we ordered pizza and he put sprinkles on his piece.  He was so excited and it was so cute! 

After that it was time for presents!!!  Kyle couldn't wait for this part.  He took each present and just ripped the paper off to see what was inside. 

His pirate costume was a hit!

Here we have all the presents.  He loved each one of them which made me feel good. He had a great day!  He also got his first bike...

SCOOTERS!!!

We decided it was time for the kids to get new scooters.  We ordered them online and the kids were SOOOO excited waiting for them to come.  It took awhile (that darn WalMart!) but finally the day came when they arrived.  We opened them up and headed outside to try them out!

Makayla was a pro!  I couldn't believe how well she did from the very beginning.  I tried hers out and it made me a little nervous but not Makayla.  She was awesome!

Kyle was so darn cute!  He was so excited to finally be a big kid like Makayla.  He loved his scooter and wants to ride it every day.

We were so excited to have Grandma visit us last month.  We always love it when she comes.  She never gets a moments rest when she is here because the kids want her attention 24/7.  They were sad to see her go.

What is spring without some beautiful spring pictures.  This is the most beautiful tree that we love to see flower every springtime.  The kids are pretty cute too if I do say so myself!

We had a really hard month in March.  A lot of things happened to Ben and I that were not fun.  The one thing that kept us going every day was these two little kids.  They are our miracles and I know that if it can happen twice it can happen again.  We love you Krista and Brooke!!!