JUMP!!!

This is what happens on a Sunday afternoon when you want a beautiful day to go outside and play but instead you have a cold and dreary day and have to entertain yourselves...

JUMP

Kyle absolutely loved this game!

This makes me think we should sign this girl up for karate!

No, I was not a cheerleader but maybe I should have been!

Yes, we might be a little crazy but at least we have fun!!!

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!!!

Seeing as these two little munchkins are the whole reason I get to celebrate mother's day I saw it only fitting to start out with some adorable pictures of the cutest kids in the whole world!!!

Ben and the kids made me a wonderful mother's day dinner.  My very favorite roast beef, mashed potatoes, and fruit.  Oh man, it's making me hungry just thinking about it again!

To top it all of we had chocolate mint cake...can we say HEAVENLY!!!

After dinner I got to open my presents.  The presents were hidden around the house and I got to find them.  Makayla was a big help with this game since she is the one who hid them.  Overall it was a great mother's day.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and beautiful amazing children that make every day of my life mother's day.  Thanks guys!!! 

CAMPING!!!

Now, for all of you who know me, saw the title of this entry, and immediately went directly to my blog in utter shock that I went camping, let me ease your minds.  No, I did not go camping it was just Kyle and Ben.  Our church had the fathers and sons outing a couple weeks ago and Ben has been waiting 12 years to go to this.  Finally Ben got his little boy and Kyle was old enough this year to go.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about Kyle (two years old) going camping but I knew that Ben would keep him safe.  They both had so much fun!!!  Ben is already counting down the days until next year!

Kyle LOVED the tent.  We have set the tent up in the house before and Kyle loved it so when it was set up in the woods he was in Heaven!!!  Ben said that Kyle slept very well despite the cold weather.  I can't say as much for Ben.  He was up all night making sure that Kyle stayed under the covers.

Kyle spent most of his time throwing rocks and sticks into the lake.  

And what would camping be without a walking stick.  Unfortunately it didn't occur to Ben to have someone else take a picture so both Ben and Kyle could be in the picture but at least we have cute pictures of Kyle right?!  Anyway, they both had a great time and can't wait to do it again.  Makayla and I had a nice girls night.  We had a chocolate fondue party, watched Barbie movies and took Josie on a walk around the neighborhood.  What a fun weekend!!!

Kyle Turns 2!!!

What is that you say?  I am turning 2 years old today?  Yay!!!!  I can't believe it.  It seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital watching our little boy be born and now he's two!!!  Kyle is such an active little boy.  He is constantly talking, playing, jumping, dancing, singing, laughing, running and just being a boy.  He absolutely loves to be outside playing with other children, digging in the dirt, or helping daddy on a project. We are so blessed to have this little boy in all of our lives!!!

The day started off with balloons.  Kyle loves balloons and spots them everywhere!!!  On this special day Kyle got five balloons of his very own and he wouldn't let them go for anything!!!

We decided to have his birthday party that night.  I know, how mean are we that we make the kids wait all day to open their presents!!!  For dinner we had macaroni and cheese and beans.  Kyle's favorite foods.

As I have mentioned several times Kyle loves trains or Choo Choos as he calls them.  So it was pretty easy on what to make his cake.  It turned out so cute and Kyle loved it!!!  As I am typing this Kyle is going crazy looking at his Choo Choo cake and trying to eat it!

Kyle blew out his candle all by himself and it only took five tries.  Perfect timing to be able to sing Happy Birthday to him first. 

Next it was presents.  Makayla especially enjoyed helping him open his presents.  He got ALOT of trains and also this plasma car.  The car is Makayla's favorite present because she gets to use it too!! 

Kyle's stash!

Kyle is so blessed to not only have Ben, Makayla and me but also birth parents.  This is a special Mickey Choo Choo that he got from his birthmom.  Thanks Brooke!!!  Kyle loves it!!!  

Kyle we love you so much and are so proud of you.  You are such a special little boy.  Each person in your family absolutely loves being with you and playing with you.  We love to snuggle with you and get your special hugs and kisses.  We can't wait to see what life hold for you and are so blessed to be a part of your life!  We Love You!!!

Easter 2011

Well, the easter bunny made it to our house again this year and the kids were so excited.  Makayla decided that 6:30am would be a good time to wake everyone up. Every year the easter bunny decides to hide the kids' baskets somewhere in the house and then he puts footprints (or I should say paw prints) leading to where the baskets are.  This year he decided to put them way up by the ceiling.  Thank goodness for the paw prints!!!  The kids loved their candy and gifts and Kyle's candy was about half gone within the first five minutes!!!

We all had a great time decorating our easter eggs.  This year we did dinosaurs.

The stash.

Ben was really sick on easter day so we waited until the next day to have our easter egg hunt.  The kids did great and Makayla even let Kyle get a few eggs.

Every year we get Makayla a beautiful easter dress for her to wear to church.  This year I decided I was going to make her dress.  I have to say it turned out pretty cute!  Makayla makes it easy though because she is so beautiful everything looks good on her!!!

And we couldn't leave poor Kyle out so he got a brand new tie that I made him.  Thanks Meg for the pattern!!!

I have the most amazing, smart, beautiful, wonderful, and awesome kids in the whole world!!!  

HAPPY EASTER!!!

  

The Bahamas!!!

Last month Ben and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas for our 12 year anniversary.  Grandma stayed with the kids in Fallon.  It was so nice not having to worry about them and know that they were in good hands.  Ben and I flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday.  Monday morning we woke up and drove to Miami where our ship was leaving.  It was amazing getting onto the ship.  This was our first cruise.  We knew the ships were big but when you actually see how big they really are it is indescribable.  When it was time to leave the port of Miami Ben and I decided to get a Pina Colada and watch as we left.  It was beautiful.  

One of our favorite things to do was go to the top of the ship and just watch everything.  It was really weird not having to worry about kids and what they were doing and making sure they were safe.  We were able to be selfish and do whatever we wanted to.  

The next morning we arrived in Key West, Florida.  We were able to get a picture of our ship but the whole ship wouldn't even fit in the picture.  

In Key West we went on a Kayak tour.  It was so cool.  The tour guides would stop and different points and then pull animals out of the water.  This is a horseshoe crab.  It looks really creepy but they said it can't hurt you.  By the end of the tour my arms were killing me but it was well worth it!

All of you who have been on cruises before know that there is a formal dinner night.  It was fun for us to get dressed up and eat dinner.  The food was amazing.  Everyone says you go on a cruise for the food and I completely agree!

The next port was Nassau, Bahamas.  I have to admit that we didn't like the town at all.  They people were way too pushy and wouldn't leave us alone.  We were supposed to go parasailing but it got canceled because of the wind.  We ended up going to the famous hotel The Atlantis and just looked around.  The highlight of the day was when we got to see Nicholas Cage riding in his boat back to his house.

This is the yacht that Ben will own one day... in another lifetime!

On our way back from the Atlantis hotel (we had to take a boat ferry) we got this cool picture of all the ships docked at the island.  Ours is the second from the left.  

Next it was off to Cococay, Bahamas.  It is a private island owned by Royal Caribbean.  This was our absolute favorite place that we went to.  Ben went snorkeling ( I was too scared.  Have I mentioned my two greatest fears are drowning and suffocating and when I tried it I felt like both were happening!)  But Ben loved it.  He said it was so beautiful under the water seeing all the coral and tropical fish.  I will just have to take his word for it.  

My favorite part was laying on the beach chair under a palm tree and just relaxing.  I can't remember the last time I was that relaxed!

Since we didn't get to go parasailing in Nassau we decided to go on Cococay.  It was so cool!  We were so high up there and it was absolutely quiet.  It was so fun being up there together.   

Ben and I had a wonderful and amazing trip.  We have already started planning our next trip just the two of us but don't worry, it probably will take us at least another five years to do this again.  As much fun as we had on our trip both of us were so ready to come back to the kids.  We missed them so much.  Here are the cute shirts we got the kids.  They were so happy to see us when we got home.  It was a great feeling.

My mom, Makayla, and Kyle made us this welcome home sign for when we got home.  It was the perfect end to a perfect trip.  Next stop...HAWAII!!!

  

I think I have mentioned a few times that Kyle loves trains.  He likes to line things up and then say, "Choo Choo!"  It is pretty cute.  This is a choo made out of blocks.  The other day he also made a choo choo out of stickers.  Wow!  It's really hard thinking of a theme for his birthday this year...

Before Ben and I left on our cruise we decided to give Josie a bath.  Kyle absolutely LOVES giving Josie her bath but Josie doesn't feel the same way.  After Jos was done Kyle really wanted to hold her.  It was pretty cute.  Kyle thought he was being such a big boy.  I know Jos looks like an alien but let's face it, she already is a unique looking dog and then give her a bath and what do you get... an alien!

I love to sew!!!  This was a project that I worked on and it was so much fun!  Last year for a Shawcroft family reunion we got these pink shirts for our family.  They were really cute for Makayla and me but not so much for Ben and Kyle (no offense Rachel!!!!)  So I decided to make Ben's shirt into a nightgown for Makayla.  It turned out so cute and Makayla loves it!!!  Kyle's shirt is going to turn into a nightgown for Makayla's doll.

I love that Kyle and Makayla get along so well.  Now don't get me wrong they have their fights like the one I just broke up five minutes ago but for the most part they are great together.  They love each other so much.  Kyle copies absolutely everything that Makayla does.  It is such a sweet relationship.  This was the night that Makayla had a carnival at her school.  She got to have her face painted and she was ecstatic.  She had never had her face painted before and she loved it.  Unfortunately she only had it on for an hour or so and then it was time to wash it off and go to bed.  She was devastated.  Finally I came up with a compromise.  We washed it off that night and then on Friday I painted a rainbow and a flower on her cheeks.  She loved it!  Another tantrum postponed for a different day.