Memorial Day Weekend

We had a fun, semi-relaxing Memorial Day weekend at the lake. We are still working on projects when we go up there, and Kiefer is EVERYWHERE, which makes it hard to relax :) Lee, the boys, and I spent Friday night at our cottage. Amy and Christopher came up Saturday and we hung out with them all day and night at our cottage. Sunday, Ali joined us and we spent the day at our cottage and night at Sam & Beth's lake house with the rest of the Nagels. Monday, my parents and Mamaw joined us for a beautiful day spent mainly on our deck. The boys and I went over to the Sam & Beth's again in the evening to spend time with the Nagel family & help celebrate Sam's birthday. The only pictures I took were on Monday. We don't have our pontoon boat yet... can't wait to get it this week! It will make everything feel right. Our pink paddle boat just isn't cutting it.

Mom, Chris, Ali, and Mamaw relaxing on the deck.
Little Amos
More relaxing
Amy and I on Saturday evening (I guess I did take one picture on another night!)

One of Those Mornings...

I just wanted to jot down what this morning was like... to chuckle about as the boys get older. Things can get pretty hectic with a 3 year old and a 1 year old. If you don't have things planned out, you might not get anything accomplished. Let's just say this morning I didn't have things planned out...

Krue and Kiefer were up at 7am this morning and ready for their breakfast. After making them toast, getting their sippy cups, handing out vitamins, making eggs, and getting the coffee going, I was finally able to scarf down my breakfast at 7:45. I didn't give the boys baths last night so I shuffled them on up to the bathtub. By 8:45 I had both boys bathed, dressed, and teeth brushed...also some laundry put away that had been sitting in a basket in Kiefer's room for a day. By 9:00 I was ready to get myself ready. I put on a television show for Krue and Kiefer played in his pack n' play while I hopped in the shower. This is where it got crazy...Fifteen minutes into getting ready Kiefer started crying because he wanted out of his pack n' play. I let him crawl around and he was soon turning on and off the TV...Krue started getting aggravated, I had to redirect Kiefer, Krue wanted more to drink so I took care of that, Kiefer climbed up into Krue's chair, which aggravated Krue more, I gave Kiefer a brush to play with, Krue had to go potty...I was able to spend 10 more minutes getting ready...then it was 10:00 and time for the boys snacks. I put Kiefer in his high chair and got him some finger foods to nibble on. I gave Krue a snack and about this time my friend Schlaura called (which was the highlight of the morning!) During the phone conversation Lee came home from running errands and took Krue outside for awhile. While talking on the phone I multi-tasked...unloaded and loaded the dishwasher & cleaned the kitchen. I hung up with Schlaura & Lee informed me that he had to get ready for work. I took Kiefer outside and played with the boys and some neighbor kids for about a half an hour... By this time it is 11:30 and I am still not ready for the day! I took the boys inside and attempted to finish getting ready with both boys in the bathroom with me...Krue had to potty, Kiefer was getting into everything, Krue kept asking to go outside again ... By 11:45 I managed to have myself somewhat put together. I took the boys outside for another 15 minutes, came in, made lunch, had the boys in bed by 12:40. I finally get to sit down for the first time this morning!

I just realized that I forgot to put on my mascara :) Oh well!

A Day At the Zoo (Continued...)

Melanie took some cute pictures of the boys yesterday. Here are two of my favorites....

I just love the one of Kiefer!

A Day at the Zoo

Today the boys and I spent the morning at the zoo. It was the first time we had been there this year. We met Melanie, Lauren, and Graham Blythe and Rachelle and Livia Lindblom. It was a little chilly starting out, but warmed up for our picnic lunch in the park. Most of my pictures were taken "on the go" and aren't the best. It is tricky trying to pose a 3 year old, 2 year old, 21 month old, 16 month old, and an 8 month old! Whew!

Grandma & Grandpa Elkins' 60th Wedding Anniversary!

On Sunday we celebrated my Grandma and Grandpa Elkins' 60th wedding anniversary. How special to have been married for 60 years! You can tell that they are still in love by their actions toward each other. It is really neat. We drove over to Ohio and had a nice lunch (50 guests) and then each of my dad's brothers and sisters (including my dad) stood up and told several special memories they have of my grandparents. Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with their children. My dad is on the far left.

During the lunchtime celebration... Aunt Ali, Aunt Amy, and (soon-to-be) Uncle Christopher taught Krue how to hang a spoon from his nose. What a talent!

Kiefer was fiesty and wanted to do his own thing during the celebration.

Doesn't he look ornery?

A cute picture of Ali, Krue, and "The Amos" (As Krue calls her.)

Girls Night Out

For Mother's Day, my sisters bought my Mom and Mamaw tickets to go see STOMP at the Embassy. I decided to join them and bought a ticket as well. We met at Casa's for a nice dinner and then went to the show. Talk about good seats...Mom, Mamaw, Ali, and Amy were in the front row by the stage and I was sitting right behind them in the second row. I thought it might get too loud...but it was perfect. We were so close that my sisters were even winked at by two of the handsome performers at the end. It was a fun time and the show was amazing!

Playdate with Graham

Kiefer and I had a playdate with little Graham Blythe the other day. It was so much fun and he is such an easy- going little guy. All smiles and cuddles. Here are some cute pictures of Kiefer and Graham (5 months apart).

Krue's Last Day of Preschool

Yesterday was Krue's last day of preschool for this school year. The mom's in the class decided to throw a shower for Mrs. Funk (who is pregnant with a little girl). Chloe's mom made a really cute cake and everyone brought in presents for her...the kids were excited about the presents! It was a nice way to end the school year. Mrs. Funk and Mrs. Graves were kind and wonderful teachers. Krue was in a class with very nice children. He is looking forward to next school year. Hopefully he will be in a class with some familiar faces.

From Left to Right: Krue, Lauren, Blake, Mrs. Funk, Preston, Caeden, Chloe, and Mrs. Graves.

Alden and Carter did not want their picture taken :)

Krue-isms (Part 2)

I had to record some more of the funny things Krue has been saying lately.

Some funny Krue-isms at this age…

“ABCD’s” – for CD’s
“A Miracle Flag” – for American Flag
“Gummies” – Bummies Drive-in
Cuddle “Wit” Me & Play “Wit” Me – for Cuddle With & Play With
“You got a big yawn?” – When asking if we are tired.
“Well, excuse you ketchup!” - When Ketchup squirts funny when coming out.

Krue is also very interested in words...

Rhyming:

Ball & Wall
Vase & Face
Granola & Charlie and Lola (very impressed with this one!)

First letters in words:

“Mom, baseball starts with the letter B.” “Peanut butter starts with the letter P”

The make up of words:

“Mom, sandal sounds like sand?” “Pharmacy sounds like farm?”

Krue rational for making decisions also cracks us up... he uses opposites...

Lee "Why do you want to go inside?"

Krue "Because I don't have to go outside!"

Lee "Why do you want to go to bed?"

Krue "Because I don't have to wake up!"

Krue & Ian

Here are some pictures of Krue and Ian Heath at taekwondo. They looks so cute together! Kelli was able to snap a couple of pictures during class...which can be a challenge with Kiefer and Anna running around :) And yes, that is Steve Hutton in the first picture!

Welcome Griffin Phillip!

On Tuesday I received a phone call saying that my best friend, Schlaura, had gone into labor! She was one week overdue...and ready to have that baby. She and her husband, Steve, did not find out what they were having, so it was very exciting! After dropping the kids off at school, Kiefer and I drove down to the hospital to wait. We had so much fun catching up with Schlaura and Steve's parents and Schlaura's sister, Tammy. Kiefer had a blast playing with Annika, Schlaura and Steve's (almost) two year old. She is such a cutie with gorgeous big brown eyes. When I look at her I feel like I am looking at Schlaura with those eyes!

Kiefer and I had to leave before we were able to go back to see the baby. When I left, the baby had been born...but we didn't know what they had. Tammy called me on my way to pick up the kids to tell me that Schlaura had a 10lb. 6oz. boy named, Griffin Phillip! He was 22 3/4 inches long, too! Schlaura is one tough cookie! The boys and I went to visit them in the hospital later that evening and to meet little Griffin. He doesn't look like a newborn being so big...but he is so stinkin' cute! Can't tell who he looks like yet.

Schlaura, I am so excited for you and your cute little family. You seem so happy and life couldn't be any better for you. Congratulations!

The Carpool Crew

Melanie Blythe and I do a carpool with our kids for preschool. I've been meaning to get a picture all year of these guys because they always look so cute in the backseat. We always listen to the SAME cd (per request of Lauren and Krue) and we ALWAYS have to start off the drive with "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands"...or "The Clap Your Hands Song" as Lauren and Krue call it. Kiefer gets the biggest kick out of these guys and has started to do the moves with them. He claps his hands, stomps his feet, and puts his arms up in the air for "hooray!" Lauren holds Kiefer's hand most of the way to school...and Krue and Lauren have contests to see who can see a stop sign first :) Their conversations crack me up! Lauren and Krue go to school on the same days next year, so it will be interesting to see if we carry on these traditions and maybe add a couple more!