how old are you?

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear lyla, happy birthday to you.

i am beyond thankful for this beautiful little girl. some things i love about her...
-her awesome hugs.
-her love for her brother - imitation is a form of flattery.
-her since of humor.
-her sweet little spirit.
-the way she lovingly plays with her babies.
-her crazy dancing.
-the way she SCREAMS when she is excited. it's such a contrast to her quiet little voice.
-her quiet little voice:)
-the way she says, "awwww, that's cute!" to anything small or miniature. this includes small rocks, which i find hilarious. can a rock really be cute?
-her cute little legs...and eyes. her face. her hair...and everything else.

the float

we took corrie and mike for a float on the mighty boise river today. we ran into the hill's and floated with them for a bit. they even waited for us when we got stuck on a rock in the middle of the river. i'm surprised they were willing to float with us after that embarrassment. that's true friendship...

the boys caught some decent size fish. mike's excitement cold not be contained...

my parents brought eli and lyla down so they could float the last stretch with us. they LOVED it. even lyla!

adam filleted the fish when we go home. eli very much enjoys this task. he said, "mom, you've gotta take a picture of this fish head." so i did. then he really wanted adam to take out an eyeball. so he did.

super fun day.

little kt with mama

faux communion

communion has made a big impression on our kids. eli talks about it often and today lyla reenacted it with her medicine cup. she said, "look mom, i holding it up." just like we do in church....

"train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."
- Prov. 22:6

3 going on 14 part two : 4 going on 15

almost a year and a half ago eli had this to say about katelyn. we've seen her a few times since then, which involves a lot of staring/watching on eli's part. a few days ago i informed him that we were going to katelyn and ryan's house to go swimming. he looked at me wide. eyed. and slightly horrified and the following ensued:

eli-but she'll see my nakedness!!!
me- no, you'll wear your swim trunks (of course)
eli- yeah, but she'll see my boobies!!!
me- well, it's okay if people see boys boobies, just not girls. that's why lyla has a swim suit that covers her up.
eli-i want a swimsuit like lyla.
me- now that would be silly.

from there i convinced him that it was okay for katelyn to see his "nakedness."
but when we got to her house it took him a while to shake off his embarrassed/shy self and begin to play. wow. it's going to be a loooooong 23+ years until that boys gets married.

we had a great time melinda, thanks for having us!

super hero...

field trip

our playgroup went on our yearly field trip to the mk nature center and municipal park. loved it.

oh my, i can't believe these are my kids. they are SO BIG.

hoo hoo

a bunch of cute little gals...ellie, lyla, chloe, liv and imani

jackson, thea, chole and lyla playing in the exhibit hall

looking at the sturgeon in the pond

some of the kiddos being goofy

when eli saw this picture he said, "what! just the moms!?!" um, yes, just the moms. as if adults weren't supposed to be the soul object of a photograph. these are not just any moms, they are some of the most fun, talented and loving moms i know. the photo was taken in honor of jen (in the middle), the birthday girl! happy birthday jen! i'm so thankful for you.

such a fun day!

dc

we went to the discovery center today...lyla is finally not afraid of it, yay! both of them had a really good time. a yearly family pass is only $35 (sale through the end of july). so to my local friends - go get a pass so we can have something to do this winter:)

eagle island

grandma, eli and twylla taking a spin...

love these moments

"lyla, let's take a drink at the same time!!!" -eli

eli's self portriat

Independence Day

behind Christmas, the 4th of july is my favorite holiday. i love fireworks, particularity the loud ones that jilt your insides. i love the smell. i love the time with friends and family. i love the celebration of this country. i love it all. we were able to enjoy all the above last weekend.

a rundown of the fun...adam in the dunk tank with eli trying to dunk...and his smile after success

the tattooed trio...

tug of war...eli was psyched to be doing this. later in the evening some older boys were playing some sort of ball game in the street and were nice enough to let a 4-year-old crash there game. eli was so, so, so cute with the little swagger he gets from playing with the big boys. his daddy went over to ask what they were playing, eli told him the game and quickly informed him that he did "not need any help." talk about independence day.

we were the winners of the tug of war. my friend and team captain, jen, explained it perfectly on her blog. notice her awesome use of sarcasm in mentioning my arms. but the rest was spot on truth. and i assure you that this whole paragraph is guilty of copyright infringement...

"This year, a game of tug-o-war was added to our list of fun. I got to be a team captain, and though I got razzed for picking "ringers" and making it unfair for the rest of the teams, I assure you that no rules were broken when picking my team members. So what if two of the members are cage-fighters? So what if one of the girls named Katie has ripped arms? So what if the combined weight of our team was 3 times that of the other teams? Need I mention the story of the three little bears? Or was it the tortoise and the hare? Whatever the case, the motto here is: You snooze, you lose. :o)"

some of the masses

Happy Independence Day!!!

bang

the boys went shootin' in the desert the other day. eli liked shooting this rifle...

that's my dad's gun...it's big, loud and powerful. eli shot it and said, "wow! i don't want to do that anymore."

sayings

i've always found it funny that eli calls cantaloupe, antelope. but yesterday he out did himself and asked for some mildew, aka honeydew. those melons are confusing.

and lyla has been trying out different names for me. she heard her friend ellie call her mommy "mama mia," so she tried that out for a bit. then mama mia turned into mama mama, which turned into mama-mommy, which turned into mama-mama-mama-mommy. i love them all.