Season of family.

These are many snapshots of what's been going on in our life up to this point.  We are down to 1 computer which has left me lagging with this blog.  I have been working full time now as a dental hygienist for 7 months now and loving every minute.  Finally moved into our new home in October with major renovations completed; still have small things to do of course.  Celebrated Kessly's 1st birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.  Hosted our first ever Thanksgiving dinner in our new place and loved the fact that kids had their separate space from the adults!  Kip is staying extremely busy with taking care of the kids in the mornings and working in the afternoons/nights.  Thank the Lord we have the best babysitter in the world for Kessly!  The kids are both excelling in school and have completed their fall sports of soccer and cheerleading.  Linley is involved in Girl Scouts and ballet/jazz class.  Thayer's got to wait til the Spring for the next sport so his afterschool activities have halted for the moment.  We are all getting very excited to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home that actually has a fireplace and mantle!!!  Kip and I will be welcoming in the new year celebrating our 9 yr wedding anniversary....cannot believe it has been that many years since we said "I do" in the Caymans; awe the memories.  I believe this puts me a little bit up to date now.   Our new address for those that follow our blog is 2918 Nevada Street   Manhattan  KS 66502

Update pics

 Thayer's preschool graduation

 Megan and I at our DH graduation

 Kessly and Linley

 Thayer and Linley

 Kessly turns 1 and her rainbow cake creation

Who says gift bags aren't fun??

Time flies.

Once again I find myself extremely behind on posts and updating what's been going on in our life.  Since the last post I graduated dental hygiene school and passed both my written and clinical exam...thus I'm officially an RDH!  The kids both finished off their school year with a bang.  I started back working at the dental office I worked for prior to school as an assistant and am now their full time hygienist.  I work Monday thru Friday and am finally able to truly enjoy my evenings and weekends.  The kids have had a jam packed summer full of golf lessons, pottery, summer fun camps, VBS, basketball camp, a week at Nana & Papa's, plenty of sleepovers with the Manhattan grandparents, pool time, gymnastics, dance camp & play dates.  Thanks to our terrific babysitter, Kelsey, Linley and Thayer have done numerous experiments and crafts on days she is here. 

Kessly turned 1 on July 19th and is quite the mischievious one out of our 3.  She started walking about 2 months prior to her birthday and is currently running everywhere.  She loves to throw random items into the trash can which definately keeps us on our toes.  Her personality is pretty laid back and she has learned to hold her own when it comes to keeping up with the older 2.  Thankfully she is not a picky eater and loves pretty much anything that I make.  Her recent fascination is with dogs, she absolutely loves them.  The blonde hair got a trim and the color seems to be sticking around.  Most people still think she is a spitting image of Kip and Linley but I think she has her own look as well.  Teeth are still on their way in which makes for sleepless nights and a cranky child off and on.

We are currently still in the process of purchasing a foreclosed home and trying to sell ours.  It is a process I hope to never have to go through again.  Countless choices and a limited budget makes it super difficult to remodel a home that you have minor access to due to the prior occupants still living in the home they no longer own.  Crazy and slightly frustrating!  Needless to say Kip is in no hurry and I just want the whole project to move at a rate that is doable and actually moving forward.  We are crossing our fingers that everything paperwork wise goes through and we can close at the latest Aug 15th...I'm still skeptical since we've been at this since MARCH!!! 

I recently started on a new exercise journey and am now working with a personal trainer who works with mostly women.  I wasn't sure if I would like it or even have the stamina for something new but knew I needed a change because my body wasn't bouncing back like it did after the first 2 babies.  Needless to say after my first 2 weeks I was hooked and look forward to my hour long sweat sessions at GET MEAN.  I feel great and look the best since probably high school.  Yes I am still 31 and realize I won't ever have a twenty-somethings body again but feel grateful that I can push my body to a limit that I hadn't since my high school athletic days. 

On a side note....I have no photos to upload due to both of our computers crashing last month and have thus lost most of my recent photos that were on my computer.  I will try to get some up on the blog soon since it's been quite some time and all 3 kids have changed so much over the summer. 

Best Cousins.

Charlee (10.5 mo) and Kessly (8.5 mo) are at the age where their curiosity with one another is so precious to encounter. I look forward to the days where they can confide in one another whether it be to discuss their issues with their moms:) or special hobbies or interests they share. Special future for such special cousins.

Easter 2012.

What a beautiful day to celebrate Jesus saving us so we can have eternal life. It was a day we spent attending church, celebrating birthdays with Kip's family, and just enjoying the spectacular day. It's very rare when we have days lately where we can truly focus on the kids and not be distracted by work or school. I pray everyone else was able to enjoy their loved ones.

April Birthdays!

We were fortunate enough to travel to KC in order to celebrate Thayer's, Dad's, and my birthdays this past weekend. My sister graciously hosted it at her place and pulled off a wonderful low-key family party. Along with celebrating our birthdays we also had an early Easter egg hunt for the kids, which they thoroughly enjoyed. It was nice to focus on family and leave school related stress behind, even if it was for a brief bit. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday gathering, surrounded by those who mean the most!

Park fun.

Kessly's first experience on the slide.

She loves to swing and people watch.

Linley and her good friend Avery.