Happy Birthday Kelley!!

Today is Kelley's birthday and I hope he felt how much we love him!

We were able to Skype with him this morning - Seoul asks to do it, which is cute. 

Then we took him a birthday balloon at work and treated him to lunch (Chipotle - always delish!).

He came home to Seoul & I wrapping his gifts. Seoul was so excited she ran out and told him what she got and then opened it for him. Goofy girl! The girls got him liquid pencils and a kid size soccer ball, football, and basketball with cones to make obstacle courses.

(Before his birthday Seoul would want something and say, "daddy wants it for his birthday." I think it started with Kelley suggesting something to her, but it was cute nonetheless.)

She's a natural - game face and all!

Kelley requested chicken fettucine alfredo for his birthday - pretty sure that's his favorite meal these days. He also requested a lemon meringue pie so I made him one.

Then tonight we had family over for cake & ice cream - we missed those who couldn't make it! I tried out this Snickerdoodle Cake and I thought it was quite delightful! [Thanks Kristy!]

HaPPy BIrThdaY KeLLeY!!

We love everything you do for us! 

We love that you're our best friend and you put us first. 

We love that you make us laugh and spend time with us.

We love that you read us books and tuck us in.

We love that you're patient, loving, and compassionate with everyone.

We love that you are the one that completes our family!

WE LOVE YOU!!

Kelley's movin' up!

Kelley has been with Legacy for 3 years now! He recently got promoted to Senior Desktop Engineer, which is fantastic! He is recognized as lead for the huge project, Randall Children's Hospital. 

He says everything he does is "for the kids!"



 He sent me this email last week: I LOVE MY JOB!!!  I am helping a lady skype with her husband who’s in Nepal.  Her baby is in the NICU.   Most likely it will be Thursday or Friday but I love knowing that I am there to help and what not.  Just thought that I would share that random tidbit. 

We are so proud of him and we are so grateful that he supports our family. Especially since it allows me to stay at home with our beautiful girls. We are so blessed, and Kelley works super hard! It's a great relationship between him and his job. He puts in the hours but is definitely recognized for his hard work and professionalism.

Every once in a while we go visit Kelley at work to see his friends and take him out to lunch. It's fun and brightens our day!

(This picture is super old - from March - but I don't often take pictures while we're there.)

Great job Kelley - it's a well-deserved promotion! We're proud of you!!

What's in your queue and snack bowl?

Once the girls go down to sleep in the evening, we like to relax and watch some good TV. This is what we like!

And in our snack bowl? Our new favorite treat is Gooey Vanilla Bean Popcorn from my old roommate Kristy.

She is beautiful, fun, creative, and fantastic in the kitchen! I've tried a few of the recipes from her blog Sweet Treats and More and they did not disappoint! The recipe (and picture) is hers and Mmm-Mmm... you better just try it!
(although I did use double the amount of popcorn and used vanilla extract since I don't have the vanilla bean paste)

We love parks... and friends!

One day our friend, Amy, came to visit and we had some fun at Wait Park here in Canby. Seoul has so much fun at parks... pretty much wants to go to the park every day! It's amazing to see how much she has grown over time as she plays on the equipment. She can get on & off the animals without help, goes down the slides without fear, and swings higher and higher each time!

Play groups were often at the park this summer also. Our friend, Adrienne, did a fantastic bubble activity. Seoul had a ball making bubbles and chasing bubbles! Then she conquered the ladder and showed some daring jumping on the big kid bridge at Legacy Park. We have so much fun at play group because we have a great group of adults and kids!

Loved that summer weather!

Happy 30th Birthday Mindee!

This year my sister, Mindee, turned the big 3-0! 

(Our parents are old now... just sayin'! Haha!) 

Leading up to her birthday, everyone made it seem like they were out of town, or busy, and it wasn't a big deal. But then, oh yes, we threw a small SURPRISE PARTY for her! 

I'm pretty sure she had NO IDEA... especially since she stopped at the library to post on Facebook before she made it to my house. As we all stood around waiting for her.... goofball!

SURPRISE MINDEE!!

Good times - family, friends, food, cake, presents, laughter!

Love you Mindee! Hope you had a fantastic birthday!

Fun Times this Summer (part 2)

It took a while for the nice summer weather to get here this year but we had a lot of fun playing outside, relaxing together, and laughing! It's nice that the kids are content to play with simple things like balls, chalk, and sticks without needing to go and do all the time.

What could she be thinking as she stares at that ducky toy? Maybe she's waiting for it to quack at her!

Seoul picked "matching" outfits for her and Sydney - both were purple shirts, the closest they had in the drawers.

Seoul spent a good chunk of time laughing while she was trying to stack all the rings on my head. She calls them her "rainbow."

Kelley & Sydney looking at photos on the iPad - he is showing her what Seoul looked like at that age.

Seoul really got into running in circles and playing catch with her big ball. This activity kept us occupied daily.

Still loving those Lowe's Build and Grow workshops - they are daddy-daughter mornings and Seoul loves all the things she makes. (She calls it daughter-daughter day for some reason). Today was binoculars - this is the view I saw of her all afternoon, although she did decide it was more fun to look through them the other way so I look smaller. Goof!

We spent many a day at the park swinging. Seoul loved walking there - she rode in the stroller while I carried Sydney in the Baby Bjorn. She looks so big in the swing now! Sydney is following in Seoul's footsteps and loves swinging, too.

Our Sydney is growing and is as happy as a clam. She rolls and is close to crawling. She loves food - veggies, Cheerios, drinking water. She is such a good girl to sit and play or watch Seoul run around.

All summer long I battled sticks and stones. Seoul thought it was great fun to collect them, bring them in the house, and leave them on the carpet (which is dark so they're not easily seen). She seems to be moving out of that phase, thank goodness!

Who doesn't love sidewalk chalk? Rainbows were Seoul's drawing of choice, although she told me many things to draw. Let's just say drawing on the ground isn't my forte but it's good enough to appease Seoul.

She's just beautiful.

Makin' silly faces at each other.

 

Peek-a-boo!

Sydney got her first pedicure... whew - had to be quick to put a dot of nail polish on those tiny toes! She and Seoul were matchy-matchy.

The girls started bathing together and they have a ball playing! Seoul helps wash Sydney and we do fun styles with Seoul's hair when it's full of shampoo. (I remember doing that when I was younger!)

We love summer fun and spending time together! We love having a yard where the girls can play and sometimes play with the other kids on the block.