Our Destroyer is 15 months!

Owen is our little "Destroyer." He is ALL boy. There is nothing soft or cuddly about this kid! haha.  He dives head first into everything and has a permanent bump on his forehead from constant injury.  He growls, screeches, and hits.  No one has shown him how to do these things.  We have no other boys and Emma is all frills and such a girl!  He is just programmed to be the little cave man he is. Owen's favorite activity is going from room to room pulling out the contents of drawers and cabinets and leaving them for Mom to find.  We keep a basket full of his toys in the living room and he attacks it with enthusiasm everyday, spilling as much of it onto the floor as possible.  His favorite toys are the cars Nana got him for Christmas.  He loves to roll them all over the house.  That includes furniture, animals, and people! He also loves anything that has a lid.  He loves to take the lid off and on, etc. And like any man, he loves the remote control. Ha! Owen is also our little chatterbox and while most is just that, chatter, he has about 10 words he loves to use:  MoMMa, Dadda, Emma, Uh Oh, Ok, Ya, No no no, ah don (all done), Bahbah(bottle), Mo(more), and Peas (please). He still loves the Kia Hamster commercial and loves to dance with music. He is covered in bruises and is usually on the move except while eating or watching Thomas the Train or Elmo. He is so fun to watch and play with. I love his giggle and his 3 noticable teeth! While Owen may be our little Destroyer he does it with a smile and we love our little man!

Emma is out of Kindergarten!

I just cannot comprehend that Emma's first year of school is over. How I ask you?  HOW?  I swear I just dropped her off with her new outfit and backpack swung over her shoulder, eyes full of excitement and a huge grin on her face. She was so ready to go.  She loved everyday of school and she adored her teacher Mrs. Stevenson.  I wish they could keep the teacher!  But alas, the school year breezed by full of fun events and playing with friends, and it has now come to its predicted conclusion. She got great scores and improved in all subjects. Her teacher gave her high praises!  But I still can't believe it is over.  I now have a 1st Grader.

Emma is the most social and outgoing little girl.  She loves to play with the kids in the neighborhood and she loves to have her friends from school over to play. We have had a sleep over already! She is just so sweet and loving.  She makes me smile everyday and I know that no matter how my day is going, when I see her, its always better. She is also, in her Mom's opinion, very pretty with those hazel eyes, that golden hair, and those fun freckles on her cheeks!  And she is growing ever taller still.  We had her 6 yr doctor appointment in May and she is now 43 pounds and 48 inches tall.  That's tall enough to ride Space Mountain at Disneyland! She is very girly, which I love! She likes to play hairdo and loves to paint our nails. She hates having her hair done, but once the brushing and pulling is over with she loves a good hair design. Such a girl and so fun! Now that school is out, she is loving the later bedtime and with the longer days, playing outside til the street lights come on.  She thinks she is so big!

So summer has arrived, or so the calendar says(its been cold dang it!), and Emma is already enjoying our lazy mornings and trips to the park. We have a few fun things planned for the summer and I hope to hold onto it before Fall sneaks up on us and the cycle begins yet again.... (Did you say July 1st is Sunday??  This slowing down time thing isn't working!)

Father's Day Gift

This year for Mother's Day and Father's Day we have been getting back to the basics and made homemade gifts.  Emma and I had a blast putting them together!  For Father's Day we made "Hero Boxes" for the Hero's in our lives. To Wade, if you see this and for some reason haven't gotten your gift yet, sorry for the spoiler! My Dad got a slightly different version since he can't have sugar, but the point was to show our dads we think they are SUPER!  And of course the Heros we have always thought they were! So I put together a box filled with treats for a Super Hero. Hero Nectar for "refreshment of cosmic powers." A Secret Identity Bar, Xray Vision Drops, Hero Vitamins, and mints for fresh breath. 4 out of 5 Damsels in distress agree! I also placed a Super Dad poem signed by us all and Emma made a handmade card with a picture of her Popo in his Super Hero cape(in case you were wondering. lol) It was a ton of fun and I hope they enjoyed the treat! Happy Father's Day!

(On a small side note:  I forgot to take pictures of Phil's box of money. Gah!)

M&M Cake

My mom LOVES M&M's!  I mean LOVE LOVE LOVES them.  Its been an ongoing joke that she needs to seek professional help for her addiction to M&M's.  MM meetings anyone??  She always has a small bag of them in her purse and a jar of them by her computer.  So when I saw the idea for this cake on Pinterest, I knew it was destined to be my Mom's birthday cake. It is so simple!  Its just a chocolate cake(you can use any kind) with chocolate frosting. Kit Kats are placed around the edge and held by a fun ribbon, and of course its finished off by topping with M&M's. I also placed some around the base.  When we surprised her with it she laughed pretty good, but no one was laughing while we were stuffing our faces full of the chocolaty goodness!  Happy Birthday Mom!

Father's Day Photos

I am so excited about my new camera that I have pretty much been snapping photos nonstop since I got it!  Even taking photos of mundane things that are of no interest to anyone.  Basically testing out how the camera works and its functions. I decided to take some photos of the handsome husband and sweet kiddos for Father's day. I found this cool spot in our neighborhood with a field, a cool stone wall, and a gazebo. Playing around with the cameras features, I think I got some great shots! I am very happy with how they turned out.  I will frame the 3 together for his desk at work. The last one is just for laughs.  Owen isn't much into my hobby and was done.  He got out of Dad's lap and started walking away.  The look on his face is like, "Mom, I am too cool for this. Peace."  Professional, no, but good enough to enjoy? Absolutely!

New camera!

I finally got my camera!  I have been saving for months!  A little here a little there. Christmas, Valentines, and birthday.  Finally it is in my hands!  I got a Canon EOS Rebel XS.  Its not their fanciest version, but it will be perfect for me.  These are the very first photos I took with it. Emma was my model! Isn't she pretty? I messed with different bells and whistles on it. I can assure you I will need to read the manual for some of it, but its pretty user friendly. The best lighting outdoors is when the sun is behind a cloud and we got lucky for a few of the shots.  The others the sun poked out. I am no pro at Photoshop, but I am sure they could be edited to reduce shadows etc. But overall I am totally loving the camera!  Now I can take good quality photos of our life.  I even took some photos of Phil and the kids for a possible Father's Day idea I had.  I will post those later.  Gotta make the project first!  So for now, I have a new toy to play with and I am sure everyone will get sick of the billion photos I post!  hehe.  I apologize in advance!

Easter 2012

This was our last weekend with Shaelynn and Laura and we tried to make Easter special.  My mom drove over to see Laura and Shae so we got to visit all together. On Easter morning Emma and Shaelynn got us all up and  found their baskets, and we hunted 4 dozen eggs! Owen on the other hand wasn't sure why he had to wake up, but when he saw Emma and Shaelynn in the yard, he stood at the window with the expression, "Let me out too!" Sorry, buddy. It was chilly and wet! Owen had the last laugh as he completely destroyed his basket!  Our living room had blue grass everywhere! The girls enjoyed the egg hunt and going thru their baskets. We had an easy morning and relaxed and visited. And of course Laura made us a great Easter breakfast!  It was a wonderful Easter!

Shaelynn Turned 4!

Shaelynn's birthday was March 30th, and guess where she was?  Here with us! So we had the pleasure of making her 4th birthday super fun! Her mommy made her a homemade birthday cake full of love(and sugar!hehe).  It turned out so pretty! The girls wore matching outfits and after Emma got out of school, we surprised Shaelynn by taking her to build a bear, and then to Mcdonalds with a playplace for dinner.  Then we went back home and she opened her plethora of gifts!  We sang "Happy Birthday" and she blew out her candles. She is such a cutie!  I think she had a great time!  What a fun 4th birthday!

Shaelynn!

Our cousin Shaelynn came for a two week visit with her mommy Laura!  I can't believe how big she has gotten! We had such a good time with them and really enjoyed the visit. Shaelynn and Emma played their hearts out everyday.  It was like it was a 2 week sleepover! They had their moments of tattling and "she's not sharing!"  But over all they had a great time.  Owen would try to keep up with them and followed them around. He tried very hard to be a part of the party. My sister Laura and I spent alot of time in the kitchen making scrumptious desserts and gourmet dinners(Laura is a chef) and I may or may not have put on 2 pounds!  It's not something we get to do very often.  Life gets so busy and being more than a state apart, its hard to find good quality time.  We all enjoyed ourselves and are so glad we got that time together!