Our favorite thing to do...

Sea Lions!!

The girls love going down to the Coast Guard Pier to check out the Sea Lions. They are EVERYWHERE! They lay along the rocks & enjoy the warm sun. They are constantly barking at one another and making all sorts of noise.
This little guy looks cute and friendly, but would bark at anyone who came close - scared Hannah Kate away! It was moving all around and barking that she thought it was going to jump up on the pier with her:)

Kaitlyn, Caroline & Madison check out the Sea Lion

Our babysitter turned family member in Las Vegas came to visit us for the week. We had a lot of fun w/Kaitlyn here and sure do miss the extra hands! Hopefully we showed her enough of the great things in CA that she'll come back again soon!!!

Start of the school year!

Girls off to their 1st day of school!

Well, we're starting our THIRD week of school and I'm finally getting around to putting pictures up! It has been a busy couple of weeks getting into our routine, but the girls are enjoying school. Hannah Kate misses her old friends, but is adjusting and has a lot of friends here in the neighborhood that keep them both plenty busy.

Off to KINDERGARTEN! Hard to believe my Madison started kindergarten! She LOVES it and has a very sweet teacher. She turned FIVE last week - time passes too quickly! She turned five, Grayson turned five months and popped out TWO bottom teeth! Everyone is growing up.

We need to leave the house by 7:45 to get to school for the 8:00 bell... a little earlier than last year, but we're making it. Can't say Caroline & Grayson are dressed then too, but that's OK. The girls are use to getting to school and love walking by themselves... Hannah Kate is a great sister and walks Madison to her class & then goes on to her class.

My 2nd grader with Mrs. Heartfelt, her teacher

Grayson's Four Months

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday Grayson turned 4 months old!  He's turning into such a fun little guy - his personality keeps getting better & better as he interacts with us all.  Such a joy these days as he's happy to just roll around on a blanket and look at his toys.  

We bought him a Bumbo seat and he enjoys it for little bits of time as his neck still isn't totally steady.  He really knows his hands are there and can grab things...like his sister's hair!  He's learning young how to defend himself when they are too close for his liking!  

He also uses his hands to grab his feet which he loves to do as well.

He loves to suck his 2 fingers...or toes!  He's so funny to watch as it takes him a while to get his foot into his hand and then work it into his mouth...flexible little one we may have to start in gymnastics like his sisters!

His fingers are his favorite - he sucks the middle two fingers on his right hand.  My older two were pacifier kids and Caroline sucks her first two fingers on her left hand - each one is different for sure!  

When Grayson is sleeping, he uses his right hand to hold in his left hand - too cute!

Our Family

All six of us enjoyed the 4th of July celebration in Lake Tahoe.  We rented a cabin here near our friends, the Dahlstroms, for a few days.  The kids had a great time playing with their boys at the lake and bike riding... another blog!  We're moving into our house this week, but I'll hopefully have some down time before our things are delivered on Friday to update the blog.  We've had a month on the go - Estes Park, CO, visiting friends in CO, family reunion and Lake Tahoe - lots of pictures I'd love to share!  I hope you all enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July - lots of freedoms here in the US we take for granted, but we're so thankful to all who are serving our country and are away from their loved ones... you are in our prayers!

On the Move

Our time in Vegas is done.  We packed out last week and are headed out to Monterey, CA...via Colorado!  We have time before Ed starts school and our house is ready so we're off to visit friends & family in Colorado.  

The girls did great on the 8+ hour days in the car.  Ed climbed back with them for part of the drive through Wyoming....snacks & daddy the ride doesn't get much better!

Our first stop in Colorado is in Estes Park at the YMCA of the Rockies.  The girls spent the first day in camp so Ed & I enjoyed a hike with the other two.   The weather is perfect - so nice to be out in trees, listening to the river and just enjoying God's creation!

Today we went into Rocky Mountain National Park.  The big hit of the trip was the elk that were all over as well as the snow that was still on the ground.  It was beautiful to get out and see all the views along the way...even the Continental Divide!  The younger 2 were asleep in the car when we made this stop... one I remember making as a child!  We're just so thankful to have this time together as a family after so many vacations at air show locations - it's wonderful!

Madison's Graduation

Madison Graduates PreK!

I'm a little behind with posting! Last Saturday, May 31st Madison had her PreK graduation. It was so sweet - they walked in and received their diploma, sang some songs and recited a Bible Verse. Makes me sad that our little girl is growing up...time goes way too fast sometimes!
My parents flew in for the graduation (and to babysit while Ed & I go house hunting!) Madison was just beaming up on stage looking out at us - she was thrilled to have us all there!

Our Family with the Graduate!I think Madison was most excited about her tassle! We have Hannah Kate's from 2 years ago - always been a coveted item in our house! She didn't let go of the flowers either - she loved her graduation celebration!

Madison's ready for Kindergarten!

Soccer!

Girls with their daddy, "Coach Ed"

The girls just finished their soccer season - 2nd season for Hannah Kate and 1st season for Madison. The "Silver State League" they were in is a little hard core so we were usually up against some pretty tough teams that knew what they were doing - our team of PreK, K, and 1st graders were all about the fun, not so much on field position and dribbling:)

They did have a couple of weeks with easier teams and a lot of goal scoring for the blue team. Hannah Kate scored several goals and Madison enjoyed doing handstands & cartwheels with her friend Annie. It was fun to watch!

Hannah Kate hustles on the field
Hannah Kate goes through the tunnel of parents
Madison makes her way through the tunnel Kelsie & Hannah Kate with their teacher, Mrs. Klappenback.UNITED GIRL POWER - some of our best buds from the team -
Madison, Hannah Kate, Kelsie, Annie and Anna Rose

Grayson's First Bath

Grayson all ready for his 1st bath!

Grayson did not have his 1st bath until he was over 6 weeks old! We've never had to wait that long with the girls, but Grayson is a momma's boy from the start and did not loose his umbilical cord until now. We were all ready to get him good and sudsy - he was not all that impressed!
He just kind of laid there looking around like, "can I be done now?" The girls always seemed to love baths and would kick & splash - Grayson took the mellower route. Ed bathed Grayson and our first time bathing our boy - Grayson managed to pee on his head! It was a good laugh and we cleaned him up after that!

We got him clean and then Mommy & Grayson enjoyed some snuggle time with him in his towel. Overall it was a good 1st bath for our baby boy...lesson learned:)!