Back to the Beach

“Where you going?”


“To the BEACH, BABY!”

“And we’re LOVING IT!!”

After living here for three years, we finally made it out to Bloomington Beach for the first time! The kids had a fantastic afternoon and it was almost as if we were back to the coast. Only this beach was a 15 mile trip instead of the 1500 mile trip! The kids loved splashing around and Quinn got to have his endless sandbox. We will definitely go back again!

Happy Summer!

We took Keira and Quinn to their very first movie in the theater today! We all went to see Toy Story 3 and I have to say- it was fantastic! I even cried at the end! That’s typical Disney for you! Keira was extremely excited to go to the big theater! All day she packed and repacked her purse in preparation for the event! When it was time to leave for the show, she came from her room dressed in her fancy princess dress with wings, dress-up shoes, and had her purse officially packed for the event! She shouts that she is “dressed-up” ready to go! We let her wear her chosen outfit because why not?? Can’t argue with a girl this excited!! The kids did SO great! I packed some official snack packs which consisted of cheese crackers, KIX cereal, and (gasp) fruit snacks- that are neither fruit, nor good snack- but an added surprise bonus! We also had our juice boxes, fruit, other drinks, secret snacks just in case- and yes, they let me drag my overstuffed bag into the theater- no questions asked! At one point, Daddy turned to see Quinn on my lap, both of us with our 3-D glasses on, snacks in hand, enjoying the movie together! A fun event for all of us!

Another highlight of our weekend – FIRST RED TOMATOES!!! Quinn- boy who eats no vegetables- went out to the garden, pulled a ripe, red, grape tomato off of the vine, popped it into his mouth enjoying every bit of it followed by a fresh green bean, peas, and sweet corn on the cob! All cheered!

Our garden is ROCKIN’! We are going to have tomato overdose very soon- about 200 green tomatoes hang from our beautiful plants all started from seed!

Keira put Q in a timeout at the park and he actually sat there until she said it was okay for him to get up, then they reversed roles- too funny! I hear her say to him “Now Bubba, that was not okay. Timeout for 2 minutes.” He is actually practicing his deep breathing in this picture! My little mommy in training!

Key West Vacation

We enjoyed a fantastic family vacation in Key West. Keira would wake up each day, immediately put on her swim suit, dip in the pool, then we would head to the beach to swim, back to the pool…the girl lived in her suit the entire week! Quinn couldn’t get enough of the sand! One endless playground of sand and water- bliss for him! We stayed in our own vacation home right off of Duval Street with Nana, Papa, Uncle Brock, Uncle Josh, Aunt B and Aunt C. Days spent at the beach or biking around and exploring followed by nights of wine and amazing food prepared by Chef Brock. A true paradise and fun for all!

Good times at our pool!

Boys never get enough of sand play- at any age! Notice they have sent Keira back to get them more water for building.

My little tree-hugger!

Beach Bum girl already!

Les shaking fist at children for spoiling our "romantic" sunset boat cruise. It started getting late and they were ready for bed. SET SUN, SET ALREADY!!

Ahhhh.... Beautiful!

Let's do it again next year!

A day at Deanna Rose

We spent the morning at the Deanna Rose Farmstead. The last time we went, Quinn could barely walk! Today he ran around from one thing to the next shouting “MOMMY! LOOK AT THAT!” His favorite things were feeding the goats and the “BIG cow!” Keira had a great time as well! She is old enough this year to ride the tractor pedal cars independently! She loved the bunnies the most and asked me if we could keep one of the bunnies that keeps eating our peas in our garden as a pet!? We shall see…. As you can see from the last picture, we were very hot and tired by the end of our visit!

TIME TO GO HOME!

Happy TWO Little Man Q

Ted the Turtle

This week was K’s turn to bring home the class pet, Ted the Turtle! She was so excited and has been waiting for her turn to take care of him! The project is to record our adventures with Ted and take a few pictures along the way to add to the class journal. Ted has enjoyed sleeping with K every night, having breakfast with us, playing outside, riding on her bike with her, and joining us at the farmer’s market and grocery shopping. She has become very attached to her new friend and will be sad to return him back to school tomorrow!

Welcome Spring!

Spring has meant OUTSIDE OUTSIDE OUTSIDE PLAY! From morning to late evening we are thankful for this beautiful weather, parks, garden starting, planting flowers, picnics, no bugs, sunny days, playtime, fresh air, ahhhh…. Can it stay forever please? Someone said the other day that if the weather was always like this, we would not appreciate it as much as we do. WRONG! I promise I would appreciate it… promise! Please stay spring- forever! We HEART U!

Many updates to come on our HUGE garden project we are working on for the summer! Our extra bedroom has been transformed into a giant grow house! We are planning a very ambitious garden this year along with preserving much of our bounty for the winter!

April Showers…… A little puddle jumping anyone???

Bring May flowers!




I absolutely loved this series of photos with Q-man and his favorite fire truck! He popped his hat on- always backwards- grabbed the little firefighter he calls “mini-daddy” and made his many truck vroom vroom and emergency sounds. I think boys are born with the ability to imitate motorized vehicle noises perfectly!









I snapped this picture of K and Elmo at the Earth Day activities in the park- I then noticed the “no pictures” unless you purchase the $3 commemorative photo- whoops! I love getting a deal!




Please feed the animals! If you haven't been to Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure in Salina- it is worth a visit! We had a great vacation to Salina visiting Nana and Papa while Daddy was away! Can't wait for their new water park to open this summer! We'll BE BACK!