Vacation

Finally we are on vacation. Mike made it home safe from Latvia and we left a week later for vacation. We have been at the cabin now for about 4 days. It has been a much needed vacation. We have had a lot of time to relax. We have been swimming and fishing and golfing. We went to Cabela's a couple of times and the kids had a great time looking at all the animals. Their favorite thing to do was to go in the elevator because then they can see that whole store. It was a glass elevator. We have been swinging and riding on Kenna's scooter, yes even Mike rode it. All kinds of fun stuff. We have had some family and friends over and there are still more to come. This is just a very much needed break. We have a wonderful family who helped us with all of this. Mike's folks gave us the cabin for the week and my brother Scott and my mom are taking care of our house and Roxie (the dog). We would not have been able to do this without them. They are such a big support to us. Posting some pictures now and there will be more to come.

What a week

We have had quite a week. I am not sure if it is a good or bad week. Mike left this week for Latvia and he will be gone about 3 weeks. The kids really miss him and Kenna asks for him all the time. She told me today "Mommy, daddy can't come home because he is a Maween (Marine) and he is workin." she is so sweet and so smart. Jimmy has had a monumental week too. Mike and I were discussing the stage of life that we are in right now in relation to this "deployment" and so I said to him, "it is too bad you are gonna miss Jimmy's first steps just like you did Kenna's." No sooner did I get out the video camera and start prepping it to catch his first steps, I plug in the battery and sure enough, Jimmy stands up and walks. It is as if he was calling me a liar or something. so anyways Mike got to see his first steps in person. And Jimmy is walking.So if nothing else this week has been very filled with emotions. We have had a lot of family and good friends checking on us to make sure we are ok. It has been good for us. This time has been harder for me. I think because of the kids and also because of there being no contact with Mike. At least when he went to Iraq I would hear from him every so often. Well that is it for now. There will be more soon I am sure.

Growing Up

These kids are growing up so fast. I can't believe that they are so big. It is like they just get bigger and smarter and faster over night. I am amazed by them everyday. Kenna is becoming a smart little girl who loves to look at her "school" books. She has Preschool workbooks that we give her for learning new things. She loves to talk about her colors and shapes and animals. Just about anything that she can learn. She is still talking about "My favorite horsey" all the time. She really misses her horse and I think we will try to get up there soon to see her horsey again. Jimmy wants to ride in the Barbie jeep too so get those batteries charged up Papa.
Jimmy is growing like a weed. His new favorite food is hot dogs and chicken. He can eat just about anything that I put in front of him. He climbs up the stairs so fast and he is always getting into new things. He likes to open the drawers and cupboards in the kithchen and play with the contents. His sister picks on him a lot and he is starting to stand up for himself. He stands on his own for a little bit and I am sure that he is going to walk any day now. I am so happy with these kids and I am amazed at their growth everyday.
More to come soon.......

Long Week

We have had a long week this week. The kids have done so many things that they have never done before. On Wednesday we left for our very first family road trip. We went to Snohomish to stay with Grandma and Papa McGinnis for a little while. Unfortunately Great Grandpa Harry passed away and that is why we were there but it was nice to get to see Grandma and Papa after so long. And since we had not seen the for a while we missed Easter, so the kids got their easter baskets once we got there. Jimmy got a really high tech dumo truck that drives itself around and talks, and Kenna got a PONY! She was so excited. She got to ride it around and play with it and lead it down the driveway. Her name is smalley and Kenna calls her "my favorite horse". I am going to post some videos of that and of Kenna driving Jimmy around in the Barbie Jeep. She is a very good driver. HA Ha almost as good as her dad! Yesterday we got up to go to church and Jimmy decided that he was sick so he puked all over. After Kenna got ready to go to church with Papa riches she asked to hole Jimmy. He laid on her lap and she started singing to him. It is really cute. You should just watch these videos and see how cute these kids are. Ok enjoy!

Update

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything and a lot has happened. The kids are growing up so fast. Jimmy is walking along the walls and couches and trying to stand and walk on his own. Kenna is talking so much now. She says things that amaze me everyday. We had a great Easter. The kids got Sailor suits provided by Grandma Riches and they looked ADORABLE in them. We colored eggs on Saturday. Mike and Kenna had so much fun. They kept stealing eachothers colors. Jimmy and I sat there and just laughed mostly. I had to play referee a few times but for the most part it was pretty fun. After that Kenna decided to draw a picture....on Jimmy's face. It was hilarious. mike and I could not even discipline her because we were laughing so hard. Kenna has been having play dates with a few of her friends lately. She enjoys going to the park and to McDonalds to play on the slide. Jimmy enjoys just about anything. He really doesn't care. He does have this crazy mohawk thing going on. His hair just naturaly grew in a mohawk. It is really cute. I am going to post a few pictures on here. Hopefully I will have more soon.

Papa's Game

So today we went to the Tacoma Dome to watch Papa's Basketball team play in the State Tournament. They won. Yelm played Lynnwood and in the middle of the game the band from the Lynnwood team walked by and we saw Austin and Colton (Mike's Cousins for those that don't know). We got to say hello to them before our team beat theirs. The kids had so much fun at the game. They were cheering and watching and yelling to Papa. It was kinda cute, on the way home, MacKenna was sleeping in her carseat and she was talking in her sleep. "Go Papa, Go Papa, Go Papa." It was great. I asked her about it when she woke up. I said, did you sleep good? Yes Did you have some dreams? Yes What did you dream about? Papa Were you talking to Papa? Yes What did you say to him? I give him a kiss! Lol My kids are great. Kenna has a great vocabulary and she oves talking. It was a good day.

Oh Jimmy!!!!!!!!!!

So my 7 month old who is going on 5 years old, decided to climb up a stair or two tonight. As his Daddy noticed that he was on the second stair he decided that it would be a good idea to see how far he could get. So he let him climb all the way to the top of the stairs. Luckily he was watching him the whole way so I did not have to have a heart attack today. You see while all of this was going on I was painting the walls in this house. I have to paint the walls because the builders thought it would be a good idea to put flat brown paint in this house. Clearly they did not assume that kids would live here. So since we have kids and the walls stain every time someone touches it and that goes for the carpet too, Anyways I have to repaint the whole house because on top of all that Mike handed Kenna a marker and told her to go color. She did. All over the wall. When asked about it his response was, "It said washable." Ok enough said. So the walls need to be painted and the carpets need to be replaced and oh yeah the gates always have to stay closed on the stairs so Jimmy doesn't run away. Life is good!!!!!!