SPRiNG FeVeR

Ahh Colorado weather is such a tease...cold, warm, cold, then warm again. JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY! I know it is waaaaayyy too early to be frustrated with the cold weather, but I am. I have spring fever BAAAADD. Don't get me wrong, I love Colorado and I don't mind the winter (simply b/c I love the weather changes and how beautiful everything looks in the fall) but if it were up to me...winter would only last through the month of December. :) What a perfect idea! I love that it is cold at Christmas time. But. That. Is. IT! Any cold after the holiday is a waste and a total inconvenience for my warm weather cravings. I find myself just longing to feel the warm sunshine on my skin. (I need a tan desperately.) I just want to be outside and I don't want to have to bundle up my kids to do so. The weather has been nice lately. By nice, I mean that it has been in the 40's. I never (growing up in Texas) would have ever considered that warm. 40's in January though...I'll take it.
I have even started running in the mornings...yup, before the sun comes up and can warm the air up a bit. It is cold and I take the LONGEST showers ever to try and regain feeling in my hands again. It feels great to get out of the house and do something for myself...alone. (Well, I am not alone...I watch too many scary movies to even attempt that.) I have a running partner who totally works me every time we go out. She is so hard core and ever so humbling. Maybe she can whip me into shape for my 1/2 marathon coming up in June. YAY! We ran 6 miles this morning and it hurt...I was seriously sucking wind up this hill that I never thought would end...but I felt great after my shower. I think I will enjoy running even more once the air is a bit warmer. COME ON ALREADY.
Kai even has a bit of the fever. He always wants to go outside. We have been walking to the mailbox after nap times in the afternoon to get the mail when the weather permits. He loves it. I found a little red wagon for $2 last summer at a garage sale and he totes it with us everyday. We put the mail in it and he feels ever so important dragging it behind him.
Kai is such a cutie. Here is his "Peeeaaaase" face. How do you say "no" to this face?

So excited to get going...
40 degrees and wearing shorts...gotta love Colorado.
I know...look how dead my knockout roses look. Come on Spring, hurry and get here already!


After we get the mail we usually wait for Ben to get home from work and Kai mows the lawn and draws with sidewalk chalk while we wait. He loves airplanes and was pointing one out to me when I snapped this shot.
My little artist has totally gotten into coloring lately. Maybe cupid will bring him some new coloring supplies for Valentine's day. :)
Yes, even Cici was basking in the sun. She is such a happy girl and is a blessing to be around. I am so glad she is apart of our little family. She is just a joy to have. She has started to army crawl/scoot lately and we are learning to re-baby proof things again. This is by far my favorite stage with her thus far. (I say that at every stage though.)

Love you Cic!

Love this shot. There aren't many pictures that I capture her dimple in. She even has two new teeth (her first teeth!!!) that are visible in this picture.
LOVE.

We've even been spending more time at the pool lately. I plan on spending a huge chunk of our summer at the pool this year and want Kai to be comfortable in the water since now I have two kiddos to watch instead of just him. (I really need to teach him how to swim still. ...it's on my 'to do list'.
Here are Kai and Cic waiting patiently during 'adult swim'.
Kisses
Cic loves to watch Kai. She loves him so much and just wants to do whatever he is doing. Watch out Kai...pretty soon she will be your little sidekick. I can't wait. I hope they always love each other the way they do now. It is so amazing to watch.

"White Girl"

Two more reasons why I "heart" Kelly Clarkson.

I have always loved Kelly Clarkson, but I LOVE her newest CD. (I know that this CD didn't just come out. I have been listening to it since our trip to St George back in September.) I listen to it at least once a day. My old friend, Blake always told me that I was such a "white girl" b/c I could listen to a song that I really liked on repeat over and over and over again and never get sick of it. I guess I am still a total "white girl." :)
These are my two latest "repeat songs." I guess I just get lost in them.

This song...I just think it is beautiful. I love how much of a "rocker" Kelly can be and then she can turn around and sing something so...perfect.

"We aRe FaMiLY..."

My cousin, Krista (yes I know I am always singing her praises) took some pictures of my family (minus Ben b/c he had to work) while we were in Texas. This was the day before Quinton's wedding so we were really on a time crunch. (I think Quinton went to the wedding rehearsal right after these pictures actually). This was the ONLY day we could take pictures b/c it was the ONLY day (other than the wedding day) that all of us would be together. The last time we were together was over two years ago. Sad, I know. It's just the way my family is though...everyone is busy...too busy to spend time together I guess.
I guess that's why these pictures are that much more meaningful. When are we ever going to be together like this again? Maybe at Ryan's wedding? If Quinton can come, that is...Quinton has joined the Navy and has given them a 7 year commitment. When will I see him again? I have no idea.
Anyway, we asked Krista to take some pictures for us and it was cold and super cloudy. It had been raining all week prior to these pictures and the lighting was DARK. We were racing the clock b/c the sun was about to set. She did such a great job though and looking at these pictures you couldn't even tell that the lighting was so rough and that it was so chilly that everyone's eyes were watering. KRISTA IS AMAZING! She is such a great photographer. You can check out more of her work here. Thank you (once again) for helping my family out and providing us with family pictures that we will forever keep. Hopefully it won't be seven years til we are all together again, but if it is at least we have some pictures to remember the time we spent together as a family.



Mom and Dad

Me and two of my brothers...Quinton and Ryan





We took some pictures making faces...well, everyone but my Dad (and what is Quinton doing???)

More faces...guess Dad was too cool to make a face.
...still too cool.


Giving the "hi sign." (Guess Ryan didn't get the memo.) My parents would always make us give them the "hi sign" when we were little.
This picture makes me laugh...everyone is smiley/happy...except for my Mom. It looks like someone has just goosed her doesn't it? :)

Since Ben wasn't there, we took pictures with just me and the kiddos.
I just love these two kids...

And, my favorite picture of all! I am going to put this somewhere in my house but I haven't figured out where yet. Krista just captured Kai perfectly. LOVE IT!
I just love the fuzzy background too. She couldn't have taken a more perfect picture.


How perfect are these photos of Kai?! He LOVES trains right now! I love the black and white one and my Mom loves the color so I had to post both...
I am seriously thinking about printing this picture and putting it is Kai's room. I love-LOVE the lighting and texture.


Cici-pie...



K...these pictures require an explanation. I always tease Quinton (my little brother) about being so...feminine. That he is always the girl in a relationship and when I saw this door that said, "Coming out" I told him this was his moment to "come out" of the closet. He was a good sport and posed next to this funny door for everyone.

"Don't Play With Your Food"

WARNING~ For all you animal lovers out there...Don't read this post.

Our AMAZING neighbors Nick and Jackie bought us a Lobster Gram for New Years Eve as a thank you for watching their dog (Basil) over Christmas. I would totally recommend this gift to those of you wracking your brain for ideas. It is such a unique gift and so so yummy!
Lobster Grams are so delicious and so...sad at the same time. This is the second time we have gotten one and it was just as hard and sad the second time around. Ben thinks I am pathetic (I know I am). I just can't help but bond with the lobsters. I always name them and want to keep them as pets...the whole works. They are fascinating.
Kai gets really excited whenever we get a package. Most packages we get are usually from my Mom to him with some sort of new toy. He immediately wanted to rip the box open to see what cool gadget/toy was inside.


I was a little nervous b/c I knew that upon opening this box we would have a live animal and I was worried Kai would be scared (lobsters can be scary looking right?). Boy was I wrong...He was so excited and couldn't stop looking at them. I finally told him that the lobsters needed to take a nap and he left them alone until Ben came home. As soon as Ben walked in the door Kai ran over to the lobsters to show Ben what was in the box. He was so excited!
Overcoming my fear of the "scary looking lobsters". I decided that I couldn't let myself look scared if I didn't want Kai to be scared.


Yup, turns out that I am a hypocrite...
I am constantly telling Kai not to play with his food...then I go ahead and play with ours. My justification...It was educational. :) I mean how many times is he going to get the opportunity to hold a live lobster?


Cici watched from a distance. She still puts everything in her mouth so I wouldn't let her get too close.

The instructions that came with the lobsters said that you could rub their head (kinda stroke it) and it would put them in a trance before you dumped them into the pot. I did my best to put them into a trance...(I AM SO SO PATHETIC HUH?!)

This is Sebastian (I know...not very original, but I do love The Little Mermaid). I thought it was a pretty cool picture.

Maybe I should say, "No MORE playing with your food" from now on... :)
Here is Kai holding Dopey. He was so excited when I told him he could hold one of them.





The worst part of the evening was when it came time to cook Dopey and Sebastian. Kai and I did our best begging but Ben wouldn't take us out and get a salt water aquarium to let us keep them in. Kai didn't really understand what was going on...I just told him that the lobsters needed to go "night, night". I know...I am a horrible Mom. What a crappy explanation! I just don't think he would really understand what was happening.
When Ben boiled the lobsters and took them out of the pot he started cracking the claws and getting all the meat out. Kai just sat in his high chair and kept saying, "Uh oh" over and over again. It broke my heart.

This morning when he woke up he walked all over the kitchen looking for his "Lolly la's" Then pointed to where Ben had cracked the shells open and said "Uh oh". Yup...tough lesson to learn at two years old. Still a tough lesson for me to learn at 27. But, educational right?