And the Birthday Celebration Begins

After Kendall's pedicure all of us girls headed to meet Keith, Kaden, my Dad, Ethan, and Keith's Mom who drove in from out of town for the weekend. It was the start of a 4 day celebration for Kendall's 2nd birthday. It has become tradition for us to eat dinner at Cheesecake Factory during our children's birthday so we all met up for the kickoff dinner. Kendall had fallen on the wooden steps in our garage earlier that week and so her swollen nose and black eye seemed to be getting worse by the day and some of the pictures were starting to show it :( But we all had a good time and Kendall enjoyed being serenaded and of course the yummy treats!

Kendall's First Pedicure

I decided once Kendall turned two it was time for her to get her first pedicure. I was a little skeptical that it would work out...but she did great! Her cousin Kylee came along, which I think helped as she wants to do everything her big girl cousins do as well as my Mom and Kendall's Godmother, Shay. Kendall sat completely upright and pointed out her little legs just perfect. She started to get a little wet sitting that close to the bowl so we decided to depants her :) and let her get a pedi in her diaper!!! Waiting to dry was a little bit more of a challenge...especially as I was trying to get a pedicure. But it turned out very cute...little tiny pink toes w/ a yellow flower on each of her big toes...completely fitting as her favorite color is yellow :)

A Day on the Lake

When I was in high school every Wednesday during the summer my Dad would rent two boats and my family w/ friends in tow would spend the day on the lake. It's some of my favorite memories...jumping from the cliffs, eating soggy sandwiches, tubing and soaking in the sun.
For my Dad's birthday last month, Keith, the kids & I decided to spend the afternoon revisiting one of my Dad's favorite hobbies. So we rented a boat, jetski, tube & packed a big lunch and set out on the lake w/ my parents and niece & nephew. We all had a great time! It was Kaden & Kendall's first time tubing and Kendall's first time on a jet ski...she did not go over 5mph as I threatened Keith's life if she were to fall off :) The best part of the day was to get away from the craziness that is our everyday lives of running a business...I don't think my Dad & Keith talked about work for more than 5 minutes, which is a huge victory in and of itself.

Kaden starts Kindergarden

I cried this morning sending my baby boy off to his first day of Kindergarden....shocker I know! But seriously when did he get so big. I told him I had happy tears b/c it seemed like yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital and now here I am sending him to his first 'real' day of school. Kaden of course looked at me like I was crazy but gave me a kiss and told me "its going to be ok Mommy...I'm a big boy now!"
As I sat in the outrageously long carpool line to pick him up this afternoon I literally bit off all my fingernails waiting to see him and hear how his first day went. He came running down the ramp and high-fived Keith as he approached the car! He told us he made a 100 new friends, which coming from any other kid may be a little far fetched, but knowing Kaden there may have been some ounce of truth to it. He only remembered two names...Sam & Gabe. Kaden then proceeded to tell us that his teacher was funny and that he fell off a rock climbing wall...but with no scratches to bruises to prove it I think this may have been made up???
I asked him if everyone spoke English to which he replied "no one!" So I panicked again and then I asked him what English was and he was not sure...so we obviously need to work on that! I rephrased my question and asked him if everyone speaks like him and he said "oh yes"

We spent the July 4th weekend w/ great friends and family. It was the perfect weekend! Lots of cookouts, lots of sun and lots of festivities w/ laughing! We enjoyed a fireworks show at the club on the 3rd, which Kendall was terrified of so she sat in the car w/ Keith :( The actual 4th was spent w/ a relaxing day at my parents pool w/ my sisters and the kiddos. My parents put out a great spread of food for all of us to enjoy and even some slip n slides to entertain the kiddos. It turned out to be one of those perfect days that gets etched in your memory forever.

Baseball Season

Kaden has started to try out another sport this summer! Baseball season has started and it has turned out to be one of Kaden's favorites for sure so I'm sure we will be spending a lot of time at the ball field in the future. He actually pays attention when he's on the field, which is huge! He's not kicking dirt or hitting his teamate next to him as most of his teamates are doing. He also slides into home base every time he runs the bases. He thinks the dirtier his pants are the better he has played!

Like Mommy, Like Daughter

Before you judge...let me say I did not buy these matching outfits! My sister Lindsey and my Dad picked them up on one of their West Coast trips last year. I decided to wear them to a family dinner a couple of weeks ago in honor of my other sister Jenna's birthday and my niece, Kylee. How cute is this...she is going to hate when I show off this picture at her 16th birthday :)