Mark's Day Off

Mark had Monday off in honor of the 4th of July so we spent some time at the zoo.

They have a splash/kids area. Kendra made a friend (the fearless little girl in the yellow tank top) and had a great time getting wet.

We packed a lunch and sat on the lawn full of duck poop (I forgot a blanket!) to eat.

This is the duck that Megan desperately wanted to pet. He was very friendly but would stay just far enough away.


It was a special occasion to have daddy at the zoo with us so we bought 2 leaves to feed the giraffe. Look how close we are! So cool.

Kendra's Horsey

Now that Megan doesn't like to eat baby food and only wants to eat what she can feed herself, Kendra wants to feed her too. She calls Megan her little horsey. I love Kendra's laugh in the video.

Farm Friends

It was cold when we were home. Now that I live in the southwest cold = less than 80 degrees. I like it hot and was happy to walk into 95 degree weather when we arrived home.

We made smores on the grill one evening. Look at Shoni's face! It just cracks me up. I should post this one on facebook.

Kendra and her cousin played in the dirt and sut on the dirt road. Then Kendra rubbed her face not realizing the natural makeup she put on.


We went out in the country to this little corner store. They built a restaurant in it and this old couple runs it. The food is actually pretty good.

Here is the picture of the store - no parking spaces, the parking is kind of a free for all.

We were chasing Kendra one night. As she approached us we'd turn as if to chase her and she would take off running. That kid is so fun.

This is my first potato bug I found in the garden. Now, to most people you probably don't care about these critters, but I didn't get an allowance growing up. BUT I did get money when I picked these little beauties off the potato plants. I earned 1 cent for each bug and 5 cents for a leaf full of eggs. While at home I found some other potato bugs and placed them all in a cup with a lid that had holes in it...and some potato leaves. And do you know what happened? A couple of days later there were eggs! Bonus! My parents still owe me by the way....

Here is my snake. He was wrapped up in the potato plants so I had my dad grab him. I can't believe I actually played with snakes when I was younger.

Nyssa Nite Rodeo & Cherry Festival

On Saturday we headed to Emmett, Idaho to go to the cherry festival. It was basically a carnival.

We parked a couple of blocks away from the carnival and there was a memorial to the Veterans, so I just had to take a pic of my dad with it.

This is Kendra and Grandpa riding the roller coaster. You have to magnify the picture to see Kendra's face. She was loving it and still talks about the roller coaster ride.

Mark and Kendra on the berry ride. I was nervous because those two other girls wanted to spin the berry really fast, but like the tea cup ride at Disneyland, the faster the better for Kendra.

The family just chillin'. My brother and his family live near my parents so we got to hang out with them too. My lips are blue because I'm enjoying a blue raspberry snow cone.

Kendra won a snake and kept teasing Grandpa with it.

The Nyssa Nite Rodeo! Aren't we lucky that we planned our trip around this yearly event? Mark thought so! Not sure why because he wasn't fond of the cowboys from his home town. This is a picture of the muttin bustin. The little kids ride the sheep.

Grandma, Kendra, and Aunt Shoni enjoying the rodeo.

This was Kendra's favorite part of the rodeo...the rodeo princesses and queens had "crowns on their hats."

Bucking Bronco

A new event this year was riding buffalos! Mark was disappointed that the buffalo were so small. Still enjoyable to watch though.

Fun on the Farm

We went to my house in Oregon to visit my parents. I have realized that I am more of a country girl than city. I think I belong in the country setting. It's too bad that all the country down here are reservations.

Check out all that grass!! Kendra running around enjoying all the open land.

These leaves were low enough for Kendra to jump and catch. I caught her doing this several times, so I think it was one of her more favorite things.

Kendra by the fish pond. I'm realizing that Megan doesn't get nearly the camera attention that Kendra gets!

Look at us farm girls. See, the girls go home and work.

These are giant spools that my dad use to bring home from the factory. This is one way we played with them - you jump up and see how far you can walk on it without falling.

I'm a pro at it.

Shoni giving me a ride in the wheelbarrow - wee!

Happy Birthday!

Megan at Birth

Yea for Megan!!

Megan at 1 year.

Happy Birthday! Megan has made so many strides this past month. It's so fun to see her so lively. We're so glad to have her part of our family and that she's feeling better.

City meet Country

There are some things that are common place in the country but rarely viewed in the city. For example, yesterday as I drove down a major street on the northeast side of ABQ a John Deere tractor pulled out in front of me. A real John Deere driving down Juan Tabo. I have never seen one of those green tractors driving a city street; it was great.

This morning I went out to drain Kendra's pool and much to my surprise I found a chipmunk that had fallen in and drowned. Growing up we were always pulling out squirrels from the cows' water trough. Never thought I'd see that here. I was wondering where he had gone....

Birthday Party

Our tradition is to have a real birthday party every four years - so when our girls turn 4,8,12, and 16. I'm glad we decided on this. It's alot of work - next time we'll rent the swimming pool!

Our kitchen area all decorated up.


The carnival all decked out.

Here are what the games looked like. Totally homemade and simple. Kendra helped pick out the prizes.

Tickets please!

Mark juggling.

Watching our clown twist balloons.

Mark was our clown - he juggled and made balloon hats and animals.

I made a lion poster so each kiddo could have their picture taken.

Kendra was so excited to have the spotlight today.

It was too windy to have the carnival outside so we packed it into our front room!

It was fun and I think the kids had a good time.

Sisters

We have a tradition that on the day of the girls' birthday they can pick where they want to go. This year Kendra wanted to go to the aquarium. Even though I left in plenty of time to make it home for Megan's nap, they both fell asleep in the car. I thought it was so cute that I took a picture.

I love how they're holding hands.

Kendra turns 4!

Kendra through the years:

Kendra at birth - what a pretty baby!

1 year old. She has such a mischievous grin.

2 years old

3 years old - look at all that hair!

4 years old.

Kendra is such a fun little girl. She expresses exactly how she feels which make simple activities enjoyable. Her favorite thing lately is to make sister laugh in the car. It is so much fun to drive places with the two sisters in the back and watch and listen to Kendra as she does anything for a laugh. We are so glad she is ours. Happy Birthday!

Doctor Day

Megan saw the GI specialist yesterday morning. I've decided that I love specialists - way better than regular doctors. Ofcourse the cost is higher, but he spent alot of time with me and was very thorough. He thinks Megan still has reflux and that is where her problems stem from. i.e. sleeping problems, eating problems, weight loss, gagging/choking, etc. So she gets to take prevacid again. I'll call him in a week to let him know if any symptoms have improved. Hopefully Megan will begin to gain weight again. They must be somewhat concerned about her weight loss since it took less than 2 weeks to see him.

Then Mark took Kendra to the doctor. She got a fever on Tuesday and still had it on Friday. Nothing I did could break it. She was suppose to have her birthday party today but we had to postpone it. I thought for sure she had some type of infection. Diagnosis - virus. Last night she sweat like a pig, finally breaking the fever. It's always a long week when Kendra is sick. She feels everything to the extreme whether she's happy or upset, well or ill.

In other news...

Megan had these horrible blisters on her thighs. After reading about the problems with the new Pampers diapers we finally switched to Huggies (the store was all out of Luvs size 3!) and the sores are healing. I called Pampers to let them know that yet another child had a reaction to their new diapers and they treated me very well. They are sending me two coupons each for a giant box of Pampers diapers! I'll either use them for a baby gift or try to sell them on craigslist.

Mark had to fix our swamp cooler this morning. He had to buy and install a new floater. When he returned from Lowes he climbed up the ladder and reached way up high only to notice that his fly was down and probably had been for some time!

Precious Moments

It's so good to have Megan feeling better again. She still has green snot - but she always does. The medical profession says she's healthy so that is why we are taking her to a naturopathic doctor to see if she has an allergy causing it. My favorite thing with Megan now is when I give her a bottle. As I shake the formula in the bottle and show it to her she comes crawling as fast as she can - faster than she crawls at any other time. It's so funny to watch. Megan still doesn't sleep well so by 4 or 5 am I bring her into bed with me. When Mark leaves in the morning Kendra usually gets up and waves goodbye to him from her window and then joins Megan and I in bed. It's very difficult for her to let Megan sleep. She just wants to maul her with hugs and kisses. As soon as Megan shows an inkling of waking Kendra is all over her. This is a moment I will miss when these two get older.