Weekend Fun

The girls just think their daddy is the best. He came home from work on friday with a butterfly kite for them to fly. Needless to say, they were ecstatic. Here's a picture of the kite (I couldn't get a picture of the kite and the kids together). Mike teaching Kate how to fly a kite.
Running with the kite. Kara is determined that her age and size will not slow her down. She's determined to do EVERYTHING everyone else does.
Getting ready for our ward's Harvest Festival. Kara has been wearing her ladybug costume around for weeks.
Playing games at the harvest festival. They had a blast.

Is it family night yet?

Kate lives for family night. Who would have ever known that setting one night per week aside to completely focus on the family would bring so much joy to such young kids. We spend a lot of time playing with our girls, but something makes family night different. Kate likes routines. And when I say routines I mean that we play hide-and-seek EVERY family night and we have rice krispy treats EVERY family night and we sing the same songs EVERY family night. For some it might get old, but for a 3 and 1 year old it gets better every time. Sometimes we play outside, have a dance session with dad jamming out on the guitar, go out for treats, make crafts, and just about anything that anyone feels like doing. The girls have more fun playing a silly game with Mike (that he made up seconds before), than they do going to the zoo, or any other activity for that matter. It's amazing how the simplest things bring so much joy.

Who needs a pool? They enjoy this more than going to the pool itself. Like I said...it's the simple things.
"My turn Kate...scoot over."
One of Kara's favorite hiding spots. She usually jumps out like a Jack-in-the box and gives her self away.
And of course, they would read all night long if they could.

Or maybe just look at pictures.

Apple Hill

Fun at the pumpkin patch. We actually didn't get one here because the pumpkins were half their size.
The infamous apple fritters. It would be pointless to go to apple hill and not get a fritter.
The pony rides that Kara was chomping at the bit to go on (but was too small) and Kate just watched from a distance with her hands over her ears. Go figure.
Daddy, Kate and Kara playing with the fish in the pond.

So we took our annual Apple Hill trip with the family (well this is actually only our second year). This is one of our favorite places to go in the fall because the girls get to enjoy chilly weather, petting farms, ponds, pony rides, pumpkin patches, and GREAT apple fritters and caramel apples. Mike enjoys the day off from work most of all, and this year we were actually snowed on. Yeah, didn't plan for that one. This is Kara's first year of actually understanding a holiday (well somewhat) and she is obsessed with pumpkins. Everywhere we go she's yelling at the pumpkins, or more like yelling to the pumpkins (she's still a mystery to us). Needless to say we had a really fun time, and yes Jonna, you did miss out.

Day at the Lake

So we finally made it to the lake for our "auction purchase" with the Campbells, Nunleys, Chrisensens, and Bouwhuis families. We had such a great time being out on the boat and jet skis. Every time we pass jet skis on the side of the road for sale, Mike always wants to take a look. I've never been interested but after taking them for a ride myself, I had the time of my life. I think I would definitely question riding with Mike again (seeing how our speed and driving style are polar opposites), but I don't know that I could have smiled any wider. Kate of course hated the boat and Kara's always just happy to be along for the ride. I think more than anything they enjoyed getting gallons of sand plastered to their bodies. Mike had fun throwing himself off the jet ski, and wake boarding. Mike taking his turn at wake boarding.

I made sure that my first time out on a jets ski, I was driving. I forgot about his spider arms and all of the sudden the clutch is floored and we're doing 180's. He's just a big back seat driver...literally.
The water was perfect! Kara just thought it was a nice big dirty bath.

I think before we even got Kate in the boat she kept saying "I'm done! I'm done!" Sorry to say, she gets it from me.

Kate of course just loved playing with the "big girls."

It's Saturday!

Every Saturday morning when Kate wakes up Mike asks, "Kate, what day is it?" and Kate always responds with a huge grin on her face and the loudest voice she can find, "it's Saturday!" Kate is acutely aware that her daddy is home on Saturdays and that it usually means we have a fun family day ahead of us. So yesterday we loaded the bikes up and headed over to the river where we took our bikes and the bike trailer and rode for miles along the American River. I usually carry the bike trailer with the 50 some extra pounds of girls in the back for the extra workout. No more than 2 miles in to the bike ride I had to surrender. My lungs were burning! I guess I'm not used to lugging so much extra weight behind me. Good thing for a strong daddy. Kate quickly reminded me that "daddy goes faster than you mommy." Bless her heart. After Kara had conked out, we found a shady picnic bench and ate the lunch we packed. Mike and Kate hiked down to the river and spent time together throwing rocks in the water. Kate later told us that was the funnest part of the day. During our picnic lunch, Mike asked Kate how much she loved him and with a huge grin on her face, held up all ten fingers and said, "I love you this much daddy. Now Mommy, you ask me how much I love you." I thought I knew where this was going (and I did) so I asked her how much she loved me. Then with a smile on her face she proceeded to hold up only 3 fingers. I guess you can't win them all. We stopped for ice cream on our way back and went swimming when we got home. After all the fun stuff we did during the day, she still said the best part was throwing rocks in the river with her daddy. Oh, to be a kid again.



Kate and Mike throwing rocks in the river.

Kara's 18 months!

Kara turned 18 months old this week. It doesn't seem like much of a milestone, but for me it means I can actually enjoy and listen at church (well most of it anyway). With Mike being in the bishopric, I find that I get next to nothing out of the church meetings themselves. But now, I atleast get to attend two of the three hours. Sacrament still poses a problem for us. Her being the daddy's girl that she is, I have to keep a close watch on her because she bolts for the stand (where Mike is sitting) a couple times every sunday. I can usually keep her occupied with food, books, or singing the Cougar fight song, but today she almost made it to her dad. She was obviously watching me and when I looked away to help Kate she bolted down the aisle. She started at a slow trot and the second she saw me coming after her, she started into a sprint (which I must say is very impressive for her little legs). I ran after her right in the middle of the meeting, making a fool of myself, while she is obviously pleased with her performance and progress by the huge grin and cackle she let out. She sure keeps us on our toes.

This picture taken in Utah by her aunt Aria perfectly catches her personality. She is like this 80% of the time. She is such a blast.

This is how I usually leave her at lunch.

This is how I usually find her a few minutes later.

She's our little swimmer. She loves the water. She ends up having to sit out because of her tendancy to jump in when we're not near her. I swear this kid is going to give me an ulcer.

Lovin' Summer!!

We are having such a fun summer. Kara is doing a lot of firsts, and well actually, so is Kate. For those of you who know Kate you know what I mean. Kara is actually introducing Kate to the "wild side" of life. I tell you these girls are polar opposites. They don't come more cautious than Kate and I dare say that it would be hard to find some more daring and confident than Kara. We've been spending a lot of time at the pool these last few months. I spend most of the time in the pool, while Kate stands on the edge and points out all the leaves, worms, and small slivers of bark that will inevitably threaten her life. Kara on the other hand, is off somewhere, barefoot, exploring her surroundings in the bark and rose bushes (not always positive results). Regardless, we're keeping cool and having fun.


Nothing like ice cream on those warm summer nights.

And this is why we don't wear clothes. Mom is doing too much laundry these days.