Keeping Busy

So now that I am a stay at home mom I have managed to stay pretty busy. I have gone to my work (I still call it that even though I don't currently work there) a couple times to eat lunch with my friends. My friend Jana was turning 40 last week so I said I would make some cupcakes since I bought a cupcake decorating book. So, 3 hours later, here is an example of my panda cupcakes.

Batter's Up!

Ryan has joined a sport that he is truly excited about. He is now in T-ball. He had his first practice on Friday and last night was his first game. You should see how excited this boy is. He is jumping up and down and constantly running to his coaches to tell them something.

Here is Ryan being "pitcher". The coaches actually pitch the ball but they have a kid stand on the pitchers mound.

Here is Ryan catching a grounder.

And here he is up to bat.

This kid gets away with so much because everyone thinks he's cute. I'm not trying to be conceited. Honestly, so many people are constantly telling me that he is so cute. And they say it right in front of him! His kindergarten teacher told me that she chose him for her class because he is so cute. And boy does Ryan plays it up. During the last inning the coach would pitch one ball to the kids and if they missed it they would bring in the tee. Usually it is three pitches then the tee. But towards the end of the game they are trying to make sure every kid has a chance to bat. So when Ryan is up he misses the pitch. So, they bring in the tee and he looks at them with his cute little smile and those chubby cheeks and say "Awwwww, please can I have one more pitch?" So what do the do? They put the tee back and pitch to him one more time! What? I swear. That little boy of mine.

Ally's Birthday

Ally turned 8 years old on Monday!

Isn't she beautiful?

This is the first year we did not have a party with family and friends. Instead we let Ally decide what she wanted to do. We offered such things as a small party at Chuck E Cheese, a friend party at Build a Bear, or a sleep over with a few friends. She decided to have a sleepover with one friend. Unfortunately, the friend she really wanted to sleep over could not spend the night. So, Ally invited another friend to spend the night along with going to a movie (Nanny McPhee), eating at Dions and going to Baskin Robbins. The friend originally invited to sleep over was able to attend the happenings in the day.

Here is Ally enjoying her Rice Krispie Cupcakes with strawberry frosting.

My kids are just growing up too fast for me. My baby started kindergarten. My other baby is 1/2 way to Sweet Sixteen.

Staying Home

So as many of you know, I am taking a year off from work. When I requested a leave of absence for a year, District Office asked me for what reason. I replied "because I want to take a year off". So here I am, with my husband at work and my two kids in school. I thought I would have have so much time free to do what ever my heart desired. Whoa, was I wrong. It seems that every day I have a list of chores (a list I created myself) of things that must be done. So last night I expressed this fact to Henry and I asked "where is all my free time?" He pointed out that the free time is in the evenings and weekends when the family is home. He said that if I wasn't running all my errands during the week that our evening and weekends would be spent running errands (just as it was when I was working). Point taken.

I had hoped to get back into the gym once the kids went back to school. Well, a week into school and I have yet to do that. So when I told Henry that I needed to exercise, he said "ride your bike to Wal-Mart tomorrow and run your errands there." Well, this man is just full of wisdom, isn't he? So, I ran the kids to school this morning and came home to get some things I needed to run some errands. As I walked through the garage to my car, I heard my bike calling my name. So, I went inside, grabbed a backpack and took off to Wal-Mart. The bike ride there is not too hard. Quite a bit of it is downhill. So, I did my shopping and barely fit everything I bought into my backpack. However, there wasn't room in my backpack anymore for my purse. So, I tied my purse to the handlebars and headed over to Walgreens. At Walgreens I picked up some medications and headed back home. Uphill, with a heavy backpack on my back, and my purse hanging/balancing on the handlebars. It was a slow process. Heck, at times Ryan would probably be walking faster than I was riding (and if you know Ryan you know how slow I was pedaling). With lots of sweat (no tears) I made it home. YAY!

1st Day of Kindergarten and 2nd Grade

Oh my gosh. How time flies. My Ally is almost 8 and she just started 2nd grade. She was a little nervous on the first day of school. However, once we got there and she saw all her friends she was fine. None of her friends were in her class. However, there is a girl who was in her kindergarten class, so Ally was a little more at ease.

Can you believe my Ryan started kindergarten? He was really nervous about going to school. On the first day of school when he woke up I asked him if he was nervous. He replied "No mom. I'm freaking out". None of his friend from daycare or preschool are in his class. However, he has the same kindergarten teacher that Ally had. So there is some familiarity there.

I took this picture in front of their school. I didn't notice when I was taking the pictures that they were holding hands. This is very rare for them. I just think how they were there for each other.

Here is Ally waiting to go into her classroom.

And here is Ryan walking to his classroom.

Summer 2010 - In Pictures 2nd Installment

Ryan refusing to take pictures with his Aunt Katie at the aquarium.

Ally and Ryan at the Botanical Gardens hatching out of an egg.

Ally at her gymnastics class. Ryan is gymnastics also. However, he is dropping gymnastics for t-ball which starts today!

We spent a lot of time lounging on the couch.

Ryan at Xavier's birthday party.

Ally, so brave, going down the slide at the swimming pool. She kept climbing the stairs and going down the slide for about an hour.

Ryan and Xavier getting in the pool.

We spent some time at the park near our house. Henry would pitch baseballs to the kids and they would practice their swing. This pictures was taken with my new camera.

If you look closely you can see the ball.

Here is Ryan, enjoying the shade, at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado City.

And here is Ally posing for the camera.

Is this rock big or what?

Overall we had an awesome summer. We went camping a few times. Once with my parents, another time with our friends Char and Anthony (and their two kids), and of course our week long camping trip at the beginning of the summer. The kids attended vacation bible school and I taught a class. We drove up to Colorado City and spent the weekend up their seeing the sites. We drove up to Pikes Peak, toured Manitou Springs and visited the Colorado Zoo. The kids and I spent some time in Taos with my parents. We went swimming a few times, visited the zoo, the aquarium and Explora. Trips to the park were a weekly event. The kids also attended a camp at Explora for a week. A very eventful summer.

Summer 2010 - In Pictures

Okay, I apologize for not posting since June. So, to catch up I am doing Summer 2010 in pictures. Enjoy the first installment. (Note: pictures are in reverse order than actual events. The most current appear first).

Ryan standing by a real deer that was grazing his way through the zoo.

Henry feeding a giraffe at the Colorado Mountain Zoo in Colorado City. I think the giraffe had just told him a joke.

Ryan caught his first fish!

Ally caught her first fish also!

Grandma Cookie helping Ally fish.

Grandpa Cookie putting the worm on Ryan's hook.

Waiting for grandpa to fix his fishing pole.

Grandpa Cookie pulling Ryan, Grandma and Ally with his lawn mower.

Ryan at Vacation Bible School. Yee-haw!

Ally on Stage singing for Vacation Bible School.