Summertime!

What have we been up to the last week?

A little bit of this...


And this...



And a whole lot of this...




And this...





The calendar might suggest otherwise, but it sure feels like summer around here! We've been busy, busy, busy, but good busy. Taylor's school picnic was last Wednesday and she had a blast with all of her friends. The school rented a huge obstacle course and Taylor LOVED it! It was kind of sad at the end of the day, saying good-bye to her little friends and their moms. Her two best buds are in different school districts, so they'll all be going to separate kindergartens.



Taylor at the top of the obstacle course!



Michael playing with Taylor's friend's little sis. They've become buddies, too!

The Pear.

On Friday, we went to a graduation party for one of Mike's players. I've written about Craig before. He's just a great kid and will be missed. We're talking about a straight-A student, two-sport all-conference athlete, Homecoming king, etc. etc. Hopefully, he'll come visit next year!



Coach and his good ol' #10.




Graduation parties = brownies. Yum!


On Saturday, another one of Mike's all-time favorite players, Aaron, stopped by with his wife Allison and daughter Kalli. Kalli just turned 2 and is sooo adorable! Her little bob cut, big eyes and impressive vocabulary reminded me of Taylor at that age. She had fun hanging out in the pool with the Worm and the Pear.

That's Aaron sitting behind Taylor. I always say that he hit one of the biggest shots in Wabash basketball history, a game-winning three-pointer in a huge upset over county rival Manchester. Of all the games I've seen Mike coach, that probably goes down as my favorite!


Sunday and Monday were pretty much just hang-out-with-the-family-and-chill days!

The Pear and Daddy seem quite pleased about the Steelers' tackle.

The Pear, the Worm and the Ben (and his mom, Michelle) hanging out. Ben is our neighbor.

Our buds the night before.

Taylor and Michael really play well together now. The Pear wants to do anything and everything he sees his sister do!

Of course, they still have their moments...

As Taylor said when she saw this picture, "He's not waving 'hi' here."

Sometimes there's a peace offering...

...and then they make up.




Now that's a good way to end my night. :)


Until next time,


Mommy Kel

The Graduate

Well, my baby girl has reached another milestone - preschool graduation! Yikes, she's going to kindergarten next year! I told myself that I wouldn't cry, but I, of course, got teary-eyed during the slideshow last night. I'm so proud of her. She really is a great kid.

Here are some pictures from the evening. Her school picnic is today (which is why I'm home and not at work) and we're all looking forward to that, as well.

Posing before we left

Because of the caps, we had restrictions on how we could fix her hair. I came up with this.

Mike wasn't home, so here's our self portrait.

Doesn't she look cute?

Performing on stage.

The Three Amigos and their favorite teacher's aide.

Taylor LOVED her teacher this year. She told me that in all of her years of teacher that Taylor was one of the most loving, caring children she had ever been around. :)

Taylor and her buddy from the babysitter's house. She's known him since she was 1!

Taylor, with her beloved babysitter, Susan.

She loves snuggling up with Grandma T! Michael, of course, wasn't too thrilled about sitting still.

He's hard to get pictures of these days!

I did catch him on video though. :)

Gotta run now. I have a date with 90 preschoolers - make that kindergartners.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Is the Weekend Really Over?

It's hard to believe that the weekend is already over! We had a fun one, as usual, and have a busy week with preschool graduation, Taylor's school picnic and a high school graduation party. I've also been swamped at work, which is fine.

Taylor went to her first non-family boy/girl party Saturday. A little boy in her PreK class had all of his classmates over. It was so cute and the kids had a blast. We're having a kid party for Taylor next month. I really like some of the moms, so I'm looking forward to it as much as her!

Taylor and Michael ready to leave for the party. Yep, little bro got to come, too.

The little siblings table.

The big kids (and the Pear). Look at him trying to steal that little girl's hotdogs!

Let's see, what else is going on at our abode on Woodside? The family of rabbits that lived under our back deck seems to have been replaced with a family of cats. I spotted a big gray and white cat running under there a few days ago. Yesterday, she was joined by a teeny version of herself. I only caught a quick glimpse of the kitty, but it was soooo cute. I've never been a big cat person, with a few exceptions. My dad's cat is pretty cool and I remember my friend Lea having a pretty awesome cat back in the day. And, my BFF Lauri had Taz, the best. cat. ever. Really, she was special. I did manage to sneak a picture of the mom. The baby stays tucked behind her once they are under the deck.

Champ's nemesis.

Alright, some more random pictures now...

This may be my all-time favorite T-shirt.

We were able to get all of Taylor's hair into one ponytail. Yay!

My baby smelling flowers. He sniffs, then says "Ew, 'tinky." Pretty funny stuff.

I could just eat him up sometimes! He loves to sit on this little step on our front porch.

He doesn't talk much yet, but he certainly gets his feelings across, haha.

The Pear eating pears. He's getting pretty good with the fork. (Disregard the toothbrush. He carries it around everywhere.)

Alright, off to the sack.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Picture This!

I have lots of random pictures that I've taken over the last few weeks that haven't made it onto the blog. So, I now present you with few words and lots of randomness. :)

I was doing laundry tonight ('cause that's how I roll on Friday night these days) and couldn't resist hanging the kids' clothes like this.

Flowers from my backyard. They smell so good!

Some of Taylor's chalk creations. She's good!

Taylor's Champy.

And her rainbow dog, Martha.

We spend almost all of our time outside when it's nice out. Our backyard isn't very big, but I love it!



Our deck full o' toys.

Sometimes I can't quit looking at those eyes!

Hi Michael!

Wheee!

Uh Mommy, put the camera down and push.

Until next time,


Mommy Kel