To kick off the summer, we always start with Caitlin's birthday. Since I can't seem to understand my blog, and how to post things right, I will just explain things and then add the pictures.
She is growing up so fast I just can't believe it.
And she is still not too old to play with barbies. I hope that she is not going to kill me by posting this. Well, you know, it's my job as a mother to embarass my kids.We added a new addition to our family this summer. He is adorable and wonderful and I know that a lot of you are going to be scratching your heads over this one, but I love him and the kids love to torture him (only with love) Meet Chester......The newest Kennedy family member.
I know what you are thinking, but we tried a dog and Mike's allergies were totally out of control and we just didn't have the room for her either. A cat suits us much better even though Mike wasn't too keen on the idea in the beginning. He does love Chester and he will tell you otherwise, but don't believe him for one second.I do just have to show you just how far behind I am because this is what Chester looks like today.
Big difference I know. Time flies when you are super busy!
In July we took our family vacation up to Fish Lake to spend a few days camping and fishing and having lots of fun with family. Of course amoung all the chaos of getting things together I forgot to bring the camera. We didn't get any pictures and I feel so bad about it. I am just not a picture taker and it didn't surprise me at all when I forgot the camera. I will continue to work on that. The best part about our whole camping experience was it hailed on us so hard that it looked like it was snowing outside. The cold air felt so good. Such a needed break from the hot, hot summer weather in Mesquite.
When we got back back from our vacation Caitlin and Collin were both in the community theatre play "The Jungle Book". They were both monkeys ( they didn't have to work very hard to get into character with that one) and cute as can be. They did a fantastic job!
Aren't they just adorable? I could have done without the noses. We could hardly tell who they were when they were on stage. I had to look at the shoes they were wearing so I could tell who was who.
Caitlin and Collin without the noses and monkey ears. Notice the makeup on Collin. He had to wear it and surprisingly enough he didn't mind it so much. Should I be scared?
Not a very good picture I know, but this is them posing on the stage after the play was over. I was just so proud of them for sticking in there and doing their best!
I had a lot of family staying with us over the summer and helping out by doing a lot of babysitting. Thank you so much to Aniesha, Sitara, and Robby. You are such a blessing to our little family. I don't have any pictures of this either but the kids had the time of their life with you guys. I did get a couple of pictures with Sitara when we took a trip down to St. Thomas to see the old city that is now exposed because Lake Mead has receded so much.
This was the very beginning of the trail and everyone was happy and having fun. No one was roasting yet and Caitlin hadn't started freaking out yet either. It wouldn't be a family outing if Caitlin didn't freak out. I don't know about that girl sometimes. The drama that she creates is definatley an adventure. I love her so much and she does bring a lot of excitement to our family.
This is one of the house foundations that is along the trail of St. Thomas.
I don't know if you can see this very well, but this was a well that had an inscription in the concrete. It said Mary, May 26th, 1911. Caitlin was so proud of this because that is her birthdate and I was so freaked out because it reminded me too much of "The Ring".
This was a snake on top of a log in another well. The boys were so excited about this. They thought it was so cool. Me on the other hand thought it was gross. I guess that's the difference between Moms and little boys. : )
We did little things here and there and one of them of them that Michael is very proud of but will die when he sees it on here is he put together a giant puzzle in about a day and a half. It sat on our kitchen table for 3 or 4 days after that because I didn't have the heart to take it apart. After not eating together as a family on the table for that amount of time I told him to take a picture for proof and then we dismantled it.
It is a 1000 piece puzzle of the Salt Lake Valley if you can't see it very well. We all pitched in but Mike did almost all of it.
And now for the best part of the summer..........THE END. The kids went back to school today and I regret saying this just a tiny bit, but I am so HAPPY. The house is so quiet today and Corbin and Conner are just playing and having fun and there is no fighting. It's glorious. I hope that the kids have a fantastic school year and make lots of new friends.
Collin so very excited to start 1st grade this year. At 6:30 last night he asked if he could go to bed early so that the school day could come faster. He might change his tune in a few months.
Caitlin wasn't as excited as Collin but she has a lot of friends in her class including her best friend which she sits almost directly behind her. I hope that she has a good year. 4th grade!! Can you believe it? I can't! Life is just so fast paced right now. I don't really want it to slow down because I enjoy watching everyone get older and more independent.
This is the last picture and was too cute not to add. Corbin didn't really want to take the kids to school this morning, I don't know if it was because he was sad or just his normal defiant self, but I let him have the camera and he took this picture of himself. Too cute!
Well, I know that this was a blog overload, but I am glad that I have finally posted something after 4 months of doing nothing. Hopefully it won't be another 4 months until my next post! We are all happy and healthy and blessed abundantly! I love this family of mine!
( On a side note, I finally figured out his whole blog thing and boy do I feel stupid! How hard is it to cut and paste? Hello, Becky! Oh well, we live and learn.)
