Kadie's Program, etc.

 Kadie attended advanced preschool this past year. (It is actually the equivalent to a private Kindergarten, but since she is only four, we will be doing Kindergarten in the public school system in the fall.  She is one smart cookie and reads at a second grade level and is pretty much where Taylor is academically.)  They do a program at the end of the year.  Kadie did such a good job and I am so proud of her!  

Kadie walking on stage:

Singing one of the songs:

My little bee.  There was a play at the end and she was a busy bee:

 The program really tired her out.

 Going back a few days further, Mother's day was great.  I got all kinds of cards from the girls. Taylor got me a cute magnet for the fridge, Lee got me a new super soft pillow, and Kadie got me a Trifle bowl.

 Kadie went to the store with Lee and said she had to get me something made out of real glass.  She got directed towards a trifle bowl and I love it.  It was something on my "want to own someday" list.  With family in town for memorial day, I made my first one.  Strawberry Raspberry Trifle with white chocolate pudding.  YUMMY!

 And a few random pictures so I can be caught up on blogging:

 Kadie's new dress:

 Kim is my new climber.  She has a love/hate relationship with the kitchen chairs now:

 Taylor's pots that she made in school.  The one on the bottom is from last year, the one on top is a turtle and new this year.  She loves to make them and eat Macaroni and Cheese out of them.  She donated last years pot so Kadie could eat out of one too.

Playing with the box it came in...

 The girls have had a lot of fun playing with boxes lately.  It brings back some good memories of the fun you can have with a box.  We got mom a new lawnmower for her birthday.  As soon as we pulled it out of the box, the girls staked claim to the box and started playing right away.

 The put their play chairs in the lawnmower box and colored it to resemble a car.  (It even has squares drawn for gas and the brake, but they are backwards.)

 The older girls have interacted a lot more with Kim lately and I love it.  Kadie and Kim were playing peek-a-boo with this box.  Kim laughed so hard every time Kadie popped the flap open.

 Kim is not known for being a passive observer so she had to join in on the box fun.

 Kadie and Kim also grabbed different boxes later in the week and were watching cartoons in them.

 LOOK...The forgotten "Kimmy Squish!"

 Love Taylor's expression on this one...

Chuck E. Cheese Extravaganza

 We traveled to Billings this past weekend for some fun with family.  Billings is a half-way point for us and my older sister, Liz, so it has been fun to meet up there.  This weekend, our main purpose in going was to celebrate my nephew's seventh birthday.  Lee and I were able to snag in a quick trip to the temple as well.  We thought it would be super busy since every hotel room in Billings was booked for various events, but our session was quite small.  I got a little car sick both ways on this trip.  Temple sessions and Dramamine don't mix well...

Mom and Liz went to the Cracker Barrel with some of the earliest risers on Saturday morning.  I love this picture they took of Kim.  It really showcases her baby blues!

 Emmalee's baby blues are equally as dazzling:

  Kim thought Emma needed fed...

 A grand-kid picture Grandma Ferris insisted we try to take.  Like my sister says, it isn't pictures unless someone is screaming and someone else is picking their nose.  Classic!

 We stayed at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center.  It was fun to stay there since my Grandma worked there for well over 20 years when she was alive.  It was interesting to see how it has changed.  By far our favorite part was the pool.  The pool there has a half-pipe twisty slide and a straight shot tunnel.  We took advantage of the fun and went swimming twice!

Taylor got to feed some ducks that live outside in the courtyard.

 My trio of trouble:

 Chuck E. Cheese was a lot fun, overstimulating, but fun!  Everyone pooled their tickets one and at the end the kids had over 1300 to share on prizes!

Kim posing with Chuck E. Cheese:

 Taylor in the jungle gym:

 Brayden:

 Emma on the drums:

 Kadie trying her skill at shooting:

 Chase and Taylor racing:

 My Uncle Rodney and other extended family stopped by to celebrate.  It was my Uncle's birthday also so he got to join in on the birthday fun.  Kim was not so sure of him this time:

 Taylor had a lot of fun at Chase's birthday party and is now dreaming of the day she can have a party at Chuck E. Cheese too.

L-O-N-G Week (and a long post)

 It has been one heck of a LONG week for me.  I started it last weekend with a horrible flu bug.  I don't usually get the flu, but I got it really bad last weekend.  I spent all day Saturday sicker than I have been in a long time.  I thought I was doing okay Sunday, but then had a relapse on Monday and became sick again.  I had to call in to work and I hate to do that and have rarely had to.  I think I must have weakened my immune system because now I am fighting a cold.

 Tuesday was great.  I was still a little weak from being sick, but I went shopping with my friend Janet for new clothes for the new (skinnier) me and enjoyed every minute of it.  I spent all my Biggest Loser winnings on clothes for myself.  I guess I mentioned it on facebook but not here.  I got a close second in the Biggest Loser contest at work.  I was less than .5 percent away from the first place winner.  Even if I didn't place first, I reached my goal weight at home and lost 25lbs in about 12 weeks.  It feels great and I'm really proud of myself.  I weigh less now than before having three kids so I can't complain.

Wednesday and Thursday were kind of crazy.  It was the Relief Society Birthday dinner at church and I am a committee member that is in charge of putting it all together.  I got a little stressed about getting everything done, but it turned out fun.  We had a small set of cupcakes or a cake for each birthday month.  I signed up for one, my mom did, and then we ended up making one more that someone canceled on.  Here are the August and November cakes I made and a cute September one my mom did:

(Sorry they are sideways...I can't figure out why they do that. )

 August Sunflower:

November Turkeys:

September Back-To-School:

We cleaned all the bird poop off our play fort from outside and Kim has loved it.  She likes to go down the slide the best, but hasn't figured out how to get herself back up to go again.

 Love this picture of her.  You can see some of her curls.  These are even slept on so her hair is usually even more curlier than this!

Taylor has been an awesome big sister lately and was trying to help her get back up.

  Checking out the dog that she lovingly calls "woof."

 More quality big sister moments:

 When I was sick on Monday, Kim desperately wanted to leave the house.  She went and got my hat on and cried at the door.  Poor baby...

Some of Taylor's random art work from school:

 Easter Recap:

So...the bike the Eater Bunny brought Taylor was just barely too big.  She could have grown into it, but we wanted something she could ride now. The Easter Bunny left this note on an exchanged bike outside:

 Taylor modeling her new new Easter bike:

 So there's the end of my L O N G post.  

It was easier to catch up all at once than in a bunch of smaller posts.