December 25

This is what most of our Christmas day felt like......wonderfully lazy!

Kaiden snuck out of his room at 5:15am and just couldn't control his excitement - "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!!! SANTA CAME SANTA CAME SANTA CAME!!!!" at the top of his lungs. We tried delaying by saying "just 30 more minutes" or "let's eat breakfast first" but we just couldn't resist his excitement. There we were at 5:30am sitting by the Christmas tree opening our gifts.

After all the gifts were torn open and Kaiden was settled playing with some of his new toys Randy and I went back to bed. We lazed around the house in our jammies ALL DAY. I didn't get into the shower until around 4pm and I think we took another nap somewhere in between too! It was one of our most enjoyable Christmas yet. Usually we're a little stressed with all the running about and visiting family but this year we just enjoyed being together.

December 18

My little sister, Samantha (or as Kaiden calls her, Dah), had her Christmas show at the Players Theater tonight. Usually the small shows are kind of painful to sit through and I only enjoy the parts where we get to see her smiling face. But tonight we truly enjoyed it! They have a great group of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders that are very talented and are lots fun to watch. Kaiden had a blast up until the point that he couldn't hold his eyelids open with his fingers anymore and passed out on the armrest. He woke up and insisted on staying to see his Dah. He simply adores her and I think she likes him a bit too...

new years resolution

I try very hard throughout the day to be as present as possible but i often find myself slipping. I get caught up in the mountain of laundry, the dishes calling to me in the sink, the dirt on the floor that sticks to my feet, and other small unimportant things that I feel have to be done before I can stop and really pay attention to my little guy. I find myself saying "just let me finish this" or "give me just 10 more minutes" more than I would like. While trying to enjoy simple moments with Kaiden often times I find my mind wandering thinking of all the things that aren't being accomplished.

My new years resolution for 2008 is to be more present in the everyday moments!

I will stop and enjoy Kaiden's imagination every time I sit down to play with him. I will truly listen to his very important questions and give him the best answers I can. I will tie his shoe laces to go out the door without griping about how wiggly he is or how dirty his face is. I will help tidy up the toys without whining to him about having to do this over and over again. I will buckle him into his seat without yapping about all the crumbs on the floor of the car. I will let him get out projects without first saying, “Try not to make a big mess, okay?”. I will slow down. I will enjoy the little things. I will do my best to keep my mind fixed on the moment without planning for and worrying about the moments ahead.

I will!!! At least I'm going to try really really hard!

by the fire

What perfect weather for a night by the fire! Crisp, cool, a little windy... Kaiden had a blast running about finding the perfect roasting sticks, making burnt hot dogs, marshmallows, and experimenting with throwing things into the fire.

We let the dogs join us and boy were they excited! We shared our hot dogs with them(we went through 2 packages!) and they were more than happy to pick up our burnt marshmallows that dropped to the ground. Charles was a bit concerned about the fire due to an incident many years ago that has obviously done some emotional damage to him! He wanted to make sure that every marshmallow that caught on fire was out and spent most of the time in our lap making sure we weren't being hurt.

I'm so happy we made this little pit. It was so relaxing sitting by the fire, all curled up in our sweaters, just spending time together doing something so simple.

egypt expedition

Archaeologist, Dr. Kaiden, invites you to join him on an archaeological expedition of ancient Egyptian civilization for his birthday...

Kaiden was chief Egyptologist at the dig site. He even had an official "EGYPTOLOGIST" t-shirt specially made.

Many artifacts and treasures were unearthed. Jewels, bones, sculptures, pottery, mummies, treasure chests, and daggers were a few among of the discoveries.

After a hot afternoon of digging the crew cooled off with a water balloon fight.

Innocent bystanders beware!!!

When the balloons ran out buckets and mud worked just fine.

All cleaned up and pizza'd out, an ensemble of 16 gathered to sing and celebrate Dr. Kaiden's big day.

A Nile crocodile was seen near the site and needed to be removed and terminated for the safety of the crew. But the bugger just wouldn't die.

Thanks for all your expertise and hard work team- it was a successful expedition!

he turns 5...

Happy birthday spirited one!

day 13

day 11

day 5

an ING kind of day

climbing,

jump roping,

skating,

pretending,

building,

cooking,

dancing,

creating,

coloring,

reading,

studying,

cuddling,

laughing,

and best of all - LOVING!

Sea World

We took a nice relaxing trip to Sea World the other day. Kaiden guided us around the park like a pro, using his newly found map reading skills. We've got year passes to Sea World so we've been there many many times. We were happy to have him show us around, going into every single gift shop, stopping to see every white ibis looking for food, and walking on every single ledge on the edge of the sidewalk. It was a slow moving day indeed but its our favorite way to visit!

One of our favorite parts of the park is the dolphin nursery. We sat there forever watching the mama's and babies. They are so curious about us, and us about them. They really seem to be communicating with us - flirting almost!

This is the first time we've been to an amusment park and Kaiden has truly been into going on the rides. He was loving the thrill of them and by the looks of this picture so was I!

This a picture of Kaiden right before going on his first roller coaster type ride. He's finally tall enough!!! He was so proud but got really nervous right before the ride, Journey Through Atlantis, started. He was fine going through the BIG splash but we were unaware of the 2 other drops at the end of the ride wich caught him off guard making him not want to go on again. But with a little coaxing he caved in and went again. He LOVED it the second time around and we went again and again!

Now Kaiden is itching in his seat to be tall enough to go on Kraken, just like his Daddy of course!

a trip in pictures

We took a picture in front of this cactus 3 years ago. It was gigantic, green, and thriving. Look at it now! DEAD. Something about not transplanting it with the south side facing south?

Only 5 more hours

until we get to pick Randy up form the aiport!!!!

We can't wait to see all his pictures and hear about his adventures. We've really missed him over here. It's a bummer that he has to head to work first thing in the morning tomorrow but at least we'll get a couple hours with him.

Pics and stories coming soon!

day 3

We're going on day three now with no Randy. So far I've only heard bits a peices of his trip (this is due to really bad reception) - Sedona, Pink Jeep tour, dead cyotes, a vortex rock, indians, humming brids, stealing rocks from archaeological sites, hiking, Steelers football game....... It was a bit difficult to keep up with him! But what I did get out of our short conversations is that he is having an awesome time - that's whats important right?

Has anyone noticed the beautiful change in weather? We had the windows open in the house most of the day and it was delightful. Kaiden and I cuddled on the couch most of the morning reading to eachother with the cool breeze and morning sun shining in. I could have stayed in that moment all day! But of course 4 year olds only have so much attention to give to those kinds of moments so I reluctantly moved onto the next thing.

We took a trip to my mom's house today for litle visit - that was nice. Dah had a bag full of goodies from their school carnival for Kaiden. When we got home that one bag of stuff kept him busy for nearly 2 hours - 2 hours that I used to finish up my project that has taken way to long! Again, pictures soon to come :)

Since the weather was so wonderful today we made a trip over to Arlington Park before dinner. We've avoided parks this summer like the plague - its just been so dreadfully hot! Anything we've done has usually involved water. I think we might actually make a trip to another park tomorrow. And if we're lucky enough to have a day like today perhaps we'll ride our bikes? Just maybe.

Sept. 25

You can find this flickr speller here.

Kaiden and I have been a bit sick this week (fever, aches, pains). The two of us have been laying low watching lots of movies, enjoying the sunshine out back, and making some new things to freshen up the house (pics coming soon). But Randy has been busy busy! Mike, and old friend from his high school days, needed a little vacation and decided to come down to Florida for a visit. He's been showing Mike around town and taking him to all his favorite spots.

Siesta Key of course.


Check out this sea weed! Randy said the piles were enormous and covering the entire shore. I've never seen such a thing before!

Kaiden went out last night with Mike and Randy to see the sunset. We thought he could use some fresh air after being sick at home all day. It did seem to help because he's almost back to normal today!

Yesterday Randy and Mike went fossil hunting at the Peace River in Arcadia.

I'm not sure what the plans are as of yet today. All I do know is I'm getting a little break! Randy will be leaving to visit his folks in Phoenix this weekend for 4 days so I'll be all by myself with Kaiden (which means no BREAK!). So he's being a darling and giving me a day to myself. Thank you love.