Kylee's First Ever Field Day

Today was Kylee's first ever field day and she loved it. She woke up at 6:15 this morning ready to go. My dad came and watched Katie and Charley took a half day to go watch field day. The kids had a blast and we had fun watching Kylee have fun. It is so different than field day when I was a kid, much more fun without the competitive side. I preferred Kylee's field day to mine. They had 16 stations, alot of them were water stations. They had putt putt golf, obstacle courses, tee ball with wet balls, water slide, water balloon game, and these were just a few. She had a blast with her friends and loved that Charley and I were there:) Kylee keeps saying these was one of her best days ever!!

Fun Pictures of the Girls

Right before Mothers Day I took a few (close to 100) pictures of the girls to frame for my mom and Charley's mom. I wanted to share some of my favorites. I did upload to picasso and photo shop some like the one of Katie with the bandaid showing, well that was photoshopped out.

Mothers Day PLUS Six Flags

We had a great mothers Day this past weekend. On Saturday my sister and her family came to watch Kylee play soccer and then we had our mothers day lunch with them at Mi Chula's. It was fun and we loved being together with my mom. Then Sunday morning my girls came in around 8(I begged Charley to let me sleep until then even though I knew the girls were so excited) to give me my presents and hugs and kisses. The girls helped Charley pick out a super cute shirt for me from Charming Charlie. They were so proud of the shirt that Katie actually couldn't keep it a secret the day before. I think Kylee would never tell. I loved how excited they were! I also loved the pictures and cards they made for me.

Then we got ready and headed to the Gaylord Texan for my favorite gift, Mother's Day Brunch!! We met my mom and dad there and had a blast. It is held in the ballroom and when Katie walked in she said it looked like a beautiful wedding!! It really was beautiful with ice sculptures, flowers, and food everywhere!! My favorite part of the meal is dessert at the tall chocolate fountain. I seriously wanted to put a cup under it and drink it but I ate some strawberries and other yummies. They have the cutest kids buffet area with a train going around it and the table is really short for the kids to serve their food. It was so yummy and relaxing. The last time we went Katie was 3 months old and Kylee was 3. This time they just sat, ate, talked to us, and we had a great time.

Then After our great brunch we left to go to Six Flags with Charley's brother and family. They had free tickets so they invited us. This was the girls first time to go and I hadn't been in 7 years. We had a blast. We got there around 1:30 and stayed until 7. It was not too crowded and the kids rode lots of fun rides. They really did have a lot of stuff for little kids to do. I don't think we are ready for season tickets but once a year for now was great. Kylee is almost tall enough to ride just about everything. She is so brave I think she would have tried it all if she could. Charley and Easton convinced me to ride Superman and the Titan. I was so scared for both because they were really fast but I did fine and really liked them both. I really think my kids favorite part was hanging out with their cousins. Katie and Hudson have so much fun together. They are so sweet to each other and love to be together. It was a great mothers day. I was exhausted by the end of it but thankful for my family and just spending quality time together.

Kylee's Friend Moves Away

Do you remember when you were a kid and you had a friend move away for the first time? I think I was just about Kylee's age when I really understood what it means when a friend really moves far away. Sure she gets moving to a new neighborhood to a new house but not the type of move that is so far away you probably will not ever see this person again. I remember crying so hard when this happened for the first time with my elementary school friend. Well, Kylee is about to experience this on Friday when her friend from school moves away. She and this sweet friend are in the same class and were instant friends. She had a going away party a couple weeks ago with some of their friends from school which is where all the cute pictures are from. We have her address and I am sure they can keep in touch. Hey, they have the Internet now, way different from when I was a kid. I just spent some time reminiscing about elementary school and friends I haven't seen in years. Can't believe I have a child experiencing it too!

Tea Party

This past Sunday afternoon we went to our annual Mother/Daughter Tea Party at church. This was Katie's first time to go and Kylee's last time to go, a little bittersweet. The girls were so excited. I think they get excited about anything girly and fun! The girls wore black and pink tutu's with a pink shirt with a big K on them and jewels on the K. I tried to coordinate! At the tea party we took pictures, visited the candy bar, made princess wands, ate cupcakes and candy, listened to scripture and prayer, and then a fun talk about manners. They got to see lots of friends at the party which they love. It was cute and fun!!

I love how Kylee's hand is softly touching my chin, too sweet.

And now for the silly picture. Every picture taking experience lately has to have this.

Daddy/Kid Campout

Wow! I (Charley) am taking a turn at the sacred keyboard to share our fun campout. It's kind of like when your parents turn over the keys to you for the first time. You aren't sure what the drive will be like, but you know you have been given the opportunity to do something special, at least for me. Here it goes:

For the last three years, our small group of friends has taken our kids camping at a nearby lake. This year, we had 16 Dads and 25ish kids. We basically took over the place. The Dads all laughed at the people who had campsites nearby that thought they were going to have a quiet, relaxing weekend at the lake!! The great thing about this trip is it is a time for us to get away and bond with our kids and friends. It is an incredible experience, especially for me to spend quality time with the girls as they watch me show off my Survivorman skills!! Okay, the latter part of that sentence may be a BIG stretch. Thank God for good friends who can cook on a hot fire, set up a tent, and put a worm on a hook. My wife sometimes questions my manhood!! Anyway, I love this time as we get to get away from our normal rush of life and really enjoy time away seeing and doing things we don't get to do very often. I love watching the girls interact with their friends and enjoy spending time with them. These are memories I will cherish and not forget for the rest of my life.

I have included a few pictures from the trip but wanted to post a few things the girls and I enjoyed most. We'll call them our Top 5 List:

Kylee and Katie

5. All the sugar they can eat and drink in a 24 hour period

4. Fishing - if you call throwing a baited hook into the water for 10 minutes fishing

3. Sugar

2. Spending time with their friends laughing, singing, and playing

1. SUGAR!!!

My Top 5:

5. SUGAR!!

4. Mr. Brandon's cooking (lovingly nicknamed Betty Crocker by me) - it's not really roughing it when Mr. Brandon is around. Really, are shrimp tacos (last year), fresh battered chicken fried steak and homemade donuts really roughing it???

3. Giving Mommy a break from the amazing job she does raising the girls on a daily basis

2. Getting to lay in the tent at night and talk to the girls and hear them tell me how much they love their Daddy and the fun they had that day, priceless.

1. Waking up with both girls cuddled up close to me trying to stay warm (both ended up in my sleeping bag by 6AM). I wil never take that for granted regardless of how little sleep I get.

This picture is of Katie getting ready to put bait on the hook b/c her Daddy couldn't stand to hold the worm. Okay, she didn't put the worm on the hook, but she was much more comfortable holding the worm than I was - I know, sad.

The picture below is Katie and her friend Caden walking back from fishing. Caden walked up to Katie, grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, I've seen you at church." After I stopped laughing, I pulled his Daddy aside and said that Caden could get away with that pickup line today but 8-10 years from now, we're going to have to talk!! I took about 10 pictures of this b/c it was a very amusing sight.

The last picture is of the girls watching the sunrise together before everyone else got up. We have a tradition of being the first out of bed (not by Daddy's choice) and heading straight to the car to warm up, b/c we are all about roughing it. I love this picture.

I love you girls and can't wait until next year. Love, Daddy