Omaha.

We took a trip to Omaha this past weekend to visit Aunty Arin and bring her kitty Roxy.  We left Thursday afternoon and traveled in some bad weather (yes, again) but made it safely a little before midnight.  I will say I felt like we were a touring circus family on the road with 3 children 4 and under, a dog, and a kitten, but we managed.

The kids were so excited to give Roxy to Aunty they could hardly wait.  She loved Arin right away and started following her around and snuggling her.

Friday we headed to the Omaha zoo for the afternoon.  The Omaha zoo is so fun and we had absolutely gorgeous weather.  Despite being exhausted from the late night before, the kids had an absolute blast.

Even Kenzie enjoyed herself.  She was very curious about all the animals and enjoyed cruising around in her stroller.  She even napped in it and never was crabby!  We miss the Sioux Falls zoo so much, this was a great substitute this summer!

We had a great visit in Omaha.  It went by far too fast, as usual.  We just love the time we get to spend with our family-even if we have to travel around the country!

It was our first trek through Sioux Falls since we moved and I was sort of sad as we drove by some of our favorite spots.  I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed Sioux Falls and all it had to offer until we moved away.  On the way back home to Fargo, we stopped in Sioux Falls and visited with the O'Connors.  We had a great (but too short) visit and the kids seemed to pick up where they left off.

Grass!

We have been waiting a very very VERY long time for grass in our yard.  We have been supposed to be getting it since May and let me tell you, it has been a very long 3 months at our house.  We have watched many catipillars level and re-level our yard without seeing any grass.  So needless to say, the day they finally laid our sod, it was a celebration!  I think I was more excited then the kids, but they were very excited, too.  I will say not having grass has motivated us to start our house hunt a little earlier than we first anticipated.  Until we move (yet again) we will be enjoying our large, blanket soft, green, grassy backyard.

 When the kids first went outside they ran around like crazy.  It was hilarious.

Kenzie loved crawling around in the soft grass.

Love this shot of baby K feeling the grass between her fingers.

And...of course it didn't take long for her to crawl over to the rocks and taste them.

Even Emma was enjoying the grass.  She laid down immediately and sun-bathed.

I think we will appreciate our grass so much the rest of the summer!  Wahoo!!

Foxy Roxy

We were fortunate enough to be able to pick up Aunty's new kitty for her and keep her at our house for 5 days.  The kids were ecstatic as you can imagine and it was so fun to have a kitty to play with...and then give away.  I am not the biggest cat person in the world but this little cutie won over my heart pretty easily, she is so adorable!  Kadence wanted to name her Roxanne Ritchi (from Megamind) so we started calling her Roxy.  I am not sure that Roxy will miss our kiddos when we bring her to Aunty, but I know that Landon and Kadence are going miss her a TON!

This day Landon decided he should make a fort for him and Roxy to snuggle in.  He literally wanted to snuggle her ALL day long.

This day Landon decided he didn't feel well but a little snuggle time with the kitty made him magically all better!

Kadence also loved to snuggle Roxy. She just had a harder time remembering not to squish her.  I think my kids would love a kitty!  They had so much fun playing with her!

And really, how cute is she?!

Little Explorer

This little baby has sure taken off in the past week.  Since she has mastered crawling, her little world has broadened to an endless exploration of new things.  She can get to the toys of big brother and sister that she didn't use to get to, she follows me around at my feet, and explores explores explores.  Two favorites so far are Emma's dog dish (that's a given) and the stairs.  She loves to stand on the stairs and play and I know that it will only be a matter of time before she starts climbing them.

Love this little lady to pieces!

She's Crawling!

Kenzie girl is officially on the move.  She is crawling all around the place and nothing is safe from her anymore.  We have re-introduced baby gates into our home and have to have a constant watch on Emma's dog dishes.  Kenzie is so proud of herself as she crawls around trying to keep up with big brother and sister.  She is able to entertain herself for longer periods of time which is nice-as long as she is not getting into trouble.  I still can't get enough of this little girls toothy wide open mouth smile!

Enjoy this short clip!

Thank Heaven For Little Girls.

"Little girls dance their way into your heart, whirling on the tips of angels wings, scattering gold dust and kisses in our paths."

These two little girls are so special.  They already have a special bond and I am sure it will continue to grow.  There is something amazing about the relationship between sisters; even though it is often times a love-hate relationship.  I know that sometimes with a lot of work and sometimes with no work at all sisters can be the best of friends.  I pray everyday that these two will have that special bond.  

In the mean time I will just keep loving these two little girls like crazy.  The more hair Kenzie gets, the blonder it is.  The more sun Kadence's hair gets, the blonder it is.  I see a lot of similarities in their looks and wonder if Kenzie will look more like her big sister as she grows.  

A side note...This is one of only 2 matching dress outfits my girls own.  I said I would never be one of those mom's who dressed their children alike.  There is just something absolutely adorable about a baby girl who matches her 3 year old big sister...

The Skowlund's Visit.

Kadence (3) Landon (4) Kenzie (8 months) Annabelle (4) AJ (3)

My sister and her family came and stayed with us for a few days and we had a great time.  It is always chaotic when we are all together due to the fact there are 5 children under 5 residing under one roof for a few days.  The kids had fun together playing and us adults had a great time catching up.

Annabelle loved playing with Kenzie and was so excited to feed her a bottle.  Cutest.Picture.Ever.

I absolutely loved how Landon snuggled up with Uncle Curt (usually closer than shown in this photo) to watch him play one of his computer games.  Then he'd excitedly talk to me about it later.  I think there's a very good possibility he could be a gamer just like Uncle Curt.

I love catching these four on camera in the tub together.  It was quite crowded this year although no one minded and I had to force each one of them to get out!

What's a visit with so many little ones without visiting the Cheese?  Annabelle had been to Chuck E. Cheese with us one other time in Sioux Falls and was deathly afraid.  She was just fine this time and all the kids had an absolute blast playing the games.

Even Kenzie was having fun and loved all the stimulation!

It only took me over 3 years, but I finally was able to catch a picture of these four all looking at the camera and smiling.  They were having fun in the pool!

Another great visit gone by too quickly.  It is very fun to get together so the kids can have some fun cousin time!  I remember how fun it was growing up to spend time with my cousins who were close in age.  Hopefully even though these guys live further apart they will have a chance to develop great relationships.  The visit was pretty much perfect aside from Curt getting kidney stones and spending Wednesday in the ER before they left.  I did learn in the time Jill and Curt were at the hospital if I had two sets of twins my older kids' ages plus Kenzie, I would definitely be checked in to a nuthouse!  Love the Skowlunds!