"swim soup" and "gobbles"

I wish I was better at remembering to write funny things down that my kids say...especially when they are 3 years old. I'm pretty sure this is one of the funniest ages for most kids as their vocabulary is taking off ... although I don't remember much at all of what Kali and Zach said at this age. SO here I am writing down my favorite words Madelyn is saying so I don't forget. Madelyn is a talker and will talk to anyone that will listen and make friends with anyone that will pay attention to her or NOT pay attention to her. haha! She is pretty easy to love :)...Even when she is looking for her "swim soup" to go swimming or needs help putting on her "gobbles". I seriously don't even correct her when she says the words because it is so stinkin cute coming out of her mouth with her little lisp. I can always count on Madelyn to make me smile!!

Swim Lessons

We decided to try some semi-private swim lessons with Ms. Janna and Miss Kate this year and I am so glad we did! The kids did AMAZING and Zach and Kali are now officially swimmers! I look forward to maybe putting them on the swim team next summer! This was Madelyn's first time in lessons and we had some breakthroughs with her as well. She did awesome and is loving going to the pool all the time and practicing what she's learned. The kids had a blast with the Shouse girls in their lessons and I enjoyed the time hanging out with my lady friends during the lessons. Thanks so much to Janna and Kate for working with my kids and for doing such an amazing job with them!! They loved having you as their teachers!!

Kali and Avery

Zach and Hailey

Madelyn and Ms. Janna

Madelyn and her best bud Taya

Madelyn and Miss Kate

A few videos for your enjoyment!! We are so proud of you Zach, Kali, and Madelyn!!

River Rafting FUN!

We had to do one last big fun adventure with Kristin and Neal before they moved. In all the 5 years they have lived here in California with us we have never taken them river rafting down the American River with Mark as our river guide. So we talked them into it, arranged babysitters for the kids, got a few extra friends to come with us and we were off for an adventure! Neal's mom Rodna, Kevin Anderson and daughter Caitlin and dear friend Kate all joined us for the fun and boy was it one CRAZY ride down that river!! The mountains had so much snow this year that the runoff into the rivers and lakes is amazing and Mark said he has never seen the river as high as it was and running as fast as it was. I got a little scared at that point and even more scared as we hit our first major rapids and nearly folded in half. Thank goodness no one fell out and our boat never capsized...I consider us pretty lucky. All-in-all it was quite a thrilling adventure and I'm pretty sure everyone ended up having a great time! It was super fun having Kristin and Neal and our fun friends join us for the crazy adventure ride down the river!!

Caitlin and Kate- These girls are a blast!!

The girls. Before we put in.

After the crazy rapids at the end of the river... it slows way down until the lake and we pretty much just relax and enjoy the sunshine and row ourselves in at this point! My favorite part :)

Our HOT river guide :)...oh wait that's my husband!

sisters :)

Rodna and Neal

Kevin and Caitlin

Love this girl!! Thanks Kate and Caitlin for coming and making our trip so much fun!! (yes Kate does have a swimsuit on)

Baseball 2011

Zach had a really fun season this year in baseball. This year it was machine pitched games and Mark even stepped in and assistant coached with coach Tony (we've known Tony since we moved to Lincoln 9 years ago). Zach had a great time playing with his friends Jake(Tony's son), Aiden and Ryan. The season ended up being a little longer then planned because of a lot of extra rain that usually doesn't happen this time of year but it was still fun. Zach really had fun and loves playing baseball. He's such a cute little ball player with an awesome left-handed swing. (You'll have to check out the video at the bottom)

Zach is #15 :) haha.

The girls loved playing with Alex (coach Tony's daughter) at almost every game. She was the best! Definitely made going to the games with 4 kids so much easier for me!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Madelyn!

Madelyn turned 3 on June 10th and we had a fun filled day celebrating this sweet little girl! When she woke up we all sang happy birthday to her and asked what she wanted for breakfast...she replied saying she just wanted pink cupcakes! haha! It was pretty funny how she said it. I hadn't even bought the cake mix to make her cupcakes yet so she got to go with mommy on a special trip to target just to pick out her cupcakes and frosting and also to pick out her gift with the money from Mema and Grandpa. She picked a Little Mermaid Ariel bath doll. Thanks Mema and Grandpa! She also wanted to wear her special birthday skirt that Auntie Sheila got her...actually she wants to wear that skirt everyday if I would let her :) Thanks auntie Sheila!
Later we let Madelyn pick what she wanted for lunch and so off we went to Chick-fil-A for chicken nuggets and of course ice cream cones! She was one happy girl!

We ended the fun day with a family birthday party at the clubhouse pool with pizza and pink cupcakes. We were so happy Grandma and Grandpa Stacy and the Hinson's and our good friends Dave and Ali could all be there to celebrate with us!










We love you so much Madelyn and we are so happy you are a part of our family!! You are growing up way too fast and turning into such a big girl!! Happy 3rd birthday sweet girl!!

And here are a few smiles from our sweet little Lilly... I can't believe she is 4 months old now!

LOVE this SWEET face!!

Kindergarten Graduate!

Kali's kindergarten had this cute little program on the last day of school and Kali did a great job! I can't believe I now have two kindergarten graduates and will have two in school all day next year! WHoohoo! Kali had a great year and loved everything about kindergarten! Miss Giannini was a great teacher and Kali learned and progressed tons! Kali is super excited to start 1st grade and asks me everyday when we will find out who her teacher will be. I love this girl's energy for life and excitement for learning and making new friends and trying out new things (unless it's food). We are so proud of our Kali-girl and what an awesome job she did in Kindergarten this year!! We love you so much Kali and what a smart and fun girl you are!

Kali and Miss Giannini

Kammy, Kinsey and Kali