A Big Boy, A Baby Girl, and A Precious Pug

Goofy Pics!

2011-02-14T21:41:00.001-06:00

Christmas Pictures

2010-12-13T21:57:00.000-06:00

For our Christmas pictures I took the kids to a photography place in town. I had really good luck with this last year with Ellas 2 year pics so I was hoping this year would go as smoothly. No such luck. Of course! But whatever. We got them done

The decent Christmas picture.

The “Kyler was throwing a fit” Christmas picture!

The beautiful Princess Christmas picture.

The close up of my beautiful Christmas picture.

The thoughtful Princess picture.

PURE Entertainment

2010-12-12T21:47:00.000-06:00

One cold day in December we decided to head to PURE Entertainment with some friends. Due to some recent bad press I was a bit nervous about taking the kids, but the place was fabulous! Our friends and I were the only ones there. We had the whole place to ourselves! It was perfect! The kids bounced and bounced and Natalie and I had time to talk

Mommy and Ella sliding down the big slide.

Ouch Ella! That has to hurt!

Kyler, Mommy, and Ella getting ready to go down the slide!

Weeeeeee!

Bell Concert

2010-12-05T21:06:00.000-06:00

When Kyler attends WOW on Wednesday nights at church they (sometimes) practice ringing the bells. Kyler has absolutely no desire to play bells, however, he was not given much of a choice!

But, as you can see, he pretty much just stood there holding the bells!

Kyler, Kenidi, Paige, Teagan, and Caroline

Kyler and Kenidi

Kyler hiding his bells

Kyler playing with his bells

Kenidi telling Kyler to play his bells!

Kyler ignoring Kenidi!

A Mommy And Her Girl…

2010-11-20T20:58:00.000-06:00

Pure Entertainment

2010-11-19T21:13:00.000-06:00

One day we decided to join some friends at Pure Entertainment for a couple hours of bounce house fun. The kids had a blast playing with friends and bouncing around.

Kyler’s 5th Birthday

2010-11-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

All Kyler asked for for his birthday was a Guinea Pig. That’s it. He had his

heart set on that.

I’ll be honest though, my heart was NOT set on that! I didn’t want to add more

stress to my life! But, I will do anything to make my little man smile. So, I gave

in. We went to Petco. While we were checking out the Guinea Pigs the manager

came over to help us. He then told us that his ex wife had a Guinea Pig that

they were trying to find a home for. He gave us their number. When we were

out of Petco I called them. Everything seemed to work out perfectly. Come to

find out the people we got the Guinea pig from were in laws of a family from our

church. When things work out I know it is meant to be.

Kyler named his new pet “I Love You” but has since resorted back to

her original name, which is “Pepper”. Pepper has been a fabulous

addition to our little house, but honestly, I could do without the

smell!

Kyler also received a few other presents. Nothing huge, but a

couple of coloring things to keep him occupied on cold winter days.

On his birthday we had a family party at 1pm and then he had his friend party

at 4:15. Both were a huge success!

Kyler’s birthday cake from Dillons

Kyler’s friend party was at Raeann’s, here in Derby. It is where

Ella takes gymnastics lessons. They all had a fabulous time!

My friend, Amy DeVault, made the potato head cakes and my other friend, Becca, had

her Sister in law made the rocket ship cupcake cake.

Singing Happy Birthday

Opening presents.

Ella cuddling with her Grandpa

More presents. Me cuddling with one of my favorite little boys, Noah

Daddy, mommy, and the birthday boy

Halloween

2010-10-31T11:49:00.000-05:00

For Halloween we attended the church’s Trunk or Treat and then
came home to go trick or treating in our neighborhood.

My beautiful Cinderella Princess

She got the Princess dress at Disney World and the hat from
the Renassiance Festival.

My tough little Wolverine

Check out his homemade claws! He is ready to save the world!

Cake walk at Trunk or Treat

Eating his cupcake that he won from the cake walk.

Posing pretty before we go trick or treating.

Every year we have one of the grandparents join us for trick or treating.
It’s kind of become a tradition. This year we had Grandma and
Grandpa Snyder join us for the joyous occasion!

Disney World-Day 4- Animal Kingdom

2010-10-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

On the last day we went to Animal Kingdom. We decided to sleep in a bit so we didn’t leave our hotel until late morning. We didn’t realize that Animal Kingdom closed at 5pm, so unfortunately we missed out on some things that we really wanted to see. Guess that just means we will have to head back to Disney World soon:)

Kyler and Ella posing with Lilo and Stitch

Kyler loves these silly little things. Every time he sees one he wants his picture taken with it! Silly boy!

Oh how I love my sweet little Princess. Always a Diva!

And a pretty Diva at that:)

Kyler and Kobi the Bear

Donald, Kyler and Ella                Goofy, Ella, and Kyler

Minnie Mouse, Kyler and Ella    Thumper, Mrs Thumper, Kyler and Ella

Towards the end of the day we went on the Animal Safari.
It was a beautiful tour. All the animal were in their natural habitats.



Disney World was a wonderful experience for our family. I am so glad that we were all able to go as a family.

Disney World-Day 3-Hollywood Studios

2010-10-24T21:59:00.000-05:00

On day 3 we visited Hollywood Studios. We all really liked it there, we just wish we would of known that even though the hours say they are open until 7PM, the shows actually all stop at 5pm:( We ended up missing out on several of the shows that we really wanted to see. Guess that means we will have to go back:)

Outside the Star Wars exhibit. Close by there was an awesome Star Wars gift shop. We weren’t sure we were going to be able to get Kyler out of there! He was even able to make his own lightsaber!

Kyler and Lightning McQueen. Daddy, Ella, Lightning McQueen, and Mater. On the far right side you can see Kyler.

Buzz Lightyear busted out and landed on top of the building!

Kyler visiting with Handy Manny

The Beauty and the Beast show. I was so entranced with the whole show that I forgot to take pictures until the very end!

Disney World-Day 2-Epcot

2010-10-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

On day 2 we visited Epcot. Ella had a Princess Breakfast scheduled for that morning. The Princess breakfast was A- MAZ-ING!! Seeing my little girls face light up every time she saw a new Princess was worth every single penny!! The breakfast was yummy and the Princesses were beautiful.

After Breakfast we walked around Epcot, there wasn’t a whole lot there for little ones so we left after a few hours and headed back to the Magic Kingdom, where we had tickets for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Beauty and the Beast made out of shrubs

Chip N Dale with Kyler N Ella

The Finding Nemo ride

Inside the Finding Nemo building

Disney World-Magic Kingdom Day One

2010-10-23T23:25:00.000-05:00

Our first day at Disney was a Saturday and we decided to head to Magic Kingdom.

Not the best idea we have ever had! It was packed! But the kids still had fun and

even though we didn’t get to ride a ton of rides, we were still able to check the

place out and get a feel for it.

Every afternoon this is what the kids did!

An afternoon parade.

The Magic Kingdom

Cinderella’s castle. My Cinderella!

Cinderella’s Castle

Daddy being “Goofy!”

Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother and stepsisters

Cinderella’s carriage and my own little Ella posing in front of the carriage.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

2010-10-23T22:59:00.000-05:00

Hayrack ride out to the Pumpkin Patch

Feeding the goats

Picking out the perfect pumpkins!

Chilling….

Wheeeeee! Tallest.Slide.Ever! Freaked this Mama out!

Budding Artists!

2010-09-14T21:40:00.001-05:00

Lately all Kyler has wanted to do is paint, color, and cut things out! It’s great for his fine motor skills, but not so great for all the trees he has been killing!! Here they are using some marker paint brush things and painting on rocks they found outside. Grandma and Grandpa’s house is very nicely decorated:)

First day of Mom’s Day Out

2010-09-07T22:54:00.000-05:00

Kyler and Ella heading in to their first day of Mom’s Day Out.

Ella playing with her best friend at Mom’s Day Out, Reagan.

Kyler playing with his friend, Teagan.

Chattanooga Aquarium

2010-08-31T22:33:00.000-05:00

The aquarium offers a journey through two buildings. One building is devoted to River and the other building is devoted to Ocean. The River Journey fascinates visitors with river otters, turtles, alligators, giant catfish and thousands of freshwater wonders. The Ocean Journey delights guests with penguins, sharks, butterflies and often scuba divers who interact with guests.

We began in the Ocean Journey building. We started by checking out the stingrays.

We even got to pet the stingrays!

The next part of the Ocean building was butterflies.

The kids were so excited to catch a butterfly on their finger!

There were so many pretty butterflies!

Next up were the penguins. We had good timing because the keeper

was feeding the penguins when we were there so she was able to tell

us all about the penguins.

Next we went to the River journey building.

The kids loved laying in the domes to look at all the pretty fish.

Look Mom! I’m in the River!

Kyler handing out beside the fish.

Kyler beside the fish and a huge turtle shell.

Outside the Aquarium they have these awesome little water paths that kids can play in.

The kids just love playing in the them! The bad part is that there isn’t any shade close to the

little waterways so I have watch from afar while Cody is up close.

Chattanooga

2010-08-30T23:32:00.000-05:00

After all my Dr appts we drove down to Chattanooga. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, where we got to sleep in a retired train car! They kids absolutely loved it! The next morning we woke up early and went to the Chattanooga Aquarium. After the Aquarium we headed home.

“Sleep aboard an authentic train car! Traveling across the nation by private railroad car was the height of luxury in the early 1900's. The railroading excitement of a bygone era is still present onboard one of our 48 Victorian train car hotel rooms at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel complex. Where else can you overnight in a beautifully restored Victorian train car? Although you may be reminded of a past era while staying aboard our rail cars, you will have all of today's conveniences. All traincar hotel rooms offer high speed wireless internet access. Each car includes a queen size bed, and some cars also have a daybed with a pull out trundle bed. The only thing missing from your night in a Victorian Train Car is the "clickety-clack" of the rails!”

The inside of the train car. Ella and I slept on the bed. Kyler slept on the twin size bed and Daddy slept on the pull out trundle bed underneath Kyler.

The train car on the left was the one we slept in.

Yep, I was tired!

Nashville Zoo

2010-08-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

On our last trip to Nashville we decided to visit the Nashville Zoo. It was a nice zoo, however it was VERY spread out. Everything was so far apart, which meant alot of walking for this mama, which was a little rough on me. The weather was pretty nice so that made it a little more bareable. However, after the zoo Ella and I went back to the hotel and took a 3 hour nap!

Ella checking out the fish.

Kyler and Ella checking out the animals in the petting zoo.

They even had a carousel, which was a hit with the kids!

I loved that they had these little domes within the exhibits.

Kyler kept asking me to take his picture with various animals. He was so cute:) I love that kid!

A cute brother/sister pic. A sweet kiss between siblings. And now we wipe that sweet kiss off!

Nashville with the family

2010-08-28T23:05:00.000-05:00

In late August we decided to take a family trip to Nashville. We figured it would be the last time we could all go as a family until next summer. We left Friday night right after Cody get off work and drove almost to St Louis. We stayed the night in a hotel and the next morning drove the rest of the way to Nashville. On our way we decided to stop in St Louis and visit the Arch. The kids thought it was pretty cool to be able to go that high and look out the little windows. Mama, on the other hand, would have preferred staying on the ground!

Kyler and Mama outside the Arch.

Ella and Mama on the way up the Arch

Ella looks like she is getting ready to jump out of the Arch!

Posing for Mama to take some pictures!

St Louis

2010-08-28T22:26:00.000-05:00

On our way to Chattanooga, TN we decided to stop in St. Louis and visit the arch and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe.

In the tiny little elevator on our way up to the top of the arch.

This picture cracks me up every time I see it! It totally looks like she is getting ready to frog hop out the little window. Silly girl!

The kids had fun in St Louis. Not sure if it was because they thought the arch was cool or if it was simply because we were out of the car! But, either way, it was a great way to break up a long trip. It was nice to have a few days to do the traveling and be able to stop and see the sights. It made the trip much more bearable for all us!

A Little Cousin Time

2010-08-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

The kiddos and I made a trip to Kansas City to spend a little time with my sister and cousin Deegan. We had a great time hanging out and we enjoyed watching the kiddos play so well together.

Can you feel the love?

2010-08-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

I just love it when they get along!!

Best.Purchase.Ever!!

2010-08-05T22:57:00.001-05:00

I am so glad that I bought this for the kids! On a nice day, we spend around 4 hours a day in it. A few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening. It’s not huge, but it is the perfect size for these two!

And the best part? The rarely fight when they are swimming! Woo Hoo!!

Don’t mind the step stool floating in the pool! That was for me.

I was actually sitting on it, in the pool, while the kids played. It was the perfect height!

Exploration Place

2010-08-05T22:39:00.001-05:00

One day we decided to head to Exploration Place with some friends. Now that the kids are bigger, I found that Exploration Place is a lot less stressful from me! I have no fear that someone will take Kyler. Believe me! The kid would NEVER let that happen! Ella, on the other hand, is a little more willing so I do have to keep a close eye on her. But, if she is with Kyler I feel pretty safe. Not that I would ever let them run wild, but Exploration Place is rather large, and my kids are, well, rather quick! I use to stress majorly over this, but as they have grown I have felt a little more secure.

Kyler, Ella and Sam standing on the bridge. Every time we come I get a picture of the kids right here. I should go through and compare them all to see how much they have grown!

They finally finished the Kansas section.This awesome combine was a huge hit!

The “Grossology” section. It was pretty neat, however, some of it was, well, rather gross! And some was a little scary for the kids. My kids tend to get freaked out by huge talking heads!

Ella, Kyler and Sam in the younger kids section. We can never get enough of the water table!

Kyler and Ella in the Vet section. And yes, I did question Kyler as to why he was cutting off the dog’s tail. He informed me that he was actually just cutting the bugs off the dogs tail. Whew!

Sports Camp

2010-08-05T22:22:00.001-05:00

In July our church offered a sports camp for boys and girls 3-10 (I think!). Kyler was SO excited to participate. He could barely contain himself! After the first day that is ALL he talked about! Well, sports camp and Star Wars (of course!).

Day 1 soccer

Day 2 volleyball

Day 3 basketball

Day 4 (flag) football

Day 5 water sports

Kyler said he enjoyed all the sports, but his least favorite was volleyball. Mine too Buddy, mine too!

I did not have the privilege of being one of the leaders for Sports Camp. VBS just about did me in. I just didn’t feel like it was something that I could handle. But, I did get to come in and take some pictures a couple of days so I was able to see what the kids were doing and how much fun they were having. As I have said before, we belong to a truly wonderful church. We are very blessed! Our Children’s Ministry Director is one of the best and she does a fabulous job of involving the young kids and really tying in the importance of the bible stories in a fun way. I LOVE the fact that Kyler can tell me some of the stories from the Bible and I LOVE that he truly understands them and gets them.

In September Ella will be able to attend Sunday School (and I get to be her teacher!). I am so excited to watch her learn. For the past few months I have been Kyler’s teacher and watching him and his friends learn the stories has been amazing. I know it will be different with Ella’s class, but I am so excited to share the story of God will little ones!

Simply gorgeous I tell ya!

Ella with one of my BFFs little girls, Jenna.

Being good sports