Spring Break! (Thursday)

We went to Pasadena to the Kidspace Museum. It was packed. Kara loved it though. She enjoyed playing with her cousins and her friend Keira came too. The weather was great for being outside. On the way home we stopped for a quick lunch.

Spring Break! (Tuesday, Wednesday)

We went to the park near our house one day. The pool was open for the week so we all went swimming. We found this fun sand/water table at Costco and got it for Kara. Unfortunately the sand and water ended up on both sides...what a mess. On Wed. evening we went to Olive Garden with Aaron's parents and Jamie. Kara was so good. She loves eating out.

Spring Break! (Monday)

We had so much fun over spring break. Instead of a cruise or a vacation we stayed home and did day activities every day that centered around Kara. On Monday we went to the Bounce House with Aaron's sisters and their kids. Since Jamie and the girls were in town we planned activities with them almost every day.

Easter

We had a fun-filled Easter! Kara participated in three egg-hunts: at our house, Gramma and Papa's house, and Grandma and Grandpa Kirkland's house. She amassed quite a stash of candy and for the rest of spring break, she wanted nothing besides chocolate, Peeps, and Jelly Beans. She loved listening to the full choir and orchestra at church and she got to spend lots of time with her cousins.

Kara wants to make sure that the choir knows the words, so she holds the hymn book up for them to see.

Our Artist

Last month, Kara got hold of a Sharpie. Kim noticed that's she'd been quiet for a while (never a good sign) and found her in the loft, writing all over our couch. She also wrote on herself and a dollar bill. I'm sure she was very confused when Kim lost her mind.
At least rubbing alcohol nearly cleaned it all.

Winter Videos

Here's a compilation of a bunch of video I've taken over the past few months.

Eating at Yamoto with our friends:

Firehouse 126

At the end of February we went to the firestation with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. Kara was fascinated by the firetrucks and enjoyed putting on the fireman's boots.

The Newest Member of Our Family

Meet Henry. The fish. Not much work, not much trouble and he definitely doesn't pee on the carpet. (An issue we are having with Ellie at this time.) Kara calls him, "Hiiiii, the dish." Her speech is coming along but it is so funny to hear her try so hard to pronounce some things that just don't come out right. I discovered a 2-year-molar yesterday making its way through her poor little gum. That explains our recent sleepless nights hopefully. Aaron had Open House last night at school so it feels like the school year is on its way to a close already. Just a few more weeks until spring break...

Fun Times with Aaron's Students

On Feb. 20 we went to a local arcade with Aaron's bookclub students. They had a blast playing Laser Tag, bumper boats and video games. Kara loved the little Merry-Go-Round and playing ski-ball with Papa. We have been so busy doing fun things that I haven't been updating the blog. Several posts will be coming soon.

Valentine's Day

On Saturday night we went on the Mystery Train Ride again but this time we went with friends. It was so much fun. It had a different theme and plot so we had no idea who the murderer was. The food was great. The company was so much more fun than sitting across from strangers all night. The conversation was good. Overall, a very fun night.

Carson's Birthday

We went to our nephew's first birthday party on Friday. He is such a cute little guy. The weather was beautiful at the park and Kara had a great time playing with her cousins. Even her cousins from Utah were there. It was so cute to watch Carson attempt to eat his cake. Kara is getting braver on bigger play equipment and was willing to try the steeper slides and climb the taller ladders. Yikes!

Dinner Out

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A couple of weeks ago we went to a fun Japanese restaurant with our friends. Kara loved the koi pond at the entrance and seeing all of the turtles and fish. Then it came time for the dinner to be prepared in front of us. Kara was mesmerized by the quick movements of the chef and the fire. Dinner was awesome. Afterwards we went and got ice cream. We are meeting our friends there again tonight for dinner. We are sitting on the sushi bar side instead (it is a little cheaper) so no meal cooked in front of us. Should still be lots of fun!

Friday Night

Here is a typical Friday night at home. We made pizza for dinner. (I have the best recipe for pizza dough if anybody wants it. It is for a breadmaker.) Kara was so excited when the dough was ready she wanted to help roll it out. We watched the pizza bake for 30 min. with the oven light on. She was so excited when it was done and ate SO much. After dinner Daddy and Kara read in her tiny Tinkerbell couch/bed for awhile.

Aaron was looking at the rentals on tv for a movie for us to watch tonight and Kara noticed a Tinkerbell picture and freaked out! She has a coloring book and a drawing book about Tinkerbell and loves the fairies. We decided to spend the $5 for the next three days of the rental and get it for her. It is her first real movie that she has watched. She made it through about half of it before she got tired and was ready for bed.

In other news, today was a cute day. Daddy is back to work after 3 weeks off so it has been a long week without him home. Kara constantly asks about Daddy. Today we had the carpet cleaned. We were having lunch and I said to her, "Do you know what?" and she crossed her arms around her chest in an X and moved back and forth. I said, "You are right, Mommy loves you." She knows SO much and is so smart. It amazes me every day the things she thinks and knows AND can now communicate. This is such an awesome age.

Christmas Morning Video

Here is the promised video from Christmas morning.