Park Playdate

We've been lucky to have nice, sunny weather on the weekends, so Katie Anne and I have taken advantage of it by meeting our friends Vanessa, Lily, and Bear at the park to play!  We start with a picnic lunch, and then the kids are off to the races.  They have a great time playing together and running all over the place.  

The cutest part of these playdates is the big difference between Lily and Katie Anne's play last year and this year.  When we met in the summer and fall, Lily and Katie Anne loved to play on the playground, but they didn't play any other games.  Now, they play all kinds of "big kid" games like Hide and Go Seek, Tag, and Duck-Duck-Goose.  Bear joins in for a few rounds of Hide and Go Seek, too.  It is so cute to watch them play together!

 

We've got to sign this girl up for soccer in a year or two - she's got some skills!

Happy Lily!

Hiding...

Bear found you!

Bear's turn to hide... they love to recycle hiding places.

Tag - you're it!

 Sweet girls...

Happy Birthday, Carlton!

Last night, we celebrated Carlton's 27th birthday.  

 Katie Anne wanted Carlton to have a laptop party - she wanted everyone to bring their laptops and play online games, which is hilarious because that's what Carlton loves to do!  Well, we didn't take the party to that level, but Vicki did get Carlton a very cute laptop cake - and Katie Anne did bring her Barbie laptop just in case!

Earlier in the day, Saunders had gone with his dad, Carlton, and Carlton's father-in-law and future brother-in-law to the shooting range for a little guy's day out.  Then, we all met up at the Joneses' house that evening.  We had a yummy dinner of steaks, hashbrown casserole, meatballs, Agan's rolls, carrots and onions, and several of tasty dips before the meal - lots of Carlton's favorite things!  For dessert, there was cookie cake, ice cream, and Agan's cookies.  Everyone had a fun time talking, eating, and catching up!

 

  

  

  

 

Time for dessert!  Carlton blowing out his candles...

Vicki getting ice cream for everyone

 

Yummy cookie cake and ice cream!

 Black icing makes for a black tongue!

 

Carlton opening his presents - and showing off his card from Katie Anne

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last Sunday, before we headed out for the circus, we gave each other our Valentine's day treats.  Katie Anne was very excited about her bag of Valentines goodies!

 

  

  

  

  

Then, it was Daddy's turn to open his present.  We'd agreed to just get each other something small as a present this year, so KA and I picked out a giant Reese's heart for him.  Katie Anne decorated the bag and drew a picture for him, too.

 

Then, it was my turn to open my present.  It was very heavy!  

I didn't know what it was, but when I opened it, I was so surprised - it was a 5 lb gummy bear!

 

  

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy 55th Birthday, Granddad!

Last Saturday night, we had a birthday party for my dad's 55th birthday.  Katie Anne's party plan had been a "camping" theme, complete with a fire in a fire pit (which was something my parents had asked for at Christmas, and which was what we'd gotten my dad as his present), roasting marshmellows, flashlights, and setting up a big tent in my parents' backyard.  Unfortunately for the little party planner, the big snow (which was in the mid-melt stage Saturday night) threw off her party plans.  So, we went with a Mexican theme instead, and it was just as good!  Don't worry, the idea for the party hasn't been completed shelved - I've heard the camping theme has been moved to my 29th birthday, so we'll get to do all those fun things in June!

We started with dinner at El Nopal, and it was really delicious!  

 

  

  

 

My dad got to wear the birthday sombrero, and they put icing on his face while they were singing!  Katie Anne thought this was all hilarious.

 

  

Granddad wasn't quite so sure it was as funny as we thought it was ...

 

but he was a good sport about it anyway!

After dinner, we headed back to my parents' house for dessert and presents.  Granddad was very surprised to get the firepit from us!

 

  

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Zing Zang Zoom!

Today, we took my parents to the circus.  They had asked for a "family day out" as their Christmas present this year, and tickets to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was our gift to my dad.  So, we headed to Philips Arena this morning to see what happened under the Big Top!

We didn't really know what to expect - it has been a long time since any of us had been to the circus, so we really didn't know what it would be like.  Katie Anne was really excited about the prospect of elephants and clowns, but that was about the extent of our expectations.  Well, it was wonderful - we had such a great time!  There was so much to see, and Katie Anne was amazed by it all.  She literally sat on the edge of her seat the entire time.  For the first half of the circus, she was so stunned by all the lights, tricks, animals, and clowns that she just stared at everything with an open-mouthed expression.  

By the second half, she had gotten very into the storyline of Mr. Gravity vs. the circus "prince and princess" as she called the two main characters.  She loved saying "Zing Zang ZOOM!" with the crowd to make the magic happen.  

Her favorite parts were by far the animals - she loved the tigers and elephants the best, but she really adored any part of the circus that had animals.  She also loved the clowns - so she didn't inherit Mommy's fear of clowns, so that's good!  There was lots of exciting things happening every second, and the show was top-notch.  We'd definitely go back and see the show again - we highly recommend it!

 

  

Gigi took Katie Anne to the toy shop before the circus started, and she picked out the baby white tiger with the pink carrier

 The Joneses take circus watching very seriously

Everyone took a turn trying on the magic hat during intermission

 

The big finale - what a great show!