Date Night

So, tonight was the Daddy Daughter Dance in Oldham County...Lyla and Daddy had a fantastic night together and they were able to share it with our good friends Jeremy and his girls Erin & Cara. 

Lance said Lyla danced for 2 hours straight...she wouldn't stop! She saw several of her friends from school and Girl Scouts. She had a fantastic evening. Here are a few photos I took after Daddy rang the doorbell to pick her up (because all worthy suitors come to the door).

 

My favorite is this one, which was not posed, I swear:

 

 

So, Cade & I had our own date. We went to dinner at Panera, where Cade was a wonderful conversationalist over our meal. We talked about Star Wars, what Ms. Tobe is doing this weekend (probably working at the school, according to Cade) and what God looks like. It was fantastic.

Then, Cade decided to go to Malibu Jacks instead of Chuck E. Cheese (I was so relieved about this). He loved playing games...we won over 400 tickets and the best part was riding go carts...twice. He talked me into a second go around. 

 

 

 

 

These 2 are so much fun! Spending time with them has to be the most gratifying thing I've ever done. 

A Few of Our Favorite Things...

We've been busy these last few days, enjoying the amazing Spring weather...in January! The weather has been a mixed blessing as I think it's playing havoc with our allergies, but mostly, it's been a blessing.

We celebrated Isabella's birthday on Sat. I was able to get a few photos when the girls got back from her art party. How is it possible that she is 7?!

 

 

 

 

Cade: "Bodhi goes everywhere I go." This definitely proved to be a bit of an issue when Bodhi had an absolute breakdown when Cade (who is fiercely private about his bathroom time) refused to let him in the bathroom with him today. All in all, these 2 had a really great play day today. 

 

 

 

Cade has been enjoying the weather on the Gator, arguably the best gift we've ever bought him. Here he is with his friend Gracie...I heard him excitedly tell her that the Cards were winning while looking at his (pretend) screen:

 

I had the opportunity to get to go to Lyla's PTP Game Night, and she was able to show me many of the games she's been working on at school. It was an amazing night....I'm so proud of everything she's doing at school.

 

And tonight, just before drifting off to sleep, Cade remarked, "It's too bad we never got to meet God. When did He die anyway?"

Just another one of many gemstone moments with these two. I can hardly wait to see what's next.

Our Muddy Day

I love Fridays. It's Cade's day off from school, and I love getting a little time with him and doing, well, whatever he chooses. Today we surprised Lyla for lunch at school. She was happy to see us:

 

Cade is back into "working man" mode. At bathtime tonight, he told me he was happy he was so dirty because he's a working man. The weather is ridiculously warm for Jan., and the yard is so muddy from all the rain we've been pelted with this week. It was the perfect opportunity for digging and laying pipes that Uncle Steven gave Cade to play with:

 

 

I laughed so hard when I realized this photo Cade posted in the treehouse has survived the Fall & Winter:

 

And, of course, things got even better when Lyla got home from school. This girl has loved mud from the beginning, and she still does. I love how they created their own mortar:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day ended snuggling on the couch before Daddy's 8 pm bedtime. While recounting the events of Inauguration Day 2017, I caught this sweet moment:

 

I am so blessed.

MLK Weekend

Sometimes there is nothing melodramatic about the best weekends, they just happen. We had such a good one these last 3 days that I'm sad to send Lyla back to school tomorrow. Here are a few cell phone photos. These kids just keep getting more and more fun...

Pajama day pre-weekend on Wed. Lyla wore the cutest hand me downs from our dear friend Violet, which made it even more special:

 

An art class beauty Lyla came home with on Friday. I couldn't be more proud:

 

Laughter at playtime...we played so many games this weekend. 

 

Lyla took a renewed interest in her dolls, and paired with Cade's newfound obsession with Star Wars and an R2-D2 doll, we had countless games of school, lead by Ms. Lyla Hottman. I love how she's really emulating her teacher. Here's her chalkboard:

 

Saturday night we had bubble bath night in Mommy & Daddy's bathtub...this is their new favorite thing to do:

This is Lyla's attempt to make Cade into a Star Wars Modal Node:

 

  

This man is the most amazing Daddy on the planet. This was taken 5 minutes after he should have left for his shift, but Cade really wanted him to read his newest Star Wars book.

  

The Dolls' and R2's art class:

 

It was a rainy, nasty weekend...so we tried to do some crafting along the way. I'm pretty thrilled with the results:

 

 

Note Lyla's perfect cursive signature...she's been working on it:

 

Note Cade's lower case e...he was very proud of this:

 

Today we worked on getting ready for school return and Lyla created this snowman sculpture for homework:

 

 

Lyla & I had a really sweet movie night after Cade went to bed last night. Brownies and Ramona Quimby....it went by too fast! 

These 2 just keep getting more fun. There's nothing better than hanging out with them! 

And, there's no place like home...I feel so blessed that our kids love being nestled here.

First Ski Day!

We headed to Paoli today for our first family skiing adventure. It was an adventure, alright, and one that we're all excited to try again.

We got instructors for Lyla & Cade and an instructor for Lance & I. I'm so happy with how the kids handled this. They happily went together to their own slope with their teachers,  and we went to ours. 

I'm amazed at how quickly they picked up "making a pizza" (aka wedging). By the end of the day, they were zipping down the bunny slopes, and Lance was chasing them. It was awesome. 

I struggled a bit as I've never even put on a ski prior to today. Numerous falls (including 2 off the ski lift) and very sore shoulders from the falls are a bit frustrating, but I'm determined to do it again. Maybe in Feb. 

Lance did great...he hasn't been skiing in 20 years or so, but it must be like riding a bike...it came right back to him.

I love that the kids were able to do it! It was an awesome day!

 

Us and our (numerous) instructors. The staff at Paoli are amazing...they found a "junior" instructor to assist with Lyla & Cade's lesson, so they had 2 teachers. And, our instructor, Dan, was a true pinnacle of patience. He will definitely be seeing me again:

 

 

 

First Snow 2017

It was a sweet first snow if the year. No school, snow angels, sledding and snow eating. There wasn't much of it - maybe a little over an inch, but no one will remember that.