Tales From a Small Town

First day of School!

2011-09-17T09:22:00.001-07:00

Okay- so I know I'm a month late on this, but things have been a bit insane around here with school and all the after school activities staring!!

Here's Katelyn. She's a middle schooler now! I know! Crazy!!

Avery's first day of 3rd grade. She was SO excited because she's in the big kids hall now, PLUS she gets a locker!

Yup. My baby has gone off to kindergarten. She was so excited to go to school with her big sister! She's loving every minute of it!

Jihyun's new dress

2011-07-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Jihyun wanted me to post a picture of her in this dress for her mom. She looks so pretty!! Do you like it, mom?

Landscaping

2011-06-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

This has been our project this spring/summer. We got tired of the back 20 feet of our yard being a weed garden, so we decided to landscape back there. In the back corner is a stone patio with a firepit. I think the rest is self explanatory! Now we just need everyone to come over for a party!!

We had this put up to provide late afternoon shade to our patio area. You can't see it on this picture, but there is a vine on there that should be pretty quick growing. So hopefully in a couple years it will give some good shade! We also planted a ton of trees back there. (12 to be exact) That should shade our yard nicely for our GRANDCHILDREN!! lol!

Jihyun at Gymnastics

2011-06-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Jihyun at gymnastics class. She is really catching on very quickly!

Swimming lessons

2011-06-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to post a bunch of pictures of Jihyun so her mom can see that we are actually doing something with her! Here she is at swimming lessons, with Katelyn and Avery.

Floating with her teacher.

Getting ready to go off the high dive.

1..2..3..JUMP!

Jihyun

2011-06-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

First off, I've added about a bazillion posts today, so make sure that you click on "older posts" or whatever it says on the very bottom and go back a few pages. I have dance recital, disneyland, and Lilly's b-day pictures. When you get to Avery's baptism, you've reached the end of the new photos! :)

Now onto the point of this post! We have a cute Korean girl staying with us this summer. Her name is Jihyun, and she gets to stay with us for 8 weeks. We are all having a ton of fun! In this picture, they are "helping" the landscaper unload the sand.

Jihyun really likes playing croquet as long as it's not too hot outside. Here she is with Katelyn and Denali playing a game.

She and Katelyn made this lincoln log village.

Katelyn, Kate, Jihyun, and Beth running through sprinklers.

Spring Dance Recital

2011-06-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

The girls all did a great job at their dance recital. It was hard to get a good picture of Katelyn, because she was in a big group... She is in the back.

Avery in her ballet piece. (She was in several pieces. One for Ballet, one for Jazz, and 2 for performing group.)

This is the dance Dave has been dreading for years. The 4 year old group does a darling dance with their daddies. It was soooo cute!!

Avery doing her Hawaiian dance. (She is on the far end.)

My only regret with this photo is that I wasn't using video instead. This is the start of Lilly's cartwheel. I wish I could explain how she finished this cartwheel, but words would not do it justice. The only thing I can say is that she had the whole audience cracking up. She kindof just dropped to the floor after this and rolled. Funny kid!!

American Girl Place

2011-06-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

We couldn't possibly be as close as we were to LA, and NOT take the girls to the American Girl Place. Honestly, before the trip, Kate and Avery were more excited about going there than Disneyland!! Here a just a few of the pictures I took while we were there.

More Disneyland pictures

2011-06-29T17:34:00.000-07:00

Disneyland!

2011-06-29T17:23:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on our family vacation to Disneyland! We hadn't ever been before, so it seemed especially magical! Our first ride was King Arthur's Carousel.

The girls were VERY excited to meet characters, especially any of the princesses. They would have rather waited in lines all day for princesses than ride rides!!

Lilly Turns 5!!

2011-06-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

For Lilly's 5th Birthday, she wanted to have a butterfly party with her friends. We made butterfly cupcakes, had any pink and purple snacks we could, put wings on the girls, and set them loose!!

The little butterfly divas. The girls had so much fun just flying around; we hardly had to use many of the games I had planned!

Butterfly Lilly: She got to choose her wings first. Was there any choice for her other than purple?? She is definitely my purple girl!!

Avery's Baptism

2010-11-16T15:08:00.001-08:00

Once again, Heidi came through for us with some fabulous pictures! These were taken outside the Bountiful Temple.

Avery had a wonderful day! Thanks to everyone who came!

Halloween Photos

2010-11-16T13:48:00.001-08:00

Here are the Halloween photos! Lilly dressed as Cinderella. She really enjoyed Halloween this year until it started hailing on us while we were trick or treating! She wasn't such a fan of that.

Katelyn dressed as a gypsy. We made her crystal ball with a globe light, some plastic gems, and a battery-powered tea light. She had a lot of fun telling peoples fortunes!

Avery was a princess. I know. We were all shocked. She loved her Sleeping Beauty dress and shoes!

LOOK MA!! I MADE THIS!!

2010-08-18T20:04:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it? I made these WITHOUT having to call mom ONCE!! I'm pretty proud of myself! I'm getting all sorts of crafty. The girls love their new clothes, and they are making all sorts of plans for what I should make next! (Does that sound familiar, mom? ha ha!!)

Don't look too close at anything though- I'm still learning to sew without it looking like I'm sewing under the influence. :)

Katelyn Hits the Double Digits

2010-08-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

Katelyn's birthday was a lot of fun! Her present from us was a room re-do. It was fun to do, and she feels so grown up in her new "tween" room! I have put more decor on the wall now, but don't have pictures of that yet, so I'll post more later!
These are Kate's two best friends, Maddie and Denali. These three are so cute together! They each have an American Girl doll, and they have been playing together (all 6 of them!) all summer! The three of them had a sleepover for Kate's birthday where they painted an American Girl picture frame, had crepes for dinner, and watched "Ever After." (My personal favorite movie!! I'm glad that I'm converting my girls to it! :) )

Missouri Friends

2010-08-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

We got an unexpected surprise this summer!! Our dear friends, the McGinty's came to visit from Illinois! They were in Utah so we got together at a park one day, then took their girls home with us for a sleepover! Katelyn and Hannah were inseparable when we were neighbors in MO, as were Avery and Payton. The girls were all a little shy at first, but after a few minutes, it was like they had never been apart!! We love this family dearly, and are still looking for local jobs so they can transfer here! :)

Chinese Jump Rope

2010-08-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

This summer Jihyun taught the kids a "new" game that took us ALL back to our childhoods! She taught the girls how to "Chinese Jump Rope." The girls had so much fun playing this!! And I gotta tell ya... the Koreans are MUCH more hard core at Chinese Jump Rope than us Americans! She was doing CARTWHEELS over the jumprope while the jumprope was around the NECKS of the ones holding it!! VERY IMPRESSIVE, Jihyun!!

Spring Dance Recital

2010-08-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

The spring dance recital was quite the event for Avery this year! She was in 4 different numbers, so both she and I got quite the workout!! I sat next to the doors so that I could run out after each of her numbers to help her get changed. It was a busy night for her, but she absolutely loved every minute of it!!

2010-08-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I've been accused of NEVER updating my blog, so I thought that I had better post some pictures today. This was Lilly's 4th birthday cake. It was so fun to cut into all those pretty layers! And it really wasn't nearly as difficult to make as it might seem. My biggest problem was getting all those layers level! It was worth it though, she loved her rainbow cake!

Avery's Chinese Dance

2009-12-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

So I didn't get many great pictures with my new camera at the show (it might help if I read the manual!! lol!), but I did manage to catch Avery mid-air by pure luck. I thought this one was really fun!

Chinese Dancer Avery

2009-12-16T20:42:00.000-08:00

This is Avery dressed as a Chinese Dancer for the Nutcracker. She did such a great job! She is getting to be quite the dancer!

Lilly in The Nutcracker

2009-12-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

So, Lilly didn't really remember what she was supposed to be doing on that stage, but she had a ball doing it! She stood around on the stage so long that people thought that she was supposed to just be standing there!

2009-12-16T20:39:00.000-08:00

Kate, Avery, and Lilly in their Christmas dresses. So pretty!

2009-12-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Lilly loved sitting on Santa's lap! She wouldn't talk to him, but she told me that she wants Santa to bring her a red present. Mmmmkay. When I asked what she wanted to be inside the red present, she said a new baby doll. It has been really fun this year to see her catch on to the whole Christmas thing!

Avery's Birthday

2009-11-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Avery got lots of fun things for her birthday. She loved everything, but the camera has definitely gotten the most use! She loves snapping pictures with it. She even got to take it to her cousin Lauren's wedding later that week. Happy Birthday Avery!! I can't believe that you are already 7!!!

2009-11-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo of Avery's b-day cake. Yes, I made it. Aren't you impressed?!? She loved it, and I feel like I redeemed myself from her past disasterous cakes!! :)

Lilly at Ballet Class

2009-11-03T21:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still alive. And I just found a really cool feature on my photo editing software... I can blog directly from there! Woohoo! Maybe I'll actually update more! Ha- who am I trying to kid? Anyway... this is a pic I took of Lilly at Ballet with my new cool camera. I thought it was a pretty cool picture and wanted to share!

Avery-Lou Who

2009-03-02T13:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!! To celebrate, Avery's teacher asked that they all dress up like a character in one of his books. She said it could be simple, such as ratting their hair and putting a circle on their shirt that said "Thing 1." I tried to convince Avery to carry around a flower and pretend that the Who's were talking to her, but Horton is a boy. She couldn't possibly pretend to be a boy. So we went with Cindy-Lou Who. We had fun getting this hairdo to work this morning. It involved ribbon, elastics, a paper cup, and a LOT of hairspray!! :)

Spelling Bee

2009-03-02T12:53:00.001-08:00

We are so proud of Katelyn!! She took 2nd place in the school spelling bee! We were amazed as we watched her SMOKE the 5th graders! She was spelling words up there that I'm quite sure I couldn't have spelled! :)

The principal got through all the words they had sent home for the kids to study, and there were still 11 kids left in the competition. He decided to move on to the middle school words. Here was Kate's first word from that list (coordinate.) You can hear all the audience gasp when they realized that this little third grader actually spelled that big word CORRECTLY!!

Here is another one of her words... climatic. We have oodles more, but let's be honest. None of you want to sit here for hours looking at spelling bee video, nor to I want to sit here for hours uploading them! ha ha!

She had actually knocked out all of the competition several times, but to officially win you have to correctly spell a challenge word, and she kept missing the challenge word. When it was all over and she got second, she said "Mom, I'm kind of glad I didn't win. I don't think I could go through that again!"

Glasses Club

2009-01-05T15:14:00.001-08:00

Katelyn is so excited to have joined the glasses club in our family! (She really didn't have much of a chance! I've had glasses since 2nd grade, and Dave has had them for about 8 or 9 years now.)

This is the side view. Kate was pretty nervous about getting glasses until we tried these ones on. As soon as she saw those little flower beads, she was sold! She said that she didn't know that glasses could be so cute!

Last photo...

Digital Scrapbooking

2008-10-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm in serious trouble. Dave was gone for a few days this week to a conference in Kentucky. Me, being the dutiful wife I am, spent the entire time cleaning and organizing so he could come home to a sparkling clean house. Heh. Like THAT would ever happen!! What I actually did was spent 3 days on the computer downloading different trials of digital scrapbooking software to test out. I'm not the most computer savvy person on the block, so I think that PSE would be WAAAAY above my level. I found a program called Scrapbook Max that I IMMEDIATELY fell in love with!

Within minutes of downloading it, I was making pages. They have pre-done templates, so I started by just dragging and dropping pictures. Then I decided to go off on my own a bit. This layout is my second-ever digital layout! I know I still have a lot to learn, but I thought for my second try it wasn't too shabby!! Have I mentioned I'm in LOVE with digital scapping?!? (Oh- and that bar at the bottom of the page will go away when I buy the full version of the program. Any geusses what I'M asking for this Christmas?!?)

To give credit where credit is due... The paper and elements I used was a free download from Raspberry Road Designs. It is called the "Annie Collection."

*sigh* I sense a new addiction here...

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

2008-08-19T08:31:00.001-07:00

A few years back, there was a commercial on advertising back-to-school deals, and the parents were waltzing down the aisles of the stores joyfully throwing school supplies into their carts while the Christmas song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" was playing in the background. That has become my theme song for this time of year!! As much as I love all the fun we get to have together during the summer, I am always very ready to get the little munchkins back in school. And when they are being honest and not going for that pre-teen attitude they seem to be sporting younger and younger these days, they are always really excited to go back to school as well!

2008-08-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Katelyn had a great 8th birthday! Here she is with her loot!

Kate had a Luau theme for her party this year. She and her friends had a lot of fun dressing in their leis and hula skirts and playing games. It was a really hot day, so the swimming and sprinklers were a big hit too!

Lilly's latest photo shoot

2008-06-18T10:39:00.001-07:00

Here are Lilly's two year pictures. Aunt Heidi did a great job once again! Thanks Heidi!!

Spring Dance Recital

2008-06-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Recital time again! The girls love to get dressed up and dance on the big stage! Avery even likes getting the makeup on! For Kate, however, that's one of the worst parts of being a ballerina!! The dreaded EYE MAKEUP!!

Katelyn is really getting quite graceful. She is getting better and better. Her teacher says that she has all the technique down, now she just needs to work on her confidence level. She KNOWS the steps, but she doesn't KNOW that she KNOWS the steps! :)

Avery loves every aspect of ballet. She does great too! She had to be put in a class one year above her age level this year because of scheduling conflicts, but she kept up with the "bigger" girls just fine! She has officially decided that she will be a ballerina just like Miss Jessica when she grows up!

Just the Girls

2008-06-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Poor daddy. He is hopelessly outnumbered. With all the females in this house, it's a wonder he hasn't yet lost his mind. But us girls have a lot of fun together. And if he didn't have girls, who would tell him how nice his tie looked or what a great haircut he just got! Little girls give the best hugs and cuddles too! As soon as he walks through the door at the end of the day, he immediately hears "DADDY!!" times 3 and the running of feet to see who can get to him first. So yes, while there are a whole lot of hormones running through this house, I think think he's pretty lucky too! :)

Lilly turns two!!!

2008-05-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it's been two years? She's getting so big and talking up a storm!! Everyday she says a new word that we didn't know she knew!

Here is Lilly with her loot. She loves everything she got, but Big Bird was by far her favorite! He's her new sleeping buddy, and we don't go anywhere without Buh-Bur now!!

She loved picking the skittles off her cake!

MOM!! Enough with the pictures already!!

Anybody want some?

Here comes Katelyn Cottontail?

2008-05-01T14:28:00.001-07:00

Katelyn was THRILLED when Aunt Heather asked if she would like to play the part of the Easter Bunny for our family egg roll this year. (Okay, so she looks more like Bugs Bunny, but we won't tell her that!!)

The hardest part was to keep her from hopping all the way to the party. Yes, those are real eggs in that basket! She managed to make it downstairs without breaking any eggs!

Look ma! Two wheels!

2008-05-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad decided that it was time for Kate to learn to ride a bike without training wheels. Here's Dave giving her the pep talk.

We started on the grass so that if she fell it wouldn't hurt so bad.

After a few minutes on the grass, she decided that she was ready for the sidewalk! She was nervous the first few times, but she's doing great now and loving the freedom of two wheels!! :)

Christmas Photo Shoot 2007

2007-12-22T13:22:00.001-08:00

Our annual photo shoot with Heidi didn't go as well as we had hoped this year between the cold and Lilly being uncooperative, but Heidi still managed to get some great shots!!

Kate and Avery were being so sweet! They kept taking turns hugging each other and telling Heidi to take their picture.

Katelyn, Age 7

Avery, Age 5

Lillian, Age 1 1/2

A couple more cute ones...

Lilly being thoroughly uncooperative! :)

The Allred's get a New House!

2007-12-22T13:17:00.001-08:00

Since we will be at Grandma's for Christmas, we decided to give the girls their present early this year. This morning we had a scavenger hunt that took them all over the house, then finally outside to find their gift.

They love their new playhouse! They think it will be a bit more useful in the spring though, when it's not so stinkin' cold! I'm pretty sure we were in the single digits this morning when we were out there taking these pictures! Brrrrrr...

The Nutcracker

2007-12-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

Katelyn and Avery both danced in the Nutcracker this year. They had a wonderful time and hope to participate again next year.

Avery was a Pollichenelle. Her favorite part was jumping out from under Mother Ginger's skirt. Instead of painting red cheeks on them, the make-up people decided that cutting the cheeks out of red paper would be a better idea. The only problem was that the only way to keep them on was with glue. Yup- her cheeks are stuck on with good ol' Elmers. Talk about OUCH!! I felt bad taking them off her! Other than that, she really enjoyed being a Pollichenelle.

Katelyn was a snowflake. She loved her costume. She did learn however, that the prettier the outfit, the more uncomfortable it is! She did a great job with her dance, and is looking forward to trying out again next year.

Brenna the Elf

2007-12-22T12:52:00.000-08:00

We discovered something very cool this year. Did you know that you can write to Santa and ask him to let you borrow an elf for the holiday season? As long as the elf is done with all his or her chores at the workshop, Santa will let them come and stay during December. The only condition is that the elf has to go back home with Santa when he comes on Christmas Eve.

We asked Santa to send us an elf, and the kids requested a girl elf. We were so surprised one morning when we woke up to find Brenna sitting on our counter!

She is a cute little elf, but she can get a bit mischievous at night. Most of the time she just finds some fun, and sometimes she even brings the kids presents!

One morning we woke up to her using my hot pad as a sleeping bag! She had made some cookies and left them on the counter for us.

She really likes to hang upside down. Here is a picture of her hanging from the fan. She got quite a ride when we turned it on!

A couple nights ago she toilet papered our computer room!! I'm glad that she got stuck in the toilet paper tube, who knows what she would have done next if she could have!

The kids are having great fun getting up every morning and looking to see what Brenna will do next! The one thing they are sad about is that Brenna will have to go back home with Santa soon. Hopefully she will get her work done on time again next year so she can come back and play with us again!

Our new table

2007-12-22T12:37:00.001-08:00

As much as we didn't want to have to buy a new table right now, we really love the one we got. It is counter height, and folds out to be able to seat 8. We only have four chairs right now, but we're hoping to get the other four with our tax return. ;) (Or should I say that *I* am hoping to and for now, Dave is going along with it!)

Trouble in Paradise

2007-12-22T12:24:00.001-08:00

We've had quite the adventures around here the last couple of weeks! One day as I was taking a shower, Katelyn came pounding on the door yelling that there was water coming from the ceiling downstairs. Lovely. We called the plumber out, and we are now the proud owners of a large hole in our ceiling! :)

Earlier that same day, our table broke. Dave and I were trying to fix it when the leg completely fell off. This was our dining room table for a couple of weeks!

And as if that weren't enough, we are having phantom car problems. It keeps making this horrible jerking motion when we drive it, but when we take it to the mechanic it stops doing it. The day before the table and the flood, the latest mechanic had told us that they couldn't "replicate the problem" and we could take the car home. I would have taken a picture of that, but we have recently driven it off a cliff.

Pretty hair!

2007-12-03T16:14:00.000-08:00

Lilly is my first child that refuses to have her hair done. As soon as I put something in it, she rips it out. This morning she not only let me put ponytails in her hair, but she left them in for several hours! I was so excited!

This is what Lilly's hair usually looks like! (Lovely, isn't it?!?) Emptying the cupboards is one of her new pastimes. The lid drawer is her favorite, because then she can climb in it!

Locks of Love

2007-12-03T16:10:00.001-08:00

We've been trying to talk Kate into cutting her hair for months now. She really liked her long hair, but then she heard about Locks of Love. She felt bad for the girls who lose their hair due to illness, and decided that as soon as her hair was long enough to donate, she would get it cut. Here is Kate holding her TEN INCHES of hair! She was so excited to send it in, and she loves her new hairdo!!

Happy Halloween!

2007-12-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween Katelyn was a Forest Fairy, Avery was an Angel, and Lilly was a Hershey's Kiss. They all had a great time trick or treating!

Katelyn

Avery

Lilly

Happy Birthday Avery!!

2007-12-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm a bit late here, but here are the pictures from Avery's birthday on October 19. She had a great day! She was very surprised when she got dressed that her clothes still fit. She was sure that the second she turned 5 she would grow out of her clothes!

Avery got a "My Size Barbie" for her birthday. She thinks it's the coolest thing ever! I have to admit though, it creeps me out sometimes. Every once in a while I'll catch a glimpse of it standing in the corner or sitting on the couch staring at me. I have to do a double take to see that it's just the doll!

Instead of having a big party with all of her friends, Avery opted to just take one friend to Build a Bear. This is Meagan, Avery's best friend, and their matching hippos with matching names, Purple Spots. The girls all had a great time at BaB!

Maegan, Avery, Kate, and Lilly with their new Build A Bear friends!

First day of school

2007-09-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Katelyn started 2nd grade this year. She is very excited about her class, she has a lot of her good friends in there!

Avery is VERY excited to go back to Miss Teresa's preschool this year. She was just sad that she couldn't go every day like Kate!

Soccer Fever!

2007-09-05T10:06:00.001-07:00

The girls decided that they wanted to try soccer this year. Kate isn't aggressive enough to get in there with the boys, but she does a good job keep up as they all follow the ball up and down the field! (Okay, so the time she got a ball in the face may have something to do with not wanting to get in there with the boys! ;) ) She has kicked it a few times when it comes to her, and she's a pretty good kicker!

Kate even got to try her hand at goalie!! She was a great goalie, and she thought she had it pretty good. Nobody even tried to kick a goal while she was there! (Now THAT'S a good goalie!)

Avery is our little number 3. She has gotten to kick the ball a couple of times, but like Kate, she won't get in there with the boys. After her first game, I was talking to her about getting in there and getting the ball away from the other team, and she said, "But mommy, it's not nice to take the ball away from other kids!"

Another picture of the herd following the ball!

Birthday Girl!

2007-09-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

Katelyn had a great birthday! She got an Amazing Allysen doll, ABC stamps, Scripture Scouts CD's to listen to at night, and a Polly Pocket set. Grandma Knudsen gave her a cute paper doll set that has been the toy of choice in all our travels in the car. Grandma Allred gave her a gift card to Micheal's. She was in craft heaven!!

Kate wanted a Polly Pocket cake this year, so this is what mom came up with!

More random photos

2007-07-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

We went to the Dinosaur park in Ogden. Avery wasn't a fan of the roaring noises coming from the speakers, but other than that, the girls all had a fabulous time!!

Hee Ju, Kate, Jason, and Jonas watching the fireworks show that Uncle Shawn put on for us.

Lilly at the Manti swimming pool. She loves water, but now that she can walk, she loves roaming around the lawn chairs even more!

Build a Bear

2007-07-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hee Ju, Kate, and Avery had a GREAT time at Build A Bear!! They each got to pick their own animal, help stuff it, and pick out clothes for it! Hee Ju and Avery both fell in love with the same bear, but Kate instantly was knew what she was going to choose as soon as she saw Hello Kitty!

Rainy day!

2007-07-16T19:27:00.001-07:00

We finally had a rainstorm!! We get rain so seldom in the summer here, that we were ALL so excited! The kids went outside so they could splash in the puddles.

Korean Han Boks

2007-07-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Kate, Avery, and Lilly in their beautiful han boks that Hee Ju brought them. They danced around the yard saying that they were Korean Princesses. They LOVE their han boks!! Thanks again to Hee Ju and her family for sending these for them!!

Katelyn

Avery

Lilly

Fun at grandma's house!!

2007-07-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Kate, Avery, Hee Ju and Yeong Eun at the parade.

Lilly took her first steps at Grandma's house!! She likes walking to Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Hee Ju!!

Hee Ju and Avery in the hammock

Hee Ju playing kickball with Jihyun

Hee Ju needed new shoes for the cabin, but was worried about getting tennis shoes because she doesn't know how to tie yet. She found some she liked in the store, and Shawn is teaching her how to tie! I told her that her mom is going to be so happy when she gets home that she knows how to tie her shoes now!!

Seven Peaks Waterpark

2007-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

We all had SUCH a great time with all the Knudsen cousins at Seven Peaks!! We stayed the ENTIRE DAY!! The kids were all soooo tired by the end of the day, but not NEARLY as tired as the adults!! :)

Avery loved swimming in the kiddie pool. She wasn't quite ready for water slides yet, but she had a great time playing in the pools.

HeeJu at the bottom of one of the smaller slides. She was one of the bravest ones there!! She wanted to try the free-fall slides, but I was too much of a chicken to try them with her!

Katelyn at the bottom of the small slide. She didn't want to do this one at first, but by the end of the day she was ready to try it as long as HeeJu went with her. When she got down, she said, "That was GREAT!! I wish I would have tried that sooner!!"

Welcome HeeJu!!

2007-06-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

At the airport, right after they got off the plane. They were so tired!!

HeeJu brought Kate, Avery, and Lilly beautiful Korean Han Bok's. (Lilly was already asleep when we took the picture.) Thank you so much to HeeJu and her family for sending these, and the other gifts! We love them!!

HeeJu in front of our house.

This is HeeJu's bed for the summer. She and Kate will share a room while she is here. We are so happy to have HeeJu stay with us this summer!! She is so polite and helpful- her mother can be proud of her!

Sea World

2007-06-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Kate and Avery looking at the bat rays. I got Kate to feel one, but Avery wanted nothing to do with that!!

Kate, after the bat ray splashed her! She was pretty much done with the bat rays at that point! :)

Kate with the dolphins. She read a book about dolphins a few months ago and has been in love with them ever since! If she could figure out a way to keep one as a pet, she would be begging for that! (However, considering our track record with the goldfish, I don't think that would be a good idea! Speaking of which, anyone need a fish bowl and net? ha ha!!)

Avery with the Sea Otter. She sat and watched it for a while before asking if she could go give it a hug. Kate, on the other hand, wouldn't go anywhere near it!

Katelyn and Avery at Shamu Stadium, just before the show. I stayed out with Lilly on this one, and discovered that during Shamu's show is the best time to see Sea World!! I had the place to myself!!

Legoland

2007-06-06T17:34:00.001-07:00

Dave and the kids at the entrance to LegoLand.

Avery in the lion's mouth. That whole thing is made of legos!

Kate and the lion.

The girls and me in front of the Vegas display.

The kids at the beach

2007-06-06T17:20:00.001-07:00

Katelyn at the beach. Notice the sand on her mouth? You would think she had been eating it! It was just from her laying in the waves, and the sand it washed up over her.

Avery loved jumping over the waves with me. It was a beautiful day, but with the breeze, it was quite cold! Her little chin was just shaking!

Lilly had a great time on the blanket. She loved rolling around on it, feeling the sand underneath her. Luckily though, she DID NOT like the actual sand, so she just stayed put on the blanket!

The house

2007-06-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Heather has been wanting pictures of different things I've done around the house, so here they are. Here's the wall decor I got from Tai Pan after Christmas.

Here is the front porch. The chair will eventually be painted red, I just haven't gotten to it yet. (I did actually buy the paint today though!) :)

And here is what I did to the lilacs today. They had morphed into lilac trees. I cut seriously about 10 feet off the top of some of them! (Now if I can just figure out what to do with all the branches I cut down!!