Happy Easter!

 

 

Yesterday we had a church picnic and egg hunt! It was so nice gathering with our church family to celebrate with the kids. And there were lots of fun things to do!!

Kids had a blast being pushed on the swing

Savannah was busy looking for bugs

Bubble time!

Savannah found a friend in Avery

Three legged race...I think Mike carried Kate most of the way!

Owen and Jacob wanted to join in

Sweet Kate

Savannah got her face painted with a glittery heart



And Owen got a rocket ship

It was an awesome day for an egg hunt! The weather was fantastic and all my kids behaved nicely! 

Kate's Birthday Marathon

For Kate's birthday she chose to have a shopping day with Mama and then have a friend over to spend the night. Because it was a preschool day for Owen and we had to be back to pick him up we got started early.

Getting her measurements

Her collection of cash and gift cards!!

Our first stop was Target

She chose a new bathing suit as well

Quick stop off at an arcade for a game of air hockey

 After lunch at her favorite (Boston Market) we were off to get her ears pierced!!!

Waiting...she looks a little nervous!

Excited!

Savannah took a few rides on the escalator while we waited

Ouch!

There they are!!!

She spent the last of her money on earrings!

Once we got home, she had a few things in the mail

A gift from Uncle Jack and Aunt Carrie! Thanks!

Pretty soon it was time for a sleep over....this is her friend Jillian

They dyed eggs for Easter and played outside most of the afternoon

Cake time!!!

Kaitlyn had a fantastic day and we were all exhausted by the end of it! She got so many great things with her birthday money and we had a great time together. I think it was one of her best birthdays ever!!!

Never Grow Up

Today my sweet baby girl turns 11!!!  Kaitlyn Elizabeth is a smiley, giggly, goofy, happy, and all around fantastic kid who a little more than 6 years ago came into our lives and changed it so much for the better! I knew that when we adopted Kate at 4 and 1/2 years old she would grow up quickly but I never imagined how quickly it would actually happen! She is growing and maturing so fast I find myself just desperately wanting to hit pause so I can enjoy her just a little longer before she goes all crazy hormonal on me :)

Right now Kaitlyn is slightly obsessed with Taylor Swift and thanks to Christmas has all of her CD's. On one of the CDs that we listen to over and over again in the car there is a song called "Never Grow Up". The first ten or so times I heard it I cried like a baby thinking about Kaitlyn!!! I am seriously just not ready for her to finish 5th grade and be heading off to Middle School. In just under 3 months she will have completed 5th grade!

So in honor of her birthday here is a quick (or not so quick) timeline of Kate since her adoption:



2nd time meeting with her - at Chuck E Cheese



First week living with us!

Ice! Pre-K Christmas

 

Swimming lessons

6th birthday



Easter...kindergarten

Missing some teeth

Awards!!! 1st grade

Halloween    2nd grade

Lots of love

 

Mini Mommy

Pretty girl      3rd grade

Silly Sisters

9th birthday....with friends :)

4th grader

10th birthday

 

Happy 11th Birthday my sweet Kate. We love you so much!!! In the words of Taylor Swift, "even though you want to, please just never grow up..."  sniff, sniff :)

So long OSC

About a year ago I took the kids to the Orlando Science Center for the first time. And sadly our year pass is about to expire! So we planned a trip up for Friday since it was a Teacher Work Day and the kids were off school. Unfortunately Savannah was making life difficult for everyone so we got a later start than we hoped and I ended up leaving her with Mike for the rest of the day.

We hadn't been to the Science Center since Christmas time and we were very happy to see they had some new exhibits!

They had a new exhibit about corrosion

Kate has such an interest in building and designing...I hope she becomes an architect or engineer!

They have also added a 3D theater....we saw Meerkats!

And then of course there were some of our favorites from previous trips...

One gentleman even commented to me what a good forecaster she was! :)

And no trip to the Science Center is complete without rock candy!

And if you have been the least bit interested in my new monthly menu planning/shopping here is a new recipe that I have made twice now.

Cheeseburger Pie - we used to have a lot of hamburgers because Mike likes them so much but none of the kids really like buns so they always just ended up eating meat....this is just as easy and they love it!