Playtime with Camille

I've mentioned her before, but Kella's best buddy from her "big girl school" is Camille. On Friday, Camille's parents were moving into a new house and I've never done it, but I figured moving with a 3 year old in tow would be.... um, let's just say FRUSTRATING!!! So we invited C over to spend the day and let her mom get some things done. The morning started in the back yard, lots of bubbles, swinging, sliding, t-ball and soccer. After I upholstered a headboard, we kept the cardboard tube that the batting came on. Kipp makes the funniest noises with this, imagine tribal calls, whoops & hollers, but our favorite is his impression of a very realistic COW! We keep this magical toy on the back porch and the girls found it. They got so tickled going back & forth.

The girls loved sporting their wigs, which led to a big lesson on taking turns since both of the girls LOVE the color blue. Here they are when Camille spotted the golf cart parked in the back. She asked me to hold her toys 'cause she had to "head to the beach!"

Finally, snack time.

Now.... on to the front yard. Another opportunity to share =) Of course we only have one tricycle, one scooter and one bike. Is this what it's like to have twins..?!?...just curious!

I do have to say a BIG thank you to our sweet neighbor Cooper. He's 5 and whenever he feels like he's outgrown a toy he passes it to Kella. That's where she got this rockin' red scooter. She also gets a ton of use from his old sit 'n spin. Thanks Coop!

After lunch it started getting pretty warm outside, Ryan woke up and the girls were running a little slower than before, so I pulled the couch around and popped in Horten.

If you know Kella you know she LOVES and must have her green blanket. We do have a back-up for emergencies (the exact blanket in pink) which comes in handy when the green one is getting a "bath". It was fun to see that Camille has the exact green blanket! Could this be the tie that binds these two girls? Could it be that her mommy & daddy are also from Oklahoma and many road trips are made going to see them? Could it be that Camille, too, has a baby sister only 2 mo. older than Ryan. Whatever it is, these girls HEART each other! There's nothing like a sweet friend! Seeing these two girls lets me know it was the best decision letting her start "school". It was a big decision because of her health, but one that I will never regret. She is experiencing more than I could've ever shown her. We are so thankful!

Outdoor concert at the Arboretum

Warm weather's here and that means "Cool Thursday's" at the Arboretum! We got to go once last year with Heather & Chad and had a ball. Kella loved dancing with Mr. Chad and she couldn't wait to do it again this year.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chad got tied up with work, so Kella got Heather all to herself!

For some reason, after it cleared out a little, Kella started crawling. This was hilarious. Maybe it was the wine, but she looked like she was crawling in fast-forward. Here she is coming....
And going....

Ryan was such a trooper. She seemed to enjoy watching all the people and possibly the music. She had been a little cranky that day, I had discovered her 1st tooth earlier in the day. Luckily being outside always calms her down, this warm weather couldn't have come at a better time!

Kella wanted to take the pictures, of course. She did pretty well throughout the night, here we are on our 3rd try...

Take 1...

Take two...

Just before sunset on White Rock Lake.

Kella took this pic of Heather & I...it only took one try this time! Maybe she's found her calling!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

After a quick shower and about a 15 degree decrease in the temperature, there was an amazing double rainbow just outside our front door. Kella was amazed at the sight of a real rainbow, not like the ones she sees in books, cartoons and stickers. After it faded (about 20 min. later) she kept asking to see it again. "Where's the rainbow?" "Where'd it go?" We explained that rainbows are special. "God made the rainbows!" she said...oh, melt my heart....What a special rainbow. What a special memory. What a special day!

Little helper!

Don't mind the crazy-ness of Kella's hair, she gets the worse case of bed-head when sleeping. After her nap, she insisted on helping daddy wash the cars. It was a beautiful day and any chance to spray the water hose is HUGE in her book!

Gettin' down on the farm...for a cause!

So, Saturday night I was lucky enough to get to attend the Silver Dollar Ball with the board members of Frisco Women's League. Anytime the league 'earns' money for other charitable contributions, they choose an event or charity to give that money back to, paying it forward, if you will... a few spots were open at the table and a drawing was held and low.and.behold my name was drawn!!! This event is North Dallas' version of the Cattleman's Ball all benefiting the American Cancer Society and is held at the XO Ranch in Aubrey, TX.

After losing my dad and 4 other family members to cancer, I was thrilled at the opportunity to contribute. Kipp & I choose a charity, fundraiser or our church each week to give our tithe. Since my ticket was provided by the league, the money went to the silent auction!!! I am excited to say that I ''won'' laser hair removal in the auction...something Kipp desperately needs on his neck!!!

The entertainment for the evening was Mark Chestnut. He's been a little off the scene for awhile, but as the night went on I recognized more songs than I thought I would..."Going through the Big D, and I don't mean Dallas" was a great way to end the night, oh, along with a serenade to some guy's lucky wife. During the live auction, a personal serenade by, yep, Mr. Chestnut himself went for a whopping $3,000!!!

In a band full of your typical country looking men, this guy seemed a little out of place...he rocked that steel guitar ALL NIGHT =D

It was all so official, this was the 'security' who roamed the grounds looking for anyone stirrin' up trouble!

Inside the tent. It was all very clever, black leather couches, cowhide ottomans, saddles made into bar stools, (I so wanted a pic sitting on these, but my dress just wouldn't allow it) they even used diamond-plated tool boxes for coffee tables!

Here we are at table #8. The glittered boot was our center-piece.

More members of the posse!

Entry to the event. Check out my new distressed, vintage cowboy boots. Happy Mother's Day to me!!! Thanks girls!

1...2...3....GO!

It's finally here! Consistent warm weather, it's been here for awhile, I guess I've just been outside enjoying it and not blogging ;) Every afternoon and evening is spent riding the "trike" and playing with the neighbors. Between all the houses on our end of the street there are 21 kiddos, so there is ALWAYS someone to play with. When we pull in the driveway and Kella spots someone outside she says, "wanna go say HI to everybody!"
With Spring comes all the new, fresh flowers! I must say, working in the yard is very therapeutic for me. I've always loved to do it. I can spend all day digging in the dirt, rearranging my plants and making our patio feel more like another room in our house. We LOVE the outdoors. Here's Ryan's typical spot, front porch in her bumbo watching me tackle whatever project I've started.

I.heart.this.pic! Look how Ryan is holding onto Kella. It's so sweet to see her light up when Kella's around. I hope this doesn't ever change.

Kella discovered she could jump off the sidewalk onto the grass. It's a slight step up, so she really thinks she's jumping 'soooo high'!

"No Dad! Jump on 3!!"

Now it's mom's turn! 1, 2, 3......

GO!!!!

"see mom, you gotta bend down like this and jump so high!" Thanks for the lesson pipsqueak! Check out Spanky, he's only wishing he could join in the action.

This lasted for quite some time... jumping again,

.......and again, .....