Greetings 2010

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Sunday in Paradise

We spent a couple of hours at Paradise Park on Sunday with cousins Elise & Connor, Aunt Chris, Grandma Donna & Grandpa Lee. There is a ton of stuff to do at this place...thus I took tons of pictures. And we only went to the Child Edutainment Center for a couple of hours! There was more to do at the center that we didn't get a chance to experience, let alone all of the other attractions at Paradise Park. We will definitely have to go back when we have more time.

Maddox & Connor started in the play room with the ball pit. This is Maddox saying "I love you, mommy" which tends to be what he says a lot when he first gets to a new place. That phrase always melts my heart so I soak it up every chance I get. ;-)

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I wonder who first came up with the idea for a pit full of brightly colored balls for kids to play in...very interesting.

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Evey got to play in a baby ball pit in the baby room...

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And Evey just loves meeting other kids...

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Elise qualified as an "adult" to get into the edutainment center! So she mainly hung out with the adults. ;-)

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Maddox's favorite area was the play city complete with bank, HyVee, pizza restaurant, etc. I first saw him (disguised as a construction worker) robbing the HyVee with an imaginary gun. Not exactly a proud moment for me. ;-)

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But when I checked back later, he had cleaned up his act a bit. This time he was wearing some sort of NASA helmet while he withdrew some cash from the bank (without force or violence) to take to the HyVee cash register. Nice of HyVee to hire a part-time astronaut with a previous record of burglary in their very own store. ;-)

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Evey's favorite attraction was the window. She's pretty easy to please! She liked exploring the glass (and possibly her reflection) with her whole hand...

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and her favorite pointer finger...

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The boys made a quick stop in the water play area...

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...getting nice and wet before heading outside where Connor got caught in a web.

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Elise even cut loose a bit in the outdoor play area.

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Maddox loved the "fishing pond"...

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Evey was enjoying the window yet again...

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So I headed in to check on her...

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Evey was having a lovely time hanging out with Grandma Donna. Windows and feet...it doesn't take much to keep her entertained. ;-)

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Okay...I will stop the onslaught of photos. Have a happy day!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Engagement Portraits...Sarah & Stephen

Well, I'm afraid Katelyn did not hold the "windiest photo shoot" title for long. Not only was last night's photo shoot with Sarah & Stephen even windier...it was also much colder! Brrrrrr!

Sarah is a nurse and Stephen is a paramedic...that tells you a lot about their character. Plus Stephen dabbles in photography on the side...so obviously he is super cool. ;-) In addition to being wonderful individuals, they are even more fabulous as a couple!

So let's get to the pictures! VOTE for your favorite in the comments section below and Sarah & Stephen will get a free 8x10 of the winning image! Here are some of my favorites...

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I love how Stephen looks at Sarah...so sweet!

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This shot was inspired by a maternity shot from The Image is Found...LOVE THEM!

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Perhaps a little too ominous for an engagement shot? I like it anyways!

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We finally had to go inside to escape the cold and wind!

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Thanks Sarah & Stephen! See you in June!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Sick and Tired

Here is how poor little Evey has been feeling lately...

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So sad. Evey has been sick for a whole week now! For the most part she seems to be recovering but it is still up and down...she's fine one minute...sick and tired the next. Here are a few pics from yesterday morning when she was feeling pretty good.

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Look at those cheeks!

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Here you can see her index finger in its most common position...fully extended for serious poking action. Sometimes she has both index fingers at full point simultaneously. She loves to point and poke!

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Maddox being silly...

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I love this shot of Maddox and Evey "playing together." I like to pretend that he didn't wrench the book away from her a fraction of a second after I tripped the shutter.

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As I said...she loves to poke at things. Here she is exploring Maddox toes...

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I can't wait for my little Evey to be feeling 100% again!

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

Yesterday we celebrated Mackenzie's 5th birthday at Air Zone.

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There were a ton of kids running around, squealing, and having a fabulous time. Maddox found it all quite entertaining but just wanted to watch for awhile...

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My favorite picture of the day - Mackenzie's little brother Carter sliding with an expression of pure joy...

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Maddox was finally willing to give it a try - but I had to come along...

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Once he got going he had a fabulous time. We were climbing, sliding, squeezing through tiny openings (at least they seemed tiny to me!), and bouncing all around! It was a lot of fun.

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Then the kids attacked their cake with reckless abandon! You never see this kind of dedication when vegetables are involved. :-)

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Happy Birthday Mackenzie!

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