shenanigans with the irwins (bowling, cousins, and a puppy!)

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we headed down to my in-laws’ place for some family time! Nella was so excited to play with baby Bryce! And seriously, the only thing cuter than one baby is two babies… so of course, I had to take a bunch of photos of them together!This really old pretend phone was the most popular toy for this crowd. Sharing can be hard when you have no idea what sharing actually is.Kaya is a really great helper with the babies! My girls really loved having time with their cousins.And I just had to throw this one in here because Bryce looks like he’s dancing, and Nella isn’t so sure about his moves. Haha.Kevin, Tori, and Jack flew in from Utah to spend a week in Virginia! These “big kids” loved having little picnics at the table every chance they got.Bryce and Jack had a milk-bottle chugging contest…I enjoyed some baby Bryce cuddles too! We were totally twinning in our stripes so there had to be photo evidence. He’s just so smiley and happy. I love this little guy!Nella had some Grandpa Skip cuddles! It was so fun to see them playing together on this trip.We also got to visit with their neighbors’ new puppy (which my in-laws have adopted as their “grandpuppy”)! His name is Scooter, and of course, my girls just loved him. They kept saying, “He’s so soft!” Michael, Kevin, Jeff, and Dad did some shooting and frisbee throwing. They dubbed their activities, “The Brolympics”. I’m not sure if anyone officially won, but they had so much fun, and I’m grateful that Michael could have quality time with both his brothers.

Later that evening, we went bowling! This was a first for my girls, and I have to say, I was really impressed with how well they did! Kaya completely surprised me by picking up and throwing the ball all on her own.
Kaelyn needed some more guidance, but she was so good at rolling it! Grandpa Skip taught Jack how it’s done…Go Mom!Tori held Nella for most of the evening! They were little buddies by the end of it. I’m glad Nella is such a laid-back baby.My score started out really great… and then quickly plummeted. I may have bowled the worst I ever have in my life, and I don’t have an explanation for it. I still had so much fun though!Michael is always good at sports!We were very much ready for sleep by the end of the day’s activities. We share a big room with all the girls when we stay at my in-laws’, so of course, I can’t resist taking pictures of them sleeping like little angels.

fried chicken, bike rides, and a dog who thinks he’s a baby

Lately…

We’ve enjoyed date nights as a family of three. We used some of Michael’s birthday money to go out to eat one night (hello chocolate oreo milkshake)! Kaya enjoyed her usual favorite thing- graham crackers (but we do let her have a few bites of our dessert).
PhotoGrid_1378001974957 Michael acquired a bike trailer from one of his co-workers last week, so we just had to try it out! We biked to our institute class, and then to a Hokie soccer game! Kaya really seemed to enjoy it (if only because she could laugh at how goofy her mama looks on a bike…)IMG_20130906_202509 We’ve had play dates and a church chili cook-off (I brought the cornbread).090913photogrid1A certain someone has been a little feverish and taking extra long naps (I’m blaming the new molar…)IMG_20130909_154737 And someone else only wishes he could be a human baby and steals Kaya’s things any chance he gets.IMG_20130909_154323

baseballin’

The weather this weekend was SO ridiculous- it was over 70 degrees! This morning I even went running in shorts and a T-shirt. Is it still January?

We had to take advantage of the sunshine, of course, so we met up with Jeff and Lelia to throw the baseball around. (I was a little rusty at catching… it’s been awhile since we played! I seriously think this was the last time)!

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I was also super excited for Kaya to get a little fresh air, and even stick her feet in the grass._MG_8170Sidenote- she loves this little doll my aunt gave her for Christmas. It pretty much goes everywhere now! My dad tried to name it “Noel”, since it was a Christmas gift, and Lelia’s dad dubbed it “Puddintain”. Not sure where that name came from, but we just keep calling it “her doll”.

_MG_8173I gave the camera to Lelia and she snapped a few great shots! Here’s Kaya checking out the grass!

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Love this one._MG_8175

Don’t be fooled by these photos! Kaya can only sit up for all of two seconds on her own. Lelia snapped the pictures, and I was right there to keep her from falling over.
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summer day

What on earth do you do on a Saturday when you're finally out of college and don't have any homework? Play, of course!

We went to the pool and did some swimming and jumping off the diving board. Michael looks pretty goofy mid-air, doesn't he?

We never seem to stay for longer than an hour since we're both paler than ghosts and can burn easily.

Afterward, we rented "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1". I loved it, and it just might be my favorite Harry Potter movie yet.

After dinner we went out to shoot some hoops. I'm not nearly as bad at it as I expected, considering that I can't even remember the last time I played basketball. Still, if you were on the opposing team from me, you would definitely be happy.

It was all fun and games until Michael had some bugs fly in his face. Then it was just funny!

Hope your summer is as fun as ours has been so far!

crazy ball

Thursday night, before we gorged ourselves on the delectable cupcakes I talked about in my last post, we decided to get a tiny bit of exercise. Since we only have two catcher's mitts, one person was always left on the sidelines… so you can guess that I was out there taking pictures!

We play a pretty ridiculous-looking game.

Then again, I guess I'm the only one who looks like I'm dancing while throwing the ball.

Lelia and Michael play like normal people.

But I guess it doesn't matter how you play when your friends like you no matter what!

play ball!

Some days, you just have to leave all the work behind and spend time with your best friend.

Today we went for a drive (yes, I was driving… don't start screaming in terror or anything!). We went to the furniture store just to walk around and fantasize about what we would buy if we were actually shopping! It is a bit of a relief to know that we have similar tastes in furniture, though…

Then we went to Dairy Queen to get Blizzards! If you know me, you already know that I chose… chocolate! with little chocolate candies in it, of course. We also went to Target to pick up a baseball glove for me!

He said I played better than he expected, which probably means he thought I'd give him a concussion or something. All's well that ends well.