Broken Bow, OK

 It is not a surprise that Jason and I love going to Broken Bow or as Kaylie would say 'the cabinets' so when a weekend came up with nothing to do we packed up and headed there for a weekend filled with peace and relaxation.  Prior to this trip we had not been without another family joining us making us leave the dogs behind therefore this trip was even more special.  As you can tell by the many dog pictures we love our puppies so much.  They are getting older and starting to decline health wise so we knew we may not get many more opportunities to take them.  Sad to say this but this trip wasn't really about us but about the dogs.  They love being outside just as much as we do and we wanted to do this for them.  Silly yes but it made us happy and we had a great time being together as a family.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  It was warm enough for us to be able to enjoy ourselves during the day and cold enough at night to enjoy sitting by the fire .  We even got the opportunity to take advantage of the hot tub which turned out to be Kaylie's favorite thing.

We spent the weekend cooking, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs, as well as hiking, playing soccer and pretend fishing.  The dogs were able to come with us every where we went.  If we had really felt like being adventurous we could have even taken them on the train with us.  We opted for Jason to walk them around while Kaylie and I did that.

At night we were serenaded by the local music while starring at the stars that were clear as the eye could see.  Both nights Kaylie had us bust out in singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" after the first star was spotted.  That was a special memory for us.

On Sunday we packed up and headed back to reality.  As you can see by the last picture of Shiner on the floor of the car they had fun.  We really enjoyed our weekend and definitely needed a little time away from reality.  

 Kaylie took this picture.  Makes me smile to see how much she loves the camera.

Looking up at the stars.  Sang "Twinkle Twinkle" right after this.

Ready for her smores.  After a bite or two she opted for only having chocolate and graham crackers. 

Daddy cooked dinner so mommy cooked breakfast.  We got our bacon from a local store and I have to say it was the best bacon I have ever had.  We will be doing that every time we are in town.

I like that these two pictures are back to back.  For awhile they were both on the blanket together. 

Our first time to ever roast hot dogs.  They turned out better than expected.  Little monster ate three of them.  I don't think she was hungry at all!

She had a blast in the hot tube.  She would jump from spot to spot.  We had a hard time getting her out.

 Sweet picture 

I love how Bailey looks like she is smiling at me as Shiner lays passed out on Kaylie's pillow.  A sign of a good time.

Giddy Up...

 I am pretty sure I failed at Western day at her school but I had nothing.  To my surprise I didn't even have a white shirt for her to wear.  Thankfully one of our good friends came to the rescue and let us borrow the hat otherwise she would have been the odd one out.  This picture is the first time she has ever worn a cowboy hat. 

Camping out

The imagination of a four year old makes me happy.  She has set up a camp out for her ponies.  My favorite part would have to be the dogs on the second step with their water bowls in front of them.

From our Shamrock to yours...

I absolutely love her team.  We couldn't have been blessed with a better first experience.  The coaches are incredibly sweet and loving to these girls and have more patience than I would have ever imagined.  They work hard to set each girl up for a goal and to feel success and I love that about them.  Today she was definitely lucky.  We are not sure if she scored her first goal or if she took it all the way and had a little help getting it in but if you ask we will say it was hers.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  P.S. - I was asked this...the socks were not bought specifically for St. P's day.  They are part of her outfit. 

"Who rocks?!?...Shamrocks!"

Cupcake face

A picture of her at a good friend's birthday party sporting a cupcake face.  I love how far she has come with her food.  The funny thing about her is she will either eat the frosting and not the cake or the cake and not the frosting.  You never know what she will feel like. 

Koala in the park

Our latest trip to the zoo definitely brought on a fun first.  On this particular visit she decided she was going to ride the camel.  I thought I would "have" to ride with her so I decided to buy the picture.  When I went up to pay she was overly insistent she go alone.  Shocked I agreed.  Needless to say she did amazing.  I didn't end up buying the picture they took since I was not riding with her.  I got a bunch of good ones and when I went to show them to her she got mad and told me to let them take one next time.  Hmm...silly girl!

The main reason we wanted to go was to see the new koala exhibit.  Growing up koalas were my all time favorite.  The exhibit was cute and Kaylie loved seeing them.  It was a great way to end her spring break.

She looks like she is picking his nose.

The little baby was precious.  He wanted to play and kept trying to pull his momma's leg.  I kept waiting for her to push him away. 

Not even an ounce of fear.  I love this girl.  I am learning to never under estimate her.

Her arm is the elephant's trunk that she is waiving up and down as she makes elephant sounds.

Our neighbors...aka "the girls" and Paulie as Kaylie would say.

Gattitown

During spring break we went to Gattitown with our friend Nolan.  I think this is the sweetest picture of two friends.  

A first

Through out the years Kaylie has had the opportunity to have her face painted.  Each time we have had different responses to this.  The first time was at a friend's birthday party and she had an all out melt down followed by throwing herself on the floor and running away.  The second was in October at a Halloween carnival.  At first we said no but after an hour of thinking we ended up getting our arm painted.  The third was at our friends' Seth and Joseph birthday.  We were going to get our arm painted and at the last minute I turned around to see her holding her hair up.  In disbelief I walked over to find out she was "being brave" as we often say and letting the lady paint her face.  To seal the deal she got to pick out a gem to jazz up the design a little bit.  Jason and I were super proud. She was so happy she would ask our friends to take a picture with their camera.  Thankfully digital cameras allow for others to humor my four year old.  Way to go baby girl!

Barbie Jeep

We always said we would never get her a motorized vehicle until today.  We went to a garage sail and bought it for $10.  She paid for half of it with her money and we paid the other.  It was a deal we couldn't pass up.  The only negative was buying the battery.  That being said we still paid 1/3 of what we would have paid for the same jeep in the store. 

At first she struggled with the combination of using the accelerator and trying to steer but seemed to get the hang of it after awhile.  We were able to utilize the empty lot next to us which allowed for her to be that crazy driver that you can't stand on the road.  My favorite part was when she got side tracked and got out to pick flowers.  Definitely a girl thing.

Weeds make great wishes

Teddy bear picnic

I have been asked on multiple occasions if she plays with all of her stuffed animals.  In case you didn't believe me when I told you she did her is proof.  Jason was watching her one Saturday morning and walked in to find her having a picnic with her babies.  I love how she set them up.  They were definitely done with purpose. 

  

zoo time with the fam

Our first trip to the zoo since last spring was a blast.  We went with my family so Kaylie and Elias could get some time to play together.  As usual they loved it. Each time we go it seems like we get to experience something new.  On this trip Kaylie got to pet some sheep as well as watch the elephants run all over, eat, play, and bathe themselves.  She also enjoyed watching the tiger demonstration as well as watching the trainer feed these spastically crazy birds that ran all over the place trying to eat the food she was throwing.  We saw a lot this trip.

Dressed to impress

This was all her.  I wasn't going to stop her from dressing to impress.  Thankfully she was just going out back to use her binoculars for bird watching.  I made her change out of her pajamas before we left the house

. 

Here comes the bride...

While in rest time little one asked if she could dress up.  When she came down she was wearing her play wedding dressed.  She asked me if she could wear that thing I put on my head.  After realizing what she wanted I knew I needed to take a picture fast because she would not want to keep my veil on very long.  She allowed for two quick pics before pulling it off.  Afterwards I sent the pics to Jason and his response was to that I needed to stop watching those wedding shows.  Ha!