June 2011

June was a super fun month for us. Kyla enjoyed play dates a lot because she was dropped off at her friends' houses or they were dropped off at our place. She felt awfully grown up without Easton or Mom around for a couple of hours. Her favorite play date was on National Donut Day. Nothing beats a play date and FREE donuts.

Kyla also attended several classes at the recreation center. Each class had a different theme, so that was fun. She learned a bit more about butterflies, raccoons, Father's Day and the Fourth of July. She was under the impression a raccoon would make a great pet. Hopefully that idea won't stick with her.

Swim lessons are still going well. Kyla is working on some new skills that will allow her to float on her back all by herself. She has a ways to go yet, but she is getting better and more comfortable in the water. It's a special little group as every one's name in the class, including the instructor's, start with 'K.'

Another exciting happening for Kyla was attending her first week of vacation bible school at church. She had so much fun, she didn't want to leave on the last day. She learned some new songs and stellar dance moves, played games, listened to Bible stories, made some excellent art projects and so much more. The theme was the "Shake it Up" cafe. On the very last day, the kids all met upstairs in the sanctuary to put on a little show. There were over 300 kids in there singing and dancing, You would have thought Kyla was born on the stage. She sang and danced her little heart out. Thankfully, Kyla was able to do a repeat performance for Dad at the 11 o'clock service that Sunday.

Dad took the Friday before the Fourth off, so we went to Colorado Springs to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was a rather warm day, so many of the animals were hard to spot. They were hiding in what little areas of shade they could find. We were able to see a decent amount though. The fox and bear were eating when we walked by, so that was kind of cool. The bear was eating in the water, which Kyla found amusing. This zoo has a large giraffe population. They are so tame you can walk right up to pet or feed them. Kyla enjoyed that a lot.

Easton is doing well. He talks up a storm. A lot of what he says is in his own language of gibberish, but he is starting to say some words. We swear he can say "thank you and Kyla," but only if he is in the mood.

He figured out how to climb down steps, so he enjoys any chance he has to get past the gate and go up and down the stairs. He's still quite the terror. He gets into anything and everything. He loves to pick something up or out and just throw it on the floor. He'll dump an entire bin of toys out and just laugh. Easton especially loves it when someone goes into the pantry or fridge. There are just so many things he can pull out and place on the floor (or anywhere around the house).

Easton's favorite past time is pulling books off of bookshelves. In the amount of time it takes to throw his diaper away, he's pulled nearly every book down onto the floor. When he's finished in his room, he makes his way over to Kyla's. Of course, he makes no attempt to put the books away, so Mom and Dad keep busy.

Father's Day was a bit more special this year. Scott was able to spend some quality time with the kids while I was home for Jodi's wedding. He took the kids to Chuck E Cheese one afternoon and to a car show. He also got to grill out a lot since I wasn't around, so that was a Father's Day present in and of itself. Kyla made Daddy a key chain at one of her classes and at home we made another special gift. The afternoon was spent hunting down a new PS3 as ours broke over the weekend, but we did treat Dad to dinner.

I was able to enjoy a few days sans kids while home for the wedding. It was a beautiful day. Jodi looked amazing! It was nice to see some old friends and catch up a bit too.

Scott and I were able to get away for an afternoon to see "Rock of Ages." It was a great show with even greater songs. We could watch it a hundred times and never get bored with it. We were able to wrap the evening up with a great dinner and awesome ice cream.

We attempted family pictures one Saturday morning. Easton wanted nothing to do with them. If he wasn't crying, he was wiggling his way out of our arms to escape the camera. Naturally, he sensed Dad's enthusiasm for pictures and acted on that too. If Scott wasn't an adult, he'd probably have done the same.

We had a one hour photo shoot and there were maybe two halfway decent pictures of all of us. Out of 122, that should give you an idea of just how well it went. Needless to say, we won't be repeating this until Easee can be bribed to sit still and smile. :-)