Memorial Day

Jeremy had Monday off, thankfully, so we were able to enjoy a nice Memorial Day as a family. That morning we went to a bi-ward picnic at Scott County Park. (think a REALLY big park, with many campgrounds, playgrounds, etc...) We somehow didn't take any pictures. The food was good, as was the company, and the kids wore themselves out. There is a pool there that looks really neat; we're excited to go back and try it out on a hot afternoon.
Later, after the munchkins woke up, things were a little crazy and we decided to get out again. Jeremy surprised us by driving us 40 minutes away to the birthplace/museum of President Herbert Hoover (just outside Iowa City). It was very interesting, though our kids were total spazzes and did NOT do well in a museum setting. I guess we shouldn't be surprised... Hmm. We didn't get a picture of the actual museum, and photography was discouraged inside, but here is the little cottage President Hoover was born in.
Jaina and Reilly were so happy to be free of our arms and of the stroller when we got outside!
Can you see the attitude we were dealing with in the museum in his face here?
It was a little cold and breezy, and almost rainy, but we still walked all over the grounds. They were really beautiful!
This is how Reilly looked any time we didn't allow him to do something he wanted to...

Daddy got creative towards the end with our single stroller...

Splish Splash

Last week we had a few nice toasty afternoons, and Saturday (while Jeremy was in Chicago...he's there again today) I decided to get our pool (that we bought on clearance like 2 years ago, but couldn't use at our old place) out and let the kids play in the water. Of course by the time they got up from their naps it was a little breezy and cloudy, but still warm enough. Here's Jaina posing in her cute swimsuit...
They were so excited, and just splashed and played in the water for probably 15 minutes before Reilly decided to get in (with some encouragement) and I put Jaina in.
Our friend Kennedy came over, and the three of them had a blast! Pools are so much fun!

Palmer Wives Graduation

Usually held as sort of a graduation/good-bye party for all of the wives of the Palmer students who are graduating in our ward, this event is always a fun one. We had a it a little early this year, both so it could be a surprise, and because the end of the trimester is always so crazy! Usually Robyn has planned it, but this time Jessica took a turn. It was a lot of fun! Emily, Michelle, and Rebecca (though her husband isn't a Palmer student, they are leaving too!) were the guests of honor. We had ice cream sundaes, a mini-bonfire (which we roasted marshmallows and biscuits over), and visited late into the night... A good time was had by all! :)

Sorry if I misspell anyone's name...
back: Melesa, Julie, Emmeline, Erica, Rachel, Mindy, Jacque.

middle: Jamie, Sara, Gretchen, Nathalie, Robyn, Anne, Breta

bottom: Emily, Michelle, Rebecca, Kim, Jessica.

Little Darlings

We have been pretty busy being sick around here (a not-so-bad cold that turned into a nasty cough for a few of us), but I'll try to make one blog entry to cover most of the week during and after Jeremy's D.C. trip...
He has been so busy this tri that it's hard to see him some days. We've been meeting him for lunch once or twice a month, and I think we'll continue. It's a lot of fun! Last week we picked him up and went to eat our lunch at Vander Veer Park. It was very sunny and warm, and the kids loved seeing the little baby ducklings in the pond (I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. Google "baby ducks" and I'm sure you'll get the idea)--Almost as much as they loved seeing Daddy!

















Jaina is starting to use her fork a lot of the time when she eats. She needs help sometimes to get the food on it, but she gets so excited!
This is Jaina hanging out in her doll stroller. She's growing so fast, she won't fit in it at all before too long!

















This is from when they took all the towels out of my kitchen drawer. That's one mess that I WAS "supervising." I was on the couch (being sick) with a book, and they were having so much fun, and the clean up didn't require a vacuum, so...
Unlike this mess. Reilly pushed a chair over to the "pantry," got the whole box of goldfish off the shelf, and proceeded to grind it into the floor...
Does he look sorry in these pictures? (He's in time out while I clean it up. I didn't have the patience to make him clean it up in each of our current moods. It was safer for both of us this way. ;-)
Yeah. No remorse. Just attitude. Sigh.

Mr. K Goes to Washington

Jeremy spent last weekend (Thurs eve - Sunday) in Washington, D.C. for the annual ICA (International Chiropractic Association) meeting, as part of Palmer's SICA (student version) delegation. I think. It would be much better if Jeremy could do this post, and I'm sure he'd like to pick his own pictures to put up. But the chances of that happening, ladies and gentlemen, before the tri is over, is pretty much zip. He hardly has time to see us, doesn't have time to study as much as he needs, and definitely doesn't have time to make sure our blog happens in chronological order. So you're stuck with me and any inaccuracies I may post. :) He had a great time, saw a lot (though only a fraction of what he would have liked to see) and wants to return as soon as possible to check out the rest of it...

He really liked what he was able to see of the Smithsonian(s) and brought back a lot of pictures that looked like these:
He took this one for me, because he knows what excites me...

Jaina

Jaina is growing and changing so much right now, I just had to write about her a little bit! We meant to get her a stroller to go with her dolly for her birthday, (back in December) but since she still wasn't even walking at that point, it kind of went on the back burner. Seeing how much fun she had with her friend's stroller, we finally remembered to get her one the other day. She is in love with it!

She is still obsessed with eating, but has gotten MUCH pickier. The only things that are always accepted are yogurt (accompanied by a happy-joy dance)... okay, that's the only one I can think of that she's never refused. (well, except for fruit snacks) She will usually accept cheese, rice cakes, cereal (with milk), fruit, dried fruit, milk, and pasta. She will often eat other things, but it's anyone's guess moment-to-moment. She does NOT like juice, and she gets tired of things easily. Still, she is constantly asking for something to eat, and just as often, actually wants "Up!" in her high chair to do it. Sigh.

If she's not having a stellar day, just telling her "no!" might lead to prolonged pouting where she drops down and stares at the floor, deciding whether to cry or not. She will NOT look up at our faces until she's done. Funny, most of the time...

She has finally learned how to start going down the stairs, which is awesome! I'm still not used to it though, and forget (especially when we're on the top floor) that she can escape downwards now... She is actually pretty excited about anything that pushes, and loves to move things around and manipulate them in any way possible!

She is a sweetheart, and I'm excited to see how much learning and growing she has ahead of her this summer! Now if it would only STAY warm, so she could wear all her cute summer stuff...

Cute pictures of the day

These are mostly for Jeremy, since he's not here... We love you!

Happy Wednesday the 13th

Normally this wouldn't be any kind of special occurance, but since it was MAY 13th, it was very special for us. We have been married 4 years! (Yes, we got married on Friday the 13th :) That doesn't seem like a very large number, compared to how long it seems like we've been married. We've officially been married longer now than we knew each other before we were married. If that makes sense.

It has definitely been quite the ride, especially having two kids within 15 months in the middle of it, but I think we've both learned a lot, and we're both very happy to be married to each other! Jeremy is my best friend, a wonderful husband and father, and so much fun to be with! We got to go on a date Wednesday night (thanks to our wonderful neighbor staying with our kids!) and we just walked all over the mall (without any tears, snacks, or opinions expressed through crying fits), did a lot of window shopping and a little real shopping, then split something at the Olive Garden. (at 9 pm - we haven't done anything like THAT for some time...) It was nice to just be together.

(That is also the dress I got for Mother's Day - just because I didn't blog about it doesn't mean Jeremy and my kiddos didn't take great care of me Sunday! :)

Back up...

It's raining again today. Like really, really raining. And we all woke up with colds. Ick. Jeremy felt one coming on yesterday when we ALMOST didn't get him to the airport on time. (due to class going a little late and the freeway being at almost a standstill for several miles) Scary stuff. But we're doing okay. Just being lazy and listening to the rain and the wind and being glad we don't have any reason to go out in it!
I haven't blogged lately, mostly because I didn't think I had much to say last week. It was a pretty good week, but Jeremy was very busy, and there just wasn't much to report. But going through the pictures from last week, there were a few I wanted to show. :) Here are my two little peas. Jaina's hair has been getting lighter, and she has been getting taller, and they really do look more alike now. And people have asked us from time to time (for about the last 6 months) if they were twins... I'm guessing they'll look more that way in the next year or two, since Reilly's growth has slowed, and she's still going strong! Maybe she'll grow into her cheeks one of these days...

Here are Reilly, Jaina, and Kennedy last Saturday. Jeremy watched all three of them while I was at a stake auxiliary training and Kennedy's parents went to a blood drive. I'm glad that wasn't reversed...
Here are two of the many messes my kids made last week. I REALLY need to supervise them better. Reilly is crying, by the way, because he didn't WANT the yogurt all over him after he did it...

Trickle trickle, Splash splash

I love thunderstorms. And overcast days. And rain. As much as I love my children, they've dampened (no pun intended) that love. I have a hard time with the soggyness that follows here in the midwest, because little feet get all icky when they want to play outside. And really loud thunder mostly stresses me out if it happens at night, when my little ones are asleep. Because I'm scared that they'll wake up, and not go back to sleep? I don't know - that one's getting better as they get older. And I don't like that I can't go on a walk when it might rain, because it's no big deal when I get wet, but I can't say the same for them. But I still love thunderstorms, and there's been a nice one this afternoon. :) At one point I thought it was snowing again, because the wind was blowing little white blossomlets (I guess they're called petals) from all the trees.

In other news, Jeremy aced his RAD II exam (YAY!) and Jaina doesn't feel well today.

How can I tell? Because she looks like this while I'm holding her:

And like this if I set her down:

And this kid is getting HEAVY. About 27 lbs, last time I checked. We're pretty sure it's her teeth. She finally got her molars in, but seems to be working on her incisors. She's been sleeping fitfully the last few nights, and been grumpy a lot of the time the last few days, and her little gums (what I can feel, in between the teeth) are swollen. At least when we get these through, we'll have a breather before the 2-year molars. (Which Reilly hasn't actually cut yet...)