Painting

Last week we finally painted Tyson & Kyler's room!! I know...it's embarrassing...we have only been here 3 years....no big deal! Ty picked the color all by himself! We brought home a ton of paint samples and he went through all of them and picked a color that matched the boys bedding! He did a fantastic job! I will post more pictures soon when I finish the finishing touches. We taped off 2 rectangles...one next to each bed and made a chalkboard/message board on the wall! They are loving it! Austin's room is next and then hopefully my room and then I am sick of the kitchen color so that's gettin' redone too!

Ty took his turn painting very seriously!

He didn't like being interrupted for a smiling picture but he was sweet to cooperate.

Kyler was wild with the roller...we had to keep a close eye on him. He kept saying "I CAN DO IT!!"

Smile! He was more than happy to smile for the camera!!

gifts from dad

Shawn got home from Indonesia safe and sound last Monday night!! We are super glad about that! He brought cool and unique gifts to all the kids and me! He bought things that they couldn't get here in the states! The kids love their gifts and it will be something they can always treasure! So what did we get?...Austin got this little wooden puzzle thing called a Bintang...it took him about an hour to figure it out and he has it mastered now!! :) It was hand carved!together

apart
Ty got a shadow box with this flying lizard!! gross! All I can say is that I am glad it's dead and in a closed container! He of course LOVES it!!in case you hadn't seen enough of it already! eewwww!

Kailee started a doll collection a few years ago and so Shawn got her this neat doll! It's made of wood and all hand carved and hand painted. It's called a Shinta...she stands for faithfulness and honor...the story goes something like this; Her husband had her thrown in jail and then released her to be thrown in a fire because he thought she wasn't a virgin. She survived the fire and was unharmed which proved her innocence! Some fairytale huh?!
I got this beautiful and very real pearl necklace and some pearl earrings!! Gorgeous huh?!! They aren't farmed pearls either...they were "wild"!!Kyler got a bongo drum...again hand carved and hand painted!! He loves it...it has been a favorite among all the kids!
Then last...here are some pics of the $$ from over there! Isn't it crazy to see 100,000 printed on some money. Too bad it only equals $100 U.S. dollars. The 1,000 one equals about 1 U.S. dollar.

This set of coins is from Hong Kong...he stopped there on his way back home.

SNAKES!!!!!

Here are pics of the kids from when we went to see the snake guys last week! The kids all loved holding the snakes...yuck, yuck and yuck!!! Even little Kyler who I had no idea was so fearless held them. They held a bunch of a smaller ones and then I only braved walking through the crowd for pictures at the end when most of the snakes were put away! They saved the biggest 2 for last and I stood way back and used my zoom feature to get these pics!

waiting to hold the Python and the Boa Constrictor

Kyler holding the python...this snake was rescued on the side of the road. Someone decided they didn't want it for a pet anymore. The snakes body was 35 degrees when it was found, which is bad...they call him Lucky, cuz he was lucky to have survived. They eventually nursed it back to health...but it went for 13 monthes without eating while it was sick!

Austin...he even held the head and felt its tongue! ewwwh

Tyson...he was in heaven!

Kailee....she didn't mind holding them, the face is for the camera

Kailee hold the boa...the kid wasn't really letting go and letting the kids hold it so this was the best pic I could get. It was 20 pounds. So it was funny to watch some of the kids sink down a little when it was put on their shoulders.Ty wanted so badly to hold it alone, but the guys said no!

AustinKyler said No Thank You to the boa...but he held all the other ones!Austin wanted a picture that said...'Kyler I can't believe you didn't hold the snake' and Kyler played along!

Ty's yoga class

Tyson had his first yoga class today. It is just a short once a week for 3 weeks kinda thing that a very sweet lady is offering at the library! Ty was of course sooo excited to get signed up! He has been anxiously waiting for today to come for about a month now. We went this morning and got him his very own yoga mat. He carried it around all morning till it was time to go. He had a good time...He said it wasn't what he expected but he still liked it! I don't know what it was he expected I couldn't get him to tell me. His favorite part was the end when they were all still and quiet and meditated! {does that surprise anyone??}on his way to class

showing his flexibility!!

this is his "turtle" positionthis is the "Warrior"

this is his "lotus" position...very serious stuff...this is the way he likes to meditate!!

4th of July

Some 4th of July pics...I forgot to get my camera out to capture all the fun!! oops! So I only got a few pics of before the firework show and then the kids doing sparklers while we were waiting for the traffic to die down so we could head home! We stayed inside in the morning waiting for the rtain to pass and then in the afternoon we bbq'd. We went early to stake out a good spot for the fireworks show and took games and snacks. We played cards, did sidewalk chalk and ate popcorn and m&m's. The kids had a lot of fun doing sparklers while we waited for some of the traffic to die down! When we got home there were fireworks going in all directions of our house so we sat outside and watched some more and then finally dragged the kids in at about 11. It was a fun day and the kids had a great time!!

who do they love more?

I loved this picture from the moment I saw it!!! I saw this on Linda's stamp blog. It immediately reminded me of my little sister Alli {luv you Alli} We have always joked that Alli is the star child and can do no wrong! Out of the 7 of us kids mom and dad loved her best!...we just knew it!! Adam, Shane, Kendall, Carly, Aaron...what do you think? Alli you can put in your 2 cents too. Anyway....love this picture! Hope it makes you smile too!

more from bumblebee

Kyler has had so much fun with his new Bumblebee outfit that he decided to make another one...this time he did not tape himself to the wall but he did put alot of time into thinking this outfit out so that he could hold the "doors/wings" up in the air.
a quick update.....Kailee and Austin finished swim team for this year. They really enjoyed it {both of them improved their own times by 10-20 seconds for all the different strokes} and look forward to next year. Ty and Kyler finished their swim lessons and both are swimming floatie free! I haven't been able to get any pics yet cuz they are both so brave that Shawn and I have had to stay close to them. Kyler has told me repeatedly when I go over to help him or just let him know I am there if he needs to rest and grab my arm..."Mom {insert irritated voice here} I can't drown...my teacher teached me to not drown and to swim!" We are looking forward to a relaxing week...with movies, fun BBQ's and fireworks on Friday!

I also wanted to share these pics with you of my stampin' space...I officially changed the name of the room from "the office" to "My Stampin' Space" Shawn says it's awfully presumptuous of me...but let's face it, I have taken over...I just keep doing it a few feet at a time and he doesn't really care anyway!! His hope is that I can make enough $$ some day with all this so that I can be his sugar mama...and he can quit his job!! Good Luck honey! These vinyl decor elements are Stampin' Ups! latest venture...I got this "create" one cuz it was perfect for my stamp room and I had been wanting to put that exact thing up there for a few months now!! :) isn't that great how it worked out! anyway...

one of a kind

Oh....my sweet little Kyler Jake! He is one of a kind...when he gets older whatever he decides to do or be...he will be fabulous at it! He puts his whole heart and energy and focus into what he is passionate about! Nothing if halfway with him...so I can only hope that if he is this way at 5 (and has been since he was little)...he will be this way as he gets older. He has had strep and been sick since Saturday and yesterday he finally started to perk up and be back to his normal self. Last night around dinnertime he asked me to get him some paper. He wanted to big roll of it, so we got out a piece that was a little bigger than the length of the entryway and he went to town...he drew a huge Optimus Prime. In case you weren't aware...he is very, very (that's putting it mildly) into the Transformers right now! He pretty much recites the movie! Anyway...I came to see his Optimus and it was really good...(forgot to snap pics of that) Then I went back to making dinner and pretty soon I hear Kyler calling me to come and see him. I asked him to come to me since I was in the middle of dinner and he said...I can't, just come see me. So I find him on the stairs like this...I said what are you doing...(he has taped himself to the wall with scotch tape) He said "I am Bumblebee" (again from the movie...his favorite transformer) He continued to tell me "I made wings and I had to tape them onto me and tape them onto the wall cuz they wouldn't stay up like bumblebee's the other way." (the other way being not taped is my guess) I laughed and laughed...and told him he looked great and he said I am not done. I went back to making dinner and then he called me again and this time I found this...He taped his wings back on, made a mask with blue eyes, a chest thing, and some robot feet to complete the outfit and scotch taped it all to his body.
He is soooo cute and so creative! He keeps life pretty fun around here!