Little Hawaiian Princess

Here is Gloria on our front yard in a very" lady-like position", but still looking pretty, I think. This is an outfit that her Daddy got her on his trip to Hawaii in January.

Catching up - Colorado

I have a lot to catch up on in this blog if you really want the essence of Tamsey's world. The kids and I went to Colorado for a little over two weeks and now we are back in Kansas. As always, Colorado is beautiful and it was great seeing family - Gramma Shell, Grandude Duncan, Aunt Cami, Uncle Eli, and Max's uncle and aunt, Jerry and Francie (they were in town for the Lincoln Day Dinner, for Duncan and his campaign, and for a wedding in Colorado).

I'd have to say it was not such a relaxing trip, but I was still very glad I was there. I got to know a lot of people better, such as a few homeschooling families, who gave of their time and energy helping to clean up the house while Michele was in the hospital for a week and a half (complications with foot surgery). It was a great time of strengthening both friend and family relationships, staying with in-laws, but also my second set of loving parents and wonderful grandparents. I had some relaxing and fun times with Cami and Eli, who took me under their wing for a couple of weekends, while the grandparents watched the kids overnight. I got to see some of the logistics of a congressional campaign (Max's dad running for the House seat in Colorado), and go to a big republican fundraiser, which was a first.

The kids and I visited Gramma Shell in the hospital, which all of us enjoyed. We especially enjoyed going out to the courtyard of the hospital with Gramma Shell. The courtyard had a fountain and lots of sunshine, which was especially good for Gramma Shell who had been in the hospital room for a week without feeling any sun! The kids also loved getting rides with Gramma Shell in the wheel chair and picking up icecream on the way to the courtyard. Michele is at home now and we are just praying for further healing of her foot. She may have to have some more surgeries to remove dead flesh, but we are hoping for complete healing and soon!

Last, and certainly least, but always a lot of fun, the animals. JB and Gloria love playing with the farm animals. Since Michele was out of commission for feeding the animals, I learned some about taking care of the animals. I got pretty good at feeding the chickens scraps, stealing eggs from the chickens with heavy-duty gloves on, and giving hay to the horses and sheep. Taking care of the animals was fun, especially in the morning, because JB and Gloria loved to come out with me and see the animals.

I was pretty busy in Colorado and am still busy here getting ready for Max to come home!! Sorry for the large time gap in between posts. When I came back to Kansas everything was so green and there were lots of flowers on the trees! Our thermometer outside is reading 100 degrees right now and it's only April!! Max may not get a lot of relief from the desert heat when he returns, but we sure are looking forward to having the man of the house around (not that JB wasn't a good filler:)).

Just a note about JB's helmet that you see a lot in the pictures: I'm not an over-protective mom, he just loves wearing his riding helmet for some reason. However, I can't tell you how many times I have said, "good thing you had your helmet on" when he's just going about everyday life.

Bath Time

This is the only time they are allowed to color on the walls. Grafitti in the bath tub. It is also the only time that they gladly clean up their "mess."

What's wrong with this picture?

Zephyr wasn't too sure about this scene...quite disturbing actually.

Face "painting"

I left Gloria with a marker for one minute...

She looks guilty because I told her before I left (for a minute!) to "only write on paper." She got a good wipedown after this and was not allowed to play with markers anymore that day.

Walking in my shoes

Gloria loves trying on other people's shoes, especially bigger shoes...oh, yeah...everyone's shoes around here are bigger than Gloria's. She likes saying "boots, boots."

Gloria and Scotch

Do you think she's happy to be holding her very own kitty?

Snowy spring

We are in Colorado again! I came earlier rather than later because of the snow between Wichita and Monument. It snowed on Sunday and Monday, maybe four or five inches. We had the wood stove going yesterday, which felt nice and cozy.

This morning it was not as windy and cold as yesterday so I took the kids out to play in the snow. They seemed like they really needed to get out. JB and I threw snowballs at each other. I tried to build a snowman but the snow wasn't sticking together very well. Gloria always loves to hold Scotch and enjoyed watching the horses frolic in the snow and the cool morning.

Is it a girl thing or just a Gloria thing?

Some big differences between Gloria and JB, obviously, but I'm talking about in terms of organization and having things "just so." For example, this morning Gloria was playing over by the refridgerator as I was cleaning up after breakfast, so I gave her a box of letter magnets. She put them one by one on the refridgerator finding a place for each block letter magnet. Then, without me saying anything, she put each of them back in the box and handed me the box. I praised her greatly for this because it was refreshing not to have them strewn about all over the floor.

JB has his own wonderful unique qualities, but he never would've put them all back in the box voluntarily. It's a struggle getting him to put any of his toys away. Also, Gloria opened the drawer in the kitchen to get a spoon out because she was standing in a chair next to the sink as I was doing dishes and wanted to put a spoon under the faucet. After getting out the spoon I closed the drawer part way not really paying attention. She looked at me, then reached over and closed it all the way. JB could care less if the drawer was open or closed unless he bumped into it with his head.

I'm hoping that someday she cares which direction on her head her hairs are pointing (in a healthy grooming manner, not obsessively!). She does not let me "fix" her hair.

Scooting Around

One of Gloria and JB's favorite things to do in the evening when at home is to scoot around in the driveway. It's been really beautiful here. Today is windy and a bit cloudy, but still 80 degrees, kind of balmy. No tornado warnings, just a wind advisory.

pony picture

I just downloaded some pictures from Colorado that were on our smaller camera. I did find some I had taken with the kids on the pony.

No More Bedhead

JB woke up with terrible bed head the other morning so I figured it was time to give him a hair cut. I bribed (or rewarded?) him with having a little picnic outside with a candybar and he was very agreeable during the whole haircut with an electric shaver. He enjoyed seeing his shaggy dirty (in terms of color, I promise) blonde hair fall to the ground. However, when it was done he seemed a little concerned... A series of expressive pics...

Gloria and the animals

Bunnies, and cats, and lambs, oh boy! (or girl)

The animals are like a dream come true for Gloria, especially when she gets to hold them. Whenever JB was riding his pony, Gloria chased Grace, the other pony, around the riding ring vainly hoping to catch her and ride too. Gloria doesn't like to hold on to the pony's mane, so she will have a while to go before she can be led around on a pony. Maybe next time we're in Colorado she will be willing to hold onto the horses mane instead of grabbing for the closest person.

JB and his pony in CO

I love this pictures of JB watching Faithful, "his pony", and Grace (the other, young pony) eat. He loves wearing his "hard hat" around in Colorado just so he's prepared to ride his pony at any time.

I took a video of JB riding Faithful, but I did not get a picture of him yet...next time we go out there I hope to.

Last Day in Colorado (this trip)

As you can see from the pictures, the kids had tremendous fun with the animals. JB is getting very good at riding Faithful, the bullet-proof pony and they both enjoy holding Scotch (and occasionally the black cat), the kid-friendly cat. They also like chasing the sheep around the riding ring and looking at the baby lambs.