Colorado/South Dakota 2013

Jace and Lexa had a Colorado/South Dakota adventure last week. They were able to hang with their cousins and Great Aunt Rita. Mommy isn't even gonna attempt to waste time with commentary because there are too many pictures to view! Starting NOW!

Lexa and Braylon enjoying a little shaving cream bath. Enjoying may be an understatement...

2 peas in a pod

Lexa wore Braylon's clothes (and shades apparently) much of the trip

Doing a little boot shopping with Mommy at a pit stop on the Loooong drive home

Cousins!!!

Playing with their dolls....aww Braylon..

Lexa was able to hit the American Girl Store for the first time. She was thrilled!! Ok Mommy was more thrilled but Lexa loved it too.

Group shot of the crazies

Panning for gold with Grandpa Steve

Watching a movie at Ghost Town.

After eating at a BBQ place in Colorado Springs, they broke out in dance. Where did they come from?!

Dino museum

She loves her some Maveric!

She even let him do her hair......

A group of wacky kids!

Checking out the Cat in the Hat at Storybook Land in South Dakota

Santa was there too. If only Jace wasn't so serious

Touching a snake at Reptile Gardens

And an extremely large tortoise...like 400 lbs large. And upon closer inspection Mommy is noticing she caught Lexa in mid step....on the poor thing's leg.

Driving through Bear Country

This is actually a trash can. But Jace can even make a trash can look cute.

At a bar in South Dakota. Lexa fits right in.

Herd of buffalo on the side of the road...

Showing how tired they were while waiting for a train through the Black Hills.

On the train....the smile lets Mommy know this picture was taken BEFORE she dropped her stuffed animal out the window....

Last picture of the trip....off Rita's porch right before departure.

That's all folks!

Pardon the Interruption.....

Once again summer fun has interrupted your normally scheduled blog. To be honest, if it weren't for t-ball, Mommy would have absolutely no idea what day it was 90% of the time. So, here you are....a little recap of recent events.....

Lilly came over to play. Lexa was missing her BFF so it was excitement all around. Jace has a soft spot for her too.

First little big league baseball game....whatever that means. Not major or minor league but the leagues that are close. Mommy so wants him to take on her love of baseball. Mostly so she can go to more Cubs games. So far, it doesn't hold a candle to karate. The $1 hotdogs were a hit though! Oh and Jace liked them too....

Can anyone say heart throb? Or cop? Either one....

Lexa and Lilly....such silly friends.

This picture sums up the last month. If you will note, Mommy is lounging on the side. Something that she is able to do more and more frequently. She is not complaining!

Jace lost his 2nd tooth! During the annual celebration in town no less. Will it ever get less exciting?!

Lexa and Lilly partying in the park. They ate and danced like  nobody's business.

And a semi horrible shot of the face painting. Jace is black spiderman and Lexa has a puppy on her cheek.

In other non-photographed news, Jace's school had a float in the parade on Saturday. It was pouring down rain but everyone was a trooper and forged on. Until Lexa ate 2 donuts, a hot dog, a banana, a granola bar, and smarties...before 11 am. About halfway through the parade she told Mommy her tummy hurt. You have never seen Mommy stop a parade float so fast....all she could picture was Lexa vomiting in front of thousands of people on a float. A quick drop off at the gas station bathroom and all was good...in case you were curious.

Until next time!

Lexa Logic.

Some of you have heard Mommy speak of 'Lexa Logic'. Some of you have actually heard it in person. For those who haven't, it is basically daily proof that Lexa's calling is to be a lawyer. She has a reason/argument for everything and 90% of the time Mommy ends up being convinced. Call Mommy a pushover but once a few of these gems are shared you too will believe in 'Lexa Logic'.

Lexa Logic example #1.

Mommy: Lexa, please wear a dress. They are so pretty and beautiful. And princesses wear dresses.

Lexa: Then you wear a dress.

At this point all Mommy could think was...touche girlfriend.

Lexa Logic example #2.

Lexa: Can I have 3 cookies?

Mommy: You have probably already had 3 cookies today. You can have 1.

Lexa: Well, I've already had 1 too so I will just take 4.

Once again, touche.

Ketchup.

Mommy is going to catch you up on the latest happenings. So let's delve right in.....

Lexa and Amiya walking to the park....not sure what is up with Lexa's eyes??

Product of the free day at the park. Free face painting!

Cutest bikini babe. This is how much of Lexa and Jace's days have been spent lately.

A shot of the strawberry picking fun. They made a pretty good haul. Mommy's resulting cake....not so good.

Jace caught 5 fish at Grandpa's farm last weekend. He's such a pro!

This was Lexa's catch of the day....a fish! A plastic one but let's not be picky.

The End! More pictures to come...hopefully in a more timely manner......

Sorry......

Mommy apologizes profusely for the lack of recent posts. As was the case last year, no work means less time for blogging. Less time for blogging and more time for fun in the sun. She is giving you one picture from yesterday's trip to the strawberry farm. Consider it an appetizer. She should have more pictures to post soon...like tomorrow soon!

Jace and Lexa went to the strawberry farm yesterday and picked enough strawberries for Mommy to ruin a cake, frosting, and still have some left over! On the way out they met this guy. Guess what his name was? Bubba! They were in heaven once they found out his name. You would have thought they won a trip to Disney World!

Lexa the Fashionista.

Or not.

See that large pile of clothes in the background? Those are all too small. Each season Mommy clears out the clothes and puts them in that pile for resale. Occasionally an item does not sell and gets carried over for a year. Or three.
As is the case with the pants Lexa is stuffing herself into. She pulled and tugged for almost 10 minutes to get those suckers on. When Mommy checked...size 9 months.

And just to prove Mommy wrong (when she told Lexa they were way too small), Lexa wore them all night. See how proud she was of herself in the morning. An added bonus was the thermal long sleeve shirts she insisted on....on a 70+ degree night.

Lexa and Amiya were playing in Lexa's room when they came down like this.  Stylin' girls!

And finally, another selection from the 'too small' pile. Because now it is a 'thing'. A thing where Lexa tries to get away with wearing clothes from at least a year ago. Nice belly Bean.

Karate!!

Jace had his promotion test in Iowa City today. He was testing to get his yellow belt and had to perform his kata in front of 2 judges (not sure if that is the correct term but you get the idea). He nailed it. Check it out!

Getting ready to go in. He is rarely nervous about this stuff. Mommy on the other hand...is.

Doing stretches.

Warming up and practicing his kata with one of the black belts.

Here it is! He was the youngest kid there by several years. They had the little ones do their katas with an older student. Jace would have been better off alone. If you watch the girl, she actually messed up several times and turned the wrong way. Jace knew his stuff though and didn't let it phase him!

Finding out that he got his orange belt!! Who needs a yellow when you can skip it and go straight to orange. Over the moon would be an understatement. He was ecstatic!

Aww. His sister hugging him for his accomplishment.

 A few pictures after the big moment.

And finally, McDonalds and ice cream. He still hasn't stopped smiling!



Congratulations Jacer!!!!