It's been a while. I've been wanting to put up some pictures from the Shuttle Launch last week and I've just been way too busy! Now I have time and the pictures are on Kyle's camera, so maybe I'll have time to get them up tonight after the kids go to bed. (But, no promises!)
For now, let me tell you about Layla and Kyler's new game.
The other day, I was paying bills and had left them to play together with hopes that they wouldn't bite and hit each other too terribly much! (Kyler's in this phase where he bites every time he doesn't get his way and he thinks that hitting is funny) After about 20 minutes, I heard them running around the house giggling like crazy, so I went to investigate
and this is what I found!
Layla would crawl as fast as she could and Kyler would run behind giggling
and then he'd just dive and tackle!
It's amazing neither of them got hurt on our tile floors!
Now, when they are bugging me when I need to get something done, all I have to say is, "Kyler, get Layla! Hurry! Get Layla!" and Layla crawls away as fast as she can as Kyler chases her down!
So, we went to Busch Gardens on Saturday. The kids loved it!
Friday night we told Layla that we would be going and what we would be doing. She was very excited about the white tigers and before we even went she named one of them Mista Mista Tiga. When we got there the first thing she wanted to see was Mista Mista Tiga. When we saw them she proclaimed that one of them was the mom, one was the dad, and since she couldn't see the baby, it must be in the mom's tummy.
Layla loved being the big sister who could show Kyler where the tigers were.
We went on a train ride around the park and Layla LOVED it!
I'm not sure if she liked seeing all the animals more or just the fact that we were riding in a train. She got really excited about the mom and baby rhinos!
The baby was really cute!
Every time we walked past a roller coaster, Layla said she wanted to ride it, but, she was definitely to small for them. Kyle tried to take her on the bumper cars (which she was really excited about) but she ended up being half an inch too short! Luckily the carousel wasn't far from there so we took the kids on that.
Layla, of course, loved it!
Kyler wasn't quite as sure about it, but he did seem to enjoy it once it got going.
Kyler's favorite part was a little play area near some tables where we took a little break for a snack. He loved climbing on the hippo sculptures.
He especially loved chasing around the birds that were scavenging for food!
Layla watched a boy climb inside this hippo's mouth and a few minutes later she went back to it and looked in and got really worried when he wasn't there anymore. She yelled into it "Hey guy! Hey! Where did you go!" Then she looked around with a very worried look on her face, went around to the backside of the the hippo and started looking for something under it's tail. I assured her the boy was okay and had left with his mom.
Now, for an explanation of the title of this post.....After several hours, we found a ride that Layla was big enough to go on. Not only was she big enough to go on it, she was big enough to go on it
ALL BY HERSELF!
SHE LOVED IT!
She grinned the biggest grin I have ever seen through the whole ride!
She was so proud that she got to go on it ALL BY HERSELF!
I'm starting to dread her first day of school. I got choked up just watching her on this ride!
This is my favorite picture from our day at Busch Gardens!
I'm one of those that would rather be cold than hot, so the transition to Florida has been a tough one for me. But, I am LOVING the winter weather here! Today, I needed to get some things done and the kids were being very grumpy and demanding my attention, so I asked if they would like to go outside to play. (Thank goodness we're renting a house with a fenced-in backyard!) They both put on their shoes and socks without a fight and are now as happy as can be! I just opened the back door (and left it open so I could here if they started fighting) and now they are totally content. It's a GREAT DAY!
Layla loves to dig in the dirt so she sat down with her beach bucket and shovel and started digging away.
We have an orange tree in our backyard that has bright-colored oranges all over it. They are a little bitter, but maybe next year we'll be able to get some better fruit since we'll be able to take better care of it. (If anyone knows anything about taking care of citrus trees we are open to suggestions!)
Kyler found a smaller bucket and went to town picking every orange in his reach and collecting them in his bucket.
Then he sat down next to Layla and started telling me all about them (at least I think that's what he was jabbering about!)
Then, when I went to check out our banana tree that I'm pretty sure died when we had the freezing cold temperatures, he peeled and ate his oranges.
When I asked him if they were yummy, he just murmured "Mmmmm!" and kept eating away!
When it was time for Kyler to come in and take a nap, I went back out to get a few last pictures. Layla informed me that she was "still too busy for a picture", but Kyler flashed me his killer smile...the one that will get him anything he wants from me (just don't tell him that, I don't need him using it against me!)...
Okay, I swore for the longest time that I was NOT going to get into blogging! I didn't want it to be something that would consume my time. I'd rather use my spare time saving our memories in a scrapbook, I thought. But, I'm afraid I have to admit, I've become addicted to the world of blogging. I love following blogs of friends and family! I even follow blogs of complete strangers who give me crafting & sewing ideas, and there are those who make amazingly good recipes and then share them with me so that I can make them and look good for whomever I may be cooking for (usually just my husband and kids)! So, here I find myself in the wonderful world of blogging! I'm not much of a writer (English wasn't my favorite subject in school), but I will give it a shot!
To start out I have some pictures of Kyler that I've been dieing to show off! Maybe it's just me being an overly proud momma, but these pictures are some of my favorites right now! I took them when we were in Utah, on the day before we came home. We went to my Grandma and Grandpa Mortensen's house for one last visit. Layla and some of the other cousins had gotten out the marble machine (I'm not even sure what it's called exactly, but marble machine will work). Kyler watched them put the marbles on and watched in total amazement as the marbles rolled down. (There are 2 things you need to know about Kyler - He LOVES balls and he loves collecting handfuls of things, so to have small balls that he can collect handfuls of is heaven on earth for him) He watched and studied for about 10 minutes until the other kids got tired of it and left the room. Then, he scooped up handfuls of the marbles and tried with no luck to get them on the marble machine. When he started to get frustrated I showed him how to do it.
After watching me do it a few times he decided to give it a shot again.
This first close-up picture is his reaction after he got his first marble on and it started to go down.
After that it was true love....
It was like an addiction....
He just couldn't get enough!
I had to drag him out of the room kicking and screaming when it was time to go!
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