Summer 2012 Milestones

This summer has been very productive and fun. 

Both Anna and Micaiah have excelled in swimming.

Anna has improved her strokes and kicks and is learning to do tricks off the diving board.

She is so brave jumping off the high diving board.

 

And its just amazing that Micaiah is swimming.

He sometimes wears his "muscles" but he really likes to put on his goggles and just swim on his own.

I think he could be an Olympic swimmer if he keeps it up!

Anna and Micaiah are also riding bikes, but the weather has just been 

too hot that we haven't been doing that much.

This summer Anna had the nickname "Toothless" because

she lost all her front teeth all at once.

Anna really enjoys drawing and coloring.

She drew her first family portrait.

Notice she wrote the ages above each person.

She even included Hosanna.

And Papa is the one with the big bumps on his arms.

 

Outdoor FUN!

We've been out and about spending most of our time lately outdoors.

Mostly bike riding with some playground and sandbox time.

It has been pretty hot here and the humidity is starting to kick in so soon it will be pool time!

The past two weeks have been filled with milestones for Anna.

She learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!

She lost more teeth.

And she has graduated from Kindergarten!!!

I've been wanting to get a picture of her riding her bike.

She hasn't let me yet because she still gets nervous.

So hopefully soon she'll let me capture a picture of her riding.

As for Micaiah, he is so proud to have a big boy bike!

Last year, he was still riding a trike because he could not reach the pedals on a bike.

Now, he is really taking off.

The past 5 months

WHOA!!!!  It has been 5 months since I've posted anything.
Time sure does fly when you're having fun!

So, here's a quick peek at what we've been doing.

January : Welcome 2012
The start of a new year with new opportunities to come!
Brian did a 6 week stint of clinicals.  (so glad thats over)

February : Anna's 6th birthday!!!!!!

She had a princess sleepover with her friend Molly.

They decorated cupcakes and slept in princess tents.

Also in February, Brian finished the program early, studied A LOT, and
passed the national board test (the hardest test he has ever taken).
WooHoo!

March : I started studying for a certification in personal training.

I'm still instructing Zumba and fitness classes. 

Brian got a position as a massage therapist at Hollyday Aesthetics in Brookside.
He is continuing his studies for Corrective Exercise Specialist for personal training and
myoskeletal alignment and pain management for massage therapy.

April :  For Easter, we took the kids on a train ride where they got to
visit the Easter Bunny and have an Easter egg hunt.

We just celebrated Brian's graduation and birthday!

This year he has been working full time as well as studying full time.

He graduated with a 4.0 GPA and a degree in therapeutic massage.

He also received 3 awards which included being chosen to receive 

the highest academic award of the class.

Congratulations!

 and Happy Birthday Brian!
This past year you accomplished so much!
This is just the start of another year of adventure for you!
We love you!

We are busy and enjoying every bit of it!!!!

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

Scooters and Rock Climbing

We spent Labor Day grilling out and playing at Antioch Park.

 

Here is Anna enjoying riding a scooter for the first time.

 

And they both had fun climbing the rock with Papa.

Here are a few cute pics of Anna:

(there are none of Micaiah because he didn't want his picture taken)

An Outdoor Adventure!

The weather has been so beautiful here the past week or so.

Last weekend we took the kids on an all day outdoor adventure.

We spent the day at Shawnee Mission Park.

This was Anna and Micaiah's first time canoeing!

 Yes, I looked like a little kid with the life preserver on.
And I had just ran 2 miles right before we went canoeing,
so I started to feel sick while on the water.
Thankfully, we took PB&J's with us and had lunch on the water.

After canoeing, we took them bike (or trike) riding.
This was Anna's first time riding her new Hello Kitty bike with a bell.
And Micaiah's first time trying to trike.
He's just so short that he is just now able to touch the peddles.

Worlds of FUN! (Part 1)

 Our trip to Worlds of Fun on August 14th!

We spent most of the day at Planet Snoopy.

Micaiah was apprehensive at first, but

by the time we were ready to leave he was hugging Charlie Brown.

One of Anna's favorites is the carousel.

Here is Micaiah on his favorite the train ride.

Our kids are thrill seekers!!!

They enjoyed riding on the caterpillar kiddie roller coaster.

If you look closely, you can see Micaiah's little hands sticking up in the air.

(more in the next post)

Worlds of FUN! (Part 2)

(more in the next post)

Worlds of FUN! (Part 3)

Anna and Lucy

Before and After

Yes, Anna enjoyed riding the Sea Dragon.

It is like the Pirate Ship.

After the first ride, she told me it gave her butterflies in her tummy.

And then she wanted to do it again to see if she could put her hands up in the air!

January Sledding Fun!

A week ago on January 20th, we got 4-6 inches of snow!

Brian and I took the kids on our first family sledding adventure!!!

(all the other times before this one, Micaiah did not last more than 5 minutes)

We hit the hills of the Shawnee Mission Park and stayed out until the sun went down.

They both loved riding in the big snow tube.

 

The second best winter exercise (besides Zumba) is definitely sledding!!

 Anna really enjoys sledding and having snowball fights.
She has pretty good aim too!

Anna and I had a lot of fun trying to make it the whole way down the hill in the snow tube.

 Micaiah enjoyed the snow...until he got it in his face.

He was throwing it up in the air and when it landed on his face,

he got upset and sat down in the snow.