Happy Halloween

A mermaid and a pirate come together to pillage cooperating homes for candy.

Happy Birthday, Cydney!!

First Day of School

Oh the first day of school. We had one excited Kindergartner this morning. She was fully dressed and ready to go before my feet had hit the floor. My feet didn't really want to. This was the day she was to go ON HER OWN out into the world. What happens if she's sad, someone is mean to her, she can't open her milk at lunch, or just feels lonely. Wait...that might be me.
Ian has been equally as sad to so see her go. We're both trying to find our way as just the two of us. I like having just one to focus on. No guilt.
I know our jobs as parents is the prepare our kids for the world outside. But today I'm questioning that task. Perhaps if I socially cripple Ian, he'll stay by my side forever......and be a very unhappy 20-something.

Sigh.....it is a part of life. I couldn't be happier that Cydney is so excited. I hope she keeps that excitement for the rest of her education. Just as long as she gives me a big hug sometimes. :-)

It's that time of year!! Photos that will NOT be in your mailbox this year.

Every year it is the same problem. How to get a Christmas picture that relays the kid's personality while showing love for each other, in nice clothes, with genuine smiles, and makes you want to give someone a hug. I'm pretty sure this photo does exists....I've seen other families capture it, yet I have no idea how they do it.

So here you have it...photos that will NOT be in your mailbox this year....

Why do Christmas pictures have to instigate a wrestling match??


Nothing says Christmas like a good head lock.



Alright Ian has lost consciousness....it's time to call it quits.

I'll leave you with some happier pictures... These next photos are of the kid's first glimpse of Santa this year...




Ian refused to sit on Santa, but was happy to tell him that he wanted a car. Cydney wanted a dancing Mickey Mouse she saw at Target.
















Seeing Santa was a lot of fun. Yet, this time of year it seems to be very easy for the kids to turn into green eyed monsters, so to try a curb that we did some bell ringing for the Salvation Army this year. I'm not sure how much the task registered with Cydney (Ian was just happy to ring the bell)...but she did a great job and we all had fun wishing as many people as we could Merry Christmas!!

So to keep that good feeling fun going, we wish all you out there (if anyone still checks this blog because of my lack of contribution to it)...a Very Merry Christmas!!

Vacation...

How sad it is that I haven't posted anything since March!!! We've been busy....I guess too busy to even post what we've been doing. Between my school, Cydney's preschool and soccer, Sean's show, and Ian's learning of words, I just don't know where the time has gone.

We just got back from our family vacation. We had a great time visiting Sean's brother and his girlfriend Katie, and my sister and her girls. We tried our hand at camping in cold weather in Colorado. We made it. With lots of logs on the fire. The kids were troupers. Even with a little bit of sickness during the trip, there were still no melt downs to speak of. Phew!!

Pictures are more fun to look at then reading so here ya go....

Cydney playing her first soccer game.


Ian on his first pony ride.


Sean running the kids around at one of our many rest stops on the trip.


Ian checking out trains with Uncle David.


Cydney and Sean hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.


Ian hiking with Sean (or Gandalf...we weren't sure) in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.


Me and the kiddos...hiking (are you getting the gist of what we enjoyed on the trip??)


Maiya and Maddie helping Ian work on his dinosaur art at the Dino Museum.


Ian building a dinosaur at the Dinosaur Museum (3 heads on a dino are better than one).


A picture of all the kids. Poor Cydney was fading fast in these pictures...great of the rest of them...I may photoshop a smile on her face to make this a perfect picture yet!

We have had a wonderful spring and a great summer so far....Thank you for checking in on us. My goal is to not wait so long to post again. Have a safe and happy summer....hope to see you all soon!!

Yes, Ian DID have a Birthday....

Hello, First of all I apologize for not getting these pictures up sooner. I am now officially on Spring Break and to celebrate I made myself a list of things to do...the first being to post Ian's second birthday!!

Here he is with his basketball cake, or what is supposed to be a basketball cake. He seemed a little sheepish while we sang to him and loved the jello more than the cake, but it is all for the photo right? And what do you do with a cake mold?? Why play with it of course!

Stacy if you're reading this, we DID wash the mold after we had our fun with it. :-)

We have been doing other things before the birthday and cake mold fun. We had a great time celebrating the Korean New Year with many adoptive families from the area. We had a fantastic buffet at a Korean restaurant and then dressed the kids up in their hanboks to "ring" in the new year. Ian loved the soup and had 4 bowls! Which the owner informed us was a good thing, because according to tradition you can't move into the new year until you've eaten your soup. Ian's going to have a very BIG year, I guess.

Now that Ian is 2, I am learning about things that we are not going to be doing with such ease that we did before. Ever since Ian came home I have been cutting his hair (not well, but it got the job done). Now that he's 2 I've learned that you can't cut a 2 year old's hair that DOESN'T WANT his hair cut! I refer you to exhibit "A" below...
I put a hat on him for the rest of the day and we were able to get some professional help that afternoon. Phew!! I think we will be seeking professional help from now on for all his hair needs. :-)

Cydney managed through Ian's birthday fairly gracefully. She did have a little trouble with his gifts. After waiting 10 seconds after he opened his gifts she'd ask, "Ian, are done with that?"
She is doing more and contemplating more everyday. She has big plans for when she's a Mommy. She asked me the other day if I could help pick out a Daddy for her babies and help name him!! I did tell her that they usually come with names. :-)

Ian has the whole town mapped out in relation to the Barnes and Noble where the choo choos are. We were coming out of another store the other day and he whipped around to point in the direction of the book store (that he couldn't see) to ask if we could go. He also watches for it out the window when we're driving. Silly guy.

I hope we can go outside soon and enjoy some nice sunshine. It has been a long winter and we can't wait to start playing in the yard again! Happy soon to be spring!!

We're still here....

We had a very nice Christmas and New Years. It was wonderful getting to see everyone! Here are just a few things we've been up to this month.
One of Cydney's friends had a Fancy Nancy Birthday party. We had a lot of fun getting her dressed up for the party. It was a Fancy Nancy Tea Party...lots of fun.
Here is what happens when you try and use your face as a sled. Sean took the kids sledding while I was off studying. I think they had a good time otherwise. :-)

We're just spending our days trying to keep warm. Hope you are too!

Pictures that WON'T be in your mailbox this Christmas!

It is that time again for getting that perfect Christmas picture. A.K.A. the pictures of torture. I'm still not sure who is tortured more..me or the kids. I quickly found that tickling isn't the answer. We just get a little too silly. Also singing Christmas songs to get their attention didn't work either. Telling jokes doesn't work either. Ian is saying..."Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese" (he's seeing if he says it with more emphasis, if I will let them go play). Props and food also didn't work.

We will keep trying. We will have a Merry Christmas despite the fact we don't have a pictures showing the kid's TWO happy and clean faces. We know that those times do occur, we'd just like prove it. :-) We wish all of you a Merry Christmas!!