Thanksgiving with Bama & Bapa

We went to Reno to visit the Parkyn family for Thanksgiving. It was great bringing the kids to all the places that my parents brought me to as a kid. BaMa (Keira's pronunciation of "Grandma") took the kids to Virginia lake, a small pond in reality, to feed the ducks and play at the park. The kids loved being surrounded by a million ducks and tried to get a piece of bread to each and every one. They talked about feeding the ducks with BaMa for days!
Keira got her special one-on-one time with BaPa. BaPa took her to the Build-A-Bear Factory to make her own bear. She went all dressed up as Cinderella, no matter how hard I tried to get her to change. Out of the 100 choices, Keira saw this pink and white bear immediately and there was no talking her out of it or considering another bear. She had a great time at the bathing station, giving her bear a bath and fluff with BaPa. When it came time to dress the bear, she found a Christmas outfit and grabbed it. BaPA kept suggesting other outfits, but she was dead set on this one. It was actually a role reversal, usually it is the 2 year old who keeps looking and changing their mind and the adult makes one choice for them at the start. Together, they named the bear Cathy Bear.
The kids got to spend some time with their cousins - Brooke, Ava, Nina, Nathan (in picture) and Hannah and their Reno & Sacramento aunts and uncles (Uncle Greg in pic). It was a great trip and wonderful Thanksgiving, one in which we had much to be thankful for.

Reagan is 6 months old!

Happy Thanksgiving!! We have a lot to be thankful for - three happy, healthy active wonderful kids and a wonderful family. Reagan is now 6 months old. Can you believe it? She weighs 15 lbs and 14 ounces...all caught up now.

Our Puerto Penasco Vacation

Most people would say that driving 3 kids to Mexico doesn't sound like a vacation, but we actually had an amazing time. Our timeshare resort is gorgeous - right on the ocean, a huge pool for the kids, great food, and a beautiful property. The kids spent their days splashing and swimming in the pool, while we sipped margaritas. Keira quickly became the socialite of the resort. Within a day, everyone knew our family and Keira would visit every table at the restaurant and get hugs from everyone. People from aged 2 to 92 would play with her in the pool and then dance with her at night in the lounge. She even sang and danced karaoke for the first time (Jingle Bells). Devin loved the all-you-can eat buffets, almost as much as I did! And, Reagan enjoyed swimming for the first time while on this trip. I joke with Mike that we have a pool in our back yard, but we had to take her to Mexico o swim. We had a great time. Now, we are trying to decide which part of Mexico to go to next year!

Fred The Turtle & Duck The Duck

Meet Fred the Turtle and Duck the Duck! The resort had a little pottery shop where you could buy a piece and paint it. One morning, Keira saw a turtle on the table (her current addition is turtles and snowmen) and it was all over. We took her down the next day to paint it and it became a two day work of love. I painted the top and she painted the bottom half. Dad painted the duck. Devin was supposed to help Dad but, he found playing with the paintbrushes more amusing. Keira named the turtle and the duck. We estimate that Fred must have gained about 5 pounds from all the layers of paint that Keira put on him. We were worried that all that paint would break the man's kiln when he went to fire it. During the two days that she was painting it, all of Keira's friends came to look at her work. Fred kind of became the legendary piece around the resort. Most people take there time getting every detail just right but, we're willing to bet that Keira has started a new style of painting where you slap on 10,000 layers of paint for a tie die look.

Out of Africa Wild Animal Park

Today, was the first day of our vacation down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Since we the drive takes a little over 8 hours door to door, we decided to stop at the Out Of Africa Wild Animal Park near Sedona, AZ. Keira & Devin has a blast.
This couple bought about 150 acres of land, live on the land (you drive by their house on the tour), and started building the zoo around them. You get really close to the animals. We fed a giraffe and a camel, right from our hands. Keira and Devin got to pet a very old tortoise and a 6 foot snake. I, meanwhile, was having a heart attack while my kids touched the snake. Mike kept telling me that it was fine. If it is fine, then why did the lady keep saying, "Don't touch his head!!!" They had a lot of animals that you can get real close to, unlike most zoos. The kids really enjoyed the parrots that knew how to say "Cool, Dude" "Aba Daba Do" and a dew other phrases. We spent the night in Phoenix and then got to hear those phrases the remainder of the trip to Mexico. "Aba daba Do"