Learning is Fun!

So one of the things with two toddlers is that you are teaching them all new things a lot of the time. Most of the time it can be a lot of fun and others it's challenging and messing for me (the mom).

We work on learning some sign language with Signing Time. I have a set time in the day where it's quiet time. I usually have something for the kids to watch on television. I try to make it educational like Signing Time. Both of my kids love it and have actually try to sign with the characters. I also learn along with it as well.

Miles learns that rocks are dirty and really fun to play in.

Reading is an important part of our day. I read books to them and they also have a time where they explore the books that we have by themselves. Also before bed they get read to.

Ginny is learning how to help around the house. So far she puts silverware in the dishwasher. She wipes down the table after each meal. She holds the dustpan while I sweep the floor, she even brushes her brother's hair. She also takes care of her clothes by making sure her clothes and miles gets into the laundry bin.

Ginny is starting to cook with the family and she is loving it.

We learn about rain by playing in the rain during the day.

We are starting some preschool things with Ginny. She been working on learning how to write letters and even use a scissors.

We do some sensoring things to learn about how things work and feel.

We watch animals in the backyard.

We also work on our fine motors.

KC Zoo

So, while my mom was on her summer vacation we decided to try to spend as much time with before she went back to work. Well, she took me and the kids to the KC Zoo. This was the biggest zoo, Ginny has ever been to. Also it was Miles first huge zoo as well since the only other zoo was the one in Emporia. It was not very warm out and we headed to the section of Australia first. For those who know the KC Zoo, they know that section is the smaller of the two. Well, I guess I have never made it to that section like ever because I did not know that some animals are not in cages. It was really neat though.

So, we entered a bird area and the birds were everywhere in there. We noticed these two birds sleeping on the railing so I took a picture of them as you can see. Right after I took a picture a bird of the similar type flew right above us. I did not realize at the time that Ginny got smacked in the head with it's foot as she was on my mom's shoulders.

Then, we kept walking around looking at all the other animals. We rounded a corner and there were up and close kangaroos. They were amazing and Miles was squealing in delight at them. We also saw a Roo who we happen to find out just came out of it's pouch for the first time that morning.

We also happened to come to the penguins when they were feeding them. It was so neat to be able to watch them feed the penguins and learn more about these creatures that Heavenly Father has created for us.

It was such a great trip and I am glad that we went with my mom. Of course it would have been even better if Stephen was able to come with us. Oh well, we will have to make another trip.

Miles First Haircut

On May 26th, Miles recieved his first haircut. I started to notice that his hair was bothering him in his eyes as of lately. Of course since little man is a boy it would not be nice of me to pull his hair up out of his eyes like I did with Ginny. So, since he was sitting nice and still on my mom's lap she decided a nice trim would be good for him. Man, did he look cute. He officially got his hair cut all around a few weeks later from Stephen's mom.

Cousin Fun

So we have the pleasure now of living close to my family so the kids often see their cousins Calvin, Abriana, Maddison, and Dallas who are teenagers. Then they also get to spend time with their cousin who is only a year older then Ginny named Abbi. Occasionally, we spend time with their cousins who live in Missouri who have two older and one who is the same age as Ginny. Though, this time we had the joy of having Stephen's brother Jimmy and family (Natalie, Addi, and Reed) and Stephen's sister Johanna and her son Will in town. During the time they were here we had hoped that we could be sealed. Anyways, Jimmy and family were here for two weeks while Johanna was here for another week after that. It was so much fun watching the kids interact with each other. Addi and Ginny are the same age so it was fun to see the girls play with each other and occasion they would have an argument. The last time Jimmy and family lived here the girls were at the parallel play. So now they were able to play with each and interact with each other. Miles is six months younger then my nephew Reed so they were in the stage of parallel play. Though Miles seemed to scare Reed more then anything. Will who is Johanna's little boy is six months younger then Miles. All in all the kids had a lot of fun spending time with each other and learning from each other. We miss them when they are not here.

I love to See the Temple!

So Stephen and I decided it was time to go through the temple a long time ago. So on May 29th, 2014, Stephen and I went through the temple together. It was an amazing experience to go through with my family by my side. My sister-in-law Johanna was my escort while Stephen had his dad escort him in. Let's just say there was some minor wardrobe mishaps on my part but it did not take away from the spiritual experience. On May 30th, 2014, which was a bright sunny day. We went back to the temple and I was able to get dressed in a beautiful white gown and was sealed to my husband Stephen. We were placed in the sealing room and I saw my mom who was sitting next to me and then my in-laws next to Stephen. We also had Stephen's sister Johanna, brother Jimmy and his wife Natalie, Peter and Laura Sullivan, Mike and Elyse Scoma, and Nathan Rytting there to celebrate our sealing. Once Stephen and I were sealed to each other for all eternity. They brought Ginny and Miles in. Stephen and I had not seen the kids once they entered the temple and were placed in all white. Ginny was in a beautiful little girl dress and she climbed up on my lap and said, "Mommy did you get married?" I told her yes that I did that I got married to her daddy for all eternity. We then were sealed to our children. After we were done everyone changed and we then took pictures outside of the temple.