Family Fun Part 2

My Family came to visit for the second time over Labor Day weekend and I could not have been more excited! Its a bummer that they only got to stay two full days- but we will take whatever we can get!

The first time they came up was back in late July when we were still getting used to the area. We were glad that they were coming up, but we were very homesick at the time. It almost made it harder for us to see them just because we had to seem them go 2 days later. The first trip was a hard one for various reasons. The first because we were so homesick and the second because mom's treatment and diagnosis was very much up in the air. If mom wasn't going through what she is going through, this move would have been alot easier for me! Luckily, so far, everything has turned out ok. During this trip, mom and dad did get the kids a swing set and were able to see Brady's school!

The second time they came up was much much much better! They came up over Labor Day weekend, so like the first time they could only stay 2 full days. So the moment they got here it was almost like we were thinking about when they had to leave. We did alot of shopping, eating, and hanging out. Cailyn loves when family comes to visit and I am sure Peyton does too. Cailyn stayed up till like 11 every night and didn't get a nap the days they were here, she was constantly going and being crazy! Kelsey and Cailyn painted a bird house that they put in our front tree and we went to Scheels to show the family the "dead animals" as Cailyn calls them. We also had some cake and a little early birthday celebration for Peyton. I made a dinosaur cake which was really easy. My first try was a little rough, but Peyton didn't seem to mind because he dug right in! We did alot of playing outside because the weather was so nice. The family brought up a dollhouse that was Kelseys and all of the accessories, a tricycle, a desk that used to be mine, a tv and vcr with VHS tapes (1990's yes, but we are hibernating this winter so I need to keep the kids occupied), a potato head playset (which we have played with everynight since), and a few other things. It was also a good trip because my brother, Kyle got to come and see the place. The dollhouse that was brought up has people to it obviously and Cailyn says, "these are my people!"

For Peyton's birthday, the family got him a mini construction set which he loves! It is the 'CAT' brand and it has a dumptruck that he pushes everywhere!

The pictures in the slide are mostly from the Labor Day trip, but there are a few from the first trip when the swing set was going up. Brady and Dad built it and then had to take it down and build it back up again because they did it wrong- funny huh? Yea not so much!

My 24th Birthday!

My idea of a birthday celebration is pretty different compared to most 24 year olds, especially since having kids. We went to the zoo, played outside, had dinner and cake together as a family and called it a day. Since my birthday is in late August it seems to always be around a transition period.

When I was in grade school, it was right at the first of the school year when I am meeting new teachers and friends. My first year in college was one of the hardest birthdays because I was away from my family and we had just moved me into the dorms a week before, but I did have a great group of friends for support. One birthday we had just found out we were expecting Cailyn about 2 weeks prior. The following year I was very pregnant with Peyton and he ended up being born exactly a month after my birthday. Now we are in Iowa to celebrate my 24th! Cailyn and I made a cake for the night and she kept saying, "we have cake for my birthday in March?" She was just making sure that we were going to have cake for her birthday too!

Brady brought my home some nice flowers and a sweet card- which is exactly what I needed and wanted!

Zoo Time

On my birthday we went to the zoo with our good friends: Heidi, Kobe, and Lily and another sweet family that we met that day. Well if you know me, you know that I HATE the zoo! When I was a kid my parents for some CRAZY reason put my brother and I in zoo school. Well zoo school is a good idea and all but not in the middle of a TEXAS summer! We had to go walk around the zoo (and the Fort Worth zoo is huge) in the 100+ degree weather for like 2 weeks! When I go to the zoo now there are smells that bring back those horrible memories. Anyway, I only go to the zoo now because the kids really love it- so I make the sacrifice. The Blank Park Zoo is a perfect size- its not too big where it takes hours to walk through, its a perfect 2-3 hour trip. At this trip, Peyton started to point- which was adorable! We were looking at the hugh fish tank and he just started pointing at the fish! At this zoo they had seals and sea lions which aren't at the FW zoo which was really cool. Cailyn's favorite animal at this zoo are the monkeys (and I hate monkeys too!) The animal that she really wanted to see was the hippo (which is Brady's favorite), but they don't have them and she kept saying, "they not have hippos? they not have elephants? this crazy." ha ha- she tells it like it is! We will for sure go back!

Peyton pointing at the fish:

looking at the ducks:

Trust me, this is a huge step for her to do this! She thought it was the coolest thing!

White Coat Ceremony

Brady was not too excited about this day (August 22) because he thought it was going to be boring. I was excited because it felt like it was official, like he was really in medical school and we are finally here! However, we had no family here so it was the kids and I with a billion other people trying to keep them entertained and quite. It all worked out fine and Brady got his White Coat!

IOWA STATE FAIR!

This is the first time for any of us to go to a state fair.... and what better way to have Iowa be our first! It was alot of fun! Very kid friendly and tons of good food! We went to the exotic petting zoo and saw a camel that Cailyn was absolutely terrified of! They have a huge slide that we went down 3 times for 15 dollars! insane! But Cailyn loved it, everytime we got to the bottom she would say "more again." We saw cows of course and even ate deep fried oreos! I was sick for the rest of the night! Brady did have a porkchop on a stick that was really good. My favorite part was Little Hands on the Farm where the kids walk through a little area that shows them how produce and things like that end up in stores and at the farmers' markets. She looked so adorable going through all the steps. We went with some good friends and we had a lot of fun! We are for sure going back next year!

GO RANGERS!

We miss TEXAS very much but we are really starting to like Iowa and this area alot. However, up here we do not get much of any TEXAS sports games unless its like a Minnesota team or Missouri team. So Brady misses watching the TEXAS RANGERS alot! Before we moved we went to at least 4 games during the summer and Cailyn loved going! Hopefully, we will at least get some TEXAS (any college) football games up here!

Two BIG events!

1. Brady's first day of medical school was August 10th, and boy was he nervous! Things have hit pretty hard since that day. There was really no adjusting period, they just expected you to get right with it. He was ready though! On his first day sitting in class he had a hat on, and his friend told him "I don't think hats are allowed." So Brady turned to look at the class of 200+ and he was the only one with a hat on! At least it was a Texas Ranger hat!

Here he is on the first day of school...

2. Our next big event of that week was Cailyn's first trip to the dentist! She suprisingly did really well and really liked the dentist! She sat in my lap and leaned back so the dentist could look at her teeth and she had 16! At that time she was still sleeping with her binky, but Dr. Rob told her that she didn't need that binky anymore. So the next day we did like a star chart-treat thing with her and she was done with it completely within 3 days. Now she'll say "Dr. Rob said no more binky for you!" Its hilarious! I think she is trying to regulate Peyton but he's not having any of it!