Easter and Dad's 85th

So, Easter proved to be kaiya's new favorite holiday....what three year old wouldn't love chocolate bunnies, 3 easter egg hunts in one day and dying eggs and baking cookies with Stephy...fun! She was sooo excited and a little crazy from all the sugar! kaiya monitors her own intake though and tells me all the time that certain things have too much sugar and that she should drink water before bed because "juice and chocolate milk have too much sugar in them"!

It was then on to Papa's big birthday party! TT (Esther) and Lotus came up on Wednesday and we had soo much fun with them staying at our house! Lotus is adorable and is talking up a storm! We couldn't get enough of it, what a little pistol!!

Papa's party was a great success! So much fun with family and friends we haven't seen for a long time! Kaiya fell in love with her cousins Tierny and Connor and of course her favorite Mea-Mea
(Meagan). She got to play with her adorable cousins Stella and Scarlett who she adores! She saw her "grandma" Linda and made many new friends! The weather turned out for Papa and we think grandma Mary pulled a few strings up there in Heaven (it was supposed to pour, but was gorgeous and that doesn't happen here in the NW)!

Well, we both got sick after all the commotion and we are back to the regular old hustle and bustle of life! We are sad that everyone is gone and we can't wait to see you all again soon!

80 degrees is lovely

FUN in the SUN!!

The last few days have been warm and wonderful! The sun is staying out so late that even after a long 10 hour shift there is still time to play and enjoy it all! Kaiya planted her first seeds and they are doing great with all the warm weather! She is so excited and asked if she could sit and watch them grow! Life is good!

I feel like we are enjoying life a lot more lately and not just getting by, which is a nice change! We have been baking, planting and swinging in our playset in the yard...so much fun! Winter does put a lot of restrictions on what we can do and it gets old real fast! I feel the S.A.D. fading quickly away only to rear it's ugly head again next winter...oh woe is me!

I am looking into going back to school in the Fall of 2008 to get my PhD in Psychology. It makes the most sense to me and for the path I want to embark on...so we might be moving...I am looking at many schools, some Southern California and Some East Coast...not many in between although Texas and Florida are options....basically the narrowing down part hasn't really happened, although UCLA, NYU, Columbia and Princeton are up there...U of O is an option as well!

Who knows what life will bring! I know that we are having fun and learning every step of the way!

My dad's big birthday bash is coming up and I hope to see a lot of you there! It should be great, he sure knows how to get a crowd like nobody else I know!

Love to all

Old stuff

So...since I am enthusiastic right now (don't worry this too shall pass) I am going to post some old photos and memories!

The last 3 years have been busy! We have been through ups and downs, losses and gains and we are still here alive and happy! We have been on many trips to California to see our family and friends and it is always so hard to see everyone we want to see before we go home! We were able to go to Hawaii the summer before last with Emmy and that was wonderful! We had a great time in the ocean...Kaiya fell in love with water and swimming with Nemo! Our snorkeling adventure was odd, with Kaiya and I jumping into open water her screaming and crying and then looking down and saying "Hi Nemo!" and then going back to crying! She is a great little traveler, skeptical, but she gets out there with the rest of em!

We took a few trips to Seattle to see our good friend Liz who is now in Chicago. We can't wait to have her back nearby!

Hmm...Kaiya was in the same in home daycare from 4 months old until this last October with Michelle. Then Michelle told us she was shutting down her business...it was so sad for Kaiya, she was so comfortable there. We tried another place and didn't like it at all! We finally found Montessori and it seems to be a perfect match! Kaiya is learning to read and write...she's got her A's down and makes pages and pages of A's!

We are still living next door to "papa" or grandpa and Kaiya adores him. She insists on going to check on him every morning before we go anywhere! They have a lot of good times together and share that quirky pearl humor that only some can appreciate!

I got a new job last year that is a great improvement. I am working for the county as a Juvenile Counselor and it is a great place to be! I am looking into a career change, but I haven't quite figured all that out yet! As for now, I am blessed and I don't want to mess with that!

Over all we have been tested and tried, but always remember how lucky we are and how much love is surrounding us and that keeps us going!

Spring time

So, after reading all of little Lotus Love's fun updates and being hounded for pictures of Kaiya, I am now officially attempting to join the world of the bloggers!

Kaiya is now 3 going on 13 and loving every minute of life! She started Montessori School in February where she attends 5 days a week. She wears an adorable uniform and doesn't ever want to take it off (free dress days are a real problem in her life!). She is very popular amongst her classmates and is not into "clicking up" with anyone in particular. She just mingles here and there and plays her little heart out at recess! Her teachers love that she has become the class motivator, bribing the other kids to get there work done with trips to Disneyland (not sure how she is going to pull all that off).

Miss Kaiya just finished swimming and gymnastics. She has decided that she wants to continue swimming, but she thinks ballet is more up her alley then gymnastics. She seems to have things figured out at 3...wish I could say the same for myself at 27! She wants to play soccer this summer and she has become quite the artist/performer! So much to do...so little time!

Kaiya had some serious dental procedure on Monday to fix her four front teeth (a product of genetics...poor girl). The dental assistants thought that since she is so easy going her juice containing demerol, visiril and chloral hydrate would just send her off to a nice sleep...not exactly! Kaiya became a belligerent drunk and when the receptionist told her if she didn't quiet down she would call the easter bunny, Kaiya responded "well then call her!". Phew...it was some what funny, but mostly traumatizing for mom, who was crying and sweating and exhausted at the end! Kaiya pulled through like the rockstar she is and now has pearly whites and she is so proud of herself!

The weather here in Portland has just shifted from gloomy, cold rain to gorgeous sunshine and we are so happy! WE can't wait for the spring and summer months filled with swimming, camping and gardening! FUN! We will be making a few trips to California June and October and hope to catch up with some of you then! Hope all is well and I will do my best to blog it up!