Little World Traveler

Caroline's Passport came in today.  She can legally go with the family this Christmas! Caroline looks very serious in this picture. Couple of things I learned while getting her passport:

• Children have to renew their passports every 5 years
• You can not smile in your passport picture now. 
• Your ears have to be showing.
• They have to have an official birth certificate {mine wasn't official enough so we had to go get another one from the court house}
• If you lose your official, official BC You have to get it from Austin, TX & can only have 10 in your life time. {Just FYI}
• Both parents have to be present. 

 Fun fact about the above photo- I am holding Caroline on the swivel chair ducked almost to the ground- I didn't realize they were going to crop so much out.

After work today we played in the sprinkler. She will not drink any kind of juice but doesn't seem the least bit bothered by water hose water. 

High Five Pip!

Roaring Springs

Caroline and I were invited out to Roaring Springs campground by the Kristen & Mike Lewis.  They were camping for the weekend but let us come for the day to play.  

This place is amazing and to think it is only an hour away from Lubbock. The Lewis' were great hosts. As soon as we got there they took us to the playground.  Evyn was such a big help and showed Caroline how to use the slides. Kristen was always at the bottom of the slide to catch.

Carter and Evyn showed Caroline how to catch minnows. There were not any rocks in this stream so they walked around with no worries.

The spring bubbles up from the ground and is put into a concrete pool area.  The water is F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G but so clean.  Kristen told me they drain the pool once a week, clean it and refill it every Thursday.  Caroline didn't seem bothered by the water at all. The water flows from the pool to a fishing pond and then on down stream.

Carter let Caroline borrow his raft to play in. After playing in the water for awhile Mike grilled hotdogs and Kristen made brownies- Delicious! Then we went on an "adventure" as Evyn called it.  We hiked on a small trail looking at all the wildlife.  Evyn even sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" over and over for Caroline- She was one happy camper! After our adventure we watched Evyn fish and Carter try to catch crawdads.  Caroline started to get really sleepy so we decided to leave but we had a fun day.

Caroline took a small nap in the car and then was wide awake so we sang 'Ole McDonald' the rest of the way home.  I was relieved to see our house because I just said the words "and on the farm there was a peacock" and wasn't sure what a peacock sound was... 

 When we got home we got ready for Daddy's birthday dinner.  We baked his favorite cookies

 -Oatmeal without raisins-

& then we made

green beans, mash potatoes, corn on the cob & rat tails. Chris grilled the steaks when he got home. 

This is Caroline and daddy's new thing. Nothing like a little shot of Ready Whip to finish the day off right.

Soaking up Summer

I go back to work on Monday so we have been soaking up all the summer we can. This has been one of my most favorite summers! Caroline and I have been having a blast.  

She loves the water & the YMCA has a really fun Splash park. Notice the red lady bug... This is a great toy.  Every time I bring it out she squeals with excitement because she knows it means we are going swimming!

This is where I found the lady bug last night....Silly kid

We have also been spending a great deal at the Science Spectrum.  She spends most time in the grocery area, music room and water tables. Caroline loves it! We can't leave without seeing "MeMo" the little clownfish in the fish tank on the bottom floor.

We have also been trying new foods for lunch. Jacee has joined us a couple of times.  Below is at Fuddruckers. (Caroline likes their chicken nuggets)  Caroline thinks "dacee" is hilarious & her laugh is very contagious.

We have been spending almost everyday playing with the water table and in the sprinkler.  The flowers are loving this because they are guaranteed a drink almost everyday.  

And of course I can't leave out the ride around toys.  Her little legs are not even close to the pedals but she loves pushing herself around.  

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Falther-Prathco Vacation

The Falco/Prather vacation was another epic event.  We took on California and saw so many beautiful sites. First of all We LOVE the Falcos. We laughed so much on this trip. First stop was Yosemite.   We had a picnic at Glacier Point.

Mariposa Grove is by far the most amazing nature phenomenon I have seen.  The tallest tree in the national park is 379ft! That is 74 feet taller then the statue of liberty. There are no bears in Mariposa Grove but we kept a look out just in case. We hiked down a mile trail to the lower grove & Caroline did great.  She walked down there by herself most of the way.  

She is a little nature lover!  Her daddy and I took turns carrying her back singing her new favorite song "itsy bitsy spider".  Sam even jumped in and sang it to her.

Jumping on the trampoline together

2nd stop was the to the Hendricks! Samuel called Lane & Leah "the kids".  He couldn't wait to go to "the kids" house and play.   Stephanie and Luke made the best chicken Fajitas. Chris loved the guacamole - {Stephanie's secret is fresh squeezed orange juice} Caroline woke up early- she didn't want to miss any chance to play with her cousins. I'm so glad we get to see them in a couple of weeks.

3rd stop Manchester CA. Gian found this amazing house right on the beach. It had an indoor fire pit right in the living room! We had s'mores every night and stayed up way too late talking.  The porch was fenced in and went all the away around.  The kids loved it!

Stephanie bought Samuel bubbles so he could take them to the beach.  Caroline screamed with excitement every time anyone brought the bubbles out. "Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles!"

We visited Point Arena lighthouse- Fun fact it's the closest point on the California coast to Hawaii.

This was Caroline's first experience with the beach and she had a blast (so did her daddy).

4th stop- San Francisco CA, one of my favorite cities! Coming in we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge.  Very touristy but worth walking on. After checking into one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in {thanks to the Falcos} we rode a cable car down Mason street all the way to the wharf.  

We took the kids to the aquarium first. Caroline got really excited in the "ish" tunnel.  She waved and said "hi" to all the sharks but she held on tight to her daddy's neck just incase one tried to charge. After the aquarium we ate at Wipe Out on the water.  Caroline started getting sleepy so we headed back to the hotel. Instead of waiting in the extremely long cable car line we trekked up Mason street to California Street.  This hill was no joke especially pushing Caroline in a stroller but we made it back extremely sweaty and glad to relax!

On our last day in San Fran we went to the Golden Gate park & Baker Beach. Crazy kid figured out how to climb up this smaller slide  by herself and slid over & over squealing with excitement every time she did it. There was also an indoor carousal that both the kids liked.

Over all it was fun vacation with the Falcos!  I can't wait for the next one!!

17 Months

This is what I want to remember about Caroline's 17th month of life:

• She talks constantly{Her daddy gets the credit for this one}.  Her newest words this month- Mimi, Nana, Thank you, bottle {all cups are "bottle"}, baby {all kids are "baby"} glasses, cookie, guck- "duck"{all birds are "ducks"} & book.

• She loves playing in the water: sprinklers, water table, bath tub, swimming pool -she is a little water "guck".

   

 

•  Bedtime routine has become a harder.  It's bath, brushing teeth, PJs, milk (while watching Nemo) but lately she wants to play as soon as she gets out of the bath. We have had to let her cry the last couple of nights until she falls asleep.
•  Her new bed time is 7:30 to 8ish 
• She takes 1 nap at {11:00} and sometimes needs another one around 4:00 for 30 minutes
• Her favorite books this month are "The Busy Little Spider" , 'Ugly Duckling', "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" & "I Love you Stinky Face"- Brown Bear

• Favorite foods: strawberries, blueberries, bananas, cut up chicken, mash potatoes, green beans & peas, guacamole & chips.
• Her daddy will give her chocolate milk sometimes as a treat and she LOVES it!
• She has recently discovered crayons and likes to color {we already had one incident involving the glass door and a black crayon- lucky it came right off}.  She likes playing with her little farm {because of the animals} and her ride around toys.  

• She wants to "go"- go outside any chance she gets.
•  We have been taking the wagon ride to visit one of our neighbors who recently lost her cat.   Inge lets Caroline chase the bunnies in her yard and it seems to cheer her up.
• Caroline is really into animals. Which is great except she runs up to them with no fear.  Pip the cat is her favorite animal and I'm glad both enjoy each others company.