Outside Fun

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather, mid 70's. We are happy to be rid of the heat for awhile. Mason had his preschool open house on Wednesday, he is ready for school. He gets to bring his birthday treats on the first day. He was excited to see his school and to see his teachers. He learned how to pump this week so he can now swing without help.


Valynn is still loving school. This week and next week they are learning their colors, so they have to wear different colored clothes everyday.
Kyra is learning something new everyday as well. She is talking up a storm and her favorite word this week "uh-oh". She learned how to use a spoon this week to get food out of a bowl. Shoes are still her favorite things to play with.

Party Pictures

Pictures from Kyra's Birthday party and of some of her gifts. Kyra hasn't gotten much of a chance to play with her gifts because Valynn and Mason are playing with them. She had a great time, enjoyed the cake and playing with the kids.

Recap from yesterday

Valynn had a great first day of school. She was ready to go back today. Today she will be in school longer, although they get out at 2:15 because of the heat. Kyra had a good birthday. She learned a couple of new tricks. She took Mason's booster seat off of his chair and then stood on it to get unto a kitchen chair. She also learned to take off her diaper. I also forgot to mention that it was our anniversary on Sunday, we celebrated 7 years, it's hard to believe how fast time goes and where we are 7 years later. I included a picture of Mason sleeping in his pillow case, he was feeling a little left out yesterday.

A day of firsts!

It's an emotional day here for mom and dad. Valynn had her first day of kindergarten. She rode the bus to school, I then met her there and walked her to her classroom. I didn't cry but was close quite a few times, I waited until I got home to do that. Today is also Kyra's first birthday. We no longer have a baby in the house. We will be having her party on Friday and tonight it will just be the family to help her celebrate. HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY KYRA AND HAVE A GREAT YEAR AT SCHOOL VALYNN.

3 Months

Ty was 3 months on August 16th. He is growing fast. He saw Grandpa and Grandma Larson and Grandpa Sullivan this weekend who were in town for the hockey golf tourney.

More pictures at:

http://newsullivans.myphotoalbum.com/

More pictures

Here are a few more pictures from the trip and around the house. Kyra is walking around in mom's shoes. She has really had a mental growth spurt in the last few weeks, she is saying more words (happy, kitty, quack, rooster sound), and is always trying to copy sounds. She is also really perceptive as anyone with a rice krispy bar in the vicinity can attest to. Kyra is also into having books read to her, so it's a big help that Valynn will read to her. There is a picture of Grandpa sleeping with Kyra after the plane ride, Mason is in the stroller in the background. I have a picture of the kids watching the airplanes at the air port, our plane left at 1:00 am Pacific (3:00 am central). A picture of Valynn and Mia, one of Grandpa giving Kyra cake and ice cream (if you want to be Kyra's friend give her food). I also have a picture of Kyra in the wagon with Matthew, the boy from across the street, he's 6 weeks older than Kyra. Here is a link to some pictures that I haven't posted.

FUN in Washington

We had a great visit in Lacey, Washington. We went to the beach the first day there, the kids (and adults) got to play in the Pacific Ocean. The water was cold but we had fun anyway. We went to the Children's museum where Valynn and Mason played for hours, Kyra got to spend time with her Grandmas. We helped celebrate a couple of birthdays and spent hours visiting with relatives. We even got to meet a few new ones. The kids had fun playing with Mia and Alex and Kyra was intrigued by baby Amia. The kids were wonderful on the plane ride and while visiting, we even survived the overnight flight without much hassle.

Celebration!!!!

We helped Great Great Aunt Vi celebrate her 90th birthday. We threw her a surprise party. Here is a picture of Kyra with Great Great Great Aunt Vi (yellow), Great Great Aunt Delores (pink), and Great Grandma Hinds (white). I also have a picture of the kids with Vi and if I did my math right, their third cousin Mia. We also celebrated Grandma Larson's birthday. She got a cupcake for her birthday (cousin Jesse is in the background).

Lighthouse

Mark and I were able to tour the inside of the Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine, WI. It was built in 1880. There were 144 stairs to reach the top. It was fun to see the inside of the lighthouse. The kids weren't able to go up into the lighthouse so they stayed at the family reunion with their grandparents.

Swim lessons

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Today was the last day of swim lessons for Valynn and Mason, which meant it was fun day. They went down the water slide and got to play in the different pools. They both have come a long way in just the few lessons this summer. Valynn will jump off the diving board and swim to the surface by herself, she still needs a little help swimming to the side. She will also go down the water slide by herself and no one needs to catch her. Mason doesn't get mad if his head goes underwater, he didn't like his face getting wet and now it doesn't bother him. He was busy walking all over the pool where it was two feet deep without the instructor near him.
Kyra is our little Houdini, she learned how to unlatch the gate going downstairs. She had a tough day on Wednesday. She fell on the cement at swim lessons and had a big red mark on her forehead and then later that day she tripped in Valynn's room and hit her bed and got a bloody nose. Kyra had her first haircut yesterday, just a little trim so she can see. She is currently into reading books and Valynn is always ready to read a book to her.
Valynn is counting down the days to Kyra's birthday which also happens to be the first day of kindergarten.