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"This is the best Christmas ever!" That is all Brady and I heard on Christmas day. Obviously we and Santa left nothing out. The kids had a blast opening up presents. Teagan got her barbie and basketball, Kaelsy got her Go Go Puppy and DS, Kyre got his gronckle, and Ella...well lets just say she seemed pretty content. Brady got some PS3 games he has been wanting and some nice suits that will be coming eventually and Kim got her a sewing machine and clock for the living room (yeah!). We also got a trampoline in our back yard! "How did Santa do that?" was all the kids could say ask. Overall...it truly was the best Christmas ever!
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The days leading up to Christmas were pretty busy and wonderful for many reasons. This was Bradys first year of not coaching high school girls basketball and all of us enjoyed having him home for holiday celebrations and preparations. We all enjoyed going to Teagan's Christmas school program where she showed some great skill on the xylophone. The house got decorated inside (Kim and the kids) and outside (Brady). And the big great wonderful surprise... Santa came and did a personal check up on the Wiltbank family. We all decided that he had to be the real deal. He knew the kids names and things about them. Even Ella was captivated by his magic although she kept a wary distance. The kids even got to open a special present from one of our neighbors on Christmas Eve - a cool playhouse that they get to color. Kyre got an even more special treat - new pjs gronckle style of course!
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So, the girls have been into this vampire kick, hence the vampire costumes. Kyre wanted to be a Gronckle (How To Train Your Dragon) but unfortunately could not find one in time and when I pulled out Ella's octopus costume, he saw the horse and had to use that one. Phew... that was so much easier. And of course, I can't leave out my other "child" who couldn't be left out either - My own King of my heart - Brady.
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Poor Kaelsy. Her birthday always falls in the most busy time of the year - beginning of a school year. I almost always have a volleyball game on her actual birthday so we usually plan on Labor Day for the celebration. Thank goodness she is so easy going with that. A cake was really out of the question for me this year, so I was so excited when she said she wanted an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Yeah! So, that is exactly what we did.
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School had actually started and therefore I was already busy with volleyball on Saturdays, but Brady and the kids were able to go out on a friend's boat and enjoy the lake and dunes on a beautiful day.
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I can't believe Teagan is already in second grade. She looks so grown up in these pictures. Where has the time gone?
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Before school started, Brady's parents were able to come up and spend some time with us. The kids were in heaven having Nana and Grandad all to themselves. Teagan and Kaelsy summed it up though when they left, "Why do they have to live so far away?" What great memories, though.
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Teagan did a lot of reading during her first grade year. In fact... she did so much that she earned a free pass to Silverwood. Brady treated her and Kaelsy to a fun-filled Saturday and they got to spend it with some good friends, too.
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This summer Brady was a great husband in letting me go away for a week without any kids. Obviously, they had some fun while I was away. When I got home, I heard about the treats from the ice cream truck and the awesome trip to the farmers market where they got their faces painted.
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Brady has been talking about getting a fire pit since we moved into our house and well this summer he finally did it. The kids love it (yes, Brady is one of the kids)! We did smores and Brady told some pretty tall tales to scare the kids. Fun times.
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Everyday, we are so thankful for great neighbors that enjoy our kids. The Smiths borrowed the blow-up from a friend so our kids could come over and play one day! And they loved it! When the water got too cold, the hot tub warmed them up until they were ready for another round on the slide! Thanks Cory for the great photos!
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Well, it only took 4 months from the time we started and almost two years since we have been in the house... but we got a room redone! The girls were so excited when we started their room. They really didn't want to lose the red shag (I knew that was the first to go!) but we talked them into a nice neutral color since we were using their two favorite colors on the walls - pink and purple. They got to help with the paint but unfortunately not with the wall paper. What a mess but it is done! Yeah!
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More Summer Fun...The girls surprised me with a tea party for my birthday. It was so cute. They had everything ready: the cucumbers, goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks and marshmallows (cubes of sugar for the "tea"). The girls had pop and of course they knew that I preferred "tea"-water. It was one of the best birthdays!
Swim lessons are still going great! Kaelsy is getting so good at putting her face in the water and doing her front and back floats. Her favorite thing to do now is swim under my legs and dive for diving rings! Ella knows exactly when it is time for her to get in the water. As soon as she hears the music and sees the water features come on, she is on a mission for the water. No stopping her. The other day I introduced her to a different part of the pool - the kiddie slide. She did not want to get off of it. Kyre took a break from the bigger kiddie slide to show Ella how it should really be done. What a kid. Teagan showed us her "no fear" attitude and went off the high dive. We missed her other attempts on a previous swim lesson but did not miss this one. She amazes us as they all do in such a wondrous way.
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Summer has begun. Teagan and Kaelsy finished their first session of swim lessons and passed! But much to my encouragement, we will be putting them in the same level for second session. Kaelsy did awesome putting her face in the water and letting her instructor help her do her floats. Teagan is swimming like crazy now and even dived from a kneeling position in the deep end on the last day! Ella is loving the water, too. She loves getting sprayed and does not mind her splashing siblings at all. Thank goodness summer is finally here!
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Kaelsy graduated from her first year at preschool this year! What a difference it has made in her social skills!
Brady and Kyre did the Father/Son Camping weekend. Kyre got an alligator on the way to the campsite after Brady had to pick up a few supplies at a small store and he would not put it down the whole trip. What a kid. Too bad Kyre got a pretty bad cough that cut the trip short. I think they had a lot of fun!
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Birthdays. We have had a few. Teagan and Kyre got to do a combinded one this year. Kyre wanted Batman and Teagan wanted Rapunzel. I have to say that the cake turned out better than I thought it would. The kids loved it at least. Kyre had the Batman theme going with getting a new costume and Teagan got books and a new DS! The DS is something that she has wanted for over a year. It is a good thing that her dad is such a gamer and thank you Grandma for getting her other passion - reading taken care of. Poor Kaesly doesn't understand why Kyre and Teagan get to have a carnival every year for their birthday. There is one perk for being born around Memorial weekend...the rides at Spring Fest. And then Miss Ella turned 1! Poor girl being the last... got brownies for her birthday. She didn't seem to mind though. I was all tuckered out with end of school year stuff and it was all I had in me. Thank you Betty Crocker!
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Soccer 2011 was a great one for the girls. It started out very cold for the first couple of weeks and then finally got warm for the last few weeks. Teagan is so competitive and all she wanted to do for the 8 weeks of soccer was to practice and practice! In fact, now that it is over, she still wants to practice. Kaelsy went from watching to actually getting in there and going after the ball! Well...until next year or if Brady gets his way, until fall...
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Whooooo-whoooes crazy idea was this one? Teagan wanted these owl cupcakes for her class treat.
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The Reptile Man came to visit our town and Kaelsy was one of the lucky ones to get chosen to hold a snake. She did an awesome job!
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Easter seemed to take so long getting here, yet Easter day seemed to fly by. Go figure. The kids loved doing the 5 dozen eggs! What am I going to do when all four will be dying them. I may have to get my own chickens.
Easter Sunday was a little cool and started way too early. Kyre was rearing to go at 6AM. Thankgoodness Brady had the 5:30am alarm set. The egg hunting went very quick and with very little competition. The kids looked so good in their Sunday best, too. It is great that we have wonderful neighbors that live right on the lake that let us take pictures. The others were taken down at my grandma's.
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Ever since the kids got some kites at Christmas time from our wonderful neighbor, they have been begging to fly them. Well, the other day obliged them with a pretty good breeze. They spent a good hour outside despite the fact that it was quite chilly (hence the fact that some pictures are not the best quality-Ella and I preferred the warmth of the inside). If only those moments where they can laugh and play together beautifully would last forever. It was a true joy to watch them that day.
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It is very rare to get a good picture with all four, so I had to do it in two groups. I love Kyre to death, but it is amazing that when we take him out of the equation, most of the time, what a difference it makes. I wish I could have gotten a good one of him flexing his muscles. He loves to pretend to be Batman and "hit the bad guys!"
