Big Girl Panties

Everyday my babies get a little bit older. No matter how much I try to keep them from doing so, they just keep growing up!

Some milestones in the "growing up" are better than others though.

Last month we potty trained Cammie. It was something that I had been dreading a bit. The boys were relatively easy, but they are boys! They can stand up to pee and do it pretty discreetly almost anywhere. Now I was going to have to be prepared to deal with a little lady. No more emergency stops in a parking lot or on the side of the road.

The first week of summer break I decided I was going to bit the bullet, and get rid of the diapers. As usual, my fear was worse than anything we actually had to deal with.  Cameron did great! Totally trained in less than a week, (it took her about 2 days to stop having accidents). She seems to be able to hold it longer than the boys (Kyle) too, and that makes finding a suitable place to go, much easier when we are in a public place. 

In true feminine fashion, Cammie wanted lots of privacy when she started using the toilet. She would sit with a magazine, tell me to leave, and call me when she had finished her business.

She might kill me one day for putting this picture on the Internet, but I couldn't resist.

She is so proud of her "Big Girl Panties" Auntie Allie had sent her some Hello Kitty panties, her favorite!

I told her that if she could go two days with no accidents, I would paint her toe nails. That was all it took to get dry underwear from Cam. She is such a girl!

Her first ever (mini) Pedicure.

Its been more than a month now, and we still have damp panties every now and then, but that's to be expected from a two year old I guess. All in all she's doing great! We are very proud of her latest accomplishment, even if it means she's a little more grown up.

Celebrating Independence Day

This year the 4th of July was just as fun as it always is.  The kids had very much been looking forward to it. Kyle kept talking about how he couldn't wait to see the "fireworks display" this year. They were counting down the days for a week.

Our celebration started the day before by making chocolate covered marshmallow pops for the annual 4th of July BBQ held in the cul-de-sack across the street. (Much like our annual Memorial Day BBQ.)

Kyle was my big helper for that project.

Cammie just wanted to watch.

Carter has come to expect and look forward to a special breakfast on every holiday, so for Independence Day I made the kids "American Flag Toast".

 We spent the majority of the day relaxing and play in the pool with kids. Gregg and I had a little bee bee gun target practice in the back yard for a while. (It seemed like a fitting activity for the holiday.)

Later we barbecued down the street with our friends and neighbors. 

Paige, Maddy, and Cammie, all dressed up.

Cam didn't want her picture taken, but I wanted to get her in one with Paige because they looked so cute in their matching dresses.

Eddie and the boys slaving away over their grills.

The food was good!

Lety and Nicole

Beaker-man wearing a festive Kool-Aid mustache.

Cammie enjoying a hot dog, but still not enthusiastic about pictures.

Just a few of the neighborhood kids running around with each other. They all play so well together. I actually hardly saw my boys all evening because they were so busy with their friends.

There's a smile from my pretty girl! Finally!

We had tones of fireworks. They lit up the ground and the sky for almost an hour. The kids had a blast! They especially loved the sparklers. 

Nothing says, "I had a good time" better than disgustingly dirty feet!

Yep, I'd say Cammie had fun!

The only picture I got of my little ducklings all together was at 11:00 PM just before I threw them in the bath tub.

It was so nice to be able to celebrate our Nations Independence with good friends and neighbors. 

A CALM Day

Last week while Kathy (Grandma B) was visiting, she and I decided to take the kids to CALM.  CALM stands for CAlifornia Living Museum. It is a zoo and garden hosting only plants and animals native to California.  It also acts as a sanctuary for animals who have been permanently disabled and are no longer able to survive in the wild. 

We went early hoping to beat the heat. It was a great morning.  We saw lots of cool animals and learned some things too.

The reptile house was closed for the day, but they had an employee standing outside of it with a few different things for the kids to see, and touch.

This little guy (who was actually not so little) is a Great Horned Owl. The largest owl that lives in California.

He was really cool. Since it was the middle of the day one might have expected the owls to be asleep, but not this guy. He was swinging on his little perch "talking" up a storm as we approached him. Every time he would "hoot" Cameron would say, "Who's that?" We all agreed that he was one of our favorite animals of the day.   

Another favorite of the day was the petting zoo. There were mostly barn animals in the petting area, but that didn't make it any less fun.

The kids weren't shy about letting the goats eat right off of their palms.

This little black pygmy goat was SO cute. Cammie was trying to get a kiss.

We stopped in the shade to cool off, rehydrate, and of course get a couple more pictures, before moving on.

Cammie was laughing at Grandma B who was being extra silly.

You can't have a "California Native" zoo in Bakersfield without a Roadrunner.

He (or she, I'm not sure which) was really cool too.  He ran right over to the glass to get a good look at us.

One of my favorite attractions was the Bobcat exhibit. The cat was sitting in the shade right up against the glass. You'd almost never get to see one of these this close in the wild unless you were very lucky, of perhaps very unlucky.  

 Amazing and so beautiful.

The two things that the kids had been looking forward to seeing the most were Snakes an Coyotes.  Unfortunately the reptile house was closed, and there were no Coyote's to be seen that day. We did get to see lots of foxes though.

 There were Bears too.

The kids wanted to play on the playground for a bit, so Kathy and I took the opportunity to just sit down for a few minutes.

Last but not least was a stop at the porcupine pen. I think we all agreed that they were about the favorite of the day.

It was so much fun taking our little animals to see some actual animals.

All Tied Up

What do you do with unruly kids? You tie them up with bungee chords of course.

Just kidding. But on a recent visit, Grandma and Grandpa and some fun with the boys doing just that.

So silly. The boys jut love their Grandparents!