Joey

This is Joey.

She is Eric's cat.  She's a ham and probably the happiest, most goofy cat I have ever had. She just prances around in her own little world most of the day - she's quite entertaining. And she meows constantly - almost like you really are having a conversation with her!

Batter Up!

So we've been working pretty hard with Carter on baseball recently.  We go out to the backyard to hit and play catch several times per week.  Last night, I decided we were going to head over to one of the schools nearby so we could put out all the bases and Carter could go through the motions of hitting the ball and then running the bases.  We had a great time (though Eric roasted in the heat).  Here are some pictures of our fun night:

Mr. Attitude

 We have decided to skip the idea of t-ball for Carter.  There really is no point in teaching a kid to hit off of a stationary stand.  So he's just going to go straight to little league - which he can start at 5 for West Boise Little League.

 Running the bases

 So far, I'm thoroughly pleased with his form.  When he focuses on what we're doing, he will nail the ball every time.

 After we were done, we let him run around like a crazy kid, kicking up all the dirt his little heart desired.

 And let's not forget Ms. Kendall.  I hope this is the first of many dugout pictures of her I will get.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 29

OMG I'm super late for last week's photos!  Without further delay, here they are:

My cousin Hannah, who is also babysitting for us until the kids start at the learning center.

 A view from a ride in the truck.

 Snack time

 Daddy mowing the lawn.

 Water fight!

 We had several water fights with Carter last week/weekend - so fun!!

 And we got snow cones - yumm!

 Uncle Dana at the last softball game of the season.

The "Dream Act" - a/k/a .... BULLSHIT

I don't often speak about politics on here for the simple reason that it's a heated topic and I want the blog to focus on positive things.  However, in this instance, I am fired up enough to step up on my soapbox for a few minutes.

An article on Yahoo! News this morning talks about the California "Dream Act", which was just signed into law.  In summary, this Act allows illegal immigrants to receive privately funded scholarships so they can continue their education at public colleges and universities.

Go ahead and process that for a moment.  I'll wait.

Now let's talk about this. 

There are ads all over the place (in Idaho, therefore, I assume in other states as well) talking about how high school is not enough, that people need to go further with their education.  However, school is expensive.  We all know this.  Granted, there are scholarships, grants, and other forms of financial aid available to those who qualify for such funding.  But it's all still expensive.  And now, apparently, there are forms of funding available to those who sneak their way into our country.  Those who are here illegally.  Who don't pay taxes.  But let's toss some money at them, right?  Because that's what good, old America does. 

The Governor of California stated, "At the end of the day, if we're going to continue as a powerful, equal-opportunity society, we're going to have to invest in our people." 

First of all, illegal immigrants aren't "OUR" people.  If they want to be "our" people, why not go through the proper (legal) channels to become a legalized American citizen?  And pay taxes.  And vote.  And contribute to this so-called "powerful, equal-opportunity society".  Since when does the "equal opportunity" standard extend to illegal immigrants?  I thought being here illegally was still, you know, ILLEGAL.  But instead of deporting these people, we're going to give them access to scholarships so that they can continue their education.  And then what?  As the article states, they can't legally obtain employment.  So what exactly are we accomplishing by giving them money?  Honestly.

And don't get me wrong - I'm all for education.  I think everyone deserves it.  However, when we are taking away from our own citizens and giving to people who have no right at all to be here, that's where I draw the line.  Scholarships are meant to be a reward.  Apparently we are now rewarding those who manage to sneak by our "border control", and who have no apparent intention of becoming a legal citizen.

Awesome law-making.  Really.

Kendall at 3 Months

I thought I would do a little update on Kendall since she's now officially 3 months old.  I already did her 3 month pictures, so this is more of an update on how she's progressing.

There's no doubt the girl is getting bigger.....she loves her bottles, that's for sure!  I can't give you a current stat as to weight because we don't have a scale in our house.  But she's growing like a weed, that much I can see. 

Her latest development is reaching and grabbing for toys.  And of course, everything that makes it to her hands, goes straight for her mouth. Gotta love babies!!

We have also started her collection of books.  We did this with Carter and I plan to do the same with her.  It's extremely important to start "reading" early to promote brain stimulation.  The first book I bought her was about colors.  It's so fun to watch her face change as we turn the page to different colors.  Red seems to excite her the most right now.

I talked Carter into giving Kendall all of his baby books, and he loves to sit and read them to her.  Here, he's showing her the green page in the colors book.

And she carries the same fascination her brother had at this same age:

The minute that ceiling fan is turned on, she's totally captivated.

And we're also working on her neck muscles to hold up that big bobble-head.  ;)  (forgive the blurry picture....she was bobbing all over the place and I was laughing too hard)

Overall, I'm incredibly pleased with her progress thus far.  She's such a good baby....wakes up with a smile on her face every day, and we've all finally fallen into a fantastic schedule that seems to work for everyone.

We did, however, hit a snag with our daycare provider.  They literally were not listening to our requests (which later turned into demands) for Kendall's eating and sleeping schedule.  She was not being fed enough and not getting nearly enough sleep.  And after having this same battle with them when Carter was a baby, I decided enough was enough.  I'm not going to battle with someone over the basic care of my own baby.  Especially when they basically laugh in our faces when we try to discuss the issues.  So they are no longer receiving my money.  My cousin is watching the kids 2 days a week for the rest of summer, and then they will start at their brand new learning center.  Carter will be in the preschool side and Kendall will be in the baby-care side.  I'm very excited for this place and I hope it's everything we are wanting for our kids.

Project 2011: Through His Eyes, Part 28

Here are Carter's pictures!

This fuzzy fella is Carter's most prized possession right now.  Every time we shop for groceries, we do two things - guaranteed - every time.  One, we pick out a Hot Wheels car IF Carter behaves.  Two, we stop at the claw machine on the way out to see if we can win a prize.  In allllll the times we have shopped there, this is the first time we've actually managed to get a prize.  Carter was so excited!!

 Since we fired our daycare, my cousin, Sydney, has been babysitting for us - I'm sure we'll be seeing lots more pictures of her the rest of summer.

 We had our friends Rob and Nicole over for dinner the other night - Rob and Carter messed around with the camera quite a bit.

 And we also got to go feed the geese/ducks.  This particular one actually got a boot from Eric because it kept biting Carter. 

 Kendall loved the nice breeze that evening.

 And then we had some ice cream when we got home!  Fresh-picked raspberries on top?  Yes please!

Abby, Brandon & Daysen {engagement}

One of my oldest and best friends, Abby, is getting married this fall.  I've known Abby since we were tiny kids, so her engagement and wedding photos are my gift to her.  Last weekend, we met up to do their pictures, which included their son, Daysen.  Here are some of their shots: