snapping pictures of kai are harder than ever... she's always on the move. and even though you all think she's a perfect angel, the truth is, she's got a little rebel in her and will pose and smile for other people taking pictures, but not mommy. can't imagine where she gets that from.
so we've had a pretty busy couple of months. in september, we drove out to oklahoma and texas for a visit. i'm so bad about pictures when we visit, and this time, i was more focused on taking pictures of all the family members for kai to see so she could learn everyone's names even while we're 1000 miles away. but i managed to get some pretty cute ones.
our first stop was at cousin jerry's out in the country of OK... it is so different than what i'm used to, but the 20 degree temperature drop was very nice! kai had a great time with cousin jenny and all of the animals (they have dogs - pups while we were there, donkeys and a goat)
here's kai enjoying the sunset from the front porch with jenny:
the next day we drove into Oklahoma City to pick up cousin Michael from the airport and make our way to the Spears' family reunion in Okmulgee, OK.... it sounds about as exciting as it is! we had dinner in a little cafe on the square, complete with live music and a diner full of retirees. :-) after dinner, we spent some time hanging out.
kai and jenna sharing a moment
i love this photo because it looks like kai is on a mission!
after the reunion, we drove down to d-town and had a labor day bbq with my family - like i said, i have lots of individual pictures of everyone, but not too many action shots. after lunch we went on a walk with pop-pop (my dad) and jersey (the dysfunctional basset of my grandparents)... elle decided to join us and help with kai:
we also went to dinner with kari and rob, who are expecting baby boy in feb! and melissa, expecting baby in may! we went to target afterwards and kai got some new clothes from aunt kari and aunt mel. here she is checking out the purchases!
on the way back to phoenix, we decided to take the less-traveled, non-interstate route through the mountains... it was a little more interesting than the drive through tucson, but lots of stops and 25 mph zones along the way. here's a pic at the crossroads... she's probably in the middle of saying "shoo-ee" about her feet... ok, not really, because she just learned that a few weeks ago... she takes off her shoes and smells her feet and says "shoo-ee!" it's adorable.
since we've been back, we've met DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba
been silly at dinner
learned to floss! (ok, not really, just copying mommy)
and spent many minutes riding "horsey" who sings and neighs and wags his tail!
october has brought cooler weather (finally!), but not any change in sunlight or foliage... it's kind of odd not to see leaves changing colors. this last weekend we were invited to a birthday party at a local farm... about 5 minutes down the road (we're kind of on the edge of civilization out here in east mesa... not to worry though, necessities like sonic are still right around the corner)... it was so fun to take kai because she actually knows the names of all the animals and we have the awesome pink cowgirl boots on loan from a new friend.
the first stop at the farm was the fake cow, whose udders were dripping water... shawn was more interested than kai, apparently
we then made our way to the animals... pigs, goats, sheep, ducks, chickens, a donkey, and a cow.
we paused briefly to take a mommy and kai photo
then headed to the cow-train...a handful of white and black barrels pulled by a tractor... which kairi really loved!
kai decided to do a little reading while the birthday boy was opening presents
and then the battery died... we also did a corn maze - for about 5 minutes - because by now the sun had come out in full force and it was like 20 degrees warmer than it was when got there - and because kai wanted to be carried instead of riding in the wagon, and i told shawn we needed to go back... it was like a 3 mile maze or something crazy. we also looked at a few pumpkins... but she wasn't really that into it.
i know halloween is coming up and we will get more pics then, but in case you don't have facebook, or you haven't seen what shawn and I were this year... here's your opportunity.
shawn was invited to a halloween party by a co-worker who told us the theme was sequins... so my wonderfully creative husband decided to go as richard simmons, which meant i had to be a sidekick... his biggest fan, and success story #4,326. :-)that's all for now folks! hope you are all well, and I'll update again post-thanksgiving!
i'll leave you with this funny, dirty, precious toddler face!
