Kevin goes to London (for work) and doesn't take a single picture with him in it...

So, as my title said, Kevin went to London for work two weeks ago (sorry I am playing blog catch up today) and while it was pretty much an all work all day trip (and by work, I mean visiting different grocery stores and interviewing people in their homes about their various cooking, shopping and eating habits), there isn't much to blog about. However, this is sort of our family journal so I thought the trip was worth mentioning. Since he didn't get to do the touristy stuff, most of his pictures are of his airplane seat (first class which was apparently quite the shizzle), his hotel room (also very lovely), and food (mostly for work purposes) Here are a few pictures- if you are particularly observant you might even get to see Kevin's feet...





And while Kevin was off seeing the world, I had a busy week with houseguests (the Owens while they were house hunting), cake class, a wedding cake and of course three fabulously busy children. Never a dull moment- that is for sure! I should note here that Kevin actually didn't want to go and contrary to what I might lead you to believe his various travels are really a lot of work and not a lot of fun.

Memorial Day

It was sure great to have a long weekend. We really needed it. On Monday we had some friends over for a barbecue and we created a little water park in our backyard. We didn't set out to create such a fun yard but when we combined our various outdoor toys with our friends, we ended up with quite a bit of stuff. We had the sprinkler under the trampoline, two slip and slides, an inflatable slide, a kiddy pool, and some shade for the adults. The kids said it was the best day of their lives so I guess they had fun :)

My garden and some sprinkler fun

So I am really excited about my garden this year but I promise not to take as many pictures of it as last year. I got it all planted a few weeks ago but I just keep adding to it. I learned a lot from last year so we will see how it goes.As opposed to last year, Brielle seems to love the water this year. She had no fear when we got out the sprinkler. She got right in there!

Makennas Gymnastics Open House

For the last few months Makenna has been taking gymnastics. She recently had her open house where she was able to show off all she learned. It was very cute. I took video on my real video camera so once I figure out how to put that on my computer- I will post it. In the mean time here are some still shots.

She just can't help but strike a pose. This is her with her good buddy Laura.

Happy Baby

Brielle pranced around in circles on the patio early one morning in between taking her pajamas off and getting her clothes on. I watched her for quite a few minutes before I decided to grab the camera. Of course as soon as I pull out the camera, she becomes distracted- but here's a few seconds of her happy little prancing!

Touchdown!

Brayden has scored three touchdowns this flag football season. He loves the sport and is quite a bit of fun to watch.

Brielle wants a haircut

Don't worry- I didn't actually cut Brielle's hair but after watching her daddy and Brayden get haircuts, she insisted on her turn.

A Wicked Mothers Day

I had a wonderful mothers day this year. Kevin bought me tickets to go see "Wicked" which he had to give me the day before because the show was that night. So we made a date night out of it thanks to our Oma and Opa who babysat for us.
And as I mentioned in my last post, we bought a new camera (thanks for the recommendation Julie). It's nothing super fancy but Kevin wants it to be our goal to take more pictures--- so bear with me here....

We ate at Stokes in Old Market. They have the best chicken enchildas. And then we wandered over to "Ted and Wally's" for some of the best ice cream you'll ever eat. It's truly one of Omaha's greatest treasures.

And then we were off to the show. It was really a lot of fun- such a great Musical. We both loved it.-- What can I say but that it was just "wicked"

And because I can't hang on to these treasured mother's day gifts for ever- I have taken a picture so I can remember them forever. Here's my show of Mother's day gifts from Kevin and the kids. That paper flower on the right is what Brielle "made" in Nursery. Its tracings of her hands and feet- what a cute idea that is.

Grandmas, and Grandpas, and Birthdays, Oh My!

Last week, we had a visit from our Grandma and Grandpa Matkin. The kids had a great time with them. We watched Brayden play football, we picniced in the park, we caught and played with toads and we even had an early birthday celebration at the Amazing Pizza Machine.We also got a new camera that we played with a bit- hence the purple grass and sepia tone.

On Sunday the girls wore their matching dresses and I wanted a cute picture. Unfortunately this is the best I could get. Oh well "you get what you get and you don't get upset" right?We were sad to see them go but luckily just the next day we got a visit from Oma and Opa- their first trip to see our new Omaha diggs. It was great to have them. They were here for Brayden's birthday so they took the cupcakes to his class at school and Brayden was thrilled to have them there.Mommy and Daddy gave Brayden a new Wii game- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games- he works up a sweat every time he plays so it must be a good one!

Then at Brayden's request, we were off yet again to the Amazing Pizza Machine. This time when we were checking in at the register one cashier commented to another about how cute Brielle is and the other cashier replied back "yeah, I know- they come here a lot" (that was a sign for me- time to take a break from the pizza machine :)

For some reason its always the grandpas that get roped into the "Wild Ride"

Then Saturday was the big birthday party day. But before we could party, Brayden had a flag football game that Oma and Opa were happy to get to see.I was so lucky to have Opa and Daddy who ran the sports stations fantastically. It was wild and crazy and lots of kids so I think Brayden had fun.
I made football cupcakes- yep those are fondant footballs and you can't really tell from this picture but the top cupcake had a little football goal post thingy- it might have been a cop out from doing a cake but since I had to do cupcakes for his class anyways, so I simplified my life and did the same thing for both.Thanks for coming to all the wonderful grandparents. We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives who love us so much. And Brayden, I hope you had a fabulous birthday- you are the best boy I could ever ask for!
(and if you are wondering, yes now that Brayden reads he is quite interested in checking our blog :)