NATALIE and KYLE KOESTER

My Girls...

2012-02-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

We've been having a lot of fun this winter, because unlike other places, we can still enjoy the sun by playing outside, being in our swimsuits, going to the park, going on walks, and best of all going to the beach like we did over Christmas.
These two girls have been playing so nicely together and have been good helpers to me. As you can see Evelyn has fully enjoyed the fact she can still wear her swimsuit, and Ellouise has been really good and keeping her car clean and ready to go on a ride at any moment.

Evelyn is very helpful by taking her sister on walks around the house to keep her entertained, and the advertisement said this was for dolls, not so in our case.

The girls are also very helpful with the dishes, Ellouise likes to check each one before it gets put away, you never know there could be some left overs.

Evelyn is very helpful with her little sister at the different play areas we go to, making sure no one tramples her or gets in her way, and she loves the fact she's about twice the height of any other kid that's there.

I just love these girls and that I get to spend all my time with them!

Christmas 2011!

2012-01-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, and it was so fun to celebrate another first with Ellouise. My favorite part of Christmas is celebrating it with Evelyn and Ellouise and seeing them so excited and having so much fun. We started off the season by going and seeing the lights at the temple. I always enjoy being on the temple grounds, feeling the spirit and enjoying the time as a family.

We attended a couple Christmas parties, which of at both neither of the girls wanted anything to do with Santa. Oh well they still enjoyed the candycanes he gave them.

Evelyn had fun participating in the tradition of making her gingerbread house with dad and getting whatever candy we could on it before she ate it all. It turned out very nicely and actually lasted a lot longer than I thought. She was very proud of it.

Christmas Eve is always so nice and peaceful. I enjoy how my family takes the time to be together and really remember the reason of the season. We sing a lot of Christmas songs together while someone plays the piano, read the scriptures of the story of Jesus birth and have a fun time acting it out. We also go through the different meanings of each symbol that was present at the birth; the star, tree, bell, etc. Last year I got to play Mary since I was still prego with Ellouise, but this year she got to be baby Jesus, while Jessica took over Mary's part.

Evelyn did a great job at playing the role of one of the wisemen, and was really getting into it. I have a big feeling she will be in drama class.

Christmas morning finally came and I think both the girls had a lot of fun opening gifts and seeing what each other got. Ellouise wasn't sure what to make of it all, she was just having more fun ripping up tissue paper. The big hit this year was a lot of princess for Evelyn, she loves to dress up, play with and dress up her dolls, and watch her princess movies. Ellouise enjoyed all her new toys that light up and make lots of noise.

These girls are just too cute and I love the matching "Christmas Eve" pajamas they both have on.

Both girls are so blessed and a bit spoiled by having such wonderful Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles that all gave them such generous gifts. Lots of books, movies, toys, clothes will keep these girls going all year long.

After Christmas my entire family got together and had such a fun week. Evelyn loves to be with her cousins and have friends to play with everyday. I am so glad she is starting to build awesome relationships with her cousins, who I know will be great friends for life.

The weather has been so awesome and warm that we have been outside all the time. So of course we headed to the beach. All the kids had fun playing in the sand and getting some good vitamin D.

My cousins and all their kids came up from San Diego and we had a good time. It was a full house with lots of relatives and kids, but I love my big family and wouldn't want it any other way. The kids all got their bells and we had a great time singing Christmas carols to my Grandpa's cd of him playing the piano.

It was a great Christmas and a nice ending to another year. I look forward to this next year with my family and all the adventures and fun times it will bring. I am thankful for Christmas and the time it gives us to remember Christ and all that he has done for us.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!!!

Yellow Leaves

2011-12-09T16:24:00.000-08:00

Fall quickly came and the leaves quickly fell, but I enjoyed it and loved seeing the colors of the leaves change, till next year.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

This year we got to celebrate Thanksgiving at one of my most favorite places, the beach in San Diego. It was great!
This is a shot of the view from the living room balcony.
And of course no Thanksgiving would be complete without starting your day off with a little 5k run, with over 10,000 other people.
My mom, sister Rebecca and I went and did it and had a fun time.
Me in action.
It was a fun race and I felt good about my results, keeping just under a 7min mile and coming in as the 21st girl with, once again over 10,000 people. I always appreciate my family coming and cheering me on so early in the morning.
Took a minute but we finally got a smile out of her.
Ellouise was having fun with uncle Dylan.
The meal as always was delicious. I have to say Kyle was a big help and made some delicious gravy, stuffing and green bean casserole. I love how part of the meal is a pan of marshmallows with a hint of sweet potatoes.
Ellouise would not sit still or smile for me so this is what I got on her first Thanksgiving day. She is getting so big and is all over the place. She loved having all the cousins around to follow.
Evelyn really loved her meal and enjoyed trying just about everything.
The best part of the weekend was being at the beach. The girls loved it. The weather was perfect and we had fun building and digging together. There were a lot of people and a lot of noise but I am glad the girls got to be with all their cousins and have a good time.

We walked down to the park where they have some fun rides for Evie.

It was a lovely Thanksgiving and I am reminded of all the many things I am so thankful for and blessed with. I couldn't ask for a better husband and family. My girls are everything to me and I just hope they are thankful for a mom like me. I am also so thankful for the example of my mom and am glad we got to celebrate her birthday with her.

"I Love to See the Temple"

2011-11-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday Evelyn got to participate in her first Primary program. She was so excited that her class the "moonbeams" got to go up for one song and sing "I Love to See the Temple." Evelyn really knows this song and loves to sing it every night with a bunch of other ones so I was excited to see her belt it out. Well, though you couldn't hear her and though her lips were barely moving, she still did a great job and looked so pretty and big standing up there.
We wanted to say thank you to Grandma and Grandpa K. for sending the girls these beautiful dresses so Evelyn could dress up so nicely for her little program. They both looked so cute together and received multiple compliments on how darling they looked.

Evie being Evie, that is getting my phone and asking me to take a picture of her.

Santa Barbara Half Marathon

2011-11-14T22:25:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I did it, I accomplished my first half marathon! It felt so good and was actually kind of fun. I was able to keep up a 7.45min mile and finish in about 1hr and 41min.
Thanks to my sister Brittany, she's the one who actually got me to sign up for it and see it till the end.
It turned out to be the perfect day in Santa Barbara to run a half marathon. All week the weather predicted rain, but luckily it stopped and was clear skies. It was so nice to have my girls and parents there to cheer me on. Kyle wasn't able to be there but I felt his cheers for me from Georgia. I am so glad I did it and feel good. Thanks to those for your support.
Cute little Annie and Ellouise having fun together.

Halloween Fun!

2011-11-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

It was another fun Halloween this year full of pumpkins, activities and lots of candy!
If you couldn't tell there's a skier, ladybug, kitty cat and a coach in the picture above. We had fun at the pumpkin patch with the girls watching them pet the animals, ride the pony, take a ride on the train and pick out their favorite pumpkin. Evelyn's favorite was the orange and green pumpkin, she wanted nothing to do with the nice bright orange ones.
They are such cute sisters together.
Ellouise was having fun celebrating her first Halloween. She is just full of smiles.

Kyle helped Evelyn carve her pumpkin cause she also wanted nothing to do with the cleaning out part. She thought it was "disgusting" and was afraid to touch it.
We improvised and got her a towel to use so she wouldn't have to touch anything with her bare hands.

Ellouise was having fun watching all the action.

The final product.

Our ward put on a really fun "Harvest Festival" this year and the kids all loved it. It was set up like a carnival for all the kids to play and get lots of candy.
My cute little kitty cat and ladybug.

One activity was learning the dance to "Thriller." Evelyn was in it 100%, she followed every step and was having a blast dancing to Michael Jackson.

Grandma was in charge of telling a Halloween story to all the kids. She dressed up like a witch and did an awesome job. We know the kids loved it cause they all were paying close attention.
This year was Evelyn's first time trick-or-treating. She caught on very quickly and was loving going door to door to get free candy. She had fun posing for the camera.
She specifically asked for this shot to be taken.
Another of her own set-ups.
Ellouise had an enjoyable Halloween as well, but no candy this year. She is just getting so big and is so much fun to have around. I can't believe she is already 9 months. She loves crawling everywhere, pulling herself up on everything and getting her hands on whatever she can. She is such a love bug and I really just can't get enough of her, so I had to take some pictures of course.

Georgia Trip

2011-10-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

We got to take another fun family trip to Georgia to visit Kyle's family. We definitely kept ourselves busy with 3 football games, a trip to Kentucky and a trip to Florida. Grandma and Grandpa K were excited to see their girls and we were excited for Kyle's siblings to finally meet Ellouise. First game at Grandpa K's school.
Headed to Kentucky to see uncle Klay's team play. Uncle Klay and aunt Angie got the girls cute outfits to wear for the game.

We then headed down to the Florida coast. It was so nice and fun, I just love the beach anywhere anytime. Evelyn was having fun burying dad in the sand.
Ellouise was sure enjoying herself as well.

Kyle introduced us to Whataburger. I certainly enjoyed the chocolate shake.
I think Evelyn's favorite part of the trip was when Grandma and Grandpa took us to the county fair. She was having so much fun on the rides. It was so cute to see her so happy and having such a great time.

Ellouise having a good time with Grandpa.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa K for a fun trip!
Evelyn's been working on a behavior star chart and she has been doing really well, but she was in her room by herself and thought it would be fun to decorate herself with the stars.
Ellouise taking it all in.
This girl loves to pose whenever there's a camera around. Such a character.
Now this is what being completely whiped out looks like.

Fun Photo Time

2011-10-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am finally catching up on my blogging for all of my journal purposes. I love having all of this to look back on and see the fun times our family has had together. I still have one more post to do of our fun trip to Georgia, but I still need a few more pictures, so here are a bunch of new posts for the meantime. Evelyn posing showing off her minus one tooth and new haircut. After a couple tries she finally got the courage to sit in the chair at the salon and let the lady fix her haircut that mommy tried to do. I think she looks so cute.

Cousin Chloe
Having fun on the trampoline.
Little Brody showing off his new looks.
Hmmm, what else can I do?
Emily's dog was just sitting so nicely so I had to capture that moment.
Dance party outside.
Daddy and Ellouise. About 99% of people always tell me how much they look alike. She does love her daddy.

Bye Bye Tooth, Hello School!

2011-10-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

About a year ago Evelyn ran and fell in the kitchen breaking her front tooth. She was able to hold on to it for a while, but when we went to the dentist this last time they informed us it was getting infected and would need to come out. I was really nervous for her cause I know her temperment and how she does not like people getting in her face and well that's all they do at a dentist office. For the last check up before the tooth extraction we were able to get her to lie on my lap while they did a cleaning. She did enjoy wearing the sunglasses.

So on the day of the tooth extraction we went in early to have her drink a little medicine that is suppose to make the child more compliant and relaxed well Kyle and I both knew that would not have any affect on her, and we were right. Then they said well don't worry once we add the laughing gas to it she will calm down and be even more relaxed, well once again Kyle and I knew if there was any chance that a child would not have those side affects it would be ours. Evelyn was stronger than ever and there was no way she was going to lie still while they put the mask on and pulled her tooth. So unfortunately she had to be strapped down to the chair. We were so sad for her because you could tell she was scared and did not want to be there. Thankfully it only took about 2 minutes to pull the tooth out and she was all done. It was quite the event for her, but I am glad it is all over.
On the brighter side Evelyn started a little preschool and is loving it. She has so much fun with the other kids, loves getting on her backpack and coming home to show me all her projects she has made. It is so nice for her to get out of the house and be with her friends. She is just growing up so fast and I can't believe I have a kid old enough to go to school, even if it is just preschool.

Chloe and Evelyn anxiously waiting to go to school.
The other night the clouds and the colors in the sky were so cool that we just had to get some pictures.

Birthday Time

2011-10-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Celebrating yet another birthday for Kyle in August. Evelyn loves to help blow out the candles.
She was so excited to give daddy the card she made for him and "share" one of her favorite treats with him.
Ellouise is getting so big and just loves to be standing up at all times.
Ellouise and her great uncle Marty having a spiritual connection.
Ellouise loves to spit with her lips and seems to think it's really fun at eating time.

More Weddings!

2011-10-05T15:39:00.000-07:00

Over the summer there was another wedding, my brother Cody and his now wife, Jessica. It was such a lovely ceremony and so beautiful in San Diego.

One Sunday aunt Madeline did Evelyn and Chloe's hair so afterwards we of course had to go outside and do a photoshoot.

Theses girls love the trampoline.

Evelyn's 1st Race!

2011-10-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

In July Evelyn and I participated in the 4th of July races, she doing the kids race and and I doing the 5k. It was so fun to watch her run her first, she did awesome and had so much fun doing it. It was hard for her not to smile and giggle the whole time. I had fun running the 5k while pushing the two girls in the running stroller. I was proud of myself for coming in 3rd place for my division at a time of 23minutes.

Evelyn was so proud to receive her medal!
Kyle left to go to Tulsa for his grandfathers funeral which was hard but I am so glad we had just recently been out there to see him and give the girls a chance to see their great grandpa. While there he and his brothers couldn't help but plank.

Park City Trip

2011-10-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Back in May my entire family took a fun trip to Park City Utah. We had a really good time and were able to finally get an updated family picture with new in-laws and babies(picture was posted already). Well on the bus to the airport Evelyn thought she didn't want to take any chances so she put on her life-vest in case the bus landed in water.
Evelyn is one who loves to mimmick things other people do, well while waiting for our flight dad stepped away to talk on his phone and so of course Evelyn had to go and make a phone call as well.

The girls enjoying their flight.

The Salt Lake Temple is so pretty and it is so nice to be on the grounds and feel the spirit that is there. I loved this sculpture of a mother with her children, I could see myself with my children doing the same thing.
The grounds were so pretty with all the flowers.
Evelyn with uncle Dylan.

Love my two girls, they are just so precious and sweet.

Ellouise at 6 months

2011-08-05T15:29:00.000-07:00

Can't believe my little Ellouise is already at 6 months. She truly has been so much fun and a true blessing in our lives. Ellouise loves to roll around, play with her toes and is now just about sitting up on her own. Her favorite of all though is her sister Evelyn. She loves to watch every little thing she does and just laughs and smiles at her all the time. I absolutely love all the time I get to spend with both my girls and watch them grow.

Fun at the Park

2011-07-08T21:32:00.000-07:00

Dinner and playtime at the park = a fun evening with my girls.

Family Picture

2011-07-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Newest family picture, love these people.

Family Fun!

2011-06-26T21:05:00.001-07:00

We have had a lot of fun this past week, starting with pool day playgroup, then heading to the beach for beach day playgroup and then best of all seeing my little brother get married. My kids seem to like the pool and beach as much as I do which makes it so nice and so much more fun to take them.
Ellouise was chillin the whole time and was enjoying watching all the other kids play around.

Chloe and Evelyn have so much fun together, they love to run in the sand, try to catch the kites and make sandcastles together.
Slight moment of contention, still learning the whole sharing thing.

Once we hit the beach cousin Zach is in the water the entire time no matter how cold the water is.
Best of all the girls love to play salon and do each others hair, cause you always got to be lookin good!
On Friday my little brother Dylan and Jen were sealed for eternity together. It was a beautiful sealing and a wonderful day. It was so awesome to see them both so happy and truly in love. The day was perfect in L.A. and the reception turned out great with delicious food, cake and dancing.
The kids were anxiously awaiting their entrance.
Such the poser.
Loving sisters.
Best friends and cousins.
The beautiful ladies.

The handsome men.
We just all wanted to see how many they can handle.
Oh what a fun week and fun family time with friends and cousins.

Summer Update

2011-06-20T22:31:00.001-07:00

Summertime has come and we have been keeping ourselves busy. We have been getting out to the pool very often and enjoying the sunshine at the beach. The two girls are doing just great and it has been so fun to see the interaction between the two of them grow. Ellouise can just sit and stare at Evelyn all day long and be fully entertained. Ellouise had a great 4month appointment, she is up to 16lbs, is in the 90th percentile for everything, has two full teeth and loves to roll over and over. She really is such a happy baby and just can't get any cuter.

This bigger girl, Evelyn really is such a character. I don't fully know exactly where all the energy and personality comes from. She can be a mess at times but I love her so much and love spending my days with her, even if I am completely drained at the end of the day. She requested to have her picture taken with her eyes closed, she was really trying not to smile.

I tell you this girl is either in her bathing suit or dance leotard all day long, with some sort of drink or food on her face, like I said she can be a mess at times, I could just start laughing when looking at this picture, she truly cracks me up.

More exciting news in the family two of my brothers both got engaged within about a week of each other. We are so excited for them and love the girls who will soon be joining our family this summer.
My brother Dylan and fiance Jen
My brother Cody and fiance Jessica

A Special Day for a Special 3 Year Old

2011-05-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Evelyn turned 3 years old this past week and she was very much looking forward to her birthday and the activities we had planned for the day. It started off with a fun trip to the L.A. Zoo, which was just perfect. Evelyn loves animals and enjoyed every moment we were there. Here Evelyn posed by the sign of one of the names of the gorillas, which happened to be Evelyn. The funny thing was the description of the gorilla was just about the same as our Evelyn. It reads, "Evelyn is the superstar of the family. Charismatic and intelligent, she seems to love the spotlight." Our little girl is so fun and full of life, and is such a great big sister to Ellouise. She is a very fast learner and loves to sing and dance. I love how she loves to go to nursery every Sunday and sing all the songs she is learning. Right now they are learning, "I Love to See the Temple," which is a classic and I love to hear her sing the words. We love her so much and know life just wouldn't be the same without her.

After the zoo we came home and got ready for our Minnie Mouse themed party!

I did my best to make her a Minnie Mouse cake and luckily it tasted oh so yummy.

It was a long day but very fun and just what a 3 year old had asked for. We had a great time spending it all together and seeing Evelyn enjoy her special day. Even after a long day Evelyn still found the time that evening to get her cover and feed her baby. What a good mommy she is, guess she's been watching me a little too much.

A Beautiful 3 year old Princess

2011-05-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but guess who's going to be 3 tomorrow? She's ready to go to the zoo and see all the animals and she's all dressed up ready for her party!! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa K for the beautiful dress.

A Whole 3 Months

2011-05-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Ellouise is already at 3 months. She has been so much fun and has grown so much. We just love love love her and can't get enough hugs and kisses. She is so sweet and really has just a sweet personality about her. She is a great sleeper and eater which makes mommy and the rest of the family very happy.
Yes that's right the picture below shows Ellouise's first tooth that came out 2 weeks ago.

Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had a nice Easter together as a family of four for the first time this past Sunday filled with lots of candy and treats with more treats. Evelyn and Ellouise looked so cute in their matching dresses, it reminded me why I love having these two girls together. I can't wait till they get a little older and become such good friends.

My two sweet daughters who I love so much!

Evelyn really is such a good big sister and loves to give kisses and hugs all the time.
During our photo shoot Evelyn insisted in getting her camera and directing us all where to stand and how to pose for some pictures she wanted to take.

Mommy and her girls
Daddy with his girls
Evelyn had fun looking for her Easter basket and going through all her goodies. I love watching her look for her basket remembering when I used to do it when I was little in the very same room.

Every year our neighborhood has an Easter egg hunt and Evelyn was very excited to be a part of it. Ellouise was a part of it too but she was asleep the whole time, so maybe next year. It was a Hoppy Easter for all of us.

Lots of Activities

2011-04-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

We've had lots of activities going on lately and here is a sneak peak of them all. Evelyn finished up her session at gymnastics class, which she absolutely loved and had so much fun with, and has now moved on to tap and ballet class with her cousin Chloe. She is such a good little gymnist, she could do all the pull-up bars with no problem and could jump higher than any other kid in her class on the trampoline. It was so good for her to be involved with this class, this girl has a lot of energy and this was a perfect place and way to get it out. It was always so cute to watch her and see her do exactly what her teacher would demonstrate.

Evelyn now really loves going to her dance class. She is doing so well and loves to dress up like a ballerina. She is learning all the little steps for tap and ballet and it is so fun to see her do so well and enjoy it so much. The hardest part for her is that it only comes around once a week.
I think she and her cousin Chloe love to watch themselves in the mirror, but hey when you're this cute who wouldn't?

Of course little cousin Annie couldn't be left out, so here she is in her little tutu.

Evelyn still loves to wear dresses and skirts and look cute all the time.
Recently we also purchased a new car, which we love, the Honda Pilot. It is so nice and fun to drive. We love having the extra room and comfort it provides.
Little Ellouise is now 2.5 months, which I can't believe, and is doing so well. She is so responsive now and loves to smile and try to talk. She is a great sleeper and very easy going which is such a blessing to me. She did great at her 2 month appointment even though she had to get those nasty shots. She's right on target for her height but is exceeding very well in the high 90th percentile for her weight. Just last week her first tooth popped out. I couldn't believe it when I saw it but yep that's what it was. This girls going to be eating steak in no time.
One of Evelyn's top favorite things to do is sing. She will sing anywhere, anytime and anything can work as her microphone. Here she found a plant, but the spout was the perfect shape and size for her to use as a microphone so she grabbed and sang her little heart out.

Our biggest event lately was our family road trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since we had the new car we thought we'd test it out and go visit Kyle's family. Great Grandma and Grandpa got to see Evelyn and Ellouise and Kyle's parents drove from Georgia and met up with us. We had an enjoyable trip it was nice to see the family and let the girls get to know all their grandparents a little better.
One little scare we had was on our way we stopped for a couple days at a resort in Scottsdale, Arizona and when we headed to the pool for the day Evelyn decided she didn't need mom or dad or a life jacket to swim and just jumped right in. With our backs turned for truly a few seconds to set stuff down Evelyn went for a swim, well when we saw her struggling in the pool Kyle jumped right in to get her, new cell phone and all. One would think the child might be a little scared and nervous to get back in, but not Evelyn of course, all she commented on was how the water was cold but wanted to get right back in. It was fun trip and awesome to spend a lot of quality time together.

Wonderful Blessings

2011-03-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

Time has been flying by and many wonderful things have been happening so now I have a lot to catch up on. A few weeks ago when Kyle's parents were in town we had the opportunity to give our little girl a beautiful blessing. Her daddy, Kyle, did a wonderful job and said a lot of sweet words and thoughts. Ellouise also did a wonderful job and looked so precious in her dress that her older sister, Evelyn, was also blessed in. I was so glad so many family members could be there and share their love for Ellouise.
We were able to have a fun filled weekend with Kyle's parents and it was so nice to have them come out and visit. We went to the Natural History Museum, which Evelyn really enjoyed as well as I, it was pretty cool to see all the animals. Next we headed out to Malibu and ate some yummy seafood at one of our favorite places, Neptunes Net, and had fun watching all the surfers. It was nice to have some fun family time together.

The photo shoot was just wearing Ellouise right out.

All the family members that came to show their love and support. Thanks everyone.

Right after the blessing events we dropped Kyle's parents off at the airport and then headed down to San Diego for a wonderful couple of days at my parents beach house. It was awesome to hang out on the beach and have just the four of us together. Evelyn's second cousins came over to visit with her.
Evelyn looking cool while building sandcastles.

Litttle Ellouise is just growing so fast and becoming more and more expressive. She loves getting all the attention she does and loves getting hugs and kisses from Evelyn. Ellouise is just so cute and so kissable, luckily for us she is a good sleeper and is already showing the attribute of patience while her older sister requires some attention as well. We love them both so much and are so happy to have their sweet spirits in our family.

Ellouise at 3 weeks!

2011-03-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little Ellouise, we love her so much and are enjoying everyday with her. Here she is at a whole 3 weeks old.

Ellouise Elane

2011-02-10T16:02:00.000-08:00

February 4th we met our precious little Ellouise, she is so sweet and loveable. She came weighing in at a healthy 8lbs 14.5ounces. Evelyn has taken to her really well and loves giving her "baby sister" kisses all the time. Here are some of our pictures to share with you and when I have more time I will add more journaling to this post.

Christmas of 2010!

2011-01-05T15:06:00.000-08:00

Now that it's the year 2011 I will go back and share about our wonderful Christmas we had in 2010. It was a crazy but fun Christmas holiday with a lot of family around and the anticipation of our second little girl on her way very soon. Christmas morning started off with singing Christmas carols as we walked down the stairs like I've done every year since I can remember. Evelyn was very excited about Christmas and Santa Clause bringing her a new bike, we kept telling her if she was a good girl maybe he would bring it, well luckily she was and she loved seeing her new bike under the tree.
She was also very excited about her new kitchen. She loves to play with it and cook all sorts of yummy foods.
Evelyn was really blessed this year with a lot of love from all her Grandmas, Grandpas, aunts and uncles in receiving so many nice gifts. She was very excited to open this box from her aunt Amy and uncle Daniel and see all the princesses, she likes to talk to them and roll play being their mommy.
Grandma and Grandpa Koester sent her so many nice things, cute clothes, flash cards and one of her top favorites a Dora microphone, this girl loves music, dancing and singing.

Her new high heels are priceless, these things hardly ever come off.
Digging through her stocking.
Evelyn and Grandpa eating their treats for breakfast.
Doesn't that just look delicious?

Evelyn still excited about Christmas and showing off her new outfit from Grandma Patterson.
Here she just wanted her picture taken.

Evelyn and two of her cousins singing Jingle Bells for everyone.
Thanks to Cody for my back massage pad I can always use one of those.
Celebrating my brother, Cody's birthday by eating cake and ice cream, yep he's a Christmas baby.

Kyle showing off his new all in one tool kit.
Grandpa got Evelyn and Chloe matching Christmas pajamas.
Uncle Dylan playing Simon Says with the cousins.

We had our own family gift exchange where a lot of nice gifts were handed out.

Grandma reading with the girls.
Evelyn loved having all her cousins here to play with, she had a special attachment to Juliet.
Later in the week we got a special surprise, SNOW! It was really crazy since it hasn't snowed here since I was about 8 years old. It made everything look so pretty and actually feel like winter. Evelyn was excited about it and had fun playing in it and eating the "white" snow.

We had a wonderful Christmas and have been so blessed this past year. We surely missed not getting out to see Kyle's family this year, but with my big belly and Kyle's studying we enjoyed the time we had together here. I can't believe I am already at 36 weeks with our second girl it really has seemed to go by quickly. I have been so thankful that it has gone so well and healthy this far and hope this last stretch continues that way. I am looking forward to using my new and very nice glider chair that Kyle got for me and the new baby to enjoy. Hope everyone else had a wonderful past year and I send out my best wishes for 2011!

Tis the Season to be Jolly!

2010-12-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

With the holiday season here it's been a busy but fun few weeks and so here's a little of what we've been up to. Evelyn and Aunt Emily started off the Christmas holiday by decorating a gingerbread house, that I think turned out very cute and Evelyn was very helpful to eat any left over candy.
Evelyn finally made it to her very first movie. We all took the kids to see Tangled which was very cute. Evelyn was taking it all in and really enjoying it for about the first hour then we needed to go out and take some breaks, this girl just can't sit for long periods of time.
She had fun wearing her glasses and watching it all in 3D.
Busy with her candy
She loved having all the popcorn to eat, takes after her dad on that one. It was a fun experience for her and I'm glad we went.
Evelyn's got this new thing now whenever anybody is trying to give a thought for FHE or tell a story she immediately has to go up to the front of the room as well and read her story at the same time. She loves getting attention and entertaining everyone, so the rest of us just have to be patient and wait till she's done. Here she is cutting grandpa off and reading her story first.
Evelyn loves having her cousin Chloe around to play. These two girls though they can fight like sisters most times they really do get along and have a lot of fun together.

Even cousin Zach loves to play with and entertain the two girls.
Last week we went over to Summerhill where my grandma lives for their Christmas dinner and party. The food was very good, but Evelyn was so excited to see Santa Claus that she hardly could eat a bite. So here she is happy to wait for her turn.
Well once we actually got to Santa it was a little bit of a different story. At first she wanted nothing to do with the man in the red suit, but with daddy holding her tight she finally calmed down and realized he wasn't so bad after all. Here is our family picture with Santa and Evelyn looking for the exit.
Evelyn received the prettiest Christmas dress in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa K and was so excited to wear it to church. She looked so cute and enjoyed every minute of wearing it and posing for some pictures. She likes the jacket so much she had to wear it to the gym today while I worked out, she was a bit dressed up for the place, but she didn't care. Thanks again G&G K for the dress and jacket.

Then the best day of the whole year came around and I was looking forward to it. Yes that's right, my birthday. It turned out to be a great day. In the morning I took Kyle to his class and then when I returned home I was welcomed by all my family and a wonderful birthday breakfast.
Evelyn and Chloe ready to eat some waffles.
My brother Dylan helping out with the cooking.
Here I am looking nice and plump while I eat for two these days.
Later we celebrated with one of my favorite desserts, fudgy brownies with vanilla rainbow chip frosting, oh they were so good.

My birthday night I finally got to have some alone time with Kyle and we went and enjoyed a delicious dinner at Morton's Steakhouse, with crab cakes, filet mignon, lobster and of course a very large hot fudge sundae. We then headed over to see the play The Glass Menagerie, which was fun and interesting to watch, but in the end it was nice to be out and celebrate my big 30th birthday!

My little sweetness

2010-11-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

My little model. Love her so!

Halloween Fun!

2010-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here was my little pumpkin this year, oh I love her so much and just think she is the cutest thing there is. She loved this little shirt Grandma K. sent to her and literally wore it 3 days in a row, which meant I washed it 3 times in a row, but I am glad she was in the spirit of the holiday. We had a fun Halloween this year with trunk-or-treating, visiting the pumpkin patch and carving our pumpkin while eating way too much candy. I think this new little girl of ours is going to come out on a sugar high in February since she will be also enjoying a lot of treats during all these holidays coming up.

This year Evelyn dressed up as a pretty little princess, she was so cute and loved getting dressed up.

Lately Evelyn has seen a lot of football, surprise, so she has learned a football stance which she loves to show us anytime there is a game on the tv and of course she had to show us the pose for one of her pictures.
Here she is showing her excitement for all the candy she got in her bucket.
Evelyn was ready to go to the pumpkin patch.
The girls following aunt Beccs in the hay maze, while Zach jumped on top.

They had pony rides at the pumpkin patch and Evelyn was so excited to go on. She probably could have stayed on there for along time and now all she talks about everyday is wanting to go on a horsey ride.
Kids climbed to the top of the hay stack.

Mommy and daughter pose with the scarecrow that Evelyn was very scared of.

Evelyn also loved watching the local high school cheer team perform.
My cute girl with her carved and decorated pumpkins.
One morning I came into the bathroom to find Evelyn had climbed up on the stool and was doing her hair, such the little girl.

Trips to Hawaii and Georgia!

2010-10-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I am finally getting to posting pictures from our 2 week trip to Georgia then to Hawaii back to Georgia I can finally say how wonderful and awesome of a trip it was. The trip started off with all three of us flying to Georgia to visit with Kyle's family. We all hung out there for a few days while attending some football games and enjoying our visit, then Kyle and I got to sneak away to Hawaii for a wonderful six days. We had such a great time being able to spend time together and relax. After law school, the bar, and life in general we really needed this break before the next little girl comes around. Thanks to my wonderful husband we had the opportunity to fly first class to and from Hawaii, there really is no better way to travel. Lucky for us we got to stay and two fabulous hotels while on vacation. The first few nights we were at the famous "Pink Hotel" aka The Royal Hawaiian. I had always wanted to stay there, I have had a poster of Waikiki Beach with this hotel on it and thought it would be fun to actually stay there, so once again Kyle made it happen.
The last few nights of our vacation we moved on over to the Moana Surf Rider also on Waikiki Beach. It was also a very pretty hotel, with marble everywhere and a wedding in progress everyday and just about on every hour. Both of these hotels have been around since the early nineteen hundreds so I really enjoyed seeing the architecture and feeling you went back in time a bit.

Here we are just arriving to the hotel with big smiles on our face ready for our vacation. We spent a lot of time on the beach soaking up the sun and watching the waves, but we were also able to rent a car for a couple days and enjoy other activities on the island.
One night we headed to Laie and attended the Luau dinner and show at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I really enjoyed that. The dancing and performance was awesome, Mormons do now how to put on a good show.

Ready to eat and enjoy some entertainment.

We also were able to stop by the temple and take in the beauty of Heavenly Fathers work and feel a great spirit there.
The Blue Angels had a show going on and were staying at our hotel so of course I had to get my picture taken with them.
We had fun driving around the island exploring the little towns and all the scenery, eating shrimp and pork from the shrimp trucks of course and cooling off with shaved ice.
Kyle looking cool in our red mustang convertible.

Our little girl got to go on her first vacation, lucky for her it was to Hawaii, so now she can't ever say she's never been there.

Kyle ventured out into the ocean with our camera and tried to take some pictures. Here's Diamond Head, and a picture of our hotel from the water.
It really was the best trip we've had in a long time. I loved every minute of it. We also have to thank Kyle's parents so so much for taking such good care of Evelyn for us while we were gone. I know it is a lot of work taking care of a two year old, especially when you don't do it everyday. She seemed to have a great time with them, going to fun places like the aquarium and being able to spend quality time with them. They are wonderful grandparents and thank them again.
Well we safely arrived back to Georgia and I was so excited to see Evelyn again, though it's nice to have a break it is also hard to be away. Our last few days there we were able to go and see a friend of Kyle's from high school who lives in Athens and so of course they have Uga dogs all over the place and Evelyn had to get her picture with everyone she saw.

Our last day we attended Kyle's sister Amy's cheerleading competition. She coaches high school cheerleading and it was really fun to watch them. I think they did awesome and definitely looked the best.
We had a wonderful time in our two weeks we were gone and were able to do and see a lot of fun things, but now it's time to take it easy and get through the holidays while preparing for our 2nd little girl to come to our family.

Our 2nd Little Girl at 24wks!

2010-10-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well here I am at 24wks already. I can't believe the time is going by so quickly, with summer time and the holidays it has helped the time go quite nicely. We are so excited to have another little girl enter into our family. I always loved having a sister close to me who even though at times we weren't the best of friends we still managed to be best friends. I think Kyle may be a little overwhelmed with all the estrogen that will be flowing but he is and will continue to be a great father to his girls and a man for them to look up to. I have started to feel her move around a lot more and I love to feel it. There haven't been too many cravings, just too much junk food and sugar to suppress my appetite. I feel so blessed that this pregnancy has gone so well thus far, I am enjoying the time that I have to feel pretty good right now and still have some sort of energy to keep up with my two year old.
We've tried to tell Evelyn about a baby in mommy's tummy, but of course she has one too, so I'm not sure how much she really comprehends or really understands what is going to be coming in her near future. She's been able to get some practice with her new cousins Brody and Annie so hopefully it won't be a total shock when mommy and daddy bring one home.

Brody James Judd
Annie Frances Webster
My tummy again.

1st Pedicure

2010-09-04T15:16:00.000-07:00

Evelyn came with my sisters Rebecca, Brittany and I while we went to the nail salon, cause of course she can't be left out of those things, and was very intently watching them get their toes and nails done and just had to have hers done as well. Lets just say she was absolutely enjoying every moment of it. She loved soaking her feet, getting her toenails trimmed and filed and then of course had them painted sparkly pink. I don't know what I've started here but lets just hope she doesn't think this is going to be a regular outing. Oh I just love her so much and it is so hard to watch her grow up so fast.

Lots of Parties

2010-08-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Once again the past couple weeks have been filled with some fun activities. My mom and sisters hosted a baby shower for my sister Brittany who is expecting her first in just a few weeks. It was such a nice shower with yummy food, fun games and tons of cute little girl clothes. Both my sisters Brittany and Rebecca are due in just a few weeks and I can't wait for the new babies to come around.

Yesterday we celebrated Kyle's birthday, which is always fun cause I think birthdays are the best. We had a yummy dinner with BBQ tri tip, BBQ chicken, some yummy sides and finished it off with chocolate chocolate birthday cake. Love you hun, hope you had a nice birthday!

Oh the fam, always enjoy getting a nice picture all together once in a while.
Last Monday our ward hosted FHE at the temple. It was really nice to go there and enjoy being by the temple and feeling the Spirit. Evelyn and Chloe had a fun time exploring the grounds and touring the new visitors center which is really nice.
At the end all the kids sat on the stairs where couples exit after they get married and sang some primary songs. I loved being there and remembering the day I was sealed to my wonderful husband it really was a great day.

In the past couple weeks we've picked up another car. One car just wasn't working for us anymore so it is so nice to have another. We really enjoy it, it's a Land Rover and has plenty of room and is fun to drive.
Evelyn's cousin Zach had his 6th birthday party and it was a lot of fun cause they had a reptile show.
Evelyn sat next to Zach and wasn't too sure what to think of the snake he was holding.
Kyle was the brave one and held the snake so Evelyn could get a closer look.
I think Kyle was getting a little nervous as it was heading closer to him. Evelyn liked watching the snake's tongue go in and out so she was trying to imitate it.
The kids loved watching the tortoise cruise around on the grass, but Grandpa had to do some intervention when it started to eat his flowers.
It's continued to be a fun summer with family and friends. I am now into my 17th week of pregnancy and finally feeling a lot better though I am super tired all the time. We are really looking forward to 3 weeks when I find out if it's a boy or girl!!

Family update

2010-08-08T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well Kyle finally finished the oh so lovely bar exam, and I am so happy that he is done with it for now. After he took the bar, that weekend we decided we needed a little break so we loaded up the car and headed to Palm Springs. We figured we'd take a nice little mini trip to celebrate Kyle being done with law school and the bar exam, since we are taking a big trip the end of September. It was so nice to all three be together without any distractions.

My pregnancy seems to be going really well so far, but my stomach feels like it's twice as big now than it was at this point with Evelyn so I don't know what to think about that. I have made it to somewhere between 14 and 15 weeks, and thankfully am feeling a lot better. My energy is still shot and night time isn't too fun but it's way better than a few weeks ago. We headed out to our storage unit a few days ago to try and retrieve my maternity clothes, yeah real exciting, but they were so far back that we would have had to unload the entire storage unit to get them, so luckily Kyle said to forget it and just go by some new ones. He may regret saying that. JK!

We are still enjoying being at my parents house and appreciating the help it really gives us. Evelyn loves it, I just don't know what she'll do when we move out and she doesn't have quite the amount of attention she gets from around here. Though my parents are so generous in letting us stay here, Evelyn still has her daily chores to do, like this one, washing her car, it's a tough life being a 2 year old with your own car already that you have to take care of.

We just love this little girl so much, she brings so much joy and happiness to our lives. I love looking at these pictures and seeing how big she is but at the same time it makes me a little sad to see her growing up.

A couple days ago Evelyn and I went to the LA Zoo. It was really fun to see all the animals. Evelyn was so excited, she would run from one animal to the next and give a new expression each time as if she had never seen an animal before. She would just talk and go on and on about each one. Who knows what she was saying but it was very cute.
Her favorite was the monkeys and gorillas. She stood there for a long time just looking at them and trying to figure them out. At one point she and a gorilla were face to face against the glass.
I just had to take a picture of the Zebras, I thought it was so funny they wouldn't look at people they just wanted to show us this lovelier side of them.

Can't leave without seeing the big hippo. I think Evelyn just thought it was a big rock in the water cause she was not interested in this one.

Celebrations; Announcement, Anniversary, Wedding

2010-07-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Well the t-shirt says it all, and it will be happening about Feb. 4th. We are so excited to have another little one come into our family. I am just about done with my first trimester which I am so excited about cause I do not enjoy feeling sick all the time and having no energy. So many memories have been coming back from when I was pregnant with Evelyn and I can't wait to have more with this new one. I know Evelyn will be a great big sister, but it might take a little adjustment.
Last week Kyle and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. I can't believe it's been 6 years, it has been a wonderful 6 years, and I look forward to many more. Since he has been so busy with the bar prep we just were able to make it to a movie and figure we will have more time to celebrate later.

The second week of July we headed out to Tampa Florida for Kyle's brothers wedding. It was a super quick trip but we were really glad we were able to make it and watch them tie the knot. Evelyn was also asked to be the flower girl so that was fun to see her perform. Here is the beautiful bride and groom, Angie and Klay.
Of course in the Koester family you can't have just a pillow for the ring bearer to carry, it had to be tied to a football. I thought it was a very cute idea.
Cute family pictures while we were waiting for rehearsal to start.

At the time of rehearsal Evelyn at first wanted to act shy, yes cause we all know how shy she is. Yeah Right.
On the day of the wedding I was a little nervous how Evelyn would do, if she would even walk down the isle by herself. Well she performed like a pro, I think she was liking the attention and all eyes on her. She was so cute and looked so beautiful, luckily daddy was up there for her to stand by.
My darling flower girl walking down the isle. Cute thing was after she walked down she stood there for a minute and then while I was hiding in the back I heard her coming back down the isle yelling, "Mom, Mom," so I hurried and got her out of the way so the bride could then walk down.

Cutest part of the wedding party!
This whole flower girl job just wore her out, look how tired those eyes are.
Kyle with his siblings. A very handsome and pretty family I have to say.
This was the best pose I could get from her, but I think it's quite precious.

The best part was watching Evelyn at the reception. She absolutely loved all the music and dancing. Not once did she ever want to sit down and take a break. You could tell she was so tired but she just kept dancing and pumping her arms.
Kyle getting ready to hit the dance floor.
Evelyn had fun dancing with Grandpa K.
I thought the center pieces were so pretty.

And of course she couldn't leave until she had her moment with the bride and groom.

San Diego/4th of July!

2010-07-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

I'm a little behind on my blogging but we have been having a busy summer with one little trip after another that now I have to break up my blogs to get it all posted. The week before the 4th of July most of my family all went to San Diego for the week to play on the beach, go to Sea World and relax. It was so fun to have all 7 of the cousins together, Evelyn loved playing with them all. First day in San Diego we went to Sea World. It was really fun, I haven't been there in a long time so it was awesome to take Evelyn and see her really enjoy seeing all the animals and all the shows.
The dolphin show, always a classic.
The best show is of course Shamu. The animals really are amazing to watch, though I do get a little creeped out when the trainers just jump in the water with these huge whales.

All the cousins had a fun time running around and being with each other.
In order (Zach, Chloe, Olivia, Juliet, Evelyn, Grace, Ricky)
Rebecca and Chloe looking at the starfish. Watch out Chloe that belly might knock you right in.

Evelyn posing with the starfish.
Showing me she's 2.
Here's my niece Olivia, she really wanted to go on this ride so I waited in line with her.
It was a long day of walking around and enjoying the shows, so before we left we let the kids play in the splash pad Sea World has. Evelyn loved standing right on the hole and waiting for the fountain to squirt up.

She was shivering so much cause it got a little cold, so I let her wear my sweater.

Evelyn having fun on the beach with Aunt Madeline.
Another little pose of hers.
For the 4th of July we were all at my parents house and hung out and later watched 3 different fireworks shows from my parents backyard. The cousins posing for a cute holiday picture.
Here's my sweet little girl. A popsicle was being held behind my head and when she smiled for me she would get the popsicle, boy did that work.

Let's Go Dodgers!

2010-06-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we all went to a Dodgers game and had a lot of fun. We weren't sure how Evelyn would do the whole time, having to stay in her seat and being out so late, but she enjoyed it to the max. She loved cracking open the peanuts and then throwing them all on the ground and at times sucking the salt off the shell then spitting it out. She loved eating her Dodger dog, drinking soda and eating candy. It was definitely nice to hang out with Kyle for the evening since we don't see much of him these days due to his intense bar studying. We are continuing to have a fun summer and enjoying being back with family.
Here's Evelyn is showing her peanuts.
We had awesome seats, right at home plate.
Evelyn intently watching the game.
She loved being on daddy's shoulders while we sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
It was a fun night, and more fun family time.

Crazy May!

2010-06-01T14:42:00.001-07:00

Well by the lack of my blogging all I can say is that it has been a crazy one. It's been filled with a lot of fun activities like Mother's Day, Evelyn's birthday and Kyle's graduation. Mother's Day was enjoyable being able to spend time with my wonderful husband, who is extremely busy studying for the bar, and spending time with the little one that allows me to celebrate mother's day, thanks Evelyn.
I can't believe it, but on the 18th we celebrated Evelyn's 2nd birthday. Things about Evelyn; she is so cute and so much fun, she is full of personality and is extremely independent, she makes me smile everyday, she loves to talk no matter if we can or can't understand what she is saying, loves to go on runs with mom, and likes to be styling with her shades no matter the time of day. Here she is with her new shopping cart, filled with her favorite treats, cookies and popcorn.

Grandma Patterson came home with some balloons for her, which she thought were punching bags.
Thanks Evelyn for pausing for a picture while eating your popcorn.
My cute little girl in her birthday outfit.
As you can see just days before her birthday Evelyn was running, fell flat on her face on the travertine floors and broke her front tooth. So our little 2 year old will be getting some dental work soon. The first appointment didn't go so well, they had to take her to the back room and shut the door so the rest of the kids at the dentist wouldn't hear her screaming her head off, so we'll see how the next one goes.
For her birthday we went with her cousin Chloe and Zach and rode on the ferris wheel. This face tells me she wasn't too sure about it at first.
Chloe and Evelyn having fun together.
Zach showing off how fast he could spin around.
Chloe and Aunt Rebecca.

Some more pictures of my 2 year old, oh how I love her so much!

Aunt Brittany gave her a cute little baby and stroller, which she has enjoyed pushing around and taking on walks.
Grandma Patterson gave Evelyn some fun toys and a puzzle with a stylin outfit.
Evelyn loved diving right into her chocolate chocolate cake. Yummy!

So just days after that big celebration, Kyle and I headed back to Michigan for Kyle's graduation. It was a really nice ceremony and I am so glad we were able to go. It was a very quick trip but nice to have the getaway. I am so proud of this man that I call my husband. He has put so much time and work into getting to where he is today and I can't wait to see where he will take me next, cause I know it is always an adventure with him. I love him so much and was so happy to cheer for him when he received his diploma.

It was so great to see Kyle's parents and so nice of them to make the long drive up to Michigan.
I just couldn't leave without taking a picture by Magic Johnson first, Go Lakers!

The rest of the trip we stayed in Detroit and had fun exploring and acting like tourists. It was a busy month, but a fun one. And I just can't finish the post before putting another picture of my cute girl dressed up and ready for church. This is one of the beautiful dresses her Grandma K sent her for her birthday, she loves getting those special packages in the mail. Thanks Grandma K, Evelyn always knows when she's dressed up and loves to get her picture taken.

Trip Out West

2010-05-05T14:11:00.000-07:00

Evelyn's quickly getting back into her L.A. lifestyle, can you say Rock Star!

Well we finally made it out west. We had a fun trip together in the car for a total of 7 days! So from the previous post, after our quick trip to Chicago, it was crazy at our house. We were busy packing and doing more packing, selling stuff on craigslist and trying to enjoy our last night in our home. Tuesday the house was cleared out and amazingly all in one 16 foot trailer, then Wednesday it got cleaned, did a last walk through and we were on the road. Before we left, our wonderful friends, who I already miss, the Martins and Boardmans made a yummy dinner for us and celebrated Evelyn's 2nd birthday since she wouldn't be there on the actual day.
Can you guess what animal this is, isn't it so cute? Even if you can't oh well it still tasted delicious.

We decided to take a minor detour in our trip and head north before we turned west. We always wanted to see more of the Upper Penninsula so we thought this would probably be our only opportunity. It was a very pretty drive, luckily we caught it at just the right time and got to watch the beautiful sunset.
Mackinaw Bridge, pretty cool to go across.
On our way out we stopped at Best Buy to get Evelyn a portable DVD player and some movies so she could be entertained while sitting in the car for hours at a time, but we mostly tried to get her to do a lot of this...
After a night in the UP we headed towards Minneapolis. We stayed there a night but didn't really see a whole lot of the place, and lucky for us there was an Anime convention going on at the same time, so we saw a lot of very interesting people or "characters." Friday was a long day, we finished crossing through Minnesota and headed into South Dakota. Though the drive was pretty flat it was actually a very pretty drive. That night we ended up in Keystone, SD. Saturday morning we got up and went to see Mt Rushmore. It was pretty cool to see it in person, I just can't believe how massive it is and learning about the way it was constructed was really amazing. Evelyn didn't know quite what to do with all the free space she had to run around in, since she was used to sitting in the car now, so of course she just wanted to be held the entire time.
I bent down to take this picture of Evelyn and for some reason she thought she was supposed to bend over as well.

Evelyn enjoyed pushing the handle down that would then show dynamite exploding on the rocks.
After spending some time at Mt Rushmore it was time to get in the car again and keep heading west. I can't tell you how many cows we saw along the road, so we decided to stop on the side and let Evelyn go see the cows and get her picture with them, they didn't know what to make of us.

Pictures of the drive and of the grasslands.

So on the road we went and ended that night in Evanston, Wyoming. Side note, on our drive to Evanston, there was stopped traffic on the freeway and there was no where to go, we were out in the middle of nowhere, so Kyle looked on his phone for GPS to see if there was any other way since we saw an exit not too far ahead, well there was a side road so we decided to take it. The road soon became loose gravel, which then became dirt, which then became weeds with old tire marks following a path. We had now ended up crossing someones ranch and were on the wrong side of barbed wire and no way to get back to the freeway. Well we continued on, moved some barbed wire, crossed another ranch and ten miles later finally ended up behind some neighborhood and made it back to the freeway. It was quite an adventure but hey we saved ourselves hours of sitting on the freeway. Sunday morning we drove a couple hours and made it to my brothers house in Alpine, Ut. It was fun to see my brother and his wife and my cute nieces and nephew. I also got to see my sister who is attending the Y and my parents since they were there for my brothers graduation. Well my wonderful parents were leaving to come back to California that evening and volunteered to take Evelyn with them on the plane and we could finish the drive on our own. Well we took advantage of that and stayed 2 nights in Vegas on our way back. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, where we did not fit in with that crowd, and enjoyed the 90 degree weather and sat by the pool all day. Here's my view from the lounge chair. Oh how I love to relax and enjoy the warm air. Kyle and I had fun hanging together and having a few quite moments to ourselves.

Tuesday afternoon we finally made it to my parents house and are now enjoying being with family and trying to get situated. Kyle has already begun to study for the bar and is back to long hours of sitting and reading, oh what fun. So there's our trip, hope all is going well for everyone else.

Leaving on a Jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again

2010-04-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

We are officially spending the last night in our home tonight. It seems surreal that this time has finally come. It is exciting yet a little sad at the same time. We have really loved our home and will miss it. We have been keeping extra busy lately with organizing, packing and with Kyle getting through finals, it has been quite the semester. The sun has finally decided to show up so we have enjoyed some nice days outside on walks and at the park.
Easter was a nice weekend, it was fun watching Evelyn go around and pick up her eggs and find her little Easter bag. Here she is with her collection and her favorite, peeps and bubbles. Saturday we went with Kyle to Grand Rapids while he competed in his court competition, we are proud of him for advancing and doing so well.

Right after finals Kyle and I headed over to one last Lansing Lugnuts baseball game, and of course had to get a picture by the new Cooley Stadium, tuition dollars at work here people. As you can see it was also Thirsty Thursday, but of course no specials on soda.
After finals for Kyle, and with Evelyn and I at home a lot, we all needed a break from packing so we headed towards Chicago for the weekend. We made a little detour and stopped at University of Notre Dame. It was fun to walk around the stadium and see the architecture of the buildings.
We had to check out "Touchdown Jesus"
We had a really good time in Chicago together, it was nice to actually have some family time. That night we went out to dinner with some friends that use to go to Cooley and ate some yummy deep dish pizza. The next morning we enjoyed a full breakfast, then Evelyn and I went swimming at the hotel. The pool was on the 19th floor so you had a nice view of downtown. Later that afternoon Kyle went with his friend Aron to a Cubs game while Evelyn and I walked around downtown and enjoyed some shopping. Luckily I was able to find some cute stuff at Nordstrom Rack, cause I just couldn't leave with empty hands. Here Evelyn is enjoying all the sites from her stroller.

Now that we are recharged we better get all the packing done we still have to do. Next post we'll be from California!!

Moving Sale!

2010-04-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone as you know we are moving very soon, and there are a lot of things we are going to be selling instead of taking back with us. I have created a separate blog to post all the items that are for sale, so please check it out and see if there is anything you could use and enjoy for us.

www.npkmoving.blogspot.com

No More Diapers!

2010-03-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is growing up, we've made some huge steps in the last week. No more diapers in this house, Evelyn is all about the undies. She has done so well with her potty training. I decided on the intense 3 day program, which you never leave the house for an entire 3 days, yikes. Surprisingly she has done so well, and has been very cooperative, so far we've has 2 full days now with no accidents, lets hope it continues to progress. We are so proud!

Little Koester Update

2010-03-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well what have we been up to lately? A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of having Kyle's parents come and visit us. We had a good time together and Evelyn enjoyed being the center of attention. She definitely enjoyed showing off her skills on her trampoline. We have been busy going to the YMCA just about everyday, thankfully Evelyn loves it so I can have some "me" time while I workout. The snow has finally melted away here and last week we had some very nice days so we actually got to go outside and enjoy a walk around the neighborhood. I have been waiting so long just to be able to go outside and get some fresh air without freezing.

Kyle had his Law Journal banquet this past weekend and it was nice to see him be recognized for all the work and time he has put into that organization. Evelyn is just growing so much and her vocabulary is expanding everyday. It is so fun to see her really recognize things and learn so much. She's had a rough week with a major diaper rash, which I had to go and buy women's product for, and on Saturday she fell off a chair and we had to go get x-rays on her hand to make sure she didn't break a finger since it was very swollen and blue. Luckily it's just a bad sprain, but the poor little girl has a fat finger.

We only have about a month left here in Michigan so I have been busy trying to start the packing process. There's a lot of work to do before we go, but I am getting excited that the whole law school process is coming to an end. We will definitely miss our home and friends but we look forward to what lies ahead.

Visitors and Valentines

2010-02-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

A little behind on the blog but here is the fun Valentines we had with Grandma Patterson, Aunt Rebecca, Brittany and cousin Chloe. We just love to have visitors especially during the winter when time is kind of slow and there's not a whole lot going on. Luckily for us we get to look forward to more visitors this weekend when Grandma and Grandpa K come up. Valentines started with a fun party at playgroup, thanks to our friend Aubrey for putting it together. Evelyn enjoyed decorating and of course eating her cupcake. She got to wear a very cute new dress that Grandma K sent to her, which of course she looked darling in.

Grandpa Patterson treated Evelyn to some very cute boots for Valentines. She actually loved putting them on, but for some reason couldn't have any other clothes on at the same time.
Evelyn and Chloe had a really fun time together, it was fun to watch them interact with each other.
Chloe loves her Aunt Natalie!
Evelyn was not interested at all taking a picture with me.
After many tries this was the best picture we could get of the girls with Grandma. They were just too busy to give anyone some attention.
Rebecca and Chloe
Saturday night my cousin Melissa and her husband came up from Ann Arbor and hung out with us all. We all got to enjoy some delicious Thai food, which has taken Kyle and I 4 different restaurants to finally find a good one. Doesn't Evelyn look like she's having a wonderful time?
The visit consisted of a lot of relaxing, movie watching and a little shopping. Saturday we went to the YMCA to take the girls swimming, which they loved, while my mom and sister Brittany actually did a workout on vacation! Sunday we managed to all get up and be dressed by 11:00. Then we had a yummy Valentines dinner together.
We tried to get some cute pictures of the girls together but they weren't so into it.
They just kind of looked at each other and wondered why they were standing out in the cold.
Thanks family for visiting us and making for a nice Valentines weekend!

Sun, Beach and Pool!

2010-01-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

Let me just say, Florida is awesome and I want to go back. It seems that taking a short break and heading down to Florida is a must for Kyle and I cause neither one of us can last through an entire winter without some sunshine. So that is just what we did this past week. It was so great, the weather was perfect, the hotel was great, and Evelyn seemed to really enjoy herself as well. Here are a couple of pictures of the hotel we stayed at.

Thursday we spent most the time on the beach, which was so nice and relaxing listening to the sounds of the ocean and feeling the warm sand on our feet. Evelyn at first did not like the sand and just wanted to stay on her towel and have a drink. She eventually warmed up to it when she found some sand toys and realized it wasn't that bad. The whole trip Evelyn was cracking Kyle and I up, she is just too funny and really tries to act like an adult and be in charge. She really was taking this vacation thing seriously, she loved sitting on her towel or on a lounge chair, she definitely enjoyed drinking "virgin" strawberry margaritas, going up and down the elevator was just about the greatest thing ever and one morning she actually slept until 10am. We are going to have to do this more often.

One night when we went out to eat Evelyn insisted on sitting at her own table with her own plate of food and drink, so that is exactly what she got. Here she is at a table by herself having quite the conversation with who knows who. We told the waitress we were sorry Evelyn took up the table and that she wasn't able to get more customers in her section until we left.
The second day we stayed by the pool. Evelyn was in heaven. This girl really loves to swim and be in the water. She actually wore herself out so much that she put herself down for a nap on a lounge chair under a towel. Like I said she took this vacation thing seriously.

Here are a couple pictures I took from laying on my lounge chair. I had quite a view.

Our last night we went and ate at a Mexican restaurant with one of Kyle's friends from high school and while we were there a lady was singing lots of random songs, so of course Evelyn had to get up in front of everybody and dance. She was really rockin it and would have gone all night if we let her. The workers loved watching her and gave her a sucker which she loved.

Oh what a vacation we had. It was really nice to be able to have the time together and have so much fun. Now we are back to freezing weather, cleaning up after ourselves, since no maid service is showing up at my door for housekeeping, and Kyle is already back to the library. Luckily for us though after this winter we can say Bon Voyage snow, ice and freezing temperatures.
A cute picture of Evelyn before we headed out to church. She was looking out the window checking out the snow.

Sand Castles

2010-01-21T17:57:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to make one of these next week! Florida, we're on our way.

My Christmas Angel!

2010-01-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

Evelyn was excited to get back to nursery today since she was gone for a few weeks. I can't believe she is big enough to go to nursery, she knows exactly where to go and has no problem going without us, oh how I am starting to miss my little baby, but am enjoying this little girl tremendously. She was also excited to wear her beautiful new Christmas dress Grandma Koester gave her. As soon as she had it on she was acting like such a little princess, which of course she is. Thanks again Grandma K.

Another Fun Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well we had another wonderful Christmas with our families. We accomplished a lot of traveling going from Michigan to Georgia to Los Angeles to Georgia and back to Michigan, but it was all worth it. Evelyn loved seeing all her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and doggies(brownie, teddy, chuck and sadie). Evelyn also loved finally being able to go outside and play since she hasn't been doing too much of that in the snow. All the grandkids had a fun time acting out the nativity scene at my parents house and I even got to be the "star"! Before we left we let Evelyn open her gifts from us since we wouldn't be taking them with us. I think the biggest hit and her favorite was her new trampoline. It really is awesome, she can get sooo much energy out, which is necessary. We have since moved it into the house so she can use it at all times of the day.
We then did a Christmas at Kyle's parents house and Evelyn had a good time opening her gifts. She always gave a cute sound and expression with each gift she opened.
Crazy morning hair!

Evelyn loves looking at books, so she really enjoyed getting some new ones.
Cute picture of mom and Evelyn.
She was telling me something very important.
Kyle gave me some beautiful jewelry which I appreciate very much. Thanks hun!
My mom made all her grandkids a Christmas blanket. I know it took her a long time and it was so thoughtful. They are so nice and soft. Evelyn has enjoyed using hers.
The two youngest cousins had a good time together.

Aunt Amy gave Evelyn some nice gifts that she enjoyed opening. A cd with music on it which she loves, this girl loves to dance.

Newest family picture. Best we could get.
The Koester family.

Aunt Amy and Uncle Daniels cute dogs. Chuck and Sadie, quite the pair.
Evelyn showing off her new adidas workout suit. She really was having fun with this on and showing it off at the gym with me.

Evelyn loves to put on Kyle's hats, and feel like she's going somewhere.
Evelyn doing some mommy time in her chair with all her babies she got for Christmas. She loves to take care of them all and give them hugs.
She also enjoys putting in some computer time on her new laptop.

We had a great past year, with Kyle finishing more of his law school, Evelyn growing so much, learning a lot and bringing such a sweet spirit into our home and me receiving my masters degree. We look forward to another great year with Kyle graduating from law school, moving out of Michigan and looking forward to new adventures.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2009-12-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year, it was a little more on the low key side, which is always nice every once in a while. We were able to enjoy some wonderful food and company with the Martins. There was so much good food and scrumptious dessert. We did miss not being with any family, but are very excited to see them all soon. For those who don't know, December is my most favorite month out of the whole year. I love Christmas time, Christmas music, Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, the smell of fires burning in the fireplace, and waking up to a white Christmas, though in California you don't really get that, so I will enjoy it for one last year in Michigan, and of course it is the month when I was born so that may have a little bit to do with it being my favorite. People always think I wouldn't like having my birthday so close to Christmas, but I actually love it and wouldn't want it any other time.
We have been staying inside a little bit more this past week since Evelyn and I both have been able to enjoy being sick with colds and coughs, luckily we are on our way too feeling better. So the countdown begins till we leave for the holidays and till my birthday.
Till we leave - 13 days!
Till my birthday - 14 days!

Pudding and Christmas Spirit

2009-11-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

This past week we have just been doing a lot of hanging out, going swimming at the YMCA, attending multiple baby showers and enjoying the moments we have together as a family. Evelyn loves chocolate pudding and she insisted in feeding herself so we let her have it with the spoon. She was in Heaven.

She just really can't get enough.
Friday night we attended the Silver Bells Parade Downtown. It is fun to hear the Christmas music and see all the lights and get in the mood for the holidays. Now we are just looking forward to the yummy food Thanksgiving has to bring next week.

Michigan vs Purdue

2009-11-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I got to go to the "Big House" and see the Michigan vs. Purdue game. It was something we wanted to do before we left Michigan so we were looking forward to it.
There were so many people, over 108,000, to be exact. We could hardly fit on our seats but it was a fun experience.

Purdue's band has the largest drum in the world, it was cool to see it and it was really loud when they would play it.

It was fun to spend the day with each other, and it was a beautiful day to be outside. Michigan ended up losing but we weren't too disappointed since we were kind of cheering for Purdue. Thanks hun for a fun day together.

A Full and Fun Halloween!

2009-11-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

So we had a very fun and full Halloween with lots of activities to keep us busy. This Halloween Evelyn was a very cute Cowgirl. With the costume she had a darling dress, cute chaps to wear, a pink cowgirl hat and some oh so cute pink boots to wear that I bought for her. Well as you can see in the following picture she wanted NOTHING to do with the chaps, hat or boots, I mean don't even bring them close to her or she will literally have a meltdown. But I have to say she looked cute anyway. Also forget about getting a cute posed, set up picture. This girl has no time for anybody so if she looks you better click that camera.

Wednesday we headed downtown for the Halloween activity #1. It was a lot of fun. Evelyn loved running around, seeing all the costumes and eating candy. She couldn't quite figure out this tall guy. The free pumpkin donuts and cider were also very delicious and worth eating.
Evelyn and daddy posing as firefighters.
Thursday was activities #2, 3 and 4. Thursday morning was Halloween themed playgroup. It was great to see all the little kids from the ward dressed up. We ate yummy treats, played a fun bingo game, listened to some Halloween stories and ran around in circles in the gym. We headed home for a long nap and then got dressed again and headed to the outdoor mall for some more fun and candy. Evelyn had a great time once again running around, dancing to the music playing and hanging with her friend Bauer. Later we painted one of our pumpkins and Evelyn sure had fun with the paintbrush.

Friday we took a little break from Halloween, but Kyle and I got to get away and go see Michael Jackson. It was awesome, Michael Jackson really is such a genius when it comes to music and performance. I highly recommend all to see it. Saturday night was the best and Halloween activity #5. We headed over to the Boardmans for a fun Halloween party. There was a lot of delicious food and awesome costumes by everyone. My personal favorites were the Boardmans dressed as the Berenstain Bears and the Martins as the Pillsbury dough boy and girl. We played fun games and enjoyed visiting with all our friends. It was a late night but great memories.

Evelyn found some sunglasses she just couldn't resist putting on.

This is the only pose I could get of Evelyn by the finished project of the painted pumpkin.
And here are the infamous boots I really wanted Evelyn to wear, but don't they just look horrifying I mean why would you not have a meltdown to put these things on. Guess they'll be heading back to the store.
Well it was a fun week and now we will just be trying to get off our sugar high for the next few days.

A Little Update

2009-10-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well these past few weeks have been filled with some fun adventures. The end of September we all headed to Georgia to visit Kyle's family and enjoy some football. It was a quick trip and of course our luggage didn't show up till the next day, but we had fun visiting with each other and Evelyn was entertained by little Teddy, the dog. It was a bit rainy but Evelyn still had fun cheering her Grandpa K on as he coached his team. Since the weather has definitely begun to get colder Evelyn and I have found some fun activities to do inside. She absolutely loves going to the YMCA and going swimming, I know she really misses having a big backyard to play in and a pool to go in everyday, so she gets so excited when I tell her we are going swimming. She has also enjoyed going to the Tot Watch at the YMCA and making some new friends. I can't believe she is already 17 months today, time has really gone by and I am starting to miss my little baby and am quickly being introduce to my little toddler.

Evelyn is so full of energy that I am always trying to come up with some fun and new things for her to get it all out. She is the sweetest little girl and I love how she wants to wear her pink beaded necklace all the time. As you can see in this first picture she loves talking on the cell phone. Every time she finds a phone or when we are in the car she acts like she is having a full conversation with somebody. It cracks us up. Saturday since the sun was actually shinning we headed out to a nature center that was having a festival. Evelyn had a lot of fun running around, playing on the swing set they had, and listening to some live music they had playing.

Though I really do miss California and it's wonderful weather, I really do enjoy the falls here in Michigan and love seeing all the greenery with the beautiful colors. Nature is just so peaceful and refreshing, I had to take some pictures of the pretty colors at the nature center.

Weekly update

2009-09-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Now that we are all moved back into our home, I thought it would be fun to actually do some fun activities with Evelyn this past week. To start off I was able to find a running stroller for an awesome price on craigslist so eventhough that doesn't sound fun, Evelyn actually really loves going running with me, she will just talk and sing the whole way. We then headed over to Potter Park Zoo. It was actually really fun, I love animals and we had a fun time watching them all. It was kind of nice since it almost felt like we were the only ones there at the zoo, I guess on a Tuesday afternoon not too many people are out.
Here is one of the wolves at the zoo, after I took the picture he came right up to the fence and Evelyn started to do her barking noise. To her it was just another dog.
The monkeys were fun to watch, I think they always know when they are getting attention.
Evelyn liked the little farm animals since she is familiar with them from some of her books and videos, she had no problem sticking her fingers inside the gates.

Then there was my personal favorite, the lions. I love lions, they really are my favorite animal. When we went inside the building there was a tiger that would walk right up against the glass and Evelyn and the tiger would go face to face. She just kept repeating "kitty, kitty"
Later in the week Evelyn and I headed over to Jumpin Jax. She really had a good time there, well actually we both did, I love those blow up jumping toys. Evelyn especially loved the huge slide and would laugh as she went down all by herself. This was a great place for her to get out a lot of energy. We will be going back. Saturday we headed to the apple farm with the Martins to pick apples. Evelyn enjoyed getting the apples and having one just her size to eat. Well it was a fun week ending with some football watching with daddy.

Busy Week!

2009-09-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

To start off we got a new car this week. We all really like it especially Evelyn, it's only a one-seater but it gets to where you need to go and has great gas mileage. It has sweet rims, can become a convertible if you want and even has a personalized license plate, it was a great deal! In other news this week has been really busy moving back into our home. Yesterday our home was a part of the Lansing Home Tour, we were one of the 8 homes in the tour, so we had only one week to unpack our 7 boxes, 3 suitcases and third bedroom where we stored all our stuff over the summer and at the same time Kyle started back at school. It was quite hectic and a bit tiring but we were really glad we did it, now our house is in tip top shape. The tour had a really great turn out, there were a lot of people coming through our home and it seemed we had good reviews which is always nice to hear. We are really glad to be back in our home it really is such a nice and comfortable place to be. Kyle is busy once again with school taking 15 units and being a part of Law Journal so we wish him luck and hope this semester goes well. Hopefully next week we will have some more fun and exciting news to share.
Oh and here's a picture of the new car!

End of Summer and Back to Michigan

2009-09-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Summer has come to an end and we are headed back to Michigan. We have had another fun summer with lots of fun trips and family activities. Evelyn will miss the fun rides in daddy's convertible.
Evelyn will also really miss going swimming almost everyday and enjoying the warm California sun.
Hope daddy hasn't got her hooked on diet coke too soon.
Our last weekend here we headed to my parents beach house in San Diego and had a lot of fun spending the days on the beach, walking on the boardwalk and just taking it easy.
Evelyn will also miss her cousins, she has had a lot of fun getting to spend so much time with them. The trampoline has been one of her favorite spots in the backyard, she loves to jump and does really well on it. It has also been a good way for her to get all her energy out, cause wow does she have a lot of that.
As we were packing I had Evelyn try this on to see if it fit, and she got really confused as to why she would need such a warm outfit, oh boy is she in for a surprise when she can't wear her swimming suit and shorts all day and discovers this little thing called snow!
This past week we celebrated Kyle's birthday, by eating his favorite chocolate pudding cake and going out for sushi. I am so thankful for my husband and all the things he does for his family, he has been working so hard this summer with an internship and a nightly job and still finds time to hang with me and Evelyn. I am so proud of you hun, hope you had a nice birthday and oh yes love you tons! Well next post will be from Michigan, see you then!

Growing Up Too Fast!

2009-08-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is 15 months today and I really can't believe how big she is getting. It seems we came back to California this summer with a baby and now we are leaving with a big kid. She has been so much fun and she is so full of life. She definitely has a personality of her own and loves to do things just her way. She sure has loved being with her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents this summer, we will miss all of them and the fun activities when we head back to Michigan in just a short few weeks. Mommy and Daddy love you so much Evelyn and can't wait to see what new joys and experiences you bring us in the next 15 months!

How could you not love a face like this!

Fun Summer Times

2009-08-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

While the rest of the family has been at Lake Powell this week, Evelyn and I have been keeping busy getting our own share of the sun. Evelyn just absolutely loves the pool or any type of water and would spend all day in it if she could. So just about every day we kick and splash around in the water to keep nice and cool.

We also enjoy going for walks and taking pictures for fun.

Every week play group is held at the beach, which really can't get any better than that, so Evelyn and I have truly enjoyed going to play group and playing in the sand. Evelyn also loves the beach just like her mommy and screams every time I try to take her out of the water. She loved to go in and let the waves hit up to her chest or she would just sit in the sand and let them knock her over. We have really been enjoying our summer and am a little sad it is closely coming to an end.

AI Concert and a Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy yet fun couple of weeks. Last weekend Evelyn and I went up with my family to Utah for my mom's family reunion. My brother and his family have just recently moved to Alpine into a beautiful home so they willingly held the reunion at their place. It was fun to see where they are living now but we sure do miss them here. All the cousins had a fun time playing together. My sister and I drove around Provo and gave the kids a tour of where we use to live and of BYU, I don't think they were too interested. It was fun to go back, I haven't been back to Provo in a long time.

Yesterday Kyle and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. I can't believe 5 years have gone by. It has been so wonderful and adventurous being married to Kyle. He has taken me a lot of places I never would have thought and has really been a great friend and husband to me. It was so nice to be able to spend the day with him. We went to Santa Monica and walked around the shops, got ice cream and then ate at one of our favorites, Neptunes Net. I can't wait to see what the next 5 years brings us.
Thursday my mom got tickets for all the girls to go to the American Idol tour concert. It was so much fun. The music was great and they all performed so well. Each contestant sang a few songs but when Adam Lambert came on stage everyone was screaming so loud and was going crazy for him. It was really fun to just be with my sisters and my mom.
Here is my sister and I with Scott singing in the background.
I really liked Lil, she was very entertaining
This is Adam performing, you would have thought he was a major celebrity the way everyone reacted when he came out on stage.
We have really been enjoying our summer and hope to enjoy it as much as we can for the next month!