Cousins

Well the number of cousins is getting bigger!  We are up to 5 kiddos now to take pictures.  We met on a Friday for a great morning at the park and lots of great pictures.  I even got in a couple of sibling pictures.  I have not gotten a good one since Harry was 3 months old.  WAY behind on that!  So I was glad to get these.  I did black and white along with color as not everyone likes just black and white.  :)

First picture and our favorite!

Madelyn ~ 8 years, Elllaree ~ 6 years, Lorelai ~ 3 years, Harry ~ 2 years

Kynlee ~ 2 months

This one is for Grama!

Look at my babies!  I just love this picture

Miss Madelyn is a pro at modeling for me

Trains!

Oh what fun we had on Saturday!  Harry and I took the kids to Osceola, WI which is about three hours and forty-five minutes from our house.  But it was well worth the trip to go on an hour and half train ride with the kids. The kids were counting down the days until we went and even though we had to leave the house at 6:30 AM there was no complaining to be had.  The weather was just perfect in the low 80s. 

We found seats in the last car on the train and was by ourselves for the most part of the trip.

Yes the windows were open and this was before we started moving.  Let me tell you it was a hard task keeping heads and arms inside during the whole ride.

Don't let Harry fool ya...he is soooo not taking a nap!

Harry's eyes always got a big as saucers and he would cover his ears when they would blow the whistle.

 

I love this photo of them just watching the scenery.

Right before we got off I asked one of the conductors if he would take our picture.  The kids had a great time.

 

We stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch as it was right by the station and we new that if we went too far the kids would be asleep.  After about two hours of naps we stopped again at DQ for ice cream.  It was a relaxing and fun family day.

Summer Fun!

The end of June we have had some extra fun.  Many family members have a hard time traveling the distance at Christmas time to visit with Grama & Grapa Hornby.  So we decided to do it in the summer when the kids can be outside and play.  We had such a beautiful day and a blast.

We are only missing 5 people out of the whole family.  That isn't too bad!  We had a scrumptious potluck luncheon, homemade ice cream, hay ride, obstacle course, slip-n-slide, water guns, etc.  The kids did not go without entertainment that day.

Grapa & Grama Hornby

My cousin's wife is wonderful with the camera.  She took all these awesome family pictures for us.

If you look really hard you can see Kynlee sleeping away in the carseat.  :)

I love this photo...my two men working hard

 

Some fun in the sun!  Mommy was being silly with the kids one day at home and we traced each of them with our new glitter chalk.

I heard the strawberries are almost done so we made a mad dash to the local farm to pick before they were done.  The kids had a wonderful time and we got lots of big berries.  I remember going to the same farm to pick strawberries when I was a little girl.  Good memories and traditions to keep up with my kiddos.

Lorelai is becoming quite the big girl this year.  First swimming lessons and now the first trip to the dentist!  She did a great job of sitting there AND no cavities.  Next time I will have all 3 of them going.  Crazy how time flies.

WOW!

Can a mom run more when the kids are out of school versus when they are in school.  Why yes, yes you can!  I feel like June has flown by with end of the year activities and now with summer school and swimming lessons going on.  Here is everything in a nut shell (how might you ask can I do this all in one time - all the kids are taking a nap...they are that tired)!  Yes I am doing a grateful mommy dance right now!

On June 1st our family welcomed Miss Kynlee Kay Hornby into the world.   She is a bit on the loved side.  When we went to meet her the kids held her about a dozen times each and she got over a hundred kisses easily.  She is just sweet!

We have started summer school and swimming lessons.  Ellaree is swimming by herself in this photo.  First time since she has started that she feels comfortable swimming in the water and doing everything the instructor tells her to.  She is the one in front with the pony and head cocked to the side.

This is Lorelai's first year also.  She is the on the left on the end with the blue suit on.  The first couple of days she really liked it...now she screams at the instructor.  She is a bit strong-willed when it comes to someone telling her what to do.  I sit back and grin and let the instructor deal with it.  Cause whether she likes it or not she will finish the lessons and learn to swim!

Mr. Harry gets a little bored during swimming lessons.  This is him "pretending" to sleep in the stroller.

The kids and I went with Grapa & Grama to the Richland Rodeo Parade and one of the floats was the Wild West Princesses.  Three of the girls go to our church and she was so excited that they lifted her up on the float so that I could get her picture with the girls.  Yes her grin did not go away the whole day!  She was with real princesses!

Ellaree wanted pictures taken the other day to show the progress of Grammy's flower pots.  I think they are ready to bloom any day now.  We also added mini flags to our pots on flag day!

Lorelai put a worm in her pot the other day and she checks on him every day.

Harry pets his flowers every day and talks to them.

The day before the last day of school Ellaree had a Kindergarten Circus.  It was 30 minutes long and was it ever cute.  Ellaree got to an acrobat.  She was loving the outfit we borrowed from one of our friends.  Very sparkly and pink!

Afterwards they had punch and cookies for the parents and kids.  Oh and might I mention that the high school art students did all their makeup.  Do you see the lipstick Nonie?

 

Here is one little segment of Ellaree's acrobat performance

Miss Hollywood here posing for me in her new Viroqua Blackhawk shirt.  Yes after a very long school year of many hard decisions we decided to move Ellaree this fall to Viroqua schools.  The gas money is getting to be outrageous and we are not guaranteed a spot for Lorelai or Harry for open enrollment.  When we told Ellaree she took the news like a super star and has been super excited about the change.  We gave her this shirt when we told her and she now attending Viroqua for summer school.  It has been a very smooth transition and she loves going to "Her New School". 

Another picture at the Richland Rodeo Parade.  The kids were patiently waiting for the parade to start.

 



Ellaree and Miss Johnson on the last day of school

 

 

Ellaree's Well Check-up

Yesterday we had Ellaree's 6 year well check.  She did wonderful and was thrilled not to have any shots.  They checked her hearing and she failed the first time.  The second time around she passed with flying colors. 

Ellaree's Stats

Weight ~ 18.6 kg/41 lbs ~ 25% I had to convert kg into lbs myself so this is a rough estimate.
Height ~ 44 inches

Ellaree is getting so big and so smart so fast!  I was told not to blink but I did and look what happened!

Ellaree's Week Long Birthday

Seriously where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital having my first born...now she is 6!  Yes you read the title correctly...we celebrated for a whole week Ellaree's birthday!

Monday, June 3rd

Ellaree's pokadot cupcakes for school

The kids were super excited when they bit into their cupcakes to find pink or purple inside!

Ellaree celebrated at school on Monday, June 3rd since they were going to be on a field trip the day of her birthday.

She got a birthday certificate, birthday pencil, crown, sticker and be the leader that day.  Umm yeah I think she was the queen for the day!

 

Tuesday, June 4th

June 4th Kindergarten went to Genoa Fish Hatchery to release their sturgeon they had in their classrooms for the year.  Miss Ellaree wore her crown all day again.  I received this picture on my phone from her teacher letting me know the birthday girl was having a great day!

After the Fish Hatchery they went to the park in Viroqua.  Here is some of her friends Madison, Neyla and Ellaree

When Ellaree got home from school we gave her her gifts from Mommy, Daddy, Lorelai and Harry.  Lorelai and Harry made this card for Ellaree.

Ellaree got her ears pierced from Mommy & Daddy back in May.  She also got this cool Ariel earring holder.

 

Friday, June 7th

Ellaree's last day of school I brought home 4 girls from school.  5 giggling girls total was lots of fun.  Here is Ellaree's cake I made her for her friend party.

Yes again it had pokadots inside.

How cute is she and she was so excited over her horse cake

I love this picture!

Madison, Neyla, Ellaree, Alice & Carmyn

 

Saturday, June 8th

Saturday was Ellaree's family party...I made these fun cowgirl jello gigglers

And Ellaree's cake I made for the family party

I love this photo with Grapa!

 

Happy Birthday my sweet cowgirl!