The last toss...

I know that I'm a little biased because she's mine, but don't you just want to smother this cute little face with kisses? :)

A new skill that dad busted out that A and J found quite entertaining....head butting.

A few tosses in the air...one of A's favorite activities...




And quite possibly the last toss for Jaedyn...all 38 lbs of him....Rob looks like he's going to burst.

The parking lot will do...

Mr. Jaedyn and I spend a large amount of time in our parking lot. Our schedule while Ashlyn naps consists of 1. playing the drums in the garage 2. doing a couple of laps on his bike 3. playing bop the ball 4. playing hockey. It works out well because when we are inside I constantly am telling Jaedyn to be quiet which gets annoying for me and I'm sure doubly annoying for him. And it gives us a little one on one time which is nice. I'm so glad that I grabbed my camera on this day as these are some of my favorite pictures of Jaedyn. They really capture his personality and that cute little smile!





We gave Jaedyn this bike at Christmas time and he was super duper nervous about it. He wouldn't ride it at all and I had to pretty much force him to ride it. We started with very short rides near the garage (and I mean short!) where he demanded that I held on to him for the entire time. Now Jaedyn is riding all by himself pretty confidently and is really beginning to like his bike as you can see by the picture!



Taking a moment to think about what "song he's going to play next"....

Rananculus Flower Fields

We took a trip to the flower fields in Carlsbad right before my parents left. It's definitely a favorite place of mine in the Spring; rows of brilliant happy flowers smiling back at me.

Jaedyn's Music Class

I took advantage of my parents being here and enrolled Jaedyn in a fun music class on Tuesdays during Ashlyn's nap. He really enjoyed it and hopefully we'll be able to do it again. He learned how to play a couple of songs on the xylophone and on the recorder which was really fun. He's so used to making up his own songs and rhythms that it was a bit of a challenge for him to listen to another person and try to play along with them. (And an added bonus...I handed out 2 business cards to two of the moms there interested in photo sessions). Woopie!

The Kingdom Challenge Part 2

So if you missed my first blog about the Kingdom Challenge...back up and visit that page before viewing this one. Here's the link...it's worth the peek....
http://nikkicrockett.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

This past weekend we went back to the Serenity House for our final work day. We had to do the landscaping, touch up the airplane riding toy with a propeller, paint the standing planter that Chad and Greg built, add some color on the fence with some cute plastic thingamabobs and plant the cute little succulents that we bought along with the rest of the flowers. We had a great day, finished all of our tasks and ended the day with a barb-q with some of the moms and children from the Serenity House. To say I enjoyed this whole experience is definitely an understatement. It was a total blast and what the heck is more rewarding than knowing that you are making someone's life just a little bit better than what it was before. And on top of that the woman who runs the organization, Dana is an inspiration. I spent a pretty good chunk of the time talking with her and hearing her story and she really is an amazing woman. I took a ton of pictures but can't post them all so sorry fellow workers if you didn't make the cut.


Each of us in our home group painted these individual pots for the 9 kids in the Child Development Center.



If you ever need some fabulous polka dots (or an amazing mural) ...Allison's your woman. (who is also 3 weeks away from delivering baby #2 here!!!!)

Couldn't resist posting this disgustingly gigantic spider...I looked it up and it's a "false black widow"....a biter, but not as dangerous as the true black widow. No thanks, Mr. Spider.


The finished product...


I thought I took a picture of the landscaping when we were finished but I didn't. :( Here's an almost finished picture...


And meet the kids...

This little guy was adopted by Dana, a drug baby who now is as healthy as a horse and is an amazing athlete. A touching story that will absolutely grab your heart.






The Work Crew (missing is my fellow expert landscaper, Dana Perez)