Our GROWING Gorilla

Look at how much Kian has grown over the past few years:

2005

2006

2007

2008

Here is our first gorilla pic of Ryland, who didn't want to stand there.

Unlike Grace, who was happy to stand there and have her photo taken... many, many times.

Took our wild animals to see the wild animals

The kids weren't feeling well today, so we skipped church so we didn't infect everyone with their cough. So, we did the next best thing, took the kids to the Hogle Zoo. Kian had SO much fun and the twins seemed to enjoy themselves. As usual, the train was their favorite part. It was about 70 degrees and cloudy, which was really nice!

Kian and the Giraffes
We took the twins in the wagon so they could look around.... they had a lot of fun... fighting over the water bottle.  Note to self: bring more than 1 water bottle.

The picture isn't clear, but they were looking down at the monkeys.  
Kian and the White Alligator.
Ryland pushing the Alligator...  
Ryland won.  Our little Crocodile Hunter.
Do you think he is happy?  
Our drive home.

Busy week

We have had a full week and here are some pictures to sum it up!  

Last weekend, we went to Elizabeth's (our niece) 1 year old birthday party!  Ryland was adorable waiting at the door at then end of the party.  He was so tired.

On Wednesday night was Kian's AWANA awards ceremony and the last AWANA until the fall.  He is sitting next to his friend Noah. 

Kian's face lit up when they called his name to give him his certificate of completing his first year of AWANA.  He also got a ribbon and another patch for his vest.  

Kian's AWANA classmates are called the Cubbies.  He has 1 more year of being a Cubby until he becomes a Sparky!

This is a picture of Grace with her new boyfriend, Caleb!  Just kidding, of course, she isn't allowed to have a boyfriend until she is 30 years old.  Caleb (20 months) and his 3 year old brother Josh, are the boys of my friend Amber.  We have had many playdates and the kids have tons of fun together!  It was cute because Ryland was a little upset that another boy was sitting next to his sister.  Protective, I guess!

Grace loves to wear this little skirt and she will cry if I take it off.  She loves being a pretty, little girl.  

Another picture of Ryland & Grace's favorite activity, Ry pushing Grace around in the Tonka Truck.  They do this almost every day.

Grace loves to just sit in the truck.  

Ryland loves to bring me toys so I can play with him!  

They grow SO fast!

We have taken some pretty cute pictures in the last couple of weeks and even have a picture of the reason we took Kian to the emergency room a couple of weeks ago. 

This is probably one of the 1st pictures of Randy & I together in quite some time!

"Oh my, what big eyes you have!"  

 Our silly Kian.

Grace getting some sun.

This was the 1st day of the year that we took the kids to the park!

The twins had SO much fun!

Here is a picture of Kian's mouth a couple days after he hurt himself.  If you don't know the story, he was sitting down on the floor and put a long, hollow hard plastic tube (from a teeball set) in his mouth and then tried to stand and tripped.  The tube was shoved into the roof of his mouth and he got a huge cut, which you can see, and another deep cut farther back.  We went to the ER and the doctor said it will have to heal itself, stitches aren't possible.  He was right, after a week, it was all better.  Kian was such a trooper and very brave.

Exhausted.

Ryland's 1st Haircut

We got tired of people thinking we had twin girls, so we broke down and got Ryland's hair cut today. He cried at first when they put the smock around his neck, but otherwise he did really good. Now, he looks like a little boy.... which is much better than a little girl!

"Hey, I like my hair long..."

It didn't take long for Ry to calm down

And may we present, our little BOY, Ryland!!  Adorable!

Awana Grand Prix

I haven't had a chance to post this until now, since I had been in Orlando for work. On Friday May 2, Kian raced his derby car in the AWANA Grand Prix at our church. In the first heat, Kian took 2nd place. He took 1st place in the 2nd heat and then 2nd place in the 3rd heat. He was so excited to race his car and then was thrilled when he got a ribbon and certificate for best art design. Here are some pictures of the big night:

Kian was so proud of his derby car, he picked the #4 to be on it!

At the derby

Kian's ribbon and certificate!  Best work of Art!

Ryland had fun watching his big brother

Grace practiced her walking and walked all over!  Had Grump chasing her around!

Grace is walking a little now!

Grace started taking a couple of steps during the first week of April, but by April 8 she could take 6+ steps at a time.  I didn't get great video footage and its a little blurry, but here are some of her steps!  She was so excited!

I can't get any other videos to work, so I'll add them later.  But here are some pictures of our sweet little princess.  She is such a silly, adorable girl!

Grace adores her big brother!

And she loves her pink glasses!

Sunday dress!  Grace was the cutest little girl in church today!

"My dress is going to get dirty!"

"Princess Grace, how do you do?"

I'll try to post more videos later.  Grace can't keep up with Ryland at all, but she is working on it!  Won't be long and the twins will be chasing each other around the house!

Kian's Birthday Party!

Kian had a birthday party yesterday! Kian knows that he turns 4 tomorrow, but he had so much fun having his friends and family over! Here are some pictures of our (almost) 4 year old and his party:

Kian had a Spiderman-themed party!!

Kian, Noah, Taylor, & Isaac making silly faces!

Kian had so much fun opening presents.  Instead of saying "Thank-you", Kian told the Haywards "I like you" after opening their gift.  Easy to please!

Kian's close buddies, Taylor and Isaac, giving BIG smiles!

Speaking of twins, Ryland loves pushing Grace around in this Tonka truck!  She LOVES this truck and she sat in it during most of the party!

Kian's first BIG BOY bike!  And Ryland crying that he won't be able to keep up with his big brother anymore!  At least not yet!!

What a fun party we had!  Kian had so much fun and thanks to everyone for joining us!  I can't believe my baby is going to be 4 years old tomorrow!  Unbelievable!  I think I might just cry.

Please Release Them, Let Them Go

Dear Aunt Colleen & Uncle Dan,

I am writing you this letter in reference to the release of Grandmam and Chops from the Epperson Work Camp located in Ione, California.  As concerned family members for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Grandmam and Chops, we hereby request that you release them immediately or suffer grave consequences.  There are several grandchildren located in Utah and Illinois that miss their grandparents and believe that you are solely responsible for the detrimental treatment of the grandparents in the slave labor camps located at your facility.  If our requests are not met we will send a barrage of Spam emails to include Obama and Clinton campaign updates, enter you into the Cindy Sheehan Fan Club, and daily news updates by the Washington Post and New York Village Voice.

We thank you for your support and request an immediate response.  If the above threats don't produce your quick resolve, then see the videos below for further consideration.

PETGC

Thomason Family

Randy, Patty, Kian, Ryland and Grace

Look at Ryland go!

Ryland took his first steps a couple of weeks ago, but now he is walking all over the place!  So, here are a couple videos to show you those sweet, little toddler steps!  

And, not to be outdone by her twin brother, Grace wants to show you her trick...

We will, We will ROCK you!!

Last night, we let out our inner Rockstars playing "Rockband" at the Haywards' house.  Tony, Shea, Randy, and I should be on the cover of Rolling Stones while our kids are our biggest FANS!  Kian, Taylor, and Isaac were the cutest Rockers....  see Kian's ROCKER face!  He is destined for stardom, huh??!

While the "adults" lived out our Rockband dreams... the boys PLAYED!!!  They had so much fun together!  There's nothing like 3-year-old boys high on life ... and maybe a little caffeine! 

After living the Rockstar life, Randy & I decided to live that life WHENEVER WE WANT!  So, today, we bought Rockband and formed our own little band.  We are excited to let our family play it with us when they come out this summer!