Leif's Birthday

On April 24th, Leif Paul Kanooth had a birthday. I wont tell you how old her turned, but I will say that twins were more excited about his birthday then he was.  Together the twins painted a picture frame for their Daddy.  We also picked him out a "Cars" kite for him.  The kids were so so excited about their presents, that Leif knew what he was getting before he opened it. 

My gift to Leif was a night out with no babies.  We dropped them off at a sitters, then went to the park.  There we got to relax, throw a football and enjoy the quietness around us.  It was very enjoyable.  We got dinner then picked up the kids for cake.  It was a nice day. 

Happy Birthday Leif.

 

 

 

 

 The next day Leif took the kids to the park to "fly the kite".  There wasn't a lot of wind, so they ran!  It was so cute watching Leif teach them how to fly a kite. 

St Augistine,FL

We went on a family trip to St. Augustine.

 

We got into St. Augustine Sunday afternoon and checked into our hotel.  The twins started jumping as soon as we entered our room.  Our hotel was right on the beach, but it was raining!!!  So we drove downtown and visited Flagler College.  It used to be a 300 room hotel in the mid 1800's and was turned into a college in 1968.  It was beautiful.  

 

On Monday we toured downtown St. Augustine alone with Fort Castillo de San Marcos.  It was amazing hearing the history of these forts built by the Spanish back in 1672.  I liked learning about how they fired their cannons, black-powered guns, and life on a fort. 

We then enjoyed going out for pizza and coming back for a late night hot-tub.  Or as the kids would say, "hot swimming pool"

On Tuesday it was Sunny!!!  We therefore got to go to the beach in the morning.  We didn't swim, but we found lots of seashells and rocks.  The twins were scared of the larger waves, but it was cute to watch them running around on the sand.  We then swam in our pool/hot-tub and enjoyed the sunny morning before we had to check out. On our drive home we went to Fort Matanzas.  It was another cute fort constructed in the 1700's. 

Sunken Gardens

Our family got to do something new together.  We went to Sunken Gardens down in St. Petersburg.  It is a beautiful garden with coy fish, birds, turtles, bridges, waterfalls, and some  amazing plan life.   Savannah & Micah loved feeding the fish and taking about their colors.  We walked around together as a family and then had a picnic.  After the gardens we went to Great Explorations next door where Savannah dressed up as a super hero and ran around with her cap and glasses.  It was a very nice family evening.

Last Day at Busch Gardens

 We have had a Busch Gardens pass for the last year, and April 19th it expired.  It was a sad day!  On the expiration date, I took the twins for one last trip to Sesame Street.  They LOVE visiting with all the characters.  They LOVE playing in the splash park.  They LOVE running around in the tree house. They LOVE the kiddy rides.  They will forever miss Busch Gardens.  We have enjoyed our year pass and thank Grandma and Grandpa for getting it for us.

We are having a baby!!!!

Today is April 4th, 2013.  It is a very special day because I took a pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!!   Leif and I have been trying to add to our family since January.  I have been praying every night that we would get pregnant quickly, and the Lord did answer our prayers.  We knew there was a little spirit waiting to come into our family.  And we are so excited for it's arrival in December!!

So....  today is April 4th.  It is the day I was supposed to start my period.  But deep inside I knew that it wouldn't start because I truly felt we were pregnant.  I took a pregnancy test just to be sure, and sure enough two little pink lines slowly crawled across the test.  WE ARE PREGNANT!! 

The day passed very quickly.  I couldn't stop thinking about being pregnant.  I couldn't stop rubbing my belly.  It is funny how different you feel after knowing you are pregnant, even though you are the exact same as before.  I tried to eat healthier, I drank more water, I took a prenatal, and I didn't work out as hard. 

During the day we went to the health clinic to get proof of pregnancy, so we could recertify for WIC.  The nurse was very nice.  She gave Micah & Savannah lots of stickers, and gave me your due date as December 8th, 2013!!!! 

After the clinic we stopped by the store for balloons to decorate the house for Leif.  The twins helped my blow up 25 balloons and tie strings to them.  We then proceeded to tape the inflated balloons to the ceiling.  Your father surprised us by coming home early.  So I ran into the room and put the positive test on the bed along with the citification of pregnancy for the clinic.  Leif walked in minutes later, looked at the balloons, looked at me smiling, and said, "Your Pregnant?"

Special Events in our Family

 

During the month of March there were some major event that happened in our family.    Leif's Sister, Kierstin, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.  He came into our family on March 1st and was named Benson Kyung.  He was born into a beautiful family with great parents and cute siblings.  We are excited to meet him, and are happy everything went well with his birth.

On St. Patricks Day our niece, Ruby, was baptized into The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She was so excited to be baptized.  During her baptism Ruby sang a beautiful song.  She was smiles all day longs.  We so wish that we could have been there to witness her special day.

 

On Easter weekend another dear niece, Kaitlyn, was also baptized as a member of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I was told that the baptism was wonderful.  Kaitlyn was beaming all week and she could truly feel the spirit that day.  Again we wish we could have been there to see her smilily face and watch her enter the waters of baptism.   

April Fools Day

April Fool's Day is one of my favorite days.  And it has become even more fun over the last 7 years as I continue to FOOL Leif each and every time.  For the last 3 years I have been mean to Leif (2010-faked my water braking, 2011- faked a car accident, 2012- faked Savannah falling and cutting her head).  So this year I thought I would just play pranks on my dear husband.  AND DO IT ALL DAY LONG, since he had the day off.

# 1 I told my sweet husband that I was going to make him waffles, but I put onions in them (he spit it out as soon as he bit into it!!)  

#2  I hid one of each of his tennis- shoes (which he found without telling me). 

#3 I put clear-nail-polish over the bar of soap so it wouldn't suds up (but this really didn't work).

#4 I put soap on his tooth-brush (he was in the process of telling me that my jokes were lame when the tooth-brush went in his mouth).

#5 I put a beef-boron-cube in the head of the shower (made the water look brown he almost screamed).

#6  Made him a sandwich and put a piece of cardboard under the meat (this one worked great).

#7 Told him I was going to beat him in Tennis (well that wasn't supposed to be a trick).

 

Besides doing pranks we also managed to bike to Ross Norton Park, where we played tennis, played in the park, feed the ducks and had a picnic.  We enjoyed having Leif home with us. Happy April Fools Day 2013.

 Thanks Leif for always being a good sport about my silly pranks.  I love you and can't wait for next year.

Easter Day

 

We started a new tradition this Easter.  Leif and I had different opinions about how to celebrate Easter (eggs on Sunday or not).  In the end our Stake Presidents and an Ensign article help us make our decision.    So Easter morning we woke up to a nice breakfast, along with beautiful church music.  Together as a family we read "The Living Christ" by the First Presidency and bore our testimonies to each other (This was our Stake Presidents challenge to each member).  Then we watched a few Mormon Messages about Easter.  During each video I narrator for our kids. 

After the last video Micah looked up at Leif and said, "Daddy, I no want to die." 

Savannah jumped off my lap as she repeated, "I die and see Jesus."

Yes, they might be too little to understand the whole plan of salvation.  But I know they felt the spirit of Easter Sunday.  They both know who Jesus is and they know that Jesus loves them.

Easter Weekend

I love Easter.  I love the accompany Spring weather and flower.  I love the adorable Easter Bunny and Baby Chicks.  I love all the Easter Egg Hunts.   I love Cadbury eggs.   I love how everyone acts a little more Christ-like.  I love the true significance of Easter.  I love feeling Christ Love through His Atonement & Resurrection.    

Leif was fortunate to have Easter weekend off.   It was so pleasant having him home so we could teach our kids together and continue Holiday traditions.  Friday night we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at Clearwater Beach.  The twins LOVE  hunting for eggs, and are so thrilled about each egg they find.  After the hunt we walked over to Pier 60 and got to witness "Sunset on the Pier" for the first time since living in Florida.  The pier had many street performers, music, vender's, and a beautiful SUNSET.

Saturday morning the twins were woken up at 6:30 so they could go to an Egg Hunt at Publix Grocery Store.  This is my favorite egg hunt of the year because they have great candy, it is early, it's not crowded, kids find money and coupons in eggs, and after the hunt you can grocery shop as one of the only customers.  There were only 7 kids in the twins' age group... so we brought home a lot of candy., along with $4.50 in quarters.

After our adventure at Publix we headed home for breakfast and then back out for a 10:00 Easter Egg Hunt.  This hunt was at a nearby community center in Bellleair.  And it was a truly great time. The city had an egg-hunt, touch-a-truck, games, bounce houses, egg dying, the Easter Bunny, and a hot-dog lunch.  We all had a great morning.  And again, the kids got lots of candy for their Mommy and Daddy.

We came home to unload our baskets and then put them up again for the Easter Bunny. We told Micah & Savannah that the Easter Bunny was going to come when they were sleeping.  AND after they woke up we could find Easter eggs, and baskets (again).  So they quickly went to sleep while I let the Easter Bunny in the house.  Everyone did find their baskets and enjoyed the Bunny's Gifts.

 

Parents in town

My dear parents came for a week visit.   They say relatives are like fish and stink after 3 days... but my parents never stunk.    And because of my Dad one night we bought fish, gutted them, cooked them, and found out fish really do stink!!!  Mom & Dad flew in Tuesday, March 19th, from my sister's home in California.  So when they go here they were already 5 days into their vacation and not feeling very well.  Therefore our first 2 days were low key.  But everyone managed to feel better and we all had a great week. 

The first day was very low key. Mommy slept most the day.  My Dad & I took the twins to a "Turtle Park" where we feed the turtles and visited the owls.  After the park we all went home for naps.  Since our house isn't very big, Dad went out and slept in the lawn chairs by our pool.  Well, our maintenance man saw him, pocked him and woke him up.  Then asked Dad all these questions as to who he was and why he was sleeping at our pool fully clothed.  He thought Dad was a bum!!!

 

On day two Mommy was feeling a little healthier, so she came out with us for a day filled of parks.  I took them to three of my favorite parks: Boca Cigia Millennium Park, Seminole City Park, Largo Nature Preserve.  Yep, we went to 3.  But each park had a function.   The first park was to let the kids play and hike the bird observation tower.  The second park was where we had a picnic and feed the birds.  The last park was for the purpose of seeing an alligator and throwing rock.  We did get to see our alligator who was basking in the sun.  It was a stunning day.

Park 1

Park 2

Park 3:

Day three was a "Daddy & Daughter" day.  I took my dad on a kayaking adventure through Weeden State Preserve.  We had a lot of fun talking as we glided through the mangroves.   We saw lots of fish skipping across the water and saw lots of crabs spotted on the trees.  Our favorite was seeing the amazing beauty of the mangroves, lakes, and open water.  God created such a beautiful world for us to enjoy.  After our kayaking adventure we visited the Weeden visitor center.  My father enjoys reading EVERY sign, so I  learned a lot of new things. 

I now know that there are  3 species of mangroves. Red mangroves live close to the water or in the water. Black mangroves live inland more.  White mangroves are the furthest inland.  I also learned 2 new words, which I got quizzed on all week.  Pneumatophore is a specialized structure developed from the root of a Black Mangrove that grows in swamps and marshes, serving as a respiratory organ. Midden is mound or deposit containing shells, animal bones, and other refuse that indicates the site of a human settlement. The Indians called their fire pits kitchen midden. It was an delightful day.

And our day didn't end there.  We had Bob and Becki over for a BBQ that evening.  They are a couple that my parents meet on a "Fun for Less" tour in India.  My patents enjoyed their company so much they pressured me into looking up Bob & Becki here in Largo and meeting them.  Well, I can tell you I am so glad they did.  Bob & Becki are the sweetest couple.   The twins love them and look forward to every encounter.  Leif and I love their company and wisdom.  They have become second Grandparents to Micah & Savannah, and spoil them just like grandparents should.  We had a very nice meal with them despite the rain.  

Day four was a Saturday and Leif was off.  We saw advertisements for the Pinellas County Fair, so all 6 of us went. Somehow the advertisement were off because it was more of a carnival and just called a fair.  But the kids had fun seeing the animals and playing some games.  Leif and I even got to play some games.  And since we live in Florida, we saw an alligator show, which ended up being all of our favorites. On the way home we ate at Chick f let and then played Taboo till late.

 

That night we went to an Easter Egg hunt with the twins.  They both found SO SO many eggs but then couldn't take the eggs home.  Well we really didn't need anymore eggs in our house.

Sunday was the fifth day.  We all dressed up for church.  Savannah wear her new dress Grandma got her.  Micah was handsome in his vest.  We took some cute pictures then went to church.  After church we stopped at heritage Village, then came home to cook up salmon, rice, and potatoes. Decorating Easter Eggs also took place with an egg fight taught to the twins by their Grandma.

 

Monday, Leif was shocked to get the day off.  We all worked out in the morning.  Mom & I went for a bike ride while the boys went to the gym.  We then drove to Vonnoy Park where we played tennis, had a picnic, played freebie, watched dolphins, caught fish, played in the beach, and played volley-ball.  Yep, that is right.   This is an amazing park that is right on the water and has so much to do.  We saw a man catching Mullet fish with his net. After talking and watching him for some times.... we took home 4 mullet and had an interesting dinner. 

 

 

 

On our last day we spent it at Busch Gardens.   And we went during the same week as Spring Break for most of Florida.  So instead of riding rides, we spent most of our times at shows and seeing the animals.  It was a colder day and a slower day.  But we had a lot of fun and enjoyed each other.

 

  

    Thanks Mom & Dad for coming to see us.  We really had a nice time.  It went by so fast.  On Wednesday morinng the twins asked, "Where Grandma & Papa go?"  We all miss you already.