"I DID IT"

We had such an exciting week, but most importantly, Lexa turned 4 this week!! Happy Birthday Lexa, we love you!

School is going great - Riley is transitioning to the preschool class and is very excited to be reunited with a couple of her best friends. Kyle, as always, is fighting a cold, but happy as ever!

On Friday, Tracy took the kids to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to check out the flowers and play in the childrens gardens. Our friends Ms. Amanda, Aiden, and Ivy met us there and Riley and Aiden had lots of fun running through the water!

Saturday was super busy! We met Aunt Darcy, Uncle Mike, Lexa, Grandma, and Papa at Kings Dominion to begin a full day of celebrating Lexa's birthday! The kids has so much fun and we can't wait to go back! Not only did the girls ride all of the kids rides, Kyle joined them on a few, and the girls also rode their first big ride - the Log Flume! Though all the confusion of who was sitting with whom, Riley ended up in the very front... the look of exhilaration and terror when they hit the big drop was PRICELESS! At the bottom of the big hill, she threw her fists up in the air and yelled "I Did It!". After tons of fun at KD, we headed back to Lexa's to celebrate with dinner, birthday cake, and presents.

Tracy and Eric ventured out later that night for our friend Todds 40th birthday - Happy Birthday Todd and thank you Grandma and Papa for babysitting the kids!

On Sunday, Tracy, Riley, and Kyle headed back to Darcy's for another great dinner and some play time. And on Monday our friends Jenn and Mackenzie had us over to make pizza! Yumm! Tracy may have forgotten how to cook!!

Enjoy the many pix and videos!

Riley running through the water at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens

DORA!! What a great way to start the day!

Kyle at 11am, the beginning of the day. Notice the clean white shirt... this is the 1st of many shirts for the day

Darcy, Lexa (you can't see) and Riley and Eric (far right) on the roller coaster

Riley is on the top far right.

Last year she sat near the middle of the boat - this year she went for a real ride!

Riley (a little bored) and Kyle (all smiles!) on the swings

Kyle out cold - 3pm! Shirt number 2.

This is by FAR the longest he had ever gone without a nap, but he was happy and full of fun the entire time.

As the kids dozed, the adults, including Mike who is afraid heights, ventured up, up and away.

Do you see our legs?

The BEST picture ever - taken by KD on the way down the Log Flume - look at the girls faces! Riley is out cold (4:30ish) I was able to take a sucker right out of her mouth!
Lexa is fighting it but she did not win this fight. Our kids still nap, so this has been a LONG day!

After KD, we went back to Darcy's for a wonderful birthday dinner and cake.
Look how adorable Lexa is looking at her beautiful princess cake!!

Kyle - Shirt #4! Shirt #3 was never photographed. It was during the water park. Notice how shirt #4 is soaking wet - we question how the child stays hydrated with all his drooling...

If you know Riley, you know she doesn't play dress up or princess... which is why I had to post this picture! She asked to put on a princess dress!! Maybe the tides are turning...


1st Video: Lexa and Riley really wanted to ride the cars together and there was this one little girl, Ashley who had been in line with us for several rides who volunteered to ride with Kyle... I think Kyle would have preferred a little more space, but was still happy to be able to drive!

2nd Video - The girls dancing, filled with excitement after defeating the dreaded Flume ride!

Times flying

The past few weeks have been filled with fun and sun! We have tried to get to the pool a few times a week since it will be fall soon and we have spent many afternoons at the park or riding bikes. Riley is now riding her "big" bike with training wheels and Kyle is strapped into the pink & purple princess tricycle - maybe Santa will bring him a red bike to ride! We finally brought out the slip-n-slide and Lexa and Riley loved zooming down in every direction possible. They also loved playing in the sprinkler and baby pool - Kyle decided to just watch this adventure (having just fallen down 4 wooden stairs, landing on his head, it was probably a good idea!)

We had a surprise day visit from Grandma and Papa last week. They took us all out for a fun dinner and it was great seeing them! It had been almost a month since we had visited and Kyle couldn't get enough of Grandma!

Tracy spent a fun weekend away with the girls and Eric was super-dad and spent the day at Bebes pool, took the kids to the park, and even helped Kyle battle a very high fever. Last weekend we had 2 families over for dinner and everyone had a wonderful time. The kids were so great, that the adults actually got to enjoy dinner without interruption!

I'm not sure where the time has gone, but in the last few weeks, while we have been having all this fun, Riley and Kyle have grown up!


Riley is now swimming! It happened over night. She wakes up talking about swimming and every day is willing to try something new and go the next step. Today when we were leaving swim lessons our conversation went something like this - Me: Riley Paige, are you a mermaid?? Riley: No, because the little Mermaid swims way far into the ocean, and stays way under water, and goes far, far away, and talks to other animals and mermaids, and doesn't come up for air, so no, I'm not a mermaid, I'm Riley. (all of this one thought and one sentence) Definitely a literal child... when will I learn!?

Kyle is now communicating so well - he now signs a bunch of new words and he has added bye-bye, thank you, and Lexa to his vocabulary. He knows all the movements to the Itsy-bitsy spider and loves to copy everything his sister does! He is such a sweet child but is getting more and more devilish as the days go by!

And finally, what you have all come to see - pictures!

Kyle on the swing - since this pix was taken, Kyle has decided he wants to be on the big swings like his sister. Tracy does not like this very much at all (hes only 15 months!!)!

Kyle going through the tunnel
Riley on the swingsKyle coping everything Riley does. For the most part, they get along great and are too cute together!
Riley and barbie slip-n-sliding
Riley and Lexa sliding down the baby pool slide
The crazy trio!

Right after their 2nd swim lesson - notice all floating devices (that were a Riley REQUIREMENT last week) are no where to be found! The girls had to have jumped in at least 25 times in a row. Riley wouldn't get in the pool without holding on to an adult just 2 days ago!

There really isn't anything to see on this video - Kyle was dancing for us but stopped... but hes just so darn cute!

Disco Days

All is good with Riley and Kyle and nothing exceptional to note this week. It was a quiet and HOT week with pool time and lots of play dates. Riley and Tracy went to see Seussical Jr. (the musical) while Bebe stayed at home with Kyle. We both enjoyed it a lot!

Riley continues to be obsessed with coloring. On Friday she woke Tracy at about 6:15 and asked if she could go down stairs to color... sounds like an extra 30 minutes of sleep for Tracy!

Every day Kyle fits the stereotype mold of a boy! He falls on his head daily and constantly has bruises and scrapes and could careless about any of them. He also listens like a man... therefore doesn't listen well at all:-) (kidding!) But seriously, he does not listen at all when you tell him to stop what ever trouble he is causing... he just smiles a devilish (yet adorable) smile! We are going to have our hand full!
Sorry, the camera didn't come out much this week...

Kyle causing trouble on the counter!

We said goodbye to the ball pit this week after 3 long, fun years of playing with it (it finally popped! Tracy and Eric are the only happy ones about this!). But as you can see, these 2 definitely gave it a run for its money!

Bye-Bye Baby

Riley and Kyle had a busy, but fun, week! We did a lot of playing and jumping this week! Monday Riley attended a birthday party where they have a ton of inflatable equipment to jump on! She loves to jump and had a blast! Later that week, we went to another similar place which was even more exciting b/c the jumping equipment had themes and there was a special sesame street jump section for the little kids, so even Kyle could have fun. However, he was a bit freaked out and only started to warm up 5 minutes before we left! Riley had so much fun and we'll definitely be going back again soon as a family. We also went to Romp-n-roll for some tumbling fun.

Over the weekend, we hit the pool, Kyle got his 1st real hair cut and we had a delicious dinner at the Britts house. Jacqueline, Morgan, and Sam were the best baby sitters and Eric and Tracy had a great time with the adults!

Enjoy the pix!

Yes, I dressed them alike (this is only the 2nd time ever, I swear!)

Riley at Romp-n-roll
Kyle in a big blue hole...
Riley is Jumping with her buddy Aiden! Look at how red her face is - there was a LOT of jumping going on!
More silly jumping!
Kyle wasn't so sure about about the hair cut at first... but Riley came to the rescue with a sucker and everything went pretty smoothly from there...
until the clippers came out... but the hair dresser was super quick and Kyle was running around, happy as can be in no time!

Cobblestone Dreams

Riley and Kyle had another fun summer week! Riley participated in a very fun Backyard Bible club though our church for most of the week and has a new found love for the pool! Kyle is picking up words and signs all the time now! He now signs bedtime, bath, outside, all done, more... I'm sure I'm forgetting some... and has at least 8 words including Mama and Dada (finally!!)!

Friday we had friends over for dinner and are looking forward to meeting the newest Bernier in September! Saturday Riley and Eric joined the Umsteads, including Mikes daughter Brandi and her adorable family, at a little water park near by. They had a GREAT day! Unfortunately, Kyle ran a pretty high fever all weekend long, so Tracy and Kyle stayed home and out of the hot sun and fun on Saturday. As always, Kyle was a trooper and aside from him 4 1/2 hour nap and over attachment to mom, you'd never know he was sick. Kyle and Tracy did join up with the gang later that afternoon to celebrate Uncle Mikes birthday. Happy Birthday Uncle Mike!!!

Before we move on to pictures, Riley and Kyle want to shout out a Happy Anniversary to Uncle Mike and Aunt Darcy and to Grandma and Papa! Here's to many, many, many more happy years!!

Also, Riley and Kyle want to wish Ms. Renai good luck on the CPA and thank her for her loyal and loving dedication to the surratt pack blog:-)
Enjoy the pix!!

Riley ready to slide down - look at that, she is getting her entire head wet!!!

Kyle spending some quality boy time with Mitch (Uncle Mikes grandson)

Tracy and Kyle swimming

The rest of these pix are from 4th of july with Grandma and Papa - Aunt Darcy passed them on to us the other day!

Grandma and Riley - awe so relaxing...
Like father, like son
Red, white and blue trio

11pm - Red is out cold (seriously, have you ever seen his hair look so red!!)

Riley going down the water slide

Please pause the fireworks!

Happy Independence Day from Riley and Kyle!

The Surratt Pack had a great 4th of July weekend in NC with Grandma, Papa, Aunt Darcy, & Lexa. It was a water filled weekend with boating, swimming at the pool, and watching excellent fireworks over the water! The kids LOVED going fast on the boat - we heard a lot of "faster Papa!" This was Kyle's 1st outing on the boat and he couldn't get enough. The fireworks were wonderful and the weather was fantastic. Kyle held strong until about 10 and then crashed hard (we were all impressed!) and the girls stayed up until we got home (11ish) and they were all happy the entire time! We could not have asked for a better night!

Another entry to our family "kids say the cutest things":
While discussing the fireworks finally, Riley explained that the "fireworks were letting go with all their might"! She is so darn cute!

Thank you Papa and Grandma for another wonderful weekend!
Enjoy the pix!

Kyle steering the boat (with a little help from Papa)

Kyle feeding himself dessert!

Riley working on one of Grandmas art projects
More art! Riley new passion is coloring - look at the beautiful view behind her - what a great way to wake up!Ut-oh, Riley burned her finger - crisis avoided thanks to Aunt Darcy, vanilla extract, honey, and the Internet
Kyle cuddling with Grandma on the boat
Riley and Lexa getting ready for the fireworks
Papa and Kyle waiting for fireworks

Da-who??

Riley and Kyle are enjoying the summer more than ever! We have spent a lot of time at the pool with friends and family this week. Riley and Kyle both finished group swim lessons late last week and Riley began a session of private lessons with just Lexa at the beginning of this week. She has come a LONG way this summer! She doesn't want to hold on to anyone any more and bops all over the pool now (with arm swimmies on of course!). She actually LIKES the pool!!

Kyle can't get enough - he jumps in from the side, holds his breath under water, and tonight even floated face down and kicked for a while! No fussing at all, he loves it! Kyle is also saying quite a few new words... Dada, book, but no Mama! He even has a name for Aunt Darcy (Da!) but no Mama!! There is no doubt about her name - Everytime she comes hear, he screams "Da"!!

Tracy, Riley, Kyle and some friends also took a day trip to a near by beach. It was hot but everyone had a great time! We are ready for our family trip to Emerald Isle! Tracy ended up under the weather the rest of the weekend and Eric was super dad all weekend long!

Riley at the beach

Kyle at the beach with his "camera" smile!
Sprinklers in the backyard with friend Mackenzie

Dance Party!