a pirate's life for me!

kyri's best buddy, gabriel, had the coolest pirate birthday ever! lauri outdid herself and thought of every little thing, down to the eye patches, treasure maps and gold coins scattered around the park. even the kids dressed up as pirates, an adorable sight to see! gabriel looked awesome in his captain hook costume. i already had a renaissance dress-up dress for kyri and added a few accessories...she looked so cute! kaden borrowed garret's pirate costume and it fit him perfectly. we all enjoyed a barbecue lunch, cupcakes (lauri even made gluten-free ones too...so sweet), and hanging out on a beautiful, spring day. so much fun for gabriel and all his little buddies...sword fighting and searching for hidden treasure! we sure do love that boy and were so thrilled to celebrate his special pirate day!

kyri and her buddy, buddy.

those are some happy lookin' pirates!

cute from head to toe.

my boys.

argh!

baby pirates...too cute for words!

kaden is so sweet with karis girl.

he's done and she isn't too sure about the grass.

ahoy! beautiful pirate ahead!

jacob ready to take a whack at the treasure chest.

searching for the gold.

that's a load of loot!

fun with friends.

gabriel is lovin' his awesome pirate cake and cupcakes.

lauri did a fabulous job!

uncle andy was visiting so he joined us at the park.

kaden clung close to his andy.

all smiles and blue lips from sweet treats.

me matey's for life!

sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy.

the weather here in lincoln has been amazing! just too beautiful and sunny to not take the kids to the park. monday was kevin's day off so we made it a family outing. i love it when we get to do things with daddy too! we went to royer park in roseville since we needed to make a trip to trader joe's. royer is the coolest park! just wish it was closer.

taking pictures of my kids has become even more fun because kaden has a new smile that he does for the camera. he squints his eyes and says "cheese!" makes me laugh every time! i have such a beautiful family. i could snap photos of them everyday. oh wait, i do.

say "cheese" to mama!

tiny baby steps.

she is getting too big.

is she ever my little love bug...

beautiful one i love.

he thinks his daddy is pretty hilarious.

i'm a sucker for cute baby shoes.

how did i get so lucky?

family time is the best.

peek!

kaden face.

slides with sister.

they adore one another.

wheeeee!

sleepy on daddy.

so many things in life to smile about...

park days.

i love it when the sun is shining and it's warm enough to take the kids to the park. last week we had one of those days and our playgroup was able to head over to mcbean park in lincoln. such a great place for the kids to explore! we have been missing our wednesday morning playgroup lately with all the sick germs going around. i feel like we are finally getting back to a healthy household. cold season is my least favorite season.

it was a miracle! i actually remembered to bring my camera to the park, which is where i seem to get some of the best shots of kyri and her buddies. taking photos outside is my favorite...you just get the best natural light. it sure is getting more and more fun for kaden when we go to the park because he can finally climb on everything and play too. he was going down the slide all by himself, making his mama so proud. did i get my camera out for that? well, i tried, but then he didn't have any interest in the slide as soon as i went to get the shot. how do they know? it's like they can sense that the camera is coming. here are a few precious pics i was able to get of our cute kids!

they just light up when they all get together!

yep, she sure is cute.

so glad i always have a toy truck with me.

boys are just born with truck-driving skills.
the sound effects too.

love having a son.

checking out what the big kids are up to.

still exploring the world with his mouth.
i forget, when does that stage end?

last year of my 20's...

two weeks ago, i celebrated my 29th birthday. it was a little bittersweet, knowing that next year i will be turning 30. i know that's not old, it's just so weird to say. i feel like i've been in my 20's for so long! as i look back on my life, i am reminded that the most wonderful memories of my life have happened in my 20's...

may 3, 2003...becoming mrs. sarah hornacek.
april 2004...graduating from simpson college with a b.a. in youth ministry.
july 2005...moving to lincoln, california to plant a church.
january 3, 2006...giving birth to my beautiful kyri girl.
august 5, 2009...welcoming our precious kaden boy into this world.

i would say it's been a pretty amazing decade! there is still one more year and it would so awesome to add to the list "summer 2011...bought our very first house!" God really never ceases to amaze me with His gracious gifts for our family. there may be bumps in the road, but overall our family is beyond thankful for the life he has given us.

the weekend before my birthday, my mom drove up from chico to spend the weekend with us. we had been planning for over a month for her to come out. every year when i was younger, my mom would take me out on my birthday to lunch and to shop 'til we dropped! it was always so great to spend the day together. since it had been many years since spending an entire afternoon just the two of us, i made the plans for that to happen. it was a beautiful, sunny day....perfect for shopping at the folsom outlets. i got some new clothes and a new pair of walking shoes (much needed to replace my 8 year old pair). of course, we couldn't help ourselves and bought cute clothes for the kids too. so nice catching up with my mom and her recent life-changes. while she was here, kevin and i were able to have a date night. dinner and a movie...such a treat! we saw "the king's speech" which was fabulous!

we kept it simple this year on my birthday. kevin asked me if i wanted a party, but i thought we could just do it up on my next birthday! kevin did take the day off, which is always my most favorite thing. just to have him home. kyri had her preschool valentine's party so i took her to school and kev stayed home with buddy boy. kevin picked out just the right gifts for his girl...rachael ray muffin tin, super cool salad dressing mixer/bottle, new mustard yellow leather purse (one i picked out cause it's my new fave color!), and a camisole with a cardigan sweater from gap. that evening, we went out to dinner with the ernst family to...red robin of course! for those of you who have known me since my college days, you would know that i have gone to red robin on my birthday every year. so that's 11 birthdays now? yep. i always bring my free burger coupon too. this year i had to get a lettuce-wrap chicken burger, which just isn't the same as getting a whiskey river barbecue burger on a whole wheat bun. oh how i miss those! it was funny because as we were ordering our food, the loomis family showed up and so they joined us too! i think we were there for almost two hours, eating and hanging out. two things i love dearly.

i really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world. i have the most adorable, caring husband and two precious little loves. i couldn't ask for more.

helping mommy open her gifts.

at this stage of life, this is the best family shot you can get.

friends with their red robin balloons.

i always wanted to have a daughter.
she's more than i could have ever dreamed of.