Meet The Kirks

This weekend flew by as we kept busy with the culmination of two big events. On Saturday, we celebrated Ester’s first Gotcha Day with a little cookout. We munched on yummy kabobs and enjoyed time with the whole family. It was fun watching Jena and Ester play in the back yard. The weather was GORGEOUS! It was a perfect way to commemorate the amazing year we’ve had with our wonderful daughter. We really can’t imagine life without her now.

Then, this morning we rolled out of bed at 3:30 a.m. and drove to Lawrence for the Half Marathon. Chris had been training for this event for the past few months, and we were glad it had finally arrived. The course was tough (they actually have hills in Lawrence), but Chris survived and actually enjoyed some of it. Needless to say, we find ourselves exhausted and headed to be early this evening before our new week begins.

 

Here’s a video of some corn munchin’ and Daddy’s number one cheerleader. Enjoy.

It’s Opening Day here in Kansas and the Royals are undefeated. Nothing can fill a heart with springtime cheer like a victory by the home team to start the season. Who knows? Maybe Justice’s first baseball season will be interesting after all.

The last week has been very busy at the Kirk House. We ended Spring Break and launched back into our regular routine. Of course, before all that, we celebrated Easter Sunday with our families. Ester did her first (and second) Easter Egg hunts and loved finding the eggs (especially those with yummy treats inside). We feasted on delicious foods until we could consume no more.

This past weekend we filled out time with basketball games (Jayhawks are in the Final Four), running (Half-Marathon in two weeks!), working on the yard (Bye, bye Bushes), and trying to catch up on sleep. The kids are doing very well. Ester has mastered her possessive words now so dinner time is a litany of “Dada’s”, “Mama’s”, and most recently, “Asers.” Justice is getting more and more mobile and has started to play with toys. And for his latest trick, we present to you:

Justice Rolls Over

 

Our back porch is looking good, our front porch has a few less annoying bushes, and the Jayhawks are in the Sweet Sixteen. The last few days have been filled with yard work as we’re trying to get a jump on the growing season. We planted our first plants on Friday and yesterday began the arduous project of removing the bushes in the front of the house. Little by little things are looking better, and the kids have enjoyed the time playing outside.

Last night we traveled to Wes and Nancy’s to watch the KU game and hang out. As you can see from the video below, Ester dyed her first Easter egg and ate her first peep. The game was fairly mundane, but we sure had a blast watching the kids run around and play.

Today, is Justice’s first Easter, and it promises to be a full day. We’ll visit both sets of grandparents today, eat some good food, and share in the Easter cheer. Here’s to lots of Cadbury Eggs for all!

 

We’re back in Kansas after a great stay on the east coast. Our two a.m. arrival has left us a bit groggy, but we’re plugging away, trying to make use of the last couple days of Spring Break. Our mission is the backyard, getting our patio set up and our garden started. We’re really excited about having our first garden as a family, but trying to figure out what exactly we need to do.

Ester and Justice both performed wonderfully on the flight back. Chris gained sympathy for Ester’s mattress as the young lady tends to flail around, contorting herself like a Chinese acrobat until she finds a position is which she’s comfortable. Inevitably, this results in what does not seem to be a logically comfortable position, but apparently it works for her. We were just glad to get a little shut eye before landing in KC.

So, today we’re heading out to purchase things for the backyard and get started. In a little bit, Jason will come over to watch KU’s first round game in the tournament. It should be a nice day to spend together as a family, if we can all stay awake long enough.