We had a fun friend party on Julia's actual birthday (that's the one nice thing about having your birthday in the summer). She had an ice cream cake--delish!
She got to invite four friends over and we played the infamous dime in the flour game.
Presents--always a plus!
Julia penned this sign herself. Instructions, if you will, for her guests. Happy birthday little love! I'm glad you came to our family all those years ago!
I had to re-post the pictures and they showed up in the exact opposite order of how I originally posted them.
We started a new chore system and it is working fabulously! Here is the result...lots of hard work. I keep having the phrase "anxiously engaged in a good cause" pass through my mind. And I think it really is what our job is as parents. We should be working to keep our children anxiously engaged in good causes. Piano practice.
Pulling weeds.
Look how proud :)
Watching your younger sibling, so that everyone else can get some work done. Thanks kiddos for being so open-minded, responsible and running with this new system. Our house has definitely taken a major step towards becoming "a house of order"!
A fun afternoon chore of washing the van turned into Dangerville! I had them sit up there for a minute so I could snap a photo before I made them get down. Crazy kiddos! I was struggling mightily with hose issues...Last winter I accidentally broke off the handle to the faucet closest to the driveway. I was trying to get two hoses hooked together and pulled over our fence on the opposite side of the house. I came back to find this...I also came back with disgusting mud on my sandaled feet that smelled disgusting and make my feet sting. What is up with that?
The easter bunny brought Ben a crocodile...
And Haldey a kitty.
He also thought it would be fun for us to make cupcakes as a family (which we actually did and they were yummy. I decided to put soda instead of water and they were very tasty!)
This year the easter bunny thought everyone would enjoy another webkinz. Here's Ryan's Key Lime Dino...
Julia's Bluefadoodle?...
Emily's Pink Camo Dino...and the rest will have to be on another post.
Haddie sure has grown. More than anything lately she's just acting bigger. She's talking more, she has more of an idea what she wants to happen and how she thinks it should be done. My big almost 2 1/2 year old. She is kind of spoiled though. I'm working hard to start treating her like a big girl instead of a baby, and she objects. I think we all wish that we could be king (or queen) of the castle and get our own way. Poor Haddels--unfortunately, we all have to start growing up :(
Yes, this is how my kitchen usually looks. In fact, this is one of the cleaner days.
Haddels and Emmies getting in some snuggle time.
I don't know who took this picture of Ben. Actually now that I'm looking at it, it looks like he's laying on me, so I must have taken it. He is such a sweet boy. He helps his mommy remember on a daily basis that life is exciting and wonderful. That is the lens through which he views the world and it is infectious.
Emily's birthday was in March--yes, I know I am behind, thanks for the clarification (LOL!) She had four friends come over for dinner, games and cake. It was a fun party. Most of all though, we feel grateful to have Emma in our family!
Happy Birthday to a very sweet 7 year old!
Ever since she was tiny Haddie has loved dolls and stuffed toys. She loves to take care of them. It just makes my heart happy to watch her be so sweet and gently to something, even if it isn't alive. She will definitely be a good mommy some day. She bounces them, talks softly to them and totes them all over.
I've started making lots of hats. They are quick and cute and fun! Here's cousin Lyvia in the hat I made for her birthday. Happy Birthday cuz-cuz! We are glad we get to be a part of your life and we love you!
Here are Julia and Lyvia in their hats. Julia's hat is actually my attempt at making one like Lyvia's. It didn't quite turn out how I wanted it, so I finally broke down and bought the pattern.
Here' Hadley on her first vacuuming attempt. It was pretty cute. I decided after the first few pictures that I would take a video too. She's so silly!
For about two months I watched a little girl in our ward for her mom and dad while they were both having to work. Her name is Halle and she is almost exactly a month older than Hadley. They, for the most part, play super nice together. In fact, Hadley still asks for her on a daily basis. One morning they played so hard that I put a movie on for them after lunch. When I went back upstairs, because it was entirely too quiet up there, this is what I found. Both of the zonked out on the couch.
I finally, after months of feeling uber-ugly, went to the salon and got my hair done. Poor lady, I basically just told her to fix it, and she did a great job.
This is my favorite hat that I knitted for myself. I think it's actually the first thing I made that I've kept for mysel.
