Every Day Is A Gift

To the Best Dad Ever!

2011-06-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

I made a slide show for Rodger for Fathers Day...it's a little long but for the 3 people who read my blog I don't think you will mind! Enjoy!

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d1786298k1231560o1/happy-fathers-day

We love you Daddy! We hope you have a really great day!

Insect Carnival

2011-06-17T22:23:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month Macey and her 1st grade class had their Insect Carnival. It was a show with music, cute kids and a lot of smiles! Macey did such a great job! She followed along and sang so beautifully! I love to see this sweet girl do so well! She was seriously smiling the whole night. During the year at school they made their tie-dyed shirts so everyone matched, and they turned out so cute! Here are some pictures from the evening... Macey and her teacher Mrs. Wald
Some of the first grade class...can you find Macey?

Macey singing her heart out!

I love to see her smile...she is such a cute girl!

Macey, you did such a great job! I loved to hear you sing and watch you have so much fun! You are a shining star!

I Can Hardly Believe It...

2011-06-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

I am the mommy to a 12 year old! It's so crazy! But I am one lucky momma. She is one great girl! I have said this before, but if I could have a million Abby's, I would have more kids. They all didn't end up like her.:)Although, I do love all of my kiddos! Abby sure is one of a kind...pics from today...

Dear Abby,

Boy, I can't believe you are already 12. You are the most incredible little person. You are growing up to be such a great young woman. You are the kindest, most thoughtful, gentle sister and daughter. You help me so much with your sisters and you have such a loving heart. Thank you so much for being you. I just want to let you know how much I love you and how much I appreciate you! I hope that you had the best birthday ever! You deserve such great things! I love you so so much Abby! Happy Birthday!

Love, Mom

I Love Good Teachers

2011-05-06T18:42:00.001-07:00

My kids have been to a few different schools in their little lives. Some were better then others. We have been able to be in different states and different areas within those states. Yea, we have moved quite a bit, but we are hopeful that is in the past and we can remain in this area for a long, long time. Some of the great things about where we live are that I feel very safe here, we have amazing neighbors, there is a definite "community" feel here, but what I really love about being here is the schools that my children attend. The teachers are amazing and really love to teach. I know, amazing! It makes me want to cry sometimes how wonderful they have been to my children(with the exception of 1 of Abby's teachers). We are so lucky. They take time to really know the children and what will fit best for each child. One of my children is struggling and her teacher was right on top of it. She let me know and we put a few things in place for this year and next to help. I am so thankful that she was aware of my girl. So this year for Teacher Appreciation Week we did a few fun things for our GREAT teachers! One special thing we did was to make number sugar cookies. It was a FHE activity and a great way to get something made for our special teachers! The girls had such a fun time making the dough, letting it cool, rolling it out, baking and frosting the cookies. I should have taken a picture of what my counter looked like after they were done, oh my gosh! It might have been a bit embarrassing though! They had fun and that's what really matters, right?
We had number cookies(Abby took some into her math teacher), hearts(because we love our teachers) and if you notice there are clouds and rain drops(for Abby's science teacher). In science they are learning about precipitation. We had so much fun being creative and spending time together as a family! I also had the girls write little notes to their teachers to go along with the cookies. I think of all the gifts we gave this week, this was by far my favorite! I think this might become a Allen Family tradition!

We took Grandma to Six Flags...

2011-05-03T08:50:00.001-07:00

Last weekend my Mom came to visit and to spend Easter with us(Easter post soon..). We had a great time and we loved having her here! It was good to see a familiar face. On Saturday we took her to Six Flags. We had so much fun and went on a lot of great rides! I promise everyone had fun, even if it looks like I had a few sad faces in the pictures below.:) My Mom with my girls
Molly looking at the penguins. One got right up to the glass, right in front of Molly. She loved it, and we had to pull her away from them!

Macey in front of the penguins. She also loved watching them walk around and swim!

Molly while we were waiting for Grandma, Sophia and Macey to go on a little roller coaster. Too cute not to post!

Grandma, Sophia and Macey waiting in line for front seats on the roller coaster. They got lucky and lucked out that they got to sit in the very front seat. Macey loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever!

I don't have a ton of pictures of Abby because when I had my camera out she was riding a coaster with Rodger. She was there though and also had a ton of fun! We really had such a great day and loved having my Mom here to do this with. Come back soon Mom! We love you!

2 of my Favorite Things Right Now...

2011-04-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I don't normally post with videos but I found this video and loved it! For those of you who don't know this about me, I love flash mobs! I think it would be so fun to be a part of one someday. But what I am really into right now is Ujam. About a month ago I really made a goal to loose weight so I started going to the gym. I found my Ujam class. I immediately fell in love. It's like a hip-hop dance class where you just have fun and sweat like crazy! Oh, I am in love! So, I am down 10 pounds so something must be working! I am so excited for the future and I love feeling so good!

SF Academy of Science

2011-04-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's almost been another month since my last post. Time sure seems like it is flying by! We just seem so busy, but I was thankful when spring break came around. Ahh, sleeping in, having breakfast at 10am, hanging out in jammies all day and just having a nice relaxing time. No homework or practice, no alarm to set and no schedule! I love having a break from all of that, even if it is just for a week. Can you tell how ready I am for summer break? Well, one of our days during spring break was spent at the Academy of Science in SF. My friends Sarah and Judy and their families met us there. We spent the day exploring, running around and just plain enjoying our day! The girls each had a friend that was near their age, so they had fun. It always seems to go smoother, and without fights, when they have friends with them. I am thankful for such great friends and am thankful we had the chance to go and have such a fun adventure! Waiting to go inside. The sun was in the girls eyes so it looks nice and warm, but it actually was freezing! Macey in front of the water

Molly with the baby chicks

Abby and Sophia in front of the huge egg

Molly attacking her "best buddy" Bailey

Molly and Bailey feeling the star fish

Sophia, Macey and Abby with the star fish. It looks like Abby was being the little momma and explaining something to them before they touched the star fish..so funny

This huge tank with all sorts of fish. There happened to be a diver cleaning the glass from the inside. Every time he would go to wipe a smudge, the girls thought he was waving to them..that was pretty funny too.

Molly and Bailey at the coloring table

Abby and Reagan outside the gift shop. These were their choice of souvenirs. I love Reagan's face in this picture! Abby loves these glasses and has even worn them to school! I can't believe it, but I got out of the gift shop only spending $12.50 for all 4 girls! I made them buy the cheap stuff, but they were happy and so was I!

We really had such a great time and I am so glad that we went into SF to have this fun trip, even though I was a little timid about driving into SF all by myself. I had never driven alone into the city, but it ended up being not so bad! Now, we are back to alarm clocks, homework and practices. How many days till summer break?

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2011-03-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

We started the day with some green eggs and ham, green pancakes and cereal with green milk! I tried to make them eat some oranges, but they didn't want to eat them. Probably because they were not green! Sweet Abby

Yummy green eggs and pancakes...

We had such a great morning! I hope everyone had a great morning! Don't forget to wear your green, I guess I better go get some green on myself!

2011-03-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

There are 4 new posts, so keep scrolling down....I guess I got the blogging bug back!

Fun and Tummyaches....

2011-03-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun day today! It is conference week at the girls' school so they get out pretty early. They were all home before lunch today and I wanted to do something fun with them. We decided we wanted to go to the Jelly Belly Factory! We have been here plenty of times but it has been a few years and the girls thought it would be fun. Oh, we did have fun. The girls were so well behaved and really did a good job. During the tour the girls thought it would be fun to try to stay in the front of the tour group. It was hilarious to watch Macey try so hard to stay in the front. She didn't even want one of her sisters to get in front of her. She is a funny girl!
Of course we had to try the sample bar...wouldn't that be great to have one of those at our favorite restaurants? "Can I please try one of everything before I order"?

The girls right before the tour, in the very front of the whole tour group! Sophia thought that she wanted to try the hair net instead of the hat, too funny...

Here she is sporting her hair net! She wanted me to take her picture so she could see herself and what she looked like. I think she is pretty darn cute..

A picture of the girls in front of President Ronald Reagan made entirely by Jelly Belly's!

I am so glad that we got out today and had some fun! Sophia said on the way home, "We had a girls day today Mom. It was fun." I couldn't have said it better...

Too bad Molly went to bed tonight and said "Mom, I don't feel good". Let's hope it was just because she was over tired and not because she ate too much candy...we shall see. I am surprised she is the only one with a tummy ache. I think my girls ate enough sugar to last them forever!

One Room Schoolhouse

2011-03-16T21:36:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago Sophia got to go on a field trip with her class. They went to a one room schoolhouse. The teachers asked if the children could dress in clothes from the late 1800's. I had nothing that I thought would work. I made a few phone calls and found someone in the ward that let us borrow this whole outfit! It was perfect! And I think Sophia felt super special and beautiful in it! I just had to take a few pictures to remember this great outfit and thought I'd share. While I was taking her pictures she got a little idea that she wanted to spin while I took the pictures...

She really had such a great time!

Street Smarts Book Contest

2011-03-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if everyone knows this about Macey, but this girl loves to draw, paint, color, well anything that is artistic! Every night when I snuggle her and I am trying to talk to her about her day she is always coloring in a color book or cutting and pasting or drawing some cool design. Yes, she does this in bed. She has a little area next to her bed where she keeps all of her "stuff".

Well, about 2 months ago she brought home a paper that was blank with a letter explaining that there was going to be a contest. There was an author that had written a book about being smart when you are out riding your bike or out playing. He wanted the kids to illustrate the book for him. So, Macey did it! She sat down, picked out what page she wanted to illustrate and got to work! She didn't get picked for the book, but I am so proud of her that she even tried! We did get to go to a little ceremony where her artwork was on display and she got a ribbon!

Oh, I cannot tell you how proud I am of her! She is such a great girl and I love being her mom! She has since hung her artwork, ribbon and certificate on her wall, right by her bed. She is one proud girl! I love you Macey so much and I am so so proud of you!

Pictures from Sophias Day...

2011-03-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

The day always begins with breakfast in bed....alwaysStill a little sleepy, it was pretty early...

My children have been asking for pillow pets for some time now and I just haven't gotten around to getting them for all 4 of them. So, Sophia was my first child to get one and you can see by the pics that she was so excited. I swear this girls has some funny faces!

I practically always make the same cake for my kids for their birthday and it really never changes. Every year I ask them what kind of cake they want and they always say the same thing as the year before...no big deal, at least it's good!

Blowing out her (trick) candles...this was pretty cute.

The whole gang got into the mix and started helping her try to blow out the candles!

They eventually got the candles out, with a little help from Mom and Dad! I sure hope Sophia had such a great day, I think she did. I am so lucky to be her mom! I love you Sophia!

Happy Birthday Sophia...

2011-03-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

(Picture taken by Sophia)

Today my sweet Sophia turned 9! I can hardly believe it. I feel a little older today. That's Ok though, I love it. I love being able to watch these adorable children grow up! Sophia is a super fun one too! She loves to sing and dance. She loves to help me in the kitchen. She loves to push her sisters buttons and then try to get away with it. Sometimes she does, cause she is just so cute! Lately Sophia has been working so hard to memorize her multiplication facts. She had a test the other day, 100 problems in 6 minutes. She missed 2! That's it! I am so proud of her! I love to see when hard work really pays off and I'm glad Sophia got to experience that first hand. She is a little piece of heaven here in our home. She asks questions like it no ones business! She wants to know more, all-the-time. I love it though! I love this little girl so much and feel super lucky to get to be her mom! Happy Birthday Sophia!

Dear Sophia,

What a fun year you have had! Last year you turned 8 and you were baptized by your daddy. This was a very special day and we are so proud of you! You finished up 2nd grade and started 3rd. You have had a few bumps along the way but you always try your best and strive to learn. I love that about you, you have a struggle and you just push right through it! We moved again this past year and I worried about you a lot. I hoped that you would find some good friends. I think that you are still working on that, but I'm sure with time that will come. You have made us laugh more then anyone in our family. Your smile is beautiful and I can't help but smile when I see you smile, even if I don't actually want to smile right then. You are creative and smart. You are genuine and sincere, I don't think you could be any different, even if you tried. Sophia, you are one sweet, special girl and I am blessed to know you and to be your mom. I hope you had the BEST day ever and that this year will bring you only happiness! Keep being you and you will be just fine! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SOPHIA!!

Love Forever, Mom

2011-03-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

Not sure why I haven't blogged in over 2 months, it's sad really. I just wasn't feeling it and maybe I just needed a break. I am sad that I missed those 2 months on my blog and I am going to try to be better and get blogging again! It's not that I didn't take any pictures, I just didn't blog about them! So here I am trying to make up for lost time!

A few weeks ago while the big sisters were at school, Molly and I decided it would be fun to play with her play-doh. She had so much fun and I had fun just watching her! It's amazing how the simple things can make you so happy and so glad to be a mom!

Molly's Snowman..

And yes, she wears her "pretty dress" just about everyday! What's sad is that it actually tore at the seams a few days ago. I guess I need to break out my sewing machine! She does have more pretty dresses, it's just that this one is her favorite right now! It's amazing to me how big she is getting. My baby really is not a baby anymore! It's so much fun though just watching her, and all of my kids, grow and learn and become little people! They are all amazing and I am lucky to be their mom!

My Sweet Sophia

2011-01-01T20:42:00.001-08:00

Today as we were just relaxing around the house I noticed and found these little notes that Sophia has put up around the house. She is such a sweet soul. I swear there is something so special about her. I thought I should share...This is hanging on our fridge.
This picture is hanging on our craft table.

This evening Sophia ran up to Rodger and I and said that she had made us some books. These are just too sweet. Rodger was even pretty touched that she made it so personal.

She just did such a great job!

Here is the book she made for me...

(Mom loves perfume)

(apparently she knows that Rodger really loves football!)

Abby loves softball and Sophia loves dancing

I love Molly's animal!

I am so lucky to be Sophia's mom. She makes me smile and laugh everyday!

Christmas 2010...

2010-12-31T15:41:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Again, lots of changes this year but the year has ended on a good note! The girls really had a good day and really enjoyed their gifts. We ate, played, and just enjoyed the day together. I couldn't have asked for a better day! This picture is on Christmas Eve right before they got to open their PJ's. Even though they know that on Christmas Eve they get PJ's , they still get excited! The next 4 pictures are the girls in their PJ's!

These pictures are from Christmas morning...

Santa brought Molly a huge gumball machine. I think Santa brought it so when she learns how to go potty in the toilet, she will get a gumball. Well, the gumball machine is still unused. It sits on our kitchen counter just waiting for Molly to decide that she wants a gumball. She knows what she needs to do. We will see...

Santa brought Abby a cell phone...

Sophia said,"Is the cell phone real"? I told her to call Abby's phone and this is what happened. I think they were both pretty surprised that it actually worked!

Abby got some new boots...she has wanted them for a very long time...

Macey asked Santa for a Tangled Barbie. Well, Santa brought her some art supplies(which she loved. 2 days before Christmas I found the Tangled Barbie at target. I got it and she loved it! Whoosh..that was a close one!

Molly got some dress up dresses. She was very nice to share with Macey...

We had a hard time this year on trying to figure out what would be best to buy for Sophia. She is such a funny girl and she really isn't into anything in particular. Santa brought her a camera, and she totally loves it. She had asked Santa for a big horse that she could ride on, and when she came downstairs Christmas morning she couldn't find her present. I was a little sad for her, but she has gotten used to the idea of how cool her camera is. She did ask us to ask Santa next year for her horse(because he can do anything, right?). We will see....

This present is a voice recorder. I know it is a little bit of a random present, but it fits Sophia perfectly. She has had more fun recording herself and then listening to it then any other gift she received! She is hilarious!

Again, we had such a great day together and I feel very blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. As we close 2010 I just want to say that I feel blessed and lucky. We have had another crazy year full of change and adventure, but I wouldn't change it! Although I would be lying if I said that I am not ready for 2010 to be done. I am ready for it to be done! Let's see if I can go all the way through 2011 without moving...We will see! I am ready and excited for a new year! 2011 here I come!

Pictures from Molly's Day

2010-12-26T19:36:00.001-08:00

We always start every birthday with breakfast in bed. Molly was awake but waited patiently for me to bring her breakfast up. Macey was very sweet and stayed with Molly upstairs until I got up there! Here are a few pictures of Molly opening up her presents..

The next pictures are after church and while we did her cake. She really wanted to help me with her cake, so she frosted and put sprinkles on it! Look at that smile! She was having some fun!

I love this picture because Molly looks so cute blowing her candles out but also Rodger watching so closely! What a good Daddy!

Just looking at these pictures shows me how big Molly is getting. I feel like she is still my baby, but she is getting so big!

Here is the group, minus me, because I am taking the picture!

Happy Birthday Molly! I hope you had the best day ever!

Happy Birthday Molly!!

2010-12-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Molly Girl!!!

3 Fun Facts about my 3 year old...

1. She loves and adores all of her sisters, but Macey especially! She follows her around and they have so much fun playing together!
2. She is not potty trained yet! I keep trying and she has had moments where she wants to do it, but it never lasts! All of my kids have been potty trained by 3, except Molly. She didn't crawl until around 9 or 10 months old and she didn't walk till she was 14 months old, I guess she does things in her own time! Good thing she is so cute!

3. Molly and I are going to be best buddies because Macey will be in 4th grade when Molly goes to kindergarten ! Macey is in 1st grade now! So we have a few years before she gets to go to school. I think I will have to find her a preschool for sure. Because Macey's birthday is in July and Molly's is in December, they will be so far apart in school. They will never be in the same school, except elementary. It's crazy..

Dear Molly,

I am so thankful for you. You have always been such a sweet girl. You have always been pretty laid back and calm. You always make me smile, except when you had that weird stage when you would poop in the bathtub, that didn't make me smile. but I'm glad you don't do that anymore! I can't believe that you are already 3 years old. Time is going by too fast and if I could just freeze time I would. I love being your mom. Your sisters love you so much! You have one big family that just adore you! Thanks for being part of our family, we love you! And I hope you have the best birthday ever! Love love love you, Miss Molly! Happy Birthday!

Love Forever, Mom

Welcome to Christmas in Cali...

2010-12-22T17:22:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to go get our tree. While we were searching for our perfect tree, we came upon these beauties! We couldn't believe what they were going for! We have spent a few Christmas' here but I must have forgotten how much trees were here! This is just too funny not to share...

Example 1

It gets better....

Example 2

We ended up getting one of their reject trees for $49.95! Except I don't think it is a reject tree! It is beautiful and full and for a slight bend in the trunk it is perfect! I will post pictures of our tree when I post about Christmas....Hope you are all ready for Christmas, cause I am not! Soooo close!:)

Doughnuts With Dad

2010-12-20T20:28:00.000-08:00

When we lived up north we had something at the elementary school called "Muffins with Mom" and "Doughnuts with Dad". Every year we would go to school before it started with the kids and just visit with them before they had to start their day at school. We would either eat muffins or doughnuts with juice and just have a great morning together. Well, here they do it a bit different. My girls were pretty excited to go to "Muffins with Mom" and they ended up being slightly disappointed. It happened to be in the library, during the book fair and there were just little muffins on your way out, after you have probably been talked in to buying a book or two! I love the librarian and she does a fantastic job, it just was a little different for my girls. So the next day was "Doughnuts with Dad". The girls didn't want to go do that so instead I ran to the store that morning and picked up some doughnuts and juice. I know the girls loved it and they enjoyed their favorite doughnuts! So instead of doing it at school, we did it at home and I think it could not have turned out better!

The Glazed Doughnut, a particular favorite in our house!

And of course the Doughnut with Sprinkles....my 2 little ones will probably eat just about anything with sprinkles!

I LOVE making good memories!

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

I know that most of you that read this blog will get a Christmas card from us, but just in case, I wanted to share it here too!

I really hope that everyone has a really great Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Happy 12th Anniversary

2010-12-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

12 years ago I married Rodger. I can't believe it's already been 12 years! I am so blessed to have him as my husband and the father of our children! I thought that since we have been married for 12 years I would share 12 fun facts about what we have done the last 12 years!

1. We have had 4 beautiful girls

2. We have been to Maui (such good memories!)

3. We have moved a few times (I'm not saying how many)

4. We have become an eternal family

5. We love to go snowboarding and playing in the snow

6. We love to go camping as a family

7. We have been to Disneyland

8. We went to Disney World the summer of 2008(again, so many great memories!)

10. We love to go to the coast, see the ocean and always stop by the Tillamook Cheese Factory for some yummy ice cream

11. We have had many late night runs to DQ, Oreo Mint Blizzard for me and a Chocolate Dipped Cone for Rodger. We also always stop at DQ when we are on road trips for the girls. We are instilling in them, at a very young age, how good DQ ice cream is!

12. We have changed many diapers, rocked crying babies, picked up puke, had many birthday parties, spent hours at the kitchen table helping with homework, doing little ones hair, driving to and from school, providing for our family...and loved every minute of it! Well, almost every minute of it. We love being parents and we know that we are so lucky to have our children. They are such a blessing to us!

I feel really lucky to be able to call Rodger my husband. We have had such an amazing ride. I wouldn't want it to be with anyone else! I know that we will have many more memories these next 12 years. Happy Anniversary Rodger!

Museum of the San Ramon Valley

2010-11-21T20:26:00.001-08:00

About a week ago we all went to a little Museum in San Ramon. Abby and Sophia both had projects they had to do for school and we killed 2 birds with one stone by going here. They both got their projects done and we had a great little adventure! The weather was a little windy but beautiful so it made for a very fun day.
The Girls out front of the Museum

Molly all by herself. She really wanted me to take her picture here. You probably couldn't tell by her cute little pose! She is still so much my baby, but sometimes when I look at pictures of her she looks so so big. It sometimes makes me sad!

Abby exploring

Here the girls are listening to our guide tell us about how they used to make bricks and he also told us about cattle branding, why we do it and how they do it. The girls really enjoyed this!

Sophia with the Cattle Brand, she thought it was pretty cool that she got to hold it.

Macey with some houses or huts that the Native Americans made.

Abby needed for her project at school a picture of her with some kind of artwork. We thought that this was a great example of artwork, but it was suspended on the ceiling so we had to be a bit creative when taking this picture! Abby bent down and I practically had to sit on the floor to get it, but we got it! Don't mind the scary animals in the back round, I didn't mean to get them in the picture!

This is another picture of our guide telling us about things that the Native Americans made. They were all very intricate and beautiful! It must have taken them a long time to do just one!

I know that the girls had a great time and it was so much fun to explore! The girls were grateful to get out of the house and do something fun and I am so glad that we had this adventure as a family!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pictures from Halloween night. Because of the move, I wasn't really prepared this year for it. But we put together these costumes and I think they turned out pretty good! The girls had a ton of fun and really enjoyed each other and that's really what counts(and the fact that they got way too much candy)!The Group Shot!
Molly

Macey

Sophia

Abby

A friend of Abby's from school invited us over for a little party and some trick-or-treating! I think all of the kids had a great time!

Getting some candy! I'm not sure how many times I told Molly to not run in peoples yard, she didn't want to listen. She had to try to keep up with the big kids!

I thought this house was amazing! The whole yard and entryway were decorated! It was one of the last houses we went to and it was a great way to end the night!

Halloween Parade...

2010-10-31T09:25:00.000-07:00

Every year at Sophia and Maceys new school, they have a Halloween Parade and Party! I took the girls to school on Friday and then Molly and I waited about 15 minutes until the parade started. Every class gets to walk around in a huge circle, in front of all the parents to show off their Halloween costumes. It is so fun to see all of the costumes, Molly and I really enjoyed it. I know that Sophia and Macey really had a great time and felt special! Here are just a few of the pictures I took that morning, Sophia
Macey

Sophia, Macey and Molly(who had to dress up in her costume because her older sisters were dressing in theirs)in front of their school.

Macey and Molly(Molly bent down on one knee all on her own, I didn't tell her to do that but I thought it turned out to be a pretty cute picture!)

Sophia, who knows just how to pose for pictures!

Abbys Going Away Party

2010-10-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

A few days before we left, again, Abby's friends threw her a little party at the school park. It was a lot of fun and I think the girls really enjoyed it! I just wanted to share some pictures of our evening. Jenn, I am sorry that I am showing your kids again on my blog, but this is the only picture I have that turned out so cute! Forgive me! Here is the group of girls that Abby really enjoyed hanging out with. She sure does miss them all!

This is a really fun playground toy. You just jump on and twirl around. If you are tall enough you can touch the ground and twirl everyone, but as you can see Macey is not tall enough but she hung on for dear life! She has such strong hands, I think it is from being an expert on monkey bars! It really is amazing!

This is the huge sugar cookie that Deborah made for Abby! Deborah's daughter, Erin, was one of Abby's closest friends. Thanks so much for doing this for her, Deborah. We love and miss all of our friends, but we are so thankful that we will remain friends for a very long time!

Having a Hard Time...

2010-10-30T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am having a hard time putting new pictures of my girls on my blog. So if you want to see them I am going to post them on facebook. Well, at least try to post them there! Wish me luck! And I suggest jumping on over to facebook, the pictures are pretty darn cute!

That Did NOT Just Happen...

2010-10-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

This morning Molly and I were walking back from the bus stop after we had dropped Sophia and Macey off, and then IT happened. I was holding Molly all the way back and had just put her down in the driveway so that she could walk the rest of the way and she fell down. I thought she had just tripped and bumped her chin, oh I was so wrong! While she was walking up to the house she had put her arms in her shirt. She accidentaly tripped and landed right on her face and because her arms were in her shirt there was nothing to stop her face from hitting the concrete. I picked her up, first realizing that her arms were tucked in her shirt and then I noticed something missing in her mouth. It was her front tooth! When her face hit the ground, it popped her tooth right out, root and all. I searched the ground and found her tooth! I picked her and her tooth up and ran inside. I called my friend, who called her friend whose husband is a pediatric dentist and got Molly and I in right away. The Dentist told me that since it is her baby tooth, they are not going to try to save it. So, she will be toothless until her permanent tooth comes in. Seriously, it could be 5 years till this happens! I can't believe this happened. I really needed this to be a smooth week, but it never happens that way, especially when I needed it so bad! I have to be grateful that it wasn't more serious, but it has made me so sad today. I just feel so bad for her, and lets be honest, I have to wait 5 years to see her with all of her teeth! Ugh! I just wish this wouldn't have happened and if I had just held her the whole way home, it wouldn't have. Live and Learn, I guess. Anyway, here are the pictures I took of her today:

That did NOT just happen, oh wait, yea it did! Good thing I got one tough girl!

You Call My Bra-ma?

2010-09-24T12:54:00.000-07:00

This is what my sweet Molly calls her Grandmas! Her Bra-ma's. She asks me to call them everyday, I'm not kidding! She loves talking to them, even when they have no idea what she is saying. I can usually understand her, but you know how hard it is to understand toddlers over the phone! Our grandmas are very patient and kind to let her ramble on, even when they don't know what she is talking about! My mom asked the other day to take pictures when they are talking and post them on my blog, so she could see the cuteness, so here they are Mom! Isn't she so sweet? Thanks for calling her everyday so I don't have to deal with a sad little girl! Also, thanks to our other grandma because she has had plenty of conversations with my little one as well!

I could seriously eat her up! Too cute!

Why I Feel Old Today...

2010-09-22T08:03:00.000-07:00

I taught my girl how to shave her legs last night. I think I was more nervous then her! She continues to amaze me with how grown up she is becoming! I love you Abby!

First Day Of School 2010

2010-09-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's official, I have a child that is old enough to be in Middle School! I can't believe it! It seems like yesterday that she was my baby, seriously. But she did such a great job and acted so grown up. Other then a little bit of girl drama the first few days of school, she has really enjoyed it.

You can tell in her pictures that she doesn't really want me to take them, but is being a good sport about it! I missed her so much on that first day, so did Molly. When Abby finally walked in the door after school Molly just ran up to her, yelled out her name and gave her a big hug! We still miss her everyday but I think Molly has gotten used to it just being the 2 of us during the day.

Sophia on her first day of 3rd grade!

Macey on her 1st day of 1st grade!

Sophia and Macey waiting for the bus

Getting on the bus...I was so sad and happy to see them go! That's normal, right?

Macey in her classroom on her 1st day

Sophia in her classroom on her 1st day

Sophia and Macey have been doing pretty good in school. Sophia's teacher is known for being pretty strict, but that is just what Sophia needs. Macey's teacher seems to be so great and loves to teach. We have had a few situations with Macey already but hopefully she will shape up and try a little bit harder. We will see.

I am thankful that my girls can go to school to learn and grow. I feel lucky that I get to be home with them when they get off the bus, I know it is not always the situation for some families, I just feel lucky. I really hope that we, as a family, have a successful year full of fun memories and lots of learning!

Being Sick Stinks!

2010-09-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last week Molly was not feeling well. I don't know what it was, maybe the start of school and all the germs coming home or the fact that she spent 3 straight days in the 24 Hour Fitness Kids Club, but this girl was just not feeling good. I tried to let her work it out, you know, let her body try to fight off the sickness, but on day 4 I felt so bad that I just took her in to her doctor! It happened to just be her ears were a little red and her eyes looked like they might have an infection. So I got her medicine and we headed home. She seriously was such a trooper and did such a good job at the doctors! When we got home she was all ready for her medicine! She took her yummy "pink medicine" that she loved and then it was time for the eye drops. I told her to lay down and look up, which she did, then I put the drops in and then it was over! She screamed so loud, and I had only put it in 1 eye! I tried to talk her into letting me put it in the other eye but she wasn't having it! When I put the drops in she started screaming "My eye is burning! Mom, you burned my eye"! I felt horrible! Well, as soon as she felt her eye burning, and while she was yelling at me about how I burned her eye, she ran into the bathroom and got a Band-Aid to put on her eye. She got that thing unwrapped so fast and had it on her eye within seconds! I felt so bad for her, I couldn't believe that I had just done that to her! I asked her if she wanted me to kiss it, she did, so I kissed her eye for her. Then I just held her until she calmed down. I took her up to my bed for a nap and she was asleep within 3 minutes, seriously. I guess with all the drama and not feeling good really wiped her out! And...we will probably NEVER put eye drops in her eyes again!

She is feeling better and her eyes cleared up on their own...I probably didn't need the eye drops anyway! Figures.....

Macey Lost Her First Tooth!

2010-09-15T22:06:00.001-07:00

Crazy...they grow up too fast! This evening Macey pulled out her 1st tooth all by herself! I have found that if you just let them do it on their own, it makes it so much easier! I hardly even wiggled it for her! And it really only took a couple of days for her to work it out. I am so proud of her. She never really complained about it and when she pulled it out there was no crying or freaking out! I was just so happy for her! Good Job Macey! I am so very proud of you!

Macey decided that she didn't want to put her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy tonight. She really wants to take her tooth to school tomorrow to show her friends. Hopefully she will bring it home with her and not lose it! I'm crossing my fingers! So, the Tooth Fairy has the night off!

Sleeping Beauty a.k.a. Molly Grace...

2010-08-21T15:00:00.000-07:00

I have never had a child who has fallen asleep in more random places! It seems when she gets tired, she goes to sleep, no matter where she might be in the house! I guess playing and running around all the time really makes this little one extra sleepy! These pictures are from a few weekends ago when I took the older girls to the $3 theater to see The Karate Kid, which was great by the way. Rodger was at home with Molly. He had told her to go upstairs because it was time to get dressed for bed. Well, she didn't get that far, apparently she was too tired to make it all the way up the stairs so she just layed her little head down and went to sleep right there! I am very thankful that Rodger took pictures for me, so that I could enjoy this sweet moment also!

Please don't mind the mess at the top of the stairs, it's called "Being a Mom" right? I'm not the only one who has a crazy messing landing, right?

This was a few months ago. It was a Sunday morning and I was busy getting everyone ready for church. I hadn't seen Molly in a while and was wondering where she had run off to, thinking she was somewhere playing! Well, when I found her this is what I found. She had on an apron and a Pampered Chef children's hat, which was way down on top of her face. It was nice and loose though so she was breathing fine! She had been coloring in this apron and hat and found it to hard and she was just too tired! So she went to sleep, right then and there!

This last picture I have posted before but thought I should post it again since I have been sharing the random places where Molly falls asleep! I don't remember what we were doing that day, but Molly wanted to play with Play-Doh, but soon decided she was just too tired to continue playing. So she went to sleep! Such a cutie-pie!

I have said it many times, but I am so thankful to be a mommy! I am so thankful to have 4 healthy girls who are so so wonderful! I feel like I have become such a better parent as time goes by. I think about when I first had Abby and how I didn't really know what to expect and I didn't really know what I was doing. We really should have a book for that! But with each child I have grown more confident about my parenting and I am enjoying so much instead of worrying myself silly! I am so thankful Heavenly Father has let these 4 wonderful daughters come to my family and be in my life! I am soaking up every minute of it! Even when they fall asleep in the most silly places, I love it and feel lucky to be a part of it!

Sophia's Soccer Skills.....

2010-08-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

This Thursday is Sophia's last soccer game for this season and I thought I would post a little something about this season! This is her 1st season playing and I think she has improved a ton! The first game I think she still felt pretty shy, but not the last couple games! I love watching her get in the mix and really try to go for the ball! She played left defense and goalie for most of the season. She is a great defender and has learned exactly what the goalie is supposed to do(I'm not sure she knew the 1st game)! She has improved and learned a lot this season and I'm excited that she wants to sign up again! That is always a good sign! Good Job Sophia! I'm so proud of you!

What a cute kid, I am one lucky mama! Lucky that I get to cheer her on! When she makes a good play she looks to the sidelines to make sure I was watching!Then she gives me a thumbs up! I give her a thumbs up back and then yell "Watch the ball, pay attention to the ball!"That's what Mom's are for, right? I can't wait till next season, either can she!

Seaside 2010...

2010-08-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Seaside Oregon 2010

A few weeks ago my family and I went down to Seaside Oregon. We had such a great time just relaxing and spending time just the 6 of us. Sometimes life gets pretty crazy and hectic and I am just so thankful for times when we can just be us.
The girls had so much fun playing in the sand....

and in the water!

After spending a day at Seaside, we drove to Tillamook Oregon and the famous Tillamook Cheese Factory! The girls had such a great time exploring and eating some yummy ice cream!

I am such a lucky person-I got to spend the whole weekend with 5 of my very most favorite people in the world! Nothing could be better!

Dayley Family Reunion

2010-08-03T18:37:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th of July weekend we had the chance to get all of my siblings together to celebrate the 4th and to have a little family reunion. It has been about 2 years since all of my siblings and I got together but it was even longer then that since we got all of our children together! It was pretty cool to see everyone there! We all met at my oldest brother, Collins house. He and his wife, Sandy were kind enough to have us all there. We had so much fun just visiting and doing the 4th of July celebrations together. I had so many pictures so I decided to do a bunch of collages to show all of the fun we had. The collage up top is from the 4th of July parade that my brothers small town throws every year. My girls favorite part is when they get candy thrown at them. It is also of the fun they had jumping on my brothers trampoline with their cousins! They spent hours on that thing! I sure do miss our trampoline!

This collage is of my siblings and I, plus a few with my parents. The upper left picture is of all of us plus my parents. Next is my brothers followed by a very small picture of my siblings with our partners. The bottom left is my sisters and I, then a picture of me and my mom and last but not least is the bottom right picture of all 7 of my brothers and sisters. What a great time we had! I miss them! There is such a difference in each of our families it makes it pretty fun when we all get together!

After the 4th we always go to Port Townsend, a little town way up north, and go find some crabs on the beach. We quickly turn over rocks on the beach to always find little crabs hiding there! The girls love it and always have such a great time! I know most of the pictures are of Molly, but I wasn't taking these pictures, it was Abby, so I blame her for not getting any of Sophia and Macey! You can tell who she loves most!:) But really, we had such a great time seeing everybody and spending time with each other! I am so thankful for my family and am lucky to have them! I really do love them all!! Thanks for a great weekend!

Mom of the Year Award.... Happy Birthday Sweet Macey

2010-07-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Rodger called today, said he was showing our blog to some co-workers. He said "you might want to post something about Macey because I had to scroll way down to even find a picture of her!" I can't believe that and it made me so sad for her. I haven't been good at blogging lately anyway but to blog about 1 child more than another, I need to do better! This is actually the perfect time to highlight Macey because she had a birthday! A few weeks ago she turned a big 6 years old! I can hardly believe it! We had cupcakes instead of a regular cake, it makes it so much easier when you have friends over. It eliminates forks and plates, always looking for a short cut! Or does that make me cheap? Oh well, she didn't mind, she actually loved it!
We always start the day off with Breakfast In Bed. The girls love it and Macey was no exception! They always feel so special!

We opened up family presents after breakfast, this way my girls are not asking all day if they can open their presents. We get it over with in the morning and they have all day to play with their new things!

Macey got a new jump rope. She has found such a LOVE for jump roping, and she is really good at it. I really want to look into finding a group where she can improve her skills. She would absolutely be thrilled about it! Someday soon hopefully!

She has also really enjoyed reading, especially Junie B. Jones books. We read them every night before bed and she can't get enough of them. I am so glad that she is enjoying learning to read and loves it when we read together-priceless.

OK, her third favorite thing in the whole world, except for jump rope and Junie B. Jones is CANDYLAND! Oh, how this girl loves some Candyland. Well, while I was working at a little shop I found this Candyland DVD game. Could life get any better? Not in Macey's world! She was thrilled! She was very easy to shop for this year and she enjoyed her gifts so much, she uses them everyday!

So for her party we invited a few friends over for her party. We had a jump rope activity where everyone got a little jump rope and jumped up and down our yard. i think the kids enjoyed it, but not as much as Macey, I swear, look at that cute face! She was in heaven!

We also had a little coloring sheet that the kids colored. They really enjoyed it and took some great time and care in their pictures!

We had a bubble blowing contest! We gave each child some bubbles and had them try to blow a big bubble! The highlight for me was to watch the children smile and chase each other's bubble's around the yard. There was one little boy, Camden, who just smiled and really enjoyed himself. It was really cute!

Then came time to blow out her candles. She did such a great job posing for me, while I took too many pictures! I love this face, it says" Mom, take the picture so I can finally blow my candles out! Hurry up!"

Priceless-I sure LOVE this girl!

Then came time to open her presents from her friends. She had so much fun and got plenty of arts and crafts stuff, which she loves, and a few Barbies! She did really well, thanked all of her friends and shared her candy with them, which is a big deal for her! I think she had a great party and enjoyed spending time with her friends and family!

Dear Sweet Macey,

You are the Best! You have grown so much in the past year! You are such a joy to have in our family! You did so well in Kindergarten this year, learning and growing and trying your very best. I am so proud of you for that. You worked really hard and it really shows Macey! You help me at home, playing with Molly and sharing things with her. She is going to grow up looking up to you! You are such a great example to her and your older sisters as well! You are my very favorite Macey in the whole wide world! I am so glad that I am your Mommy and that you are my daughter! Always remember to be yourself and to always try to Choose The Right! You are such a sweet spirit and I am lucky you picked Dad and I to be able to raise you and help you throughout your life. I feel lucky Macey, so thank you! And Happy Birthday! I love you so much!

Love, Mom

Abby Turns 11.....100th Post!

2010-06-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

11 years ago, today, I became a Mother. 11 years ago today I felt such great pain and such great joy in the same moment. I don't have a super great memory, but I do remember this day like it was yesterday. I remember being 11 days late and thinking that she was just going to have to stay in me forever(I seriously told Rodg that). I remember going to the hospital, very scared, but trying to put on a brave face. "No drugs for me" I told the doctors, and they listened, even when I wanted them to stop listening! I remember the smell of Rodg's breath as he tried to help me breathe through the contractions, and all I needed him to do was to get a piece of gum. I remember not opening my eyes for 8 hours straight, even though I was awake. And then it happened, I became a Mom, the most glorious, wonderful event that I have ever experienced! I remember holding Abby for the first time, watching Rodg just cry out of pure joy to finally get to meet his daughter. It was amazing!

Today we celebrate Abby's BirthDay. What an amazing 11 years this has been watching this little baby grow to be a little girl and is now growing to be a teenager and soon will be an adult! Abby has brought such great joy to our family. I have always said that I was so lucky to get Abby first. She has been such a help to me, even when she was little. She knows me, and knows when I am upset even when I try to hide it. She knows her sisters and how to treat them. She is such a great example to her sisters and also to her Dad and I. I have said this before, but, I am so lucky and blessed to be her Mom!

Dear Abby,

Today is your 11th BirthDay! Time has flown by and I can't even believe that you are so big! I have had the pleasure to have a front row seat in your little life and I am blessed to have been able to witness all of the good that you have done and continue to do! You are an amazing girl, Abby. You were my first born, you made me a Mommy! For that I am so grateful! You are such a great example to your family, thank you for always being willing to help when needed. I know that Heavenly Father sent you down to our little family and I know you have great things ahead for you in your life! Always stay close to Heavenly Father, pray, read your scriptures, by doing this you will continue to make good choices for your life. Your Dad and I are very proud of you. We can't tell you enough how much joy you are to us! Thank you for being YOU! We love you more than words can express! Happy Birthday Abby!

Love,

Mom and Dad

And.....This is my 100th Post! I can't believe that I reached it! I think Abby's BirthDay was perfect for my 100th post! Yea!!!

Abby's Softball Skills

2010-06-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

When I was little I loved to play softball, well, I actually still do enjoy it! But it has been so fun to watch Abby learn how to play softball, and then to LOVE it and really enjoy herself! She has worked really hard the past 2 years to learn and to grow in her softball skills(she has played 5 seasons, but really got interested these past few years). I think she has some serious softball skills! I love it! She works really hard to do her best, and it shows. I hope she will continue to play and continue to have a blast.

She plays for a team called The Bombers! What a great group of girls she gets to play with! They get along very well and really support eachother during games. One game the coach of the other team got mad because he thought our girls were cheering too loud for our team! We beat them.:) Abby has been super lucky to have been surrounded by such a great team, and I am lucky to have met and gotten to know the parents of the other girls. We really were lucky this year. I am sad to see the season ending, but I know Abby will play next year, maybe sooner if we can find a league that plays year round!

Abby, I am so proud of you and the time and comitment that you have shown this season. You are such a great ball player and I know you will only get better from here! Good Job Honey!!!

Sophia's Funny Jokes

2010-05-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, a few nights ago while I was snuggling Sophia and putting her to bed she was really excited about telling me a few jokes she had heard that day.

Sophia: What did one post-it note say to the other post-it note?

Me: I'm not sure honey, what did they say?

Sophia: I'll keep you posted!!

Ending with genuine Sophia laughter! Love it! But it didn't end there, she had more.

Sophia: Why did the horse cross the road?

Me: I don't know, why did the horse cross the road?

Sophia: To get to the Neighhhhhbors!

Again, Sophia cracks up laughing! But wait, she still had one more joke.

Sophia: Why did the Cow cross the road?

Me: I don't know, why did the cow cross the road?

Sophia: To get to the Mooooovie's!

I then had to tell her it was time for bed. I told her she could tell me more tomorrow. That seemed to soothe her enough to go to bed! She makes me laugh so much! She is such an adorable little girl. I'm lucky to be her Mom!

We Got Egged!!

2010-04-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

The Monday before Easter just as we were getting the girls out of the bath, we got a knock at the door. I sent Rodger downstairs to see who it was and this is what we saw! Someone had "egged" our house! The front yard was covered with little plastic eggs filled with candy! We told the girls there was a surprise outside, and they couldn't get ready quick enough. But when they were ready we let them go collect all the eggs. They had such a fun time! Thanks to whoever did this! Our family had a blast!

The girls ready to go collect their eggs. They had just gotten out of the bath, that's why they have wet hair!

Our Treasures!

Thanks again to our sweet friends who "egged" our house! We don't know who you are, but we love you!

Sophia's Special Day

2010-04-13T06:45:00.001-07:00

March 20, 2010 was Sophia's Special Day. I know it's taken a while to get these posted, but would you believe this is my 3rd time trying? Yep, I don't know what it is but every time I go to post this, something happens. So, hopefully the 3rd time is a charm!The weather was beautiful that day(which we don't see a lot of in the spring around here.)! Sophia was so excited to get baptized, she could hardly contain herself! She was so sweet and ready for this very special covenant that she made with Heavenly Father. I like to call Sophia my Rainbows and Butterfly kind of girl because she is just that! She is so sweet and tries to look for the good in every situation. She tries so hard to make good choices and to be a good girl. She is her own little person and I'm just lucky enough to be able to be her Mom.

Daddy and Sophia

Showing off her BEAUTIFUL dress that my mom found for her. Funny story- my mom wanted to buy her baptism dress so she found one at a Nordstrom Rack up in Seattle. She called and said she found the dress but it was in a size 12. Well, Sophia is for sure NOT a size 12. So I told her it wouldn't work and we would just have to keep looking. A few hours later she calls me back and tells me that she made them call different Nordstrom Racks all over the country to find this dress in the right size. Well, she did. She found it. In Chicago. So, she had them ship it to me straight from there! Amazing! And to make the story even better, my mom picked it up, shipping and all, for under $50! Thanks Mom, you are the BEST!

Our little family on Sweet Sophia's Baptism Day.

Sophia,

Mom and Dad are so very proud of you! You have made such a good decision to be baptized! I hope you will always remember the good feelings that you had that day. Heavenly Father loves you and is so proud of you too! He loves you so very much Sophia! He wants you to be happy! Pease try to always choose the right, so you can have such a great and happy life! I love you so much Sophia and I am so glad that I am your Mom and you are my daughter! Keep being YOU!

Love, Mom

I Love Softball Season

2010-04-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

I love packing everyone in the car, sitting on bleachers, wrapped in a comfy blanket, surrounded by friends, and cheering for your child and her team! There is something about watching Abby play softball that makes me so nervous for her, but also so excited for her. This is her 5th season playing so she has really caught on and is doing really well! Last season she showed interest in pitching, so we have tried to help her with that. She is doing so well, and I love to watch her strike girls out! I swear I am the loudest Mom there! Sometimes I feel silly being so loud, but then I think, who cares! At least Abby knows I'm cheering for her! I sure do LOVE softball season! GO BOMBERS!

P.S. I know I have been slacking on my blog, but I am really going to do better. I promise I will be posting more then once a month! So.... stay tuned!

Broccoli Baby!

2010-03-09T21:26:00.001-08:00

She seriously loves it! Once I showed her that she can just eat it, she totally went to town! Too cute! My sweet Molly is just growing up way too fast!

Sophia Turns 8...

2010-03-07T21:29:00.001-08:00

This is how our day began. When you have have a birthday at our house, you get breakfast in bed! Sophia was pretending that she had been sleeping, but she is our early riser, so I know she had been awake for a while! But she stayed in bed waiting for her special breakfast! Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast, orange wedges, and a donut with sprinkles! Oh, she sure did love it!
She was loving this!

When you have orange wedges, you have to try to fit the whole thing in your mouth, right? Who doesn't do that?

Her new Hannah Montana PJ's

I got this dress for her at a shop for 6.50! She really loved it! I knew she would! This was here face when she first saw it, priceless!

Here it is! It was creme with gold sparkles and a broach! She opened the window and let the sunshine come in so she could see how it sparkled! And yes, again, I only paid 6.50 for it! Amazing!

Here is a dream catcher from one of her grandma and papa's! She loved it and has already hung it up in her room, giving her smaller dream catcher to her little sister, Macey! What a good sister!

She was excited about the dream catcher, but she was just as equally excited about the 5.00 she found in her card. So cute!

This is the sweetest picture of Sophia. When each of our children turn 8 years old, we get them a set of scriptures. This is what she did when she saw them. She was very happy and I think she felt very grown up. But when I look at this picture I notice her sweet hands, they look so little to me! Even though she is 8 years old she will always be my sweet Sophia!

Here are the very special scriptures

I also made a little bag for her scriptures. She liked it and her scriptures fit just perfect! It was a hit because Abby asked me if I could make her one too! So, this morning I got up and made one for Abby too!

Here is her cake, which she helped me frost!

Just waiting to blow out her candles, hurry up already singing Happy Birthday already, she is probably thinking!

Finally after a fun day full of cake,presents,breakfast in bed, she finally gets to blow out her candles! Happy Birthday sweet Sophia!

Dear Sweet Sophia,

I can't believe you are already 8 years old! How fast time has flies by! You have grown in so many ways in the last few years! You are now reading so well, working hard at school, helping mom with many things, being able to clean your own room, piano lessons, Activity Days, the list goes on and on. I am very proud of you and the sweet girl that you are! You are such a good example to your sisters. Please know and never forget how much I love you! Happy Birthday, Sophia!

Love Mom

Sophia's Baptism is in a few weeks, so pictures will be coming of this special time in Sophia's life. My mom bought Sophia's Baptism dress and I have it already. I want to post a picture of it because it is so beautiful, but I will wait until she actually wears it! Thanks Mom! Love you!

The Many Faces Of........MOLLY!

2010-03-04T23:03:00.001-08:00

You knew it was coming, Right?
Trying to stick her tongue out

Pretending to be sleeping

Don't judge, I know she needs a haircut, badly! I don't know why I am having such a hard time cutting her hair, maybe because I know she will look so much bigger! I want her to stay my baby forever!

The Many Faces Of........MACEY!

2010-03-01T22:08:00.000-08:00

I know this is the third post that is almost the same, but I have to include all of my children, so here you go! And guess what, Molly's post is coming next! We had such a fun time the other night just taking silly pictures of my girls. They loved it and I laughed my butt off at their silly faces. Macey is such a crack up, she just loves to be silly and I'm so glad she is! She definitely puts a smile on my face! Lucky, lucky lucky! That's what I am! I am lucky to be her mom!

The Many Faces Of........SOPHIA!

2010-02-26T17:55:00.001-08:00

She's doing The Robot

Man, I sure do LOVE this girl!

The Many Faces Of........ABBY!

2010-02-24T23:39:00.000-08:00

She sure does make me laugh! What a great daughter she is! I am so lucky to have her as my daughter!

Sisters Are The Best!

2010-02-24T00:56:00.000-08:00

You probably think this post will be about my 4 lovely girls and how I hope they remain best friends and take care of each other forever, but it isn't. This post is dedicated to my lovely sister, Amy! I came upon this book that my sister, Amy gave to me about 3 years ago. I hadn't read it in a long time until tonight and I thought I would share. In the front cover my sister wrote me a little note, Sabra, I am so glad you are my sister! You have made my life a happier place. Thank you for always being there!I love you! Love your big sister Amy.

Sisters Understand Each other Because They Share The Same Roots

There is no one in the world like you

You are my friend

and my sister too.

You know the histories and stories of where our lives come from.

Together we share precious memories of the past...

and delight in whatever may come.

You are wise honest and true

I value your advice and opinions

and thank you for always being there to speak to.

I trust and count on you with all my heart...

even though we sometimes disagree, nothing could keep us apart.

Your smile and laughter are a comfort to me,

only you understand what is so very funny.

I love you for caring and believing in me

I am grateful we grow from the same family tree.

OK, aren't sisters the BEST? I am lucky to have 2 great sisters and 4 great daughters who I get to watch be great sisters to each other!

Molly + Oatmeal = Big Mess!

2010-02-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Enough said! It was a big big mess, but at least she's so darn cute!

Images from Today.....

2010-02-20T00:12:00.000-08:00

She fell asleep while playing with homemade play-doh, yep right there, sitting straight up in the chair!
Macey eating her yummy ice cream, only after I made her eat all of her dinner. Surprisingly enough, she was not the one who gave me a hard time about having to eat all of her dinner before ice cream! That one is the stinker pictured below!

Don't let that cute face trick you, I had such a hard time getting Sophia to eat her dinner even after she knew she could get some ice cream after it! Obviously from the above picture, she did get her ice cream, after she ate everything on her plate from dinner!

Molly enjoying her dessert

My sweet pre-teen Abby. I really can't believe how fast she is growing!

These next pictures are of Macey and Molly in their matching footed pajamas. Molly loves to be just like her big sister. They sure do make a great team. Macey takes such good care of her little sister. I do enjoying watching them play together!

I sure do love these little ones in my life. They keep things in perspective for me. Whats really important, and whats not. They teach me to be patient and loving. And when I show them those things, they show them right back, and I love when I see that! How blessed I am to be lucky enough to have such great little people in my life! I love you girls!

I'm Feeling A Bit Creative!

2010-02-06T18:13:00.001-08:00

I know, crazy, that this is my second post today but I am feeling a bit creative today! I was reading my friend Jill's blog and she had a link to another blog(cause you do know I am a blog stalker!)and I found this super cute blog. You can go to theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com. Her blog is called Craftiness in not Optional. It is a very cute blog and if I knew the correct way to link her blog to mine I would totally do that, but I'm not that good yet! So, if you want to check it out you will just have to type in her blog address! So this is one thing that I found(out of many cute things)that I thought I wanted to try. She calls it The Ruffly Heart Shirt. She has a whole tutorial about how to make it and she gives you step by step instructions. It really is great. So, this is how mine turned out. I think pretty good for my first time! Now I just have to talk Macey into wearing it to church tomorrow with her little jean skirt, and her new hair clips(from the post below)! I can't wait!

I love it and can't wait to make more! Don't be surprised to see more of these! You know I do have 4 girls and wouldn't that be cute to have matching Valentine shirts! Oh, I can just see it now!

My New Favorite Things....

2010-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

So, these are my new favorite things, except for my family of course! Having 4 girls makes me a bow lover, just because! But, I think even if I didn't have girls I would be in love with these hair clips! Last night my friend Jill asked if I wanted to come over to her house to make hair clips after our kids went to bed. We made these hair clips and just visited with each other until midnight! What is funny about that is we had no idea it was that late! Time sure does fly by when you are having fun! Thanks so much Jill for inviting me over, I really had such a great time! Here are a few up close pictures of just some of the hair clips that we made.

They were so super easy, I was surprised at how fast they went. These types of hair clips are so much easier then the bows where you cook the ribbon,cut the ribbon and then glue the ribbon to the clip! Although I do love those bows too! The frame where I hung the hair clips is an old frame that I glued 3 rows of ribbon down the frame and then just clipped the hair clips to the ribbon. I think it turned out pretty cute! It was a great way to end a good day!

My Sweet Girls

2010-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

So I just figured out how to do this with my picures! I hope you all enjoy! I only can do this sort of collage, I havn't figured out how to do any other kind. Any suggestions?

Too Cute Not To Post!

2010-01-24T17:42:00.001-08:00

So the other day this is what Molly REALLY wanted to wear. We were staying home that day so I didn't mind! Rodger saw her and told me I HAD to take a picture and post it on my blog, so here it is! She might hate me when she gets older and I'm ok with that! It's just too cute NOT to post!

Macey and Molly

Guess What I Did Today?

2010-01-12T18:21:00.000-08:00

I cleaned out my closets(and front porch and laundry room)! Fun, fun! I don't stuff my closets when I clean, instead I just ignore them. I'd like to think it's my kids that shove things in the closets when I ask them to clean! Well, however they got so unorganized I thought today would be a great day to clean them up! So enjoy my before and after pictures! BEFORE
AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is my sweet girl helping me today! OK, she's really not HELPING me, but she sure did look cute in her dalmatian coat, pink and black tutu and her orange and black pj Halloween bottoms!

BEFORE(Yep, that's my Christmas tree!)

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

OK, so it's not perfect but it is way better than it was! So, I will take it! It does make me happy to be organized, even if it is just in my closets(and front porch and laundry room)! Hopefully I will keep this up and clean the rest of my house tomorrow!

Snow Falling = Happy Children

2010-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am only a few weeks late, but look what we got! SNOW! I know, I know, I am sooo lucky! I love to see my children's faces when they get to play in the snow, it's kinda like Christmas morning. They get so excited and have so much fun together.
Abby was so excited to get out there and play in the snow. When it first started snowing Rodger and I were at a movie and the girls were at a friends house. We got a text from our friends who were watching our kids to please bring over snow clothes when we got home. WHAT? It is snowing right now? When we went into the theater I hadn't even heard of snow in the forecast! We were not expecting snow at all, so during the movie we both went out and looked to see if it was really there. It was falling so much! The movie we saw was Avatar, which is a good movie, but way too long when all you want to do is leave so you can go play with your kids in the snow. The movie could not get over quick enough!

Macey, Kamryn and Sophia playing in the Snow!

Sweet Molly enjoying her first time in the Snow. She loved being out there! She is such a trooper, Molly would live outside if she could. She LOVES being outside, even when its cold!

I thought I would add this picture. Rodger's sister Pam sent the girls some winter accessories and I thought I would share! It kinda goes with my SNOW post and I think my girls look so cute!

Someone Had A Birthday!

2009-12-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

My sweet Molly turned 2 yesterday! I was going to blog about it last night, but I fell asleep too early. So, a day late isn't so bad! Wow, I can't even believe she is already 2. The last 2 years have gone by so fast! She is still my baby though, even though I can feel the terrible 2's creeping upon us! She has been talking so much lately, she really wants us to understand her. If we can't understand what she is saying she will grab your hand and show you what she wants you to see! She gets along so well with her sisters, they sure do treat her like the baby of the family! I am so happy that my girls have each other. I tell them when they fight "You better be nice to each other because you have each other forever! You can never get rid of your sisters!" They love that one!

Here is Molly this morning before church. I didn't know what to get her for her birthday, since it is 1 day after Christmas, and she is into pretty dresses, so I got her this dress. I went to the store on the 26th and found this $45.00 dress for $15.00! I couldn't pass it up! I also got it in a size 4 so she can wear it for a while. She LOVED it and felt like a princess in it! I ask her all the time if she is my princess and she always says "Uh Huh"(Yes!).

Probably from watching her sisters blow out the candles on their cakes from past birthdays, Molly knew just what to do when it came time to blow out her candles! Rodger and I were both pretty surprised by it! She did such a good job!

She also knew that underneath the pretty wrapping paper were probably some really great toys, so she just ripped right into her presents! I guess I never realized how much she watches us and how much she knows! It also probably helped that Christmas was the day before and she had plenty of practice then!

Here Molly is with a blanket that her Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jeff made her. I'm not sure why but she LOVES blankets, which she calls "GG's". It's pretty cute. She also likes to be wrapped in them a specific way. She is pretty particular about her "GG's" and she loved this one and slept with it last night! How lucky I am to know my sweet Molly, as well as my other girls! Sooo, Happy Birthday Molly! I LOVE You!

To My Sweet Molly Girl,

Happy 2nd Birthday sweetheart! I am so glad that you chose me to be your mom. You make me happy everyday with your sweet smile and personality. Even though you are my 4th girl, and I had hoped that someday I would have a son, I would never trade you for anything! I am lucky to know you and I feel like you are here for a purpose and that you have some GREAT things to do here! When Dad and I found out that we were having another girl, we were soo happy! You have seriously been a ray of sunshine in my life. My hope for you is to have a long happy life, chasing your dreams and being the amazing person I know that you are! I love you! Happy Birthday!

Love, Mom

From My Family To Yours

2009-12-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, in my time zone it is still Christmas, so Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a really great day full of family, friends, food, smiles, PJs, movies, presents, more food! You all know the drill! Well, we had such a great day today! The girls woke up early, but not too early. Waking up on Christmas morning around 7:15 isn't so bad! Here we are as a family on Christmas Eve. We let the girls open up PJ's then. They loved them! I had bought them some jammies from Wal-Mart, but I went to a service day at my church and won PJ pants for everyone in my family! So a lady from my church made some matching pj pants for my girls and for Rodg and I. I bought their shirts at a consignment shop. So they are not all the same, but I thought any shade of pink would work-and they did! I spent a whole $10.50 on all 4 shirts! And to make the story even better, I had consigned some of my girls old clothes and got $10.35 back! So I really only paid 15 cents for their shirts! Sweet! I love a good deal! AND to make the story even better, the Wal-Mart PJ's were WAY to big and never would have fit my girls and they wouldn't have had any PJ's for Christmas! Oh, I am out of breath! I'm soo glad it all worked out!
My cute girls on Christmas Eve 2009

I LOVE this picture of Sophia! They were so excited about opening their presents as well as giving what they had purchased for their sisters and Rodger and I. A few weeks ago their was a thing called Winter Wonderland at their school. It is a place where parents can bring their kids to purchase gifts for their families at a pretty cheap price. I happened to be working that weekend so Rodger took all 4 of them! I was pretty impressed! They loved to see the look on their sisters faces when they opened the gift they had gotten them! P.S. Sophia is holding the PJ's from Wal-Mart! You know, the ones that are too big, the ones she won't be able to wear until she is 14? I hate Wal-Mart sizes sometimes!

Abby with her gift from Santa. She asked for a Tamagotchi, and that is what she got! She took care of it today and really had a fun time learning all about it!

OK, I know what you are thinking! You got Rodger a WHaT? A Nerf Sniper Rifle? He is grown up, right? Yes, he is my husband of 11 years, yes he is the father of my 4 girls and yes he loves Nerf guns! He had so much fun with it today!

Santa brought Macey and Molly this craft table. It is so very cute and they played with it ALL day, I'm not kidding! They sure did forget quick that this was not what they had asked Santa for! I'm so glad that they are so happy.

My girls, together. How sweet they are and what a sweet job I have being their Mom! Merry Christmas girls! I hope you had the best day ever!

So, to all of my friends out there that I did not call today, Merry Christmas! At least for the next 40 minutes! Love you all!

What A Difference A Year Makes

2009-11-30T21:29:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would post tonight about where we were 1 year ago, and how far we have come since then. Last year we were living in California, for the 2nd time, and loving it. We really did love it there. The beautiful weather, the great ward, and the most awesome friends ever! I have a few great friends here, but I do miss my friends in California. It wasn't just my friends, but my girls had such great friends too! We had the Redfern's, which are family to us. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with them last year. Oh, I sure do miss them! It seems so weird sometimes to think about how many times we have moved in the past few years, and all that comes with that. I am grateful my kids have adjusted well and are just happy to have each other. We have had a few job changes, school changes and so on. But we all seem to be doing good. Last year at this time, I really didn't know where we were going to end up. Were we to stay in California or go back to the Pacific Northwest? We prayed and waited, and waited and prayed. Finally an answer came that we were to pack up again(10 months after we had moved back down to Cali.)and go back up north. I am so thankful that we got an answer to our prayers.
This year our Christmas might be a little smaller, our tree might be a little smaller, but I think our girls will be just fine! The picture above is of our tree last year in our 2nd Cali. home. The girls have grown so much since then! It's amazing how fast they grow-and you don't really notice it until you see old pictures!

Molly-1 year ago. She wasn't walking, in fact, she had just started crawling a few months before! She has always been such a great baby! Can't believe how much she has grown!

Here we are last year in front of The Oakland Temple during the Christmas Season. They decorate the whole grounds with lights. It really is a sight to behold! We have some great memories of the Oakland Temple! Making a goal of going every month-and doing it, waking up way too early to go with the sisters in our ward for a very early morning session, spending time with my eternal companion in the most beautiful place ever! We sure do miss it!

The girls in front of The Oakland Temple

Here are my girls, last Christmas, waiting to be able to go down stairs to see what Santa had brought them. I know we were not in that house very long, but we sure did make some great memories! Christmas mornings are always good memories! They had such a great time last year! Opening presents, playing with presents and doing fashion shows in their new clothes is etched into my memory. Like every other place we have lived, memories. But if we hold onto those memories, we can always go back and be thankful for that time in our lives. No matter what our trial is, always try to create memories, and hold those ones from the past close. I know we no longer live in Cali. but we are grateful to have had that opportunity to create so many wonderful memories! I can't wait for this upcoming Christmas Season, to see the excitement in my children's eyes, to feel the cool crisp air, to spend time with family, to make memories that will last forever.

Bring It On!

NEW MOON!!!

2009-11-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

Just a little excited about the new movie coming out tonight! A lady from our church rented a whole theater at a place called Cinetopia! They have a Living Room Theater, which we got, and no one under 21 can go in! So tonight I will be hangin' with all of my friends from church watching New Moon! Oh, I almost forgot to say, we get to see it at 8:30 tonight. 3 and a half hours before it actually "gets released"! I am so excited! I am one lucky girl!

Love Those Smiles!

2009-11-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

I love the smiles on my children's faces and the ones on the pumpkins too! This year when we carved pumpkins, we let the girls pick out what kind of face they wanted and then Dad carved them out! It was a lot of fun just watching the girls gross out at the insides of the pumpkin, but the next second they were smiling because they saw their finished pumpkins! It was really cute! Here's Molly trying to smile and to hold that heavy pumpkin up! she did such a great job!
Here is Macey with her super happy, super smiley pumpkin!

Abby cleaning out her pumpkin, she is the only one who did this(except for Mom, of course!)! My brave little one! Abby, with the help from Dad, cleaned and carved her whole pumpkin. Way to go Abby!

Here is Sophia with her toothless Pumpkin! Looks like Sophia wanted to look like her pumpkin this year! She has lost a lot of teeth in the last 6 months! Here's hoping they all straighten out! Her teeth look like they are not coming in straight, should I worry about that? Oh well, she is one cute toothless girl with her toothless pumpkin!

Here are all the pumpkins out on the front porch. Abby's is in the middle, the sad pumpkin. I don't know why she wanted a sad pumpkin, maybe just to be different from her sisters! But we all had such a great time as a family carving pumpkins. Its too bad that Halloween comes and goes too fast! Until next time!

PUMPKIN PATCH 2009

2009-10-17T21:09:00.001-07:00

I love October. It is the start of fall and all of the festivities coming in the next few months!I love pumpkin patches! I love the hay rides, hot apple cider, corn maze, hay pyramid, bale maze, pumpkin launch, and of course, searching a huge field of pumpkins to find our perfect pumpkins! This year we had a great time and I do believe we found our perfect pumpkins! My 4 beautiful girls with their pumpkins
Abby, Kamryn, Sophia and Macey at the top of the hay pyramid, boy was that fun for them! They probably could have done this all day.

Molly with her pumpkin

Macey showing off her pumpkin

Sophia posing with her pumpkin

This is the best picture I got of Abby with her pumpkin. She did such a great job picking out her pumpkin. Because we have 4 kids, and no chance of getting a wheelbarrow(there were so many people waiting in line for one. We probably would have waited at least 30 minutes) , we told our girls that they had to pick pumpkins they could carry out. They all did really good and carried them pretty much all the way out! Way to go Ladies!

Here they are carrying their pumpkins out

Here's Molly. Apparently, she did not want to be held while leaving the pumpkin field. But if she walked, well, we still might be there! Bless her heart!

They had little stations where you can wash your pumpkin and make it clean, so you don't have to get all the dirt from the field in your car! Such a great idea!

This was the last picture I took that day, my camera battery died. Who goes to the pumpkin patch with your whole family and doesn't make sure your battery is charged? Um, well, I do. After we let the girls play in the corn pit(kinda like a sand box but with corn), we still did the pumpkin launch, bale maze, corn maze and the animal petting area. Yep, missed it all! Oh well, the pictures I have, I LOVE! So, a little word of advice - ALWAYS make sure your camera battery is charged when you are going on a fun outing with your family! And if you accidentally forgot to charge your battery and it dies, try to go on smiling while you are crying on the inside!

Yep, You Guessed It!

2009-10-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

Yep, you guesses it! Sophia is holding a maxi pad! So, here's the story. The other day I was in the kitchen making breakfast while Sophia and Macey were looking through some old magazines that my mother-in-law brought over. The magazines were Good Housekeeping and Woman's Day and things like that. I had no idea that they put samples inside their magazines! I had no idea until Sophia said "Hey Mom, Look!" I look and see that she is holding this maxi pad! She said"Mom, this is great! You can use this for your running! When you run you can put this on your foot for padding!(picture #2)" I couldn't help but laugh a little and told her that was a great idea. I told her to stay right there because I HAD to get a picture of this! She was nice enough to pose for me! I did have to try it out a bit, but did not get a picture! Macey wanted to get in on the fun so she had to try it out too. She is so sweet and innocent! She really thought she had found a treasure!
Trying out the "running pad"

Macey sporting the "running pad" too!

I love sweet memories like this! I'm glad I blogged about it before I forgot how the story went! I will remember it forever! I'm sure I will be able to hold this over her head when she gets bigger! Ha Ha!

3 New Posts...

2009-09-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that there are 3 new posts below-so keep scrolling down! Apperantly I like to blog all at once! So, Enjoy!

This Ones 4 You...Mom

2009-09-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

Alright Mom, I did it! And I had fun doing it! Who would've ever thought that I could be handy enough to sew? Well, I did it! I am proud of myself! Yea me! A few weeks ago my mom was coming for a visit, I asked her if she had any old sewing machines that she would give me so that I could learn how to sew. Well, she brought me this sweet machine, she says it's old, but it basically looks brand new to me. I have been playing with it a little,but today Rodger needed me to make a few bean bags for when he is out officiating on the football field. Sooo, I had to go to JoAnn Fabrics to get some fabric and the beads to go inside. And only my mom, I think , knows how much I used to HATE JoAnn's. It wasn't so bad this time though, although I did have to bribe Molly with a huge bag of gummy bears so she would stay in the cart! We got through it and made it home in 1 piece. Then the sewing fun began!

The machine my Mom brought for me, Thanks Mom! I LOVE it!
Aren't those bean bags awesome?:)

My beautiful, or not so beautiful handy work. They aren't all that pretty but they work and it was fun!

Oh my gosh! Me behind a sewing machine-and smiling!

Look at those hands!

I am really concentrating hard! I was making a bean bag for heavens sake! Ha Ha!

My Mom also brought a bunch of fabric so I took the time to sew up the sides to make this pretty table cloth. I think it will be a good one for the seasons coming up!

The machine does close to 40 different stitches! So super cool!

Here it is, finished product. I like it!

Please do not look at how straight my lines may or may not be. I tried and it was my first try! I will get better!

Well, I really had a lot of fun today with my sewing machine! Thanks again Mom for such a sweet gift! Remember, I am making pillowcases for everyone this year for Christmas! Wish me luck!

20 Minutes A Day

2009-09-25T23:05:00.000-07:00

You know that saying that children need to be read to for at least 20 minutes a day, well, we cover that, and then some! Molly is my little sidekick and we do everything together, especially since all of her sisters are in school everyday! But when her sisters come home, she tries so hard to keep up with them! She loves her big sisters! Another thing that Molly is lovin' is BOOKS. I am so happy that she is so excited about them. She would have me read to her all day every day if I would! She has a little green bag that she carries her Disney board books in. When I say that she carries the bag around I actually mean that she sleeps with them, takes them where ever she goes, and cries if she can't find that little green bag! The following photos were taken when Papa Rocks and Grandma came over. I had picked up some books for Molly that morning and she was sharing them with Papa and her sisters. Too sweet. Macey huggin' her little sis'
Molly getting all of the attention! She is Loving it!

Sharing her Books

Cutie Pies

The Wheels On The Bus....

2009-09-25T22:41:00.001-07:00

Macey is loving school, just in case you were wondering! She is in all day, every day kindergarten and is already starting to make progress! Her teacher has said that she is a hard worker and that she really is enjoying school! I am so happy about this news. I knew that she would either LOVE school or HATE it. She's that kinda girl. So when I heard that she really likes it, I really could not be happier for her! Another part of school that I know Macey loves is the bus ride to and from school. I am thankful that all 3 of my girls can ride the bus to and from school together, if for no other reason, that they can watch out for eachother! But I thought I would highlight Macey a little bit on her first day riding the bus to school! Macey ready to hop on that bus! She wasn't even scared one bit!
My 3 big girls waiting for the bus on the first day that Macey could ride the bus.

Thanks for stopping Macey and posing for Mom! Such a cute girl!

I love this picture of her. The bus is so big and she looks so small in it!

When she got to school someone was waiting to help her find her class. She really did a great job! I am so proud of my little Macey! She is just making me so proud! I was really nervous for her but she just keeps on surprising me with what a great girl she is! I love Miss Macey! Your Mommy loves you so much and is so proud of you!

Summer Has Finally Ended!

2009-09-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds really bad, but this summer has been pretty crazy. I also know I have said it a lot, but a lot has happened this summer! With the 3rd move in 3 years, job change, moving the girls again, and all that comes with that I am so happy that we can now look back on this past summer, instead of living it! Don't get me wrong, we did have a lot of great memories this past summer it's just that I am glad that my girls finally have some sort of schedule now that SCHOOL HAS STARTED! I think this past summer was the first summer that I was ready for them to go back to school. They were just really getting on each others nerves. It was not so much fun when they would start. It's good now that they each have their own things and they can be away from each other a little each day! Hopefully it will make them grateful to be around each other a little more, instead of fighting all the time. Here are some photos of their very first day! Macey, Abby and Sophia waiting patiently to go out to the bus while Mommy made them pose for the photos!
Macey ready to go

Sophia with her backpack full of her supplies. She did get to unpack them once she got to school, so she came home with a much lighter backpack!

Abby being a good sport posing for a photo op

Abby and Sophia at the bus stop

Macey about to go in her Kindergarten room for the first time!

Macey and her friend Kamryn. They really are the best of friends! I hope they will be in the same class together!

Macey and Mom on the first day:) I was a little sad to see that she really is a big girl and growing up way too fast!

Sophia with her friend Gabby in class

Abby at her desk! Such a big kid! She is going to be in middle school next year:(!

OK, so on a side note, I ADORE these shoes! I don't know what it is, but every once in a while I can find shoes that I totally fall in love with! These are my favorite right now. I hope she can wear them for a long time, so at least I can stare at them longer! Ha Ha!

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to all who helped with getting my girls ready for school. I really couldn't have done it with out you all! Grandmas and Aunties-THANK YOU!

So for now on, when the 3 girls are at school, Molly and I will be relaxing and spending some good quality time together! Can't wait!

Do You Think......

2009-09-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

Do you think she likes her hair bows? The answer to that is, yes, she loves them. Well, at least last night she did! We were having a presidency meeting last night at my house. We were talking about Super Saturday coming up(for my church). They were talking about a hair bow class. Well, I do not consider myself an expert but I have made a few bows in my time! So I asked Sophia to bring ours downstairs so I could show what kind of bows I had made. We didn't get that far. As soon as they were downstairs one of the women started putting them in Mollys hair, and Molly LOVED it! She sat still for every single bow! It was pretty cute! So the following pictures are Molly showing off our bows! I guess the women did get an idea of the bows I had made, from our model, Molly! PRETTY GIRL
OH MY GOODNESS!

She will hate me for this later, and I'm not sure you can tell, but she has her finger in her bellybutton! She LOVES her bellybutton. When she goes to sleep I have to put her in 2 piece outfits so she can get to her bellybutton. She hates those zip-up jammies. Actually to be honest, she doesn't play with her bellybutton just when she goes to sleep, but all the time! If you ask her where her "button" is she will gladly pull her shirt up and show you! So sweet!

LOOKS HEAVY, RIGHT?

PICKING OUT HER NEXT BOW

MAKING SURE SHE HAS ALL THE BOWS!

MY BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL!

Summer Fun

2009-08-27T10:37:00.000-07:00

So, this summer has been an interesting one. We moved at the beginning of the summer along with a job change for Rodger. We unpacked pretty quick and tried to start our new normal. We only have one car right now and that pretty much sucks! I have dealt with it fine, but I can't wait to get another one! So, because of that we haven't been able to get out a ton, hence the lack of photos, hence the lack of posts! So, sorry I haven't been posting a ton lately! Well, I looked at my memory card this morning and I only had 16 photos on it for the last little while. I felt bad for not taking more photos but here are a few that I wanted to share from the last few weeks.

So, Molly's hair is pretty crazy and its getting pretty long, especially in the front. One morning before breakfast I pulled her hair up so she wouldn't get breakfast in it(which happens all the time!). This is how her hair laid. She reminds me of someone who should be in a Dr. Seuss book. I know, I know, I should get her hair cut, but I know when I do that she is going to look like a big girl and not like my baby anymore! I probably should soon though-I'll post photos of that big event when it happens!

Abby got sick, had a fever and a bad cough a few weeks ago. She is a pretty tough girl but I felt so bad for her. She just looked like she didn't feel good. I hate when my babies are sick. The fever has since gone away but the cough is still around. I hate how long it takes to get over a cough! Hopefully by next week and the first day of school, the cough will be gone!

One day Sophia and Macey decided to have fun out in the garage. They took out sleeping bags, took their lamp out and had some snacks. I am not sure what they played, but every time I peeked out to check on them they were having a blast! (One of the few times these two got along this summer!) I do love to see my kids using their imagination!

One night we had a Spa night at home. We took out lotion and gave each other massages! It was fun! Molly really enjoyed getting her feet rubbed by Abby. She also enjoyed the eye mask! We all took turns rubbing feet and backs, so everybody got a turn! We just got photos of Molly because I thought it was so funny that she was wearing the eye mask. All my other kids did get a turn, maybe I should've gotten photos of them too! Sorry guys!

So, all in all we have had a good summer. Although I cannot wait for school to start! I will have 3 in school, Yay! I feel like we have made the most of this summer. We did have a few trips to the lake and 1 camping trip(of course, no photos). Sorry, I will try to do better with that! But I do think my girls have had a good summer. I am thankful for all that we got the chance to do this summer, now bring on Fall and Winter, I am ready!

Rambling-That's OK-Right?

2009-08-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Don't know why I am feeling a little happy/sad right now. I went to look back in old photos to see if I wanted to blog about any of them and I came across these photos and I got a little pit in my stomach. I don't know why. Maybe because Abby is going into 5th grade this year-her last year of elementary school. Maybe because Molly will be 2 this year. Maybe because in these photos we are in our last house in California. Maybe because I am so happy, even though we have moved a lot lately, they still look happy. Maybe because I miss California and my friends there. Maybe because I feel old when I think I actually have a child who is in double digits! I will stop rambling! I just want to say how thankful I am to be ME! Even though I feel old and we move a lot and my kids are growing up too fast. I really feel blessed to have my sweet husband and my children. They are why I am here and why I do the things I do. Just look at these smiling faces, how can you NOT feel blessed?

Have a really great day!

One Hot, HOT Week!

2009-08-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

The last week in July we were able to go to my mom's house in eastern Washington. It was a lot of fun, but it was one of the hottest weeks of my entire life-I'm not kidding! There were some days when the temp was well over 100 and my moms house is beautiful, but not air conditioned. I am happy though that my mom came and got us and that we were able to spend some time together this summer. We did a lot of fun things and I think the girls had a really great time. Sorry for all the pics, but I couldn't decide! And I just figured out how to put more then 5 pics on each post- so I went a little crazy! Sophia eating her marshmallow after we made smores at my moms friends house, The Allen's. They were very nice and the girls loved playing hide and go seek in the dark a little later.
In my moms backyard they have a field where 2 donkeys and 1 horse live. They were very nice and ate carrots and apples right out of their hands!

First night there, we played out in the yard. The girls had a lot of fun out in the yard! We spent many hours out in the yard with the sprinklers on!

My Mom and Steve with the girls on our first night there! Enjoying the beautiful sunset!

Macey and Molly at The Children's Museum. Macey loved these outfits! She loved them a bunch when she found the first outfit and put it on- but when she found the second outfit for Molly she was on top of the world. It's kinda funny how silly things like this can really make your kids day. The outfits reminded me of Dr. Seuss and Thing 1 and Thing2!

Abby, Sophia and Macey in the Restaurant at The Children's Museum. They loved to take your order, get it ready and bring it to your table!

Macey ordering at the Restaurant

Molly and Daisy Mae, one of my Moms dogs. Molly just loved them and they were very patient with her and let her pet them and lay on them.

One of the many times my girls played out in the yard with the sprinklers on. They were in such a hurry to get out and play, some didn't even put their bathing suits on! Grandpa would turn them on for 40 minutes at a time, so I don't blame them for just running out there fully clothed! He was great about turning them on whenever we wanted to go play though, Thanks Grandpa!

When we lived in Cali (for the 1st time) we had sister missionaries in our ward that were amazing! I don't know why but there was one sister missionary that I completely felt a bond with. She is one amazing person! Well, after she left the mission and we moved we kinda lost contact. We found each other again just a few months ago on facebook. We found out this summer that when I was at my moms, she would be just a few hours north on her vacation. She was sweet enough, with her new husband, to come and visit us. What a sweet thing to do, right? We had a great visit-even though it was scorching hot! We caught up on our lives and just had such a good time catching up!

Molly at Saturdays Market at my moms booth sporting one of my Moms hats that she makes. My mom is really talented that way. She makes hats and half-gloves. Her booth is pretty amazing! I think my Mom should put this picture on her sign that she hangs over her booth!

Here is my mom and Abby at her booth at The Saturday Market.

Molly eating her smore minus the graham cracker and the marshmallow. So that just leaves chocolate, yup, that's all she ate! She threw the other stuff away-who needs that extra stuff anyway?

Abby with Sister Allen roasting marshmallows in the sweltering heat! Fun Fun! No-it really was one of our favorite nights there!

My Mom picked up this I don't even know how old highchair from a garage sale years ago(so she tells me). She had never taken it out and used it before, but it really worked so well for Molly while we were there. Molly really liked to be in it, and I could eat without having someone on my lap, very nice.

We really had a great time at Grandmas house and can't wait to go back! Hopefully it won't be as HOT next time. Note to self-do not go to eastern Washington in the middle of the summer!

Thanks mom for a very fun week! Love you!

Better Late Then Never, Right?

2009-07-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

There are 4 new post's below. July is not over and I thought it was still OK to post about 4th of July. Enjoy! And be ready to Scroll!

Family at The Beach

2009-07-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

This is from 4th of July weekend. We went to Port Townsend and went to a super cute beach to explore, spend some time together and enjoy eachother! It really was fun! The girls had a great time turning over rocks and finding the worlds smallest crabs! Their aunt's and uncle's showed them how to do it! I think they could have spent all day there! Abby and Sophia with their Worlds Smallest Crabs!
This is the whole gang hunting for those crabs! All of the little ones loved doing this! Thanks to all of the adults who showed them how while I stood back and just took pictures! Someone has to do it, right?

Daddy and Abby coming back after a little lesson-Skipping Rocks 101

Abby, Sophia, Macey, Molly and their cousin Kinidy. They had a lot of fun together! I am glad to live close enough that we get to spend time with my family. There is something to be said about family-spending time with them, enjoying them, learning more about them, seeing yourself in them. Makes me feel like I belong. With them. I love my family.

The girls playing in the water with their cousin, Maddie

What a great 4th! We sure did have a blast!

Molly at the Beach

2009-07-23T09:12:00.001-07:00

So the day after the 4th we went to Port Townsend. It is a cute little town in Northern Washington. Molly was being very funny at the beach, so I thought I'd snap a few photos. She is my one that LOVES being outside! My other kids love being outside, don't get me wrong, but Molly LOVES being outside! She doesn't care what she is wearing or weather she is going to get sooo dirty(I think she actually prefers it that way)! She just really enjoys being outside and enjoying nature! I love these photos of her-so they get their own post! Enjoy my nature lovin' little girl! Molly checkin' out a little crab in Daddy's hand.
Yup, she touched it!

We took all the kids out to the waters edge, and Molly decided it was a great idea to sit down to enjoy the view!

Sweet Molly

She finally figured out that we were taking photos of her and she turned around to smile for me! What a sweet little thing! What a blessing she is!

Just a little side note- the next post is in red text. I tried to be patriotic and everything, but I don't think it looks all that well and it's kinda hard to read, so, sorry, in advance. I tried to edit it, but I couldn't figure it out. Sorry-again.

4th of July Fun

2009-07-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July! We went to my brothers house in northern Washington where it is beautiful! All but 2 of my siblings were there. It's been great to see them again since we have been in California for the past year. I just wanted to share a few photos of the fireworks fun! The girls really had a great time, stayed up late, got up early, ate too much candy kind of fun! I already can't wait for next year! Sophia with her sparkler
Macey with her sparkler

Molly and I doing a sparkler, I think she liked it!

Almost all of the grandkids doing fireworks. I didn't somehow get a picture just of Abby doing sparklers so this is my attempt at a picture of Abby doing fireworks! Can you see her? She is kinda in the middle with her arm in the air, black shirt, blue pants, red sweatshirt wrapped around her waist? Please tell me you see her, so I don't have to feel like a horrible mom who got pictures of everyone else, and not her! I love you Abby!

My niece, Maddie, holding Molly

We sure did have a great time, thanks to Collin and Sandy for letting us visit! We really do appreciate it, and can't wait for next year!

4th of July Parade

2009-07-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July parade this year was a lot of fun! We were at my brother and sister-in-laws house, Collin and Sandy's. I think going to their house for the 4th is turning into a tradition, I sure hope they are OK with it! It is such a great getaway to go there! They live in northern Washington. It really is Beautiful! We look forward to it every year! All the grandkids that were there(we were missing a few), waving to a Real Life Princess! They really loved seeing and being so close to a real princess!
The 4th of July parade is known for the candy throwing! They got so much candy they hardly even made a dent in the stash the few days we were there! I "accidentally" forgot to bring the bag of candy home. The girls didn't mind, I think they had enough!

Sophia and I at the parade. She kept begging me to use my camera and take pictures of everyone. I couldn't let her because I might die if my camera broke, well, I wouldn't die, but I would be sooo sad! I sure know what to get this girl for Christmas!

Grandma and Sophia at the parade. Sophia couldn't get enough of grandmas bracelets! They had a good time together!

This is my oldest brother Collin and his sweet family. Sandy is his wife and Maddie is their daughter. They have Eli who couldn't make it to the parade and Hannah who is in Costa Rica for a year. They hosted just about our whole family for the 4th! Thanks you guys! You really have such a great family. We really had a great time!

All I want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth!

2009-07-13T22:24:00.001-07:00

Well, things have been a little exciting around here lately! Sophia lost BOTH of her front teeth within 24 hours! I know, crazy! But what is even crazier is that she pulled the 2nd tooth out herself! No help from me or dad! A week ago I didn't even know those teeth were loose. But I guess if you hit your teeth on the chair at the restaurant, get elbowed in the mouth by your sister and eat a cupcake with TONS of frosting on it(which actually helped REALLY loosen the 2nd tooth) you might have 2 loose teeth as well!

She got $1 for each of her teeth(I know, our Tooth Fairy is cheap!) and loved it! The second night she had to leave her tooth under her pillow, she wrote The Tooth Fairy a note. It went something like this,

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I lost my tooth

I want you to write me a note

Love, Sophia

The Tooth Fairy in her prettiest handwriting wrote her a note back that went something like this,

Dear Sophia,

Thank you for your tooth

You are such a brave girl

Thank you for being so sweet

Love, The Tooth Fairy

I couldn't wipe the SMILE off her face! What a COOL Tooth Fairy my girls have!

New Kids On The Block - Take 2

2009-07-09T21:51:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday my friends and I went to another New Kids On The Block concert! N, K, and O(me) went to a New Kids concert last November. It was too much fun last time and they put on a great show last time, but this time was sooo much better! We were in row 14! Yes, you read correctly, on the floor row 14! They were such great seats, it was like they were right there! They had pyrotechnics(sp?) and confetti fall from the sky and beach balls were being thrown all over the crowd. It was such a great "girls night out"! Thanks Jenn for putting this all together for us, I think everyone had a great time! Yes, Jenn and I made T-shirts for the concert! We had 5 people coming so we couldn't NOT make T-shirts! I think they turned out pretty darn good!
Here they are altogether! This was at the beginning of the concert, the first reveal! The crowd was crazy, including your truly! Seriously, how often do we get to do things like this?

Jordan was always my favorite, so I find it fitting that I spotlight him!

I LOVE this picture! It looks like it could be a poster, but no, it is them in the flesh! Seriously love it!

AMY, this ones for you! I know you read my blog and so I wanted to highlight Joey for you! I know, I know, you have such a great little sis! He looks just the same, well they all do mostly! Except Danny, he looks old, I think.

Last but not least, a video, cause I know you were hoping for one since you read the title of my blog! So, here it is, ENJOY!

And to all you Haters out there, I am sticking my tongue out at you right now! It was a ton of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat! Hopefully they will continue to tour so next time we can do the Meet and Greet thing! That would be awesome! Thanks girls for a great night!

Macey Is A Whole Hand!

2009-07-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Macey is the big 5 today! I can't hardly believe it! I know I keep saying this in recent posts but time sure does fly! I remember back 5 years ago when I was begging the doctors to PLEASE induce me! I was done being prego! I remember at 37 weeks I went in and they said she was weighing around 9 pounds! I was a little scared, but they wouldn't induce me till 38 weeks. So I had one of the longest weeks of my life waiting for our little baby! She was born at 38 weeks and weighed in at 9lbs 2oz! I was so glad I made them induce me! Macey was the only baby that we did not find out if she was a boy or girl. I'm not sure why we didn't with her, but we didn't! Everyone thought we were having a boy, but I KNEW we were having a girl! It's crazy how a mom just knows! Rodger picked her name and I think it fits very nicely! She is for sure a Macey! What a great ride we are having with her! She is my little firecracker! She is the one child where I learned that all children are different and you may have to parent differently for each of your children. She has kept me on my toes for the past 5 years, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

MACEY

Thank you so much for choosing Dad and I to be your parents! We LOVE you so much and are so happy to have you in our family. You have taught me so much about being a mom, like patience, charity, service, endurance:), loyalty, and last but not least LOVE. You are one Very Important Person Macey! You are going to do such great things with your life! I can't wait to watch you become the woman Heavenly Father wants you to be! You have been blessed with some great qualities that are yours alone. I hope that you will choose only good things for yourself in your life. You are such a great little girl and I can't wait to watch you grow up, oh wait, yes, I can wait! Don't grow up too fast! I am LUCKY to be your Mom and I feel blessed to know you! Happy 5th Birthday Macey! I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Mom

30 ALREADY!

2009-06-30T12:22:00.001-07:00

Today my sweet man turns 30! I can't believe we are both 30 now!! Now he can't say that I am old because now we are the same age! HA! It's just so crazy how fast time fly's! I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with how fast my life is going, slow down please!:) So here are 30 reasons why I LOVE my man and how great he is! You know, he'll never have his 30Th birthday again! Happy Birthday Rodger! I LOVE you!

1. He loves me Unconditionally
2. He is brutally Honest
3. He is a Worthy Priesthood Holder
4. He takes me to the Temple
5. He loves his daughters(all 4 of them!)
6. He makes me laugh, not just giggle, belly laughs!
7. He lets me hold the Remote-Sometimes:)
8. He watches what I want to watch on TV
9. He takes us on "Adventures"
10. He works So Hard
11. He is Committed
12. He is Confident
13. He gives Great Advice
14. He does not care what Most people think Of Him
15. He is Handy
16. He is Loyal
17. He thinks I'm Beautiful, even when I'm for sure- Not!
18. He works Hard to Provide for Us
19. He is athletic
20. He is a great cook
21. He has great ideas
22. He has great hobbies that I don't Mind!
23. He only wants whats Best for Us
24. He is genuine
25. He is Romantic
26. He is the BEST DAD I know
27. He is gorgeous
28. He gives the Best Hugs
29. He puts me First-ALL THE TIME
30. He is MINE for TIME and ALL ETERNITY

Happy Birthday Baby! I love you! You are the BEST! I hope you have the BEST day ever!

Love,
Me

To My Cali Girls

2009-06-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I'm about 2 weeks late posting this ,but I'm trying! So the move went as good as could be expected! The drive took about 12 hours, a little longer then expected. We were making good time but of course when we had only 2 hours to go we got stuck behind an accident. I guess a semi truck rear-ended another semi. We were stuck for a good hour or more. Thank heavens for navigation, I finally found our way out! We stopped by the gas station after we got out of traffic and got some icecream for the kids. I WISH I had a picture of Molly while eating her ice cream! It was everywhere! But it was kinda hard to drive and take a photo! I decided not to take a picture-didn't want to create another traffic jam! We finally got here and the photo above shows what the weather was like the first week we got here. I was a little sad, but got over it. This weeks weather has been beautiful! Mid 80's all week, it's ok to be jealous! But things have been good, we are pretty much settled. We have pictures up on the walls and everything! Rodgers job is working out ok and we hope that it will only get better! We are very optimistic! We miss all of you so much! Tell everyone we said Hi! Love you all!

Abby turns 10!

2009-06-21T17:12:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I am a few days posting this, but don't judge, I've been a little busy! My sweet Abby turned 10 last week! I can't believe how fast time goes and how quick our little ones grow up! I just wanted to share a little letter to Abby that she will one day read! The cake my mom had made for Abby for her 10th Birthday! I remember what my 10th birthday cake looked like, I know Abby will remember hers for a long time too!

Grandma and Abby with her cake!

Abby at her party in California, thanks Julie! I owe you for letting her have her pool party at your house! You are an awesome friend!

To my sweet sweet Abby,

I can't believe you are already ten years old! What an amazing person you are becoming! You are a beautiful, talented, kind, loving, smart, helpfull, hardworking, little girl. I love being your mom and you bring dad and i so much happiness! The years have flown by for me. I remember when you were a baby and it was just you dad and me. We had some fun memories together! I remember when we would read together. We did that a lot! I remember going to parks and playing with friends! You have always been an amazing child. I can't believe that in another 10 years you will be grown and off to college! I am going to cherish these next 10 and all the years after! Thank you for allowing me and picking me to be your mom! I LOVE you Abby!

Love forever,

Mom

Beautiful Girls

2009-06-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

When I look at my children they still seem small to me, and then I look at these photos and I am realizing that they are growing up right in front of my eyes! Last week a good friend of ours Brent Olsen asked us if he could take some pictures of the girls as a going away gift. What a great gift it was! The wind was blowing a lot and we thought the photo shoot was a wash- but then- we got these great pictures of the girls! Enjoy!

Thank you Brent for these pictures! We will treasure them more then you know!

Can a Ladybug be your Best Friend?

2009-06-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

Macey sure thinks that ladybugs can be your best friend! Afew days ago I was out cleaning up the back yard, Molly was sleeping and the older girls were at school, so it was just Macey and me! I saw a ladybug on a leaf and asked Macey to come and see it, well she didn't just come to see it, she picked it up and decided that it was going to be her friend for the afternoon! She walked right inside with it and thought it might want to play Play-doh with her. I thought she was just being funny at first, but she really did want to play with it! So, I thought I should drag the old camera out and take some super cute pictures! I know Macey had fun that afternoon, but I had just as much fun watching her! She is a blessing sent down from Heavenly Father! Oh, how I LOVE my macey girl! Macey with her new friend! Can you see it inside the christmas tree cookie cutter? She thought it might be better if we kept it inside it, but I soon talked her out of it!
Macey and her new friend! Look at that sweet little hand!

Macey enjoying watching the ladybug crawl on her Barbie cookie cutter

I wonder what the poor ladybug was thinking right about now? Sweet picture anyway!

The ladybug actually ON the play-doh!

Don't worry, no ladybugs were harmed during our little photo shoot! Macey and I had a great afternoon together, and I think the ladybug was more than a little relieved when we let it go in our backyard! I told Macey that it needed to go be with its mom. She bought it, and let it go!

Movin' On Up!

2009-05-27T21:30:00.001-07:00

Sophia is goin' on to 2nd grade!! Yea!!! I couldn't be happier for her! Let me give you a little backround for this post. Last summer when we moved back to California Sophia entered 1st grade. I had no idea how far behind she was going to be(my bad). When Sophia brought home her first spelling test, I didn't even know what she had written. It was chicken scratch, you could not even read what she had written if you wanted to. Her teacher(who I adore) called me and told me that A LOT needed to happen if she was going to be ready for 2nd grade(telling me that she could very well be doing 1st grade again). I was heartbroken for her. I felt like I had completely dropped the ball with her and I felt terrible. Her teacher had mentioned the word "intervention" and I almost started crying right there in the classroom sitting in those little chairs. Have I mentioned that I felt awful? Well, I went home and sat down with Sophia and told her what was happening. She was ready for the challenge! From that day on, this girl has been working so hard to improve! Monday through Friday we sit together at our kitchen table and do a lot of work. We do 4 pages from her packet, her 4 spelling sentences for the week, and her reading. She has done them every day for the past 9 months! When she first started reading she was at a LEVEL 1. Her teacher told me she needed to be at a LEVEL 18 to be able to move on to 2nd grade. I thought it was hopeless and that my little girl was going to do 1st grade again while all her friends went on to 2nd. Well, these last 9 months have been incredible! AND guess what LEVEL book she brought home today from school?? Any guesses?

The Smile might give it away!
Wait for it, Wait for it, Wait for it

YES! She brought home a LEVEL 18 book! I could not be happier, seriously! I want to cry for her because she has worked so hard and I don't think she even realizes how great this is for her!

Sophia recieved a special award from her teacher this year-MOST IMPROVED! It fits her perfectly and I could not be more proud! I LOVE YOU SWEET SOPHIA!

Up Close and Personal

2009-05-24T22:07:00.001-07:00

So this afternoon at the park while I was playing with Molly, Rodger took some great pictures of the girls. Thought I would share them, And give a little update on each one!ABBY

Responsible, caring, softball pitching, piano playing, smart, hardworking, adaptable, strong, good example, loves to sing and dance, almost 10 years old wonderful little girl!
SOPHIA
Creative, question asker, hard worker, softball playing, most improved student in her class award winner, laughing a lot, enjoys being herself, singing and dancing, playdate asking wonderful little girl!

MACEY

Pre-school grad, park loving, playdate asking, TV watching, kindergarten coming, name writing, hot cocoa loving, best hugs and kisses giver wonderful little girl!

MOLLY

Yummy, walking, talking, sippy cup lover, highchair hater, climbing on kitchen table lover, ball throwing, bike riding, opening every cupboard, slepping well inspite of getting teeth wonderful little girl!

Oh how I LOVE my 4 BEAUTIFUL Children!!!!