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my blondie
I never pictured us having any blonds in our family. I guess it just never seemed like it was in the cards for us. Me? Jeff? Blond? Nah.
But this little guy? He's got it. Even if it's only for a little while. Those golden locks…well, I really love them.
A whole lot.
Do you think I should lock him up in a tower? I kid. I kid.
He's got a birthday coming up this week. The same day that school starts. What a day that is going to be! I'm feeling a little out of sorts with a new school year. I truly do love having all of them home here with me. Even though if you asked me that at about 4pm in the afternoon I might say something otherwise. I will miss it though. But I might also find some time to catch up on a bazillion things that are on my to do list.
Like looking through all those summer photos I took of my blondie. Hopefully I'll get to them before he turns brown right!? 🙂
feeling hogwartish
The sun was quickly setting behind the mountain when I heard a whistle blow. I knew the train would be leaving soon so I started walking briskly toward the edge of town. I didn't want to miss it. Not that I had a ticket to ride or anything. But just hearing the sound of that rumbling locomotive made me giddy. It sounded like it came right out of a storybook.
Just as I rounded the corner I saw it at the base of the majestic mountain. Picture perfect. The conductor was getting ready to board. I jumped across the tracks to get closer. Something about trains. I love everything about them.
Makes me feel all nostalgic and maybe even a little Hogwartish.
Right where she should be
Looking back at moments like these take my breath away. This picture happened serendipitously while at a family reunion in Colorado a few weeks ago. I'm realizing now that I need to have pictures like these with ALL of my children. I want to be able to see their faces, each one of them, nuzzled up next to mine. Right where it should be.
I know what it feels like to love my children, but oh how I love to see it in front of me!
Backyard birthday
Summer is quickly slipping by me. Honestly, I'm more exhausted this summer than I think I've ever been in my life. Not that it's a bad thing…I have to keep reminding myself that it's the stage of life we are in right now. Four young and very active/imaginative/energetic children(those are all the nice words people use right?) sap every ounce until I crash into bed.
The good thing is that we are all enjoying what the summer has brought our way thus far. The time we have had to spend together is so fulfilling. We talk. We sing. We dance. We play. We fight (okay, they fight) a little. Then hug, say sorry, and play some more. That's what summer is about, right?
Catching up on June…I now have a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old. Your prayers for my sanity are greatly appreciated. 😉
Here is the littlest buddy boy's party we threw together in the backyard. Pizza, drinks, popsicles, oh, and some ice cream. That's what I'm talking about!
the red, the white, and the blue
the summer swing
Summer is in full swing around here. Truthfully, I've never been very good at summer. For 2 out of the 4 years we've been here, I've been hugely pregnant.
Pregnancy + Arizona Summer + Cherie = Looney McRooney
You get the idea.
When this summer started creeping in, I felt like we needed to do something different. They needed something different and so did I. I needed to feel like I wasn't just hanging on for the ride, but that I was making the ride better for all of us. After perusing some articles on Power of Moms, I decided on my plan of attack. A schedule! Oh yes, I was going to make a schedule. See, me and schedules don't exactly get along. We like to pretend we're friends but really we have this roller-coaster relationship that always ends in a nasty break up.
But not this year.
This year, I changed it up. And hallelujah…It's working! We've got a daily schedule so everyone knows what's happening and what they need to accomplish. Along with that is a daily theme that gets their little brains excited for each new day. I love it! They love it! (Somebody tell me why it's only taken me this long to figure this out!)
Our daily themes are:
Masterpiece Monday: Art or Craft Project
Take a Trip Tuesday: Library, Museum, Friend's House
Wet Wednesday: Swim, Water Games
Treat Thursday: Make a treat, Visit Water & Ice
Friend Friday: Invite a friend over
I can't take credit for these ideas…I just found them on Power of Moms. But man, I'm glad it got my wheels turning just in time.
Here's a peek at Masterpiece Monday a couple of weeks ago. Hours of fun, I tell you.
Let the summer swing on!
Here's the recipe for flubber just in case you're interested:
Materials:
Warm Water
2 cups Elmer's Glue
2 tsp. Borax
Food Coloring
Directions:
1. In the first bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups very warm water
2 cups Elmer's Glue
Food Coloring
2. In a separate bowl, mix thoroughly:
1 1/3 cups very warm water
2 level teaspoons borax
3. Mix the contents of the two bowls together kneading until it is fully combined
4. Discard any remaining liquid
all fun and games
I was doing some house cleaning on my computer last night and ran across a funny set of images from a while back. Ok, so they are probably only funny to me, but oh well.
On our way home from a Thanksgiving weekend in Utah, we got caught in a terrible snow storm. The decision was made to stay overnight in a hotel and wait out the blizzard. Better to lose time than our lives, right? We lugged the necessities into the room, got all cozied up in bed and watched The Wizard of Oz while the snow flurries buried our van in the moonlight.
Early the next morning, we threw open to curtains to find a sea of white. Not too long after, the monkeys got jumping. What else is there to do in a hotel room? Even big daddy monkey joined in.
And it was all fun and games…
Until somebody…
has a stinky diaper. 🙂
Tea time
She bounded in the back door a few weeks ago after returning home from a birthday party. Thrilled with her spoils, she showed me each and every party favor as she recounted details from the event. It was a tea party…but what they really should have called it was a "this-is-every-little-6-year-old's-fancy-dream-dress -up-that-she'll-talk-about-for-weeks-party." In fact, after listening to all of the excitment, I was secretly wishing that I had been invited too. 😉
She was in heaven. I was blown away at the party planning. And we both decided that pictures were in order. It was a deal on both ends.
I spy
A pretty neat thing happened to an eight-year-old who attended General Conference for the very first time.
Just Jeff and Dallin went, so I didn't get to take any pictures. But I'm sure glad someone else did…