How can this be....

tonight she will go to sleep as a 4 year old, and wake up as a 5 year old. I kissed her goodnight, and told her that.... I had to choke back some tears, because she looked up at me with a huge smile. "I can't wait" she said.


What a wonderful day it was 5 years ago that she was born. We could hardly wait to hold her and see her, knowing that she would be our last baby. {little did we know, huh!} I remember having family prayer the night before she was born and looking around at all of our little kids, and feeling a sense of sadness...I was sad knowing that their lives would never be the same. Not that it wouldn't be better, just that I knew that it would be different. I also felt an over whelming sense of joy, that really there would be no adjusting. That in no time it would be like she was always part of us, and she was.
She was a beautiful baby. SO soft and sweet. Very good natured and calm. She has brought our family so much joy and happiness.

Ella is ready to be a BIG 5 year old. I however, can not believe that she is really that old. The last time I looked at her, I swear she was only 2. She is still silly, and crazy and wild and girly and tom-boyish as ever. I think of her as a rough and tumble princess. :) Did you notice that she got her ears pierced!? She had been asking for it for quite a while now, and we finally got it done a few weeks ago. She is so tough, she didn't even cry.

Happy birthday my baby girl. I love you so much. I love you a hundred million-bazillion Dalmatians. {that's Ella's thing. 101 Dalmatians is the biggest number she could think of, and we've just gotten bigger from there. Tonight, after I kissed her she told me she loved me a hundred and one mazillion dalmatians and to infinity and beyond.}

Man, I love that girl. Happy birthday Ella.

Free Art....for real.

I just love art. I love whimsical art, and have been busy purchasing quite a few pieces from independent sellers on Etsy, mostly. I love the idea of supporting someone doing something they love.

I just learned of this new site called Feed your Soul. This is what the girl behind the website says...(Jen Wallace, the writer behind the blog Indie Fixx )

"Even though the economy is tanking, it’s more important than ever to stay positive. We shouldn’t dwell on the negative news, it’s just not doing our souls any good. To that end, I came up Feed Your Soul: the free art project to hopefully bring a smile to your face and brighten your day."

Cool, Is what I say!! I went over there as quickly as I could, and fell in love with it! How great is it that we can go download an awesome piece of art and NOT have to pay through the nose!!! (plus they put new stuff up weekly! BONUS!!)

Best. Day. Ever! Go check it out, and tell me what you think.

Annie...

is a 6th grader.

What else do I say. I swore I wouldn't bring up the fact that time is flying by.....but really, it is. She is more of a young (emphasis on young) Lady, then she is a child. I realized this summer would be her last as a 'girl'. Next summer she will be a young woman, going to girls camp and everything. WHAT!??! I know, right. (crazy)

Anyway, this year will be pretty cool for her. She is in band and is very excited about that. She hasn't picked out an instrument yet, but is thinking of doing the flute, saxophone or the clarinet. Whatever she chooses, I know she will do a good job with.

She has also said that she wants to join some clubs this year, like the year book staff, and Hornets against Drugs.

Annie has always been about 'fashion' but this year she has some major opinions. (yikes!)
She is ALL about the skinny jeans. She just had to have them, and she looks really cute in them. (it is just so hard for me to come to grips with the fashion that I had when I was young all coming back.) At least they aren't tight rolling their jeans and aqua-netting their bangs straight up. (yet)

She had to get two pairs of shoes this year....one for gym and another for everyday.....because "Mom, you can't wear athletic shoes with skinny jeans. That just looks gross." Umm, ok. (she's right. And I would have felt the same way. Ugh, why do all my demons come back through her!??!) :) hahaha.

Her first day thoughts:

"It went by really fast.....luckily. I think I am gonna like band.

It was good to see all my friends. I think I am gonna hate band."

Life....it gets crazier the older they get. (love you Annie-girl!)

Jared...

is a 3rd grader! He was actually the most excited to start school. (which was a HUGE surprise to me.)

Jared's teacher this year is Mrs. Green and he was SUPER excited to have her. She is such a sweet person, we are both glad he got her. When we went in for open house, she had the room all decorated up in MU Tigers stuff. (the curtains, the bulletin, the chalkboard) So, Jared was thrilled with that. (he has been WAY obsessed with the Missouri Tigers for a few years now)

This year Jared was crazy about his shoes. (obviously this boy has grown up surrounded by sisters, cause he loves to get new shoes!!) The first pair he picked were these hideous Adidas shoes that looked like they had patent leather on the sides....black and red..ick I was able to convince him we had a few more stores to check out before we made any final decisions. Then he found these.....believe me, a lot better than the first pair, so I said yes! He got a Bakugon backpack, Mario Kart t-shirt, and various other clothes...

Jared came in the house and the first thing he said about his day was "Mom, I didn't get in trouble." I was like cool, you never get in trouble anyway, and he said "yeah, I just wanted to say that."

His favorite part of the day, was everything! (his words)

Katie....

is a 2nd grader! I am going to try to spare you the whole "where did the time go, mumbo-jumbo" with each of these, but seriously....WHERE did it go?

This year for Katie has been all about accessories. Check out those "twinkle" toes. She and Annie said they 'hated' them from the commercials, but when she saw them in the store and tried them on they became a must-have. Katie is also all about dressing up...she picked out a really cute dress for school, got some new earrings (she is wearing some AMAZING psychedelic butterfly ones) and some cute shirts.

Her teacher this year is Miss Hertzog, and she couldn't be more thrilled.

Katie's favorite part of the day was seeing all her friends, and being at the new school. The first day back was the best!

First Day of School....

was great. The kids were excited and ready to be back in the routine. They only had a half day, so they got to ease into it....I for one am having issue with our summer really being over. This year really just flew by, and it makes me a little sad. We did have a great summer, though so I can't complain. (too much)

Stay tuned for highlights about each of the kids....

He is lucky he's cute......

because this is what I came into the kitchen to see. What I couldn't catch on camera however, was Jason actually sitting on each egg to break it....(Yes, like a chicken.) Annie and Katie had made eggs and "forgot" to put them away!

It was actually a great learning experience......I taught the girls to use salt to clean up raw-runny eggs, so now when they have children (and they will) they will know how to clean up the messes they make! {insert a TON of evil laughter}

Ahhh, having kids is not for the faint of heart. :)

S'mores.....

For the first time I can remember, it was a wee bit chilly. A huge surprise for us, usually it is blistering hot and humid.....but we enjoyed it (even though it was a bit gloomy-sky) After all our fireworks were blown up and gone we started a fire to roast marshmallows to make S'mores. It was so fun just sitting around the fire, talking and having fun.

At 9:30pm we left to go back into Cameron to see the Big display the city puts on. It was a fantastic show. We had perfect seats (thanks Nat and Erinn) and was a perfect way to end the day. Happy Independence Day!

Annie had a BLAST!!!

For the first time, ever.....Annie got to shoot fireworks off with the guys. She had so much fun. It surprised me how unafraid of all the explosives she was. Crazy Girl!

Fireworks.....

Uncle Jake and Alan were the crazy uncles leading the way with all the fireworks for the rest of the afternoon/evening! We had a ton of parachute's, and the kids had a blast lining up and chasing them everywhere. Jason wanted to be a part of all the fun, but had to be held and he plugged his ears. He love the colors and booms, just not the really loud ones! :)

Seriously though, we did fireworks for hours. Not even kidding.

Basketball anyone?!!?

We came home after the parade and had some lunch. Yummy barbecued beef sandwiches, potato salad, fruit, chips....you know, the good stuff. After all the food settled, we went over to the park to play some basketball.....Now, Alan just got home from San Antonio, and he didn't have any basketball shorts. The only thing Seth had, were these amazing SILVER/shiny-very special (nasty in my opinion) athletic shorts, that he wears under his karate uniform. So....Alan decided he would wear them. NIICE! Can I just say that it was one of the most hysterical things I have seen in a long time. Disturbing, yes. I can't lie though and say I didn't laugh out loud several times while watching the game.

Also, i think he had an unfair advantage....who was gonna guard him very close? Couldn't think of anyone, could ya?


That's what I thought.

the Parade....

the kids love the parade and it has become quite a fun tradition on the 4th. That running Uncle Sam guy really cracked me up, so I couldn't help but snap a pic! Ashelyn was loving the clapping and the other kids loved the candy!! (Seth stayed home while Jason napped and Alan crashed out from getting home after a week of EFY) They missed a fabulous parade. :)