Happy Mom. Happy Kids.

I have decided I love the First Day of School. And not for the reasons you might think. Although I have been know to say "I love my kids, just not all at the same time." They are A LOT to handle all at once. But, still, I love my kids, I love having them around, I love taking them fun places all Summer long, but I also know that they and I thrive on a good routine. (Kudos to you homeschooling Moms who are able to give your kids a good routine without the help of sending them off to school.) We always start the Summer with a good routine, but by the end it seems like everything has gone crazy. It seemed to be even more true this Summer than any other. I was not at all ready to start getting up and getting everyone out the door, but seeing how excited they are about school makes me happy and excited for them.

Maleah did just as she was supposed to, got all ready for school and waited on the porch for her picture to be taken.

Brynna headed down the street to get her best friend, GG, who you can see in the background.

And then there is Josh. He left for school without even saying goodbye. I went and took him out of class. He would never have smiled so willingly except that I threatened to take the picture in his class if he didn't. He smiled nicely, but was mumbling some not so nice words under his breath. I'll bet next year he will be on the porch right along with Maleah. Unless of course he WANTS me to show up at the Jr. High.

I just loved watching them all run around the night before making sure they had their clothes set out, their breakfast planned and their alarm clocks set. If only that would last all year.

I loved this note that I found. It reads Brynna is having eggs. Don't take too many eggs.Thank you. Sincerely, Brynna. They really were busy thinking of everything they could to be prepared for school.

After school they all came home talking, smiling and happy. Life is good.

Mother's Day

I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day! I started my day with the usual breakfast in bed, cards, and various goodies from the kids, and of course lots of loves. My girls love to get up bright and early to take care of Mom. At church the YM/YW took care of the primary and nursery so I got to go to RS. It was a pleasant surprise! It was a little bit of heaven sitting in RS enjoying chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels, that is until the kids found us :)


I wanted a picture of the kids and I for Mother's day. It took a lot of work to get them all in the same place, holding still, and kind of smiling.

I got to host the Mother's Day BBQ at my house. It was lots of fun and plenty chaotic. Jonah only escaped the house three or four times. We had lots of good food especially the dessert, thanks Kristy!

Here are all the moms for a Mother's Day photo op.
I don't know how good I am at this whole mothering thing, but I am sure thankful for a wonderful mom, who is always there for us when we need her. Sometimes more often than she might like. I am also so grateful for all the amazing mothers around me that continually inspire me! Thank you all for your great examples!

The Leprechauns were here.

The Leprechauns came to our house....

They turned the milk green and left footprints on the cookies. Luckily they left a few gold coins!
We hope you all had some St. Patrick's day fun!
Note: To see the inspiration for the cookies and a much more professional job go here.

So Fun. Maleah's Birthday Celebration - Part 2

Maleah decided this year for her birthday she wanted to go snowmobiling at the cabin. I was a little worried about this choice, but we had a great time and the girls asked if they could do this every year!


Don and I on the snowmobile. This was Jonah's first time on the snowmobile and you can see how he felt about it. On the way down he fell dead asleep so apparently he got over it.


Here are some of the girls on the sled. Brynna, Jonah, Courtlyne, Maleah and Olivia.
They had lots of fun, snowmobiling, swinging on the swing, and jumping off the deck.


Here they all are red cheeked, enjoying lunch and hot chocolate.
Camryn, Courtlyne, Mckinley, Olivia, and Maleah


Cupcake Time!
This was definitely Jonah's favorite part!

It was a huge success! Big thanks to Grammie and Grandfather for all their help!

Olivia said, "This is the best birthday party ever!"

Maleah's 9th Birthday - Part 1

Maleah woke up bright and early and ready for her first present.

Her present was this dress which I got from Matilda Jane.

Maleah is always happy with something new to wear.

Her dad brought her favorite breakfast, donuts. And one of her favorite friends, Mckinley showed up with the perfect present for Maleah, glitter jeans and scrapbook paper. Maleah loved it!

Then we headed out to lunch at Red Robin and pedicures with the girls. Thanks to Heather for the pedicure, Grammie for lunch, and Kristy and Stella for the Hello Kitty Lip gloss set.

I know I might be in trouble with this picture, but I just had to show how we took up all the pedicure chairs. It is a good thing Grammie didn't want a pedicure.

Stella and Brynna in the pink Panda chairs. They also had DVD players, what lucky girls.

Maleah wanted Brynna to match her today so Brynna also got her new dress.

The final result...look at all those pretty toes!

Then we did a little more shopping and Maleah started to get a little tired. She was buying something with her money and when I asked for her money she threw her purse at me. She forgot the red gatorade in her purse though so when the purse hit the floor red gatorade went everywhere.

After that we were on the way out the door when the girls decided to throw money in the wishing fountain. Maleah was throwing so hard I thought she might hit somebody in the head, but she didn't do that she just threw her whole bag with new clothes, bracelet and lip gloss into the fountain. When the girls screamed I ran over and seeing that the bag hadn't sunk I didn't waste anytime. I slipped off my shoe and stepped into a VERY cold fountain. Everyone was staring, but the clothes were saved. My favorite thing about this is that Maleah told everyone these stories and was able to laugh at herself. Maleah can get embarrassed easily so I was so proud of her.

We finished the night by going to a beautiful dance recital that Mckinley performed in. Then went to eat with Caycie and Mckinley.

It was lots of fun from beginning to end!

Basketball

I don't post near enough about this kid. Mostly because he runs from the camera and the other three are busy posing, so you know who I am taking pictures of.
Joshua was on a great basketball team this year, with lots of wins and a good coach, it was a good experience. We finally found a sport that Josh enjoys and will stop what he is doing to go and practice. Thank goodness!

Yes, this shaggy haired boy is mine. The hair will probably be something we disagree on right up until he leaves home. I am just hoping that the girls feel the same way about it that I do.


Here he is in action on the court, #15. Toward the end of the season he wasn't afraid to get in there and go after the ball. We sure enjoyed cheering for him. Good job, Josh!

I Won! I Won! I Won!

I am a regular reader of Lisa Bearnson's Blog. And on Valentine's Day I actually won something. I refuse to say I never win anything because I am all about positive thinking, but this is my first blog win. I won because I was the first comment of the day and with 453 comments that is quite a feat. Anyhow my prize had perfect timing, what with me wanting to spend all day everyday in bed and having a little girl's birthday to plan. I had waited until the absolute last minute to send out party invitations and was in desperate need of some inspiration when my prize arrived.

It is this Bling kit. Lots of jewels and tools for all your scrapbooking or cardmaking needs.


Here is the card I made.

So, thanks to Lisa! Go check out her blog if you haven't already. She posts lots of great ideas.