Early May

I'm posting picture the SAME week they were taken.  I even have proof because the kids messed with my camera again and put a time stamp on everything.  (Now to see if I can stay caught up.)

I discovered some more new pictures on my camera; this time they were taken by a certain 5 year old.  This one looks kind of neat, though.

Someone gave me a pair of tiny heels for Laurel on Saturday.  When she saw them, she was so excited that she threw together this fabulous ensemble.  She'd been playing outside all day, so her hair was wild and she was covered in dirt.  Looking good little girl!

Abby wanted heels of her own, so I went digging in the tub of girl shoes.  These are too big (Laurel's are too actually), but both girls wore their new heels to church on Sunday.  Ha ha!

Little stud!

Laurel came inside COVERED in a packet of Chick-fil-a sauce that she'd found in the van.  I'm pretty sure her clothes soaked up 90% of it.  Plus, she'd been playing in the dirt.

Me, "You're filthy."  Laurel, "I not filthy.  I LAUREL!" 

This is the 'Mom, don't take a picture of me because I'm too busy' pose.

This is either the 'Mom asked me to smile and I'm really a good kid on the inside' or the 'Maybe she'll leave me alone if I smile' pose.

This girl always likes to have her picture taken.

And this is the 8yo.  Oh, wait!  You don't see anything?  Me either.  This is the 'I won't pose for a picture ever and someday I'm going to wonder why there are no pictures of me' pose.  I tried though.  Alex, we love you, even though we have almost no pictures of you!

End of April

Getting pretty for church one morning.

She let me curl her hair for the first time ever.  (It didn't hold at all.)

Showing off their curls.  Guess which daughter has the naturally curly hair?

Abby, "Mom, can I take a picture with your camera?"  This is what she captured.  Real life happening right there.

"Please clean up the mess you made with the cups and oranges."  (But first let me take a picture.)

Ha ha ha ha!

I discovered the rest of these pictures on my camera, but I don't know who took them.  I'm guessing it was an older child.

Being silly.

Cleaning the Garage

Our garage got so messy this winter!  I made a commitment to clean it last week, so I took some before pictures.

There is a big yellow riding mower in the picture; can you find it?

We also had a burn pile waiting.

This is just ridiculous. 

This is more ridiculous, but bothers me less.  We pile up our cardboard for when we have burn days and small fires.  This cardboard was up to the ceiling!

Because the weather warmed up and we wanted to play outside (which meant digging for outdoor equipment), we made the mess even worse during the week!

After: It is SO much better!  The kids were even impressed.  "Mom!  Our garage has NEVER been this clean!"  (Actually, children, it has.  I clean it like this at least once a year.  Now if everyone would just maintain it...)

You know you're an adult when cleaning the garage is blog worthy!

Abby's 5th Birthday

Our sweet, spunky Abigail turned 5!  This child is my 'everything girl'.  She's extremely smart, naughty, sweet, clever, mischievous, hilarious, etc.  I'm not sure how so much personality can be packed into one little body!  She really colors life!

I came across a bunch of old party decorations that I'd forgotten about, so I surprised her with decorations on the morning of her birthday.

She had a super fun day.  First, I told the kids that I needed to run an errand.  We drove to the Y where I signed up for a membership AND surprised the kids by staying to swim.  On our way home, we picked up their Book IT! pizzas.

That evening we had a dinner of her choice (tacos), ice cream, presents, and we watched a new movie big screen style (with our projector and speakers).

Two days later she had a friend party. 

I'm not someone who makes cute food, so I was pretty proud of these cupcakes!

 

 She was SO excited for this pinata!

These funny glasses were the #1 thing Abby wanted in the pinata. They really fit her personality!