Favs #61/365

I LOVE story time at bedtime!!! I really enjoy reading to the girls at night before they go to bed.

Jammies, brush teeth, go potty, say prayers...

Then it is time to read.

I LOVE that my kids LOVE books!!!

First I go to Cassi's room.

Usually she reads to me.

She is getting very good and can sound out a lot of words herself.

Then I go in with Madi and Elsie.

I have really enjoyed reading some good books with Madi.

Right now we are reading HOLES.

Maybe I should start reading the TWILIGHT series with her...then maybe I can get through the books!!!

Just kidding...

But seriously.

I hope that they always have a LOVE for books.

I was never a big reader as a kid.

But I am loving the time I get to spend with my girls reading.

Sweet sweet Cassi!!!
I know...kinda a goofy picture.

But this is Elsie looking through a hole in one of her books.

Doesn't she have beautiful eyes???

Favs #60/365

I just LOVE my family!!!

I hope our kids always think that we are COOL to hang out with.
Tonight...after Brent decided that we needed to add a nook to the deck for a table...

and after some pizza...

we played some croquette.

The girls had a fun time.

we kinda cheated a little...okay A LOT!!!

But it was getting late...and they needed baths and bed!!!

But we had a blast.

I just love the little family that we have.

I know that no matter what our family comes first for Brent and I!!!

We are so lucky to have these little kids...

and I hope someday they think they are lucky to have us!!!

Daddy, helping Cass out!
My little man!!!
Madi, focusing REALLY hard!
Elsie just LOVES to go up and down her ramp!

Here is a shot of the full deck.

We will be upgrading the table...I can't wait to show you that transformation!!!

We LOVE this deck!!! It is like another room to our house!!!

It is so great!!!

Favs #59/365

I LOVE my angel babies!

This idea has been a long time in the making!

Almost 8 years, in fact.

I knew when I took this picture of Madi, that I wanted one for all my babies.

Luckily, I remembered to do it with each baby!

The girls were all 10 days old in their picture.

We attempted Porters at 10 days old...but tried it 2 days later, and I liked that shot ALOT better!

Each picture has a story.

Madi.

We had just brought her home from the hospital.

She spent 8 days in the NICU.

So we were kinda nervous to take her out.

She slept the whole time.

What a beautiful baby.
(Madi's is my favorite shot!)

Cassi.

All she wanted to do was stand up with her legs.

She was a good baby, but getting her to bend was brutal!!!

Looking at this picture, I remember what a hairy little monkey she was!!!

Elsie.

This one was no fun.

If you knew Elsie at this point in life,

then you know how hard this picture was to get.

This is why she has the 'Binky just pulled out of my mouth' look on her face!

Also, a funny story about the wings!

We didn't have wings for Elsie's picture.

So we went to Build-a-bear and bought some wings.

Then tried to manipulate them to match the others.

We failed miserably!!!

For the last couple years I have hated the wings...

But thanks to Photoshop...

I put Madi's wings onto Elsie...

and wal-la!!!

Perfect wings!!!

Porter.

Well, I just couldn't put wings on my little boy!

Brent thinks we should have put Devil's horns on him!

Maybe when he is a three year old Hellion, I will Photoshop some of those on him!!!

I just LOVE these picture of my babies, laying in their Daddy's big strong hands!

Just a side-note...

This was THE window that started my obsession with OLD WINDOWS, many, many years ago!!!

I had Brent put some black wood around it to make it pop...

and I think it serves as the perfect frame for my little Angels!!!

Favs #58/365

We LOVE playing games!!!

It is so fun when your kids get old enough to play games with you.

We love games.

We love playing together.

It is fun to listen to Brent teach strategy to the girls,

and funny to see how their little minds work.

I always try so hard to win...but I never do!

Seriously...I NEVER WIN!!!

Truthfully, it is either Cassi or Brent who wins!

Well, Madi does too...

But I NEVER win!!! Oh well!

At least we have fun!

We love all the classics...

Monopoly,

Mexican Train,

Scrabble,

Tile Rummy,

Uno...

Anyone have any games suggestions that would be fun to try???

Favs #57/365

I LOVE Rasppppperries!!!

I know...not the greatest shot...

But Porters favorite thing to do right now is blow raspberries!

He usually does it while eating his big boy food....squash, sweet potatoes...the works.

I put a spoonful in...he blows a spoonful out.

He sure thinks it is fun.

Oh, and the food doesn't just come out...it SPRAYS out!!!

But still, I can't help but laugh!

The other night I heard Porter, about the time he usually wakes up to eat...

(yes he still wakes up once at night to eat!!! What can I tell ya...he is a spoiled little mamas boy!)
Anyway...I heard him in his room blowing his raspberries for about a half hour until he fussed to eat.

I couldn't stop laughing.

Here it was 4:00 a.m....and I am rolling in my bed laughing at my sweet little boy blowing raspberries...

Anyone else think this boy is gonna get away with whatever he wants???

Ya, me too!

And long as he gives his mama those loves and kisses that make me melt!!!

Anyway, since I couldn't get a good shot of him blowing raspberries...I thought I would include a couple of cute shots!

Oh, I just love this boy!!!

Favs #56/365

We LOVE buh-buh LOVE!!!

Elsie calls Porter, Buh-Buh.

She loves this boy to pieces.

She also thinks he is a jungle gym.

It is pretty funny.

He will be laying on the floor, and Elsie will crawl over to him, talk to him in her sweet little voice, then crawl over him...her knees in his ribs and all.

And he has no problems with it.

I think he is gonna be a tough guy.

She is always laying on his belly.

The most recent problem???

Well, Porter has found out that he likes hair.

Elsie has found out that she doesn't like her hair pulled.

But I think they work it out fine.

I think these two are gonna be great friends.

Favs #55/365

I LOVE date night!

(Yes, I did force him to take the picture!)

Tonight it was My turn to go out with Dad.

We went with our really great friends, The Youngs.

It has been a LONG time since we have gone out without the kids.

It is always nice to get that time together.

I have been feeling VERY overwhelmed...

and VERY forgetful, lately!

Tonight was just what I needed!

Thanks Drew and Heather for the fun time!

Favs #54/365

I LOVE my hardworking HUNK of a MAN!!!

I love that Brent can do anything he puts his mind to.

He is always doing some kind of handy-man project.

This is what our latest project has been.

I love when he lets me help.

I think we work very well together!

Yes...I do drive him NUTS!!!

But mostly, I think he likes having me around!

We have always wanted to put a deck/patio in the back yard...
But it was never a priority.
The last few days, the weather has been PERFECT!
The girls have loved to play outside.
But there was a problem.
Elsie doesn't have many options in our backyard.
It takes a lot of effort for her to push her walker through our un-level bumpy grass.
So she will spend a whole lot on the trampoline...
Or inside the kitchen looking out.
So I think that was what finally made making a deck a priority.
Now Elsie has plenty of room to run around...
as much as her little heart desires.

I know we are going to be spending a lot of time on this deck..
It will be like a whole other room at our house.
Now we get to go find some fun outdoor furniture.

Elsie had so much fun helping with the deck.
She would stick a screw into any hole she could find.
It was a lot of fun to watch her.
Cassi was also a very big helper.
She was right there by Dads side...
She knew just what he needed without him having to ask.
She is a great little side-kick.
Madi did some helping too, once she got home from school
It was a whole family project!
We LOVE that!!!

Favs #53/365

My FAVORITE blanket

This blanket is very special to me.

My dear sweet Grandma Beardall made it for me....

a long time ago.

I think this is a favorite blanket for everyone in the house...

I have an old wash basin filled with all sorts of cool blankets.

Whenever I go to grab my fav...

it is always being used by someone else!

It is very loved.

But I am okay with that.

I love that the binding is hand stitched.

I love the fabric scraps she chose to put together.

I still think about my Grandma all the time.

My Grandma was an amazing woman and I hope that I can be half the woman she was!

Favs #52/365

I LOVE my banged up walls!

Okay...really what I LOVE is that my Elsie can get around where she wants to thanks to her walker.

And if that means LOVING my banged up walls,

so be it!

The corners of our couches...the doors...the cabinets...

not much is left un-damaged...

But all of it can be fixed, in some way.

So for now, Elsie...

Run where ever you want to!!!

Favs #51/365

I LOVE when my babies take naps at THE SAME TIME!!!

It doesn't happen that much anymore...

but when it does, it is the greatest.

Sometimes I use that time to clean up...

but more likely I will use that time to start, continue, or finish a project.

Sometimes I take my own little rest.

Today, I hung out with my Cassi.

A little one-on-one time.

She LOVES one-on-one time!!!

Favs #50/365

I LOVE a sleeping baby!

My babies hardly ever fall asleep in random places.

They either had to be rocked to sleep, or laid in their bed to fall asleep on their own.

So I always loved when they were so tired that they would fall asleep anywhere.

Of course, babies are angels...

but something about watching them sleep...

they are just so perfect.

Especially my little man.

Now I just need to get to bed!

Favs #49/365

I LOVE/Hate Running!!!

Well, I am alive...but not well.

No, I am okay!

But Since I came home...I have thrown up 7 times!
I don't feel so hot!

I feel like I have the flu.

Anyway...my official time...

13.1 miles...(hard up hill, down hill miles)

I did it in...2:13:20

Not bad...but certainly not the 1:51 I got two years ago...

Oh well.

I did it...I am alive...kinda...

I know I should have trained more for hills.

I will train better for next year.

Hopefully I can recuperate soon!!!

Oh yea...I BEAT MY LITTLE BROTHER!!!

RACE DAY DISCLAIMERS

1. I just had a baby....4 7/8 months ago.

2. I was sick a couple weeks ago ands that put a kink in my training.

3. I just gave birth.

4. I am no where near the shape I was last time I ran Robie.

5....delivered an 8 pounder a few months ago.

6. My knees aren't the greatest.

7. And finally...less then 5 months ago I was in the hospital, in labor.

That should be enough excuses in case I really don't do good at all today.

Thanks for listening!

Favs #48/365

We LOVE the Park!!!

Especially this park!!!

It is specifically made for children of all abilities.

Elsie is able to take her walker and run free...

It is always packed with kids,

but it is so big with so many play areas...

it never seems too crowded.

Like I said, my favorite part is to watch Elsie run with her walker all around trying all the things.

At other parks, she has to crawl through the wood chip to get anywhere.

She doesn't like that too much.

We do love to go to any and all parks...

But this one wins...BY FAR!

There should be more around like it.

For those who live in this area, it is on Meridian road between Mcmillian and Ustick.

I think it is called the Adventure Island Park.

We all got some great sun and some fun time playing with cousins.

So wish me luck in my race tomorrow.

I will be the one wearing Blue.

(ha ha...everyone is wearing blue!)

Favs #47/365

We LOVE waiting...

Wait...

NO WE DON'T!!!

The girls are upstairs right now waiting for the arrival of their cousins...

Yes, the same cousins who we saw a few days ago,

My brother, Andy, is running Robie Creek with me.

So my sister, Steph, decided to come up too since it was Spring Break for her kids.

So we are waiting.

(by the way...Elsie didn't last long...she is out like a light!)

Favs #46/365

I LOVE my Cass!

This girl is definitely a one-of-a-kind!!!

She keeps things very lively here in our household.

She is always going and doing...and eating snacks!

Today, while I was doing dishes, I was watching Cassi out the window.

She was our pooper-scooper today.

First of all...

you gotta love the boots, right?

They are gonna be around for a long time cause they are about 3 sizes too big for her!

But she loves them.

Cassi is always on the GO!

She is our cuddliest kid...

When she is mad or grumpy all you have to do it give her a hug and she melts in your arms.

I have said before, but she has a beautiful voice, and a knack for memorizing lyrics.

Her new thing now-a-days,

she has a piece of paper and pencil with her, a lot of the time...

and she asks me how to spell word after word after word.

Many of them she has learned to do on her own.

She is a smart little cookie.

Poor girl gets in trouble a lot...

just cause she is always curious and always into things and always creatively making a mess!

Cassi's favorite thing to do for lunch is to...

First get a cookie sheet,

Then find a vase to put some kind of flower, or something that looks like a flower, into.

Then she gets the fanciest cup, bowl and plate she can find.

Makes her sandwich, then cuts it out with the star cookie cutter.

Puts it all on her tray,

and she is ready to go!

She loves all things fancy,

but is a definite tom-boy too!

Go figure!

She is always saying funny stuff...I should be better at writing them down.

She brings so much laughter and happiness to our home!

And she is pretty dang cute too!

We just LOVE our Cassidy!

Favs #45/365

We LOVE coming home!

Home sweet Home!!!

It is funny that no matter where you go, or how much fun you have on a vacation...

there is nothing like coming home!

We had such a fun time with our families for Easter...

but we are so glad to have made it home safely!

Now for the fun part...

Laundry...

you all know how I feel about that!!!

YUCK!

Favs #44/365

Who doesn't LOVE roasting marshmallows???

We are having so much fun...and of course I have plenty more photos to share.

But tonight we got to have a fun marshmallow roast...

YUMMY!!!

We all have red faces from the beautiful sunny day,

we are all exhausted and ready for sleep!

Nothing better than that!!!

Favs #43/365

We love Easter!

Hope you all had a great Easter.

We made a trip to Evanston...

...bad trip up...bad trip back...

...but a great visit!!!

We had a lot of car sickness going on!!!

Hopefully we can kick all that before we head for home!

But we love it in Evanston...the weather was beautiful, so we went out and took some Easter pictures.

Don't we have cute kids???

I guess I am a little biast!!!

Anyway, hope everyone had a fun Easter!!!

Favs #42/365

We LOVE cousins!!!

This isn't ALL the cousins...

but this is who we are staying with...the Holdaways.

So a quick pict in jammies...then off to bed...ha ha ha!!!

Late nights for these guys...for sure!!!

They always have so much fun together!!!

We had three Easter egg hunts today...and made it home with WAY too much candy!!!

I think it is gonna be a while before they all get into bed!!!

Favs #41/365

We LOVE Katie!!!

Katie is Elsie's Physical Therapist.

We love Katie.

We think she is so great.

Katie is one of Elsie's favorite people in the world.

A big thanks to Katie for all that she has done for our Elsie bug!!!

Favs #40/365

I LOVE quiet time!

So Porter has been a little fussy.

Which is not at all like him.

He just isn't feeling peachy!

But he loves it outside.

So before bed, I fed him his bottle out on the front porch.

It was an absolutely beautiful night.

Watching the neighbor kids ride their bikes...

Smelling the BBQ smells...

Watching people out on walks, holding hands...

Listening to the birds....everywhere...

Looking at my beautiful daffodils...

(which by the way...I am not a fan of daffodils...but when you grow them on your own...they worm a way into your heart!

Now you are thinking...well why did she even plant daffodils???

Well, I had a box full of tulip bulbs, which I love, and daffodils...I planted the wrong bulbs...oh well!)
Sorry, I got a little side-tracked.

Anyway, I started thinking...I never take the time to enjoy the quiet time.

So that is what I did tonight with my little Porter before bed.

We enjoyed the quiet time.

Favs #39/365

I LOVE/HATE when they grow up!!!

Seriously...

didn't I just have this baby!!!

Isn't he still too little for rice cereal???

Nope...he got to try it for the first time the other day.

He wasn't quite sure about it at times.

He made some pretty funny faces...but enjoyed the new taste.

He thought the spoon was pretty cool!

a little story...

The girls were having fun taking turns giving him spoonfuls.

Elsie thought it was just great.

Well, I had the novel idea of asking hr if she wanted to try it...

she agreed...

I put a small bite in her mouth...

almost immediately she started to spasm...dry heave...

I was laughing...

is that mean?

Brent was video-taping...

is that meaner??

Anyway...she ended up puking...

I am pretty sure she will never try a new thing when I ask her if she wants to try it!!!

Don't worry.....'Popils' fix everything!!!

MMM....what a cutie!!!

Favs #38/365

Just Thankful!

I was just looking at my big girls today as they sat outside drawing with pastels.

I can't believe how lucky I am.

I wish I acted like it more often.

I mean seriously....I have said this before....but why do I treat my friends and their kids better than I treat my own family!

It shouldn't be like that.

So that is what I am working on.

I wish I could say that I am forgoing housework to spend time with my kids...

but anyone who has been to my home knows housework is not my priority!

But I do need to drop more of MY stuff to do THEIR stuff.

I am so excited for this summer.

We have great plans to spend time with Family and Friends...

camping,

swimming,

anything outdoors!
That will make me a better mom!

So today I am so thankful to be blessed with Four very beautiful,

very different,

little angels.

And one pretty great husband!

Favs #37/365

We LOVE baby wipes!!!

I am seriously not sure how we lived without baby wipes before we had kids!

Today they were used to shine up Brent's old fire truck, that he found in the attic space, to put into Porters room.

Cassi did a beautiful job!!!

We use wipes in the car,

while camping,

to clean up spills,

to clean our leather couches...(Don't know if we should, but it works wonders!)

anything around the house,

and on bums...of course!

Soon, when it is done, I will show you a picture of Porters room.

I have a feeling his room will be the one and only finished room in our house...

for now...

Favs #36/365

I LOVE the creativity of my kids!

While outside playing in the beautiful weather, my older girls found a tire and decided to make a tire swing.

Look closely and you can see the AWESOME knot that they made!!!

They really work well together...

They fight a lot...but work well too.

They were very proud of their swing...

And it kept them quite for a few hours while we watched Conference in peace...

Okay, not in peace, we still had two little ones around, one of which wanted to watch cartoons BADLY!!! Sorry Elsie!

And remember last week when I told you I found my favorite attachment...

Well, it makes it so I can stipple...which I think is such a beautiful way of stitching!

One of my best friends in the world, Jenni, had her little girl Laela on the 2nd. And this is the project I have been working on.

I was very excited to try this out...and I am so happy with how it turned out!!!

(That is sweet Laela laying on the blanket in the middle of the picture...isn't she beautiful?)

I made it double sided...a serious side and a fun side.

What do you think?

I got a little crazy doing it!!!

My forearms are gonna be bulked up...it uses surprising a lot of muscle!!!

Also a lot of mis-stitches that resulted in hours of picking thread out!

Anyway...so I am excited to make more!

But I have a few other things I STILL need to get DONE!!!

(Like the bathroom I started painting a few weeks ago...yep...still not done!

Oh, and Easter dresses I am making...which, by the way, are gonna be so cute!)

I know, I drive myself crazy too!!!