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LOVIN' make-up!!!

Every once in a while I let my kids wear make-up.

Well, Madi and Cassi and usually only for pictures...don't judge me!!!

Anyway..they never seem really interested in it, and have never played with it.

Not sure what happened today.

Cause they found it.

And did this.

Crazy girls!!!

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Just LOVE Madi!

Okay...

So Madi has never really cared what she wore...never really cared how her hair was done.

She has always been pretty easy for me do dress her up as a doll...like I want.

Well, things have changed.

She wants things her way now...which is just fine.

She should have her own style.
But what cracks me up about Madi is...

These last few weeks she can't seem to get enough of herself...looking in the mirror and everything.

Is that normal for this age???

Any mirror she passes, she checks her hair...etc...

When we get in the car, first thing she does is pull down the mirror!!!

Silly girly!!!

Anyway...just curious if this is an age thing?

Anyone have an input???

Also...

I wanted to just make note that she has become quite a good helper with cleaning up the house.

Only problem...

It usually ends up being after the kids are in bed, when she should be in bed.

I personally think she likes the alone time with me...you think???

Anyway, if it is to be with me or not, I kinda enjoy the company!

Maybe she is just trying to stay up as late as possible!!!

Love ya, Madi Bell!!!

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I am really starting to LOVE quilting!!!

This was Brent unfinished Fathers Day gift...

that he knew nothing about...pretty good secret keeper, huh!!!

I could only work on it when he was at work.

Anyway, I still have to do the backing and stipple it...which I am so excited about!!!

I wanted to use a bunch of his old work shirts...

but it was hard to work with that material...so I used the one block and will try to figure something out with the rest of the shirts!!!

I was worried it would be too cheesy...

You know...fireman...patriotic...

But I am loving how it turned out.
Hopefully it will get done quicker now that I can work on it out in the open, cause now he knows about it!!!

I am doing this quilt with the Old Red Barn quilt-a-long!!!

It has been so much fun to do.

I have 'met' some really neat ladies who really know what they are doing.

And hopefully...Dana will continue...and keep doing quilt-a-long after quilt-a-long!!!

So much fun!!!

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ALSO...

Cassi is passing on her crazy outfit gene down to Elsie.

Cassi always has some pretty crazy outfits.

I love it.

It fits her personality to a 'T'!!!

So when I saw her in this today...

I couldn't help but laugh!!!

How great is that!!!

Then later on today I saw Elsie playing outside in her 'Restaurant'

And she had this tiny chefs hat smashed on her head!!!

The hat came with some toy kitchen stuff, and I think it was meant for a doll, 'cause it never fit the girls...

Anyway...I thought it was pretty cute too!!

Crazy kids and their imaginations!!!

LOVE IT!!!

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We LOVE this playhouse!!!

It just keeps getting better and better!!!

Not done yet...

Still needs more paint...

Sandbox at bottom...

I think that's it...

Oh, I think I am gonna paint that car the red color too...

Isn't it perfect???

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I LOVE this little 7 month old boy!!!

7 Months old already!!!
What a big boy!
I don't have any stats on him...But I KNOW he is bigger than he was last month!!!
This boy loves to eat.
It cracks me up that he always knows when food is around.
His or not, he wants it!!!
The last couple weeks, little Porters personality has really come out!
He is just the sweetest little, mellow guy.
He loves to look all around at his surroundings.
He loves his Popsicles...and gives you the worst cry in the world if you try to take it away.
Porter is getting better and better at sitting on his own.
He is an awesome sleeper.
He takes AWESOME naps...and sleeps all night.
What a good boy!!!
He is just so much fun to have around.
He has the sweetest little giggle too.
His top two teeth are trying their darnedest to come through...
just haven't yet!!!
We love this boy...and I still can't believe I am lucky enough to have him!!!

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We LOVE great Dads!!!

Both Brent and I have amazing Dads...

And my kiddos are sure lucky to have the Dad they have!!!

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I will start with my Dad.

I can't tell you how much I love my Dad.

He is the most wonderful, unselfish, hard working man!

My Dad has always enjoyed every part of being a Dad!!!

He has always been there when I needed to talk.

And he listens.

I love you Dad so much.

I love the example you have been in my life.

(Picture from my baptism, 1988)

Isn't my Dad a cutie too???

I have such great memories of my Dad...

From bedtime stories,

Killing goats...

But I have to say that my most favorite memory of my Dad was from every night as a kid.

My Dad would check on all of us, all 9 of us, before going to bed.

Then multiple times in the night I can remember a flashlight roaming the halls, Dad doing his nightly checks again...making sure all his kiddos are snug in their bed.

I always remember the safe-ness I felt by that one little thing he did.

I love you Dad!!!

And Man...did I luck out with this guy!!!!

I have the best Father-in-Law!!!

There is just something about this guy.

The way he teases...

Oh man, does he tease!!!

The way his eyes go into sunshine's when he smiles!

I just love this guy!

Brent also has many fond memories of his Dad growing up.

I think that Grandpa Matthews has to be THE hardest working man in the world.

He never stops.

Here is one of Brent's favorite memories of his Dad.

Keith would get up around 3:00 a.m. to go to work...

He would always leave a note for Brent's Mom to tell her he loved her.

Then he would go to work as a garbage man until around 10:00 or so.

Then he would come home for some lunch and a small power nap before going back to work at the feed store.

He was non-stop.

But while he was out doing chores with his Dad,

they would take a small break.

Gramps would sit on a crate outside the garage...and little Benji would come up to him and lean against him and Grandpa would take little Benji's hands and stick his nails under Brent's nails.

That may sound weird in writing....

But what is funny, Brent does the same thing to his kids.

Anyway...just a fun memory!!!

(Picture from Brent's baptism, 1987)

I just can't help but smile when I look at the man.

And he is also a spiritual giant.

There is never a time that he gives a prayers that the whole room isn't in tears.

I look up to this man...and I love the example he was to his boy...

He has raised a fine man to be a Father to my kids!

We love you Gramps!!!

Now a little about my man.

First of all...this man could not be more loved.

His girls look up to him.

More than that.

I could say he is their Hero...but that just doesn't seem like a big enough word.

He is also such a hard worker and non-stop.

He is always the first person there when someone needs help.

He's pretty funny too.

You should see him with his kids.

He really is the best Daddy!

See!!!

Besides...you would have to be the BEST Dad in the world to built the playhouse that he did for his kids!!!
Madi and Dad have a great little bond.
From the first day he laid eyes on her he was in awe.
These two have the same minds.
Both of them want to learn and explore.
They are both too smart for their own good!

Cass...oh Cass.
Daddy loves his Cass!
Cassi is the crazy one...who is always bouncing all over the place.
There are some frustrating times around here.
But Cassi is the lovable one.
All Dad needs is for Cassi to come up to him and wrap her arms around him...
And he melts in her arms.
Cass, above all, looks up to her Daddy.
She is always so excited to show him the new things that she can do.


Elsie has her Daddy wrapped around her finger.
Dad would do anything for this little bug.
Elsie has a special place in his heart.
He could be in the worst mood ever...
Then get one of those big smiles from Elsie Rose...
And the bad mood is all gone.
Elsie is always looking for Dads approval in all she does.
She goes BALLISTIC when she hears the rage door open...cause that means Daddy's home!!!

I already know this little guy is gonna be a shadow to his Daddy.
The days that Brent gets home from work, Porter is always so excited and gives him the biggest smiles.
It makes me smile inside to think about all the fun stuff this little boy will get to do with his daddy!!!

I love his man anI am so lucky ohave him in my life and that h is the Fatr of my children.
He is such a great example to them.
Thanks for being yourself...
We LOVE you Daddy!!!

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I just LOVE surprises!!!

First of all...I am cheating...

The pictures I post, ALWAYS come from that same day.

But todays pictures were taken yesterday.

Madi shot them for me.

We had our own little photo shoot.

She thought she was pretty cool being behind the camera!!!

So we surprised Dad.

He has been wanting me to cut my hair for a while.

He likes it short.

I wanted it long.

But really, it was always in a ponytail!!!

So I didn't post about it yesterday..cause it was a surprise!!!

Brent got home of shift this morning.

I was so excited last night for him to see it.

And he loves it...

Surprise!!!

(Sorry Cami...I hope your not mad...but I HAD to get it done before I shaved it all off myself!!!)

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I LOVE when you can find the perfect comfy spot!!!

I noticed Elsie curled up inside Madi's legs and thought it was so cute.

Look at how sweet Madi is to Elsie.

Love it.

Isn't it the greatest when you find the perfect spot to fit in.

I know my perfect spot.

In Brent's arms.

I know, I am cheesy...

I agree.

But really, he and I fit just right.

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I LOVE skirts on Elsie!

I got a skirt for Elsie on clearance from Target.

We have been working on ways to help Elsie dress herself.

What better way to start than with skirts!

Anyway...looking at the skirt I got for her, I thought...'I could SOOO make some for her!"

Then today...I was working on *something*.... :)

And I had these handkerchiefs that I didn't need...

SO...

I made a skirt!

Isn't it cute!!!

She loves it...

I think the next few skirts I will make a little longer for her...

and of course Madi and Cassi want their own...

But doesn't she look so cute!

And here is a cute shot of Porter, eating his biter biscuits!
Don't you just LOVE how messy they are!!!

By the way...the girls spent the ENTIRE day in their Playhouse.

(Minus the couple hours we went swimming with the Youngs...)

They decided to paint the inside yellow...which I think will be so cute and bright!!!

We will find some cute material for curtains...

Hang some pictures...

Make some shelves...

A table...

Oh great...

Just one more room in the house for me NOT to finish!!!

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We LOVE our new playhouse!!!

Not finished yet...but so close!!!

Isn't it great???

I can't even tell you how excited the girls are!!!

Here is what it is looking like now.

We plan to make a sandbox and table underneath.

Railings for the porch.

Of course the swings need to hang on something.

It is gonna be great.

Don't you LOVE the barnwood siding????

Isn't it SOOO us!!!

Love it!!!

Then we are gonna use the colors we have on our house to add accents...(cause we have the paint already)

Isn't it so great?!?!?!?

I have a feeling they will be eating...sleeping and spending A LOT of time here!!!

Brent made the steps so Elsie could climb up herself.

She feels like such a big girl when she gets to do what the other girls are doing!!!

Just thought this was funny.

The air compressor was inside the clubhouse.

Was there until he had the roof up and everything.

And LUCKILY it just barely squeezed through the door.

It could have turned out bad...

I am glad it didn't!

While we were working...Cassi and Madi made their own garden...

In their old sandbox.

They picked weeds from what was supposed to be my garden this year (I never planted it...woops!)

And they planted the weeds in the sandbox, in very lovely rows.

Maybe I should have them plant my garden next year.

Then it might actually get done!!!

Anyway...another great day

Now I know the girls will be well occupied tomorrow!!!

Dad, your the greatest!!!

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We LOVE Home-made Ice-cream...after a long days work!!!

So Porter didn't do any work...but he sure enjoyed the ice-cream!!!

Isn't he a cutie!!!

Anyway...so we had a busy day.

But a fun one.

While Brent was away at a dentist appt. (which by the way...his teeth look AMAZING!)

We decided to mow the lawn for him.

And guess what?

Madi mowed the whole backyard by herself.

I helped in a few spots and helped to unload the bag...but for the most part, she did it!

What a pro!

Then the girls and I took a trip to the Bookmobile.

We are very excited about it.

Every Tuesday it comes between 12:00 and 2:00 and sits at Hero's park.

How great is that???

Anyway...

Then we all made a run to Lowes'.

We always get look sat Lowes when the whole gang rolls in...

Could be that our kids (Cassi) are bouncing off the 2x4's!

That girl has some energy.

Anyway, we got a bunch of stuff for Dad to make his 'much begged for, much promised' playhouse for the kids.

We all sat out there and helped Dad out as much as we could.

The girls were going in and out of the house with Popsicles, drinks, snacks...

You name it.

Cassi came out at one point and told me she made herself a Popsicle.

I was curious...but figured what harm could she do.

Well, later when I was looking for the Crystal Light she had made to make her Popsicle...I found her Popsicle in the fridge...but no juice.

Well, Apparently she used the whole Crystal light container to make her one 8 oz. Popsicle.

Crazy kid.
We will see how it tastes tomorrow, I guess.

Then we BBQ'ed, of course...

Played in the sprinklers...

Took a bath...

Then got our bowl full of Home-made ice-cream!!!

It was seriously yummy!!!

I am sure we will have another busy day tomorrow.

I can't wait.

Here are the bare bones...just wait...it will be AWESOME!!!

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We LOVE the sun between rain storms!!!

What crazy weather!!!

All we want to do is go swimming...and it keeps raining on us!!!

Anyway...at least we got some sun today and got the kids to go outside for a little bit.

And at least the rain made everything smell good!!

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We LOVE our Sunday calls to Grandma Ene!!!

I can't even tell you how many years Grandma and Grandpa have been getting calls from their Idaho kids on Sundays.

I guess it has been since we moved to Idaho.

The kids don't let us EVER forget!

They love to talk with Grandma and Grandpa.

They, (Madi and Cassi) always fight over who gets to call this time!!!

Silly kids!

Elsie loves to talk with Grandma and tell her about going to nursery and playing with friends.

It is always nice to talk with Grandma and Grandpa...it makes it seem like they aren't so far!!!

Here is Cassi...posing her after bath hair-do!

Our big chunky boy...and his big chunky thighs!!!

LOVE 'EM!!!

Sweet little Elsie Rose!!!

I dare you not to smile when you look at her!!!

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We LOVE a good movie and popcorn!!!

We had other plans for the night that didn't work out.

We made peanut butter cookies (Dads fav.) to take to Dad at the fire station...

but he has been doing some testing and training and stuff all day, we didn't get a chance to take them to him.

That's okay...that just means he gets to have them tomorrow...all to himself!!!

So instead...

we popped some popcorn and watched 'Happy Feet'...

we also got to have some friends over...Alex and Ayden.

So we had a fun night anyway...

we will visit Dad at the station soon...

Maybe next time we will make cinnamon rolls.

They love those!!!

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I LOVE the small window of time before my kids realize they need to be mean to each other!!!

My oldest two have realized that.

That they are supposed to be mean to each other!

Elsie hasn't realized that yet, and she is still so sweet and loving to her little brother!!!

I love it.

Maybe I will luck out...and they will stay nice to each other...

But I would really luck out if my oldest two would decide to be nice to each other!!!

Now that would be great!!!

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ALSO...

Look what Cassi learned to do while we were camping!!!

She can ride a two-wheeler! She caught on really quick too... we haven't been able to keep her off since! Good job Cass!!!

More camping pictures!!!

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of picts...

enjoy

Brent's own little mini-me!

Madi practicing her shell-balancing skills!

Cass, pre-dirty.
Madi and her best friend Kara

Feeling the cold water!

Me and the man.

Heather took a great picture of us with the background...but...

Do you ever have a shirt that you wear a lot that you think looks good on you...

until you see yourself in a picture wearing it.

I will be putting this shirt away for a little while.

Anyway...still had to include a shot of me...just so I will know I was there.

So I had to crop it in a bit...

Elsie...mauling little Hallie!

Elsie and probably one of her most favorite persons in the world, Aubree!!!

Or how Elsie says it 'AWBEE'

Isn't this why you have kids in the first place...to do your dirty dishes!!!

Elsie loves to help out!!!

I learned on this trip that Elsie has enough hair for a pony tail...isn't it the cutest???

We heard that there was a place that had alligators...

So we took a little trip to see them.

They were huge!

Buh-buh, looking at the alligators...

Madi...a little unsure of the alligators, I guess!

The big Alligator

Cass spent a lot of her time throwing stuff in the water and waiting for it to come out the other side of the bridge.

Madi and Kara again.

The we went into Hagerman and visited the fossil museum they had there.

The kids thought it was pretty cool

They had a spot outside where they could dig up their own fossils...they thought that was great...

My sweet sweet little boy!!!

This was Madis 'seaweed bowl'.

She said if it had a commercial it would say,

'eat the outside, toss the inside'
Not so funny when you read it...but when she said it, it was pretty funny!!!

Cassi, all dirty...surprise? No!

And lets not forget Tanger...

Here he is...terrified that he is gonna be thrown in the water...AGAIN!!! Poor dog!