What have I been doing all this time?

Ever since my kids finished school, I keep wondering what I am doing that keeps me so busy. I feel like my life is so turned upside down & I can't keep track of anything, but what is really going on that makes me feel so busy? 5 KIDS AT HOME!! Even though we don't have a lot of things scheduled, trying to keep 5 kids busy all day is quite tiring. We've gone swimming a lot lately, but even that is quite the production getting out the door--making sure everyone has their swimsuit, towel, goggles, sun lotion, hair pulled back, any other pool toys, extra diapers, snacks--it takes almost 30 minutes. Then getting home & getting everyone changed, wet swimsuits & towels hung up, hair combed out & toys put away--once again, a lot of time. Even though the older girls get ready on their own, I still have to keep track of where they are & get them out the door. There is so much mental involved. I didn't realize how much having kids at school saved me energy during the day. I miss them, but I get so much more done during the school year.
So, I haven't blogged for a while cause of all the activities going on with my kids that take so much time & energy. Hopefully I can get a better system soon & stay caught up on things I used to do more often.

Father's Day

Jake is the best dad. His girls just adore him-- some can't get enough of him. He has always come home from work & started playing with the girls & helping with their needs. He has a special relationship with each one of them & I love seeing the love grow over the years. I am so grateful to have a husband who is so committed to having a relationship with each one of his daughters & recognizes the individual needs each one has. I love watching him play games, wrestle, sing, read, do their hair, cuddle, teach, laugh, comfort, cook and many more things that he does with the girls. I couldn't imagine a better dad for our girls!!

I love chocolate chip cookies!

Matt, my brother, stayed with us for a while & my girls always love having him at our house. He is so good with the kids. They all love him. He likes to help around the house and especially help in the kitchen. He informed me that he really liked chocolate chip cookies & the cookie dough. We decided to it would be fun to make cookies with him & he couldn't have been happier. We all enjoyed eating the cookies & dough together.

Zoo Daze

We had a warm day finally come, so we took the kids to the zoo. They have been so many times, but they just love going there. It's so nice to go when the animals actually do something. We had a mixture of animal actions today, but it went pretty good.
Brooklyn loved watching the penguins dive up & down in the water & swim passed her.
The tigers are usually walking around their area when we've been there before. I guess today they were really tired.

Extra Jobs for Money

School is out & it's not always easy to find things for the kids to do so they aren't always telling me they are bored. I let them know that I would have extra jobs that they could do if they wanted to earn some money. I was really surprised when they came to me only a few days after summer break beginning saying they wanted to do extra jobs. I pulled out my list, we discussed how much each job would be worth & they each chose something to do. It was so great to see them all so happy about doing jobs. What a rare occasion. They did a wonderful job & I was so proud of them. Good job, girls!!


Brittany cleaned all the fronts of my cabinets and dusted all the blinds.







Allie washed off the leather furniture.









Nicole cleaned off the front door.









Melissa washed all the baseboards in the whole house--that was a big job!

Riding horses for FHE

We had a fun Family Home Evening night at the Eldredge's home. They have a lot of land, so the kids always find plenty of things to do. Tonight, the highlight was riding horses. All my girls loved it, even Brooklyn. It was hard to wait for their turn since all the kids there were enjoying the rides, but loved every minute they were on the horse.

Presidential Award

Melissa finished her years of elementary school & did an amazing job!! She earned the Presidential Award and it's not something easily achieved. You have to get a 90% grade average for 4th & 5th grades and get a certain math or reading ISAT score. I can't remember if there was more, but she had to work hard & we are all very proud of her for achieving this award. Way to go, Melissa!!

Melissa with her 5th grade teacher, Mr. Spenner. He was an amazing teacher & Melissa really enjoyed being in his class.

Nicole's Kindergarten Celebration

Nicole had a kindergarten celebration to finish off her first year of school. They worked real hard on learning some songs that they performed for us. Then we saw a slideshow with pictures of all the kids & finally they received a certificate from the principal, Mr. Dudley. They all did a great job & Nicole is very excited to move on to 1st grade. You had a great year, Nicole. Congratulations!!

I didn't have my camera set right, so my pictures turned out too dark. Oops!!













Nicole & the other Kindergartners performing their songs.



A picture from the slide show of Nicole & her class.








Nicole receiving her certificate from Mr. Dudley. He is the greatest principal.





Nicole with her best friends from school, Dillynn & Mikenna.







Nicole with her teacher, Mrs. Decker.

Deborah, the Bus Driver

Nicole had the best bus driver this year for Kindergarten. Her name is Deborah & she was so great for these kids. She doesn't have any kids of her own, but she treats all the kids on her bus like her own. She really watches after them, is so kind & gentle, & gives out treats often (a favorite for the kids). On their birthdays, she would the kids a Beany Baby stuffed animal. We were so lucky to have such a wonderful bus driver for Nicole's first experience on the bus. I hope she has the same route when Allie heads off to school in a couple of years.

Doors are no longer a blockade

Up until now, it was so easy to keep Brooklyn out of rooms by just closing the door. She has gotten tall enough now to reach the door handle. For most rooms the door opens into the room so she can pull the handle & push the door open at the same time. It won't be long before all the other doors that open towards her are easily opened by her, too. I have to keep a closer watch on where she goes now cause she loves to go into bedrooms & search through anything--especially candy that may be hiding in her sisters' rooms.


Brooklyn is trying to open the pantry door so she can help herself to some snacks. She loves this room & runs for the door anytime it is open. Once she figures out how to open this door I may have to start locking it. The joys of raising a toddler.

Birthday Home Evenings

Our family has started a tradition to get together at the beginning of each month & celebrate the birthdays for that month. Dave & Lucy had the Birthday Home Evening this time. It was so much fun!! Melissa & Nathan played a song together, Nathan had a lesson prepared, we had a kickball game outside & then enjoyed some yummy dessert. It is always so nice to get together, let the kids play & just chat. I'm looking forward to many more BHE's in the future.

Painting with Dirt

Nicole & her friend, Anna, decided they wanted to paint today. They were very creative & instead of using real paint & paper, they used mud & our fence. I guess they used themselves, too. I didn't know what to think when I first saw them, but after I noticed how much fun they were having I thought it was kind of cute. Fortunately, the clothes did come clean & and their bodies did too.





Nicole & Anna painting the fence.








Nicole & Anna showing off their muddy clothes.












Jake trying to hose off Nicole. The water was freezing & Nicole tried as hard as she could to get away.









Nicole was not too happy after being sprayed off by the hose.












The girls trying to warm up & dry off in the sunshine.