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.