Wednesday, May 10, 2023

The beginning of August



Emma's 4th birthday!
The kids used camping pads to make dog kennels and were puppies.   Too cute!  The folding chairs held the camping pads in place.
Usually Emma wears shorts to the park, even for the splash pad.  Today I let her wear her swim suit, and she got scrapes on the back of her thighs, poor thing.
Makayla gave Emma a doctor set and her old Lamby from doc mcstuffins.
Cuties working together.
We gave her perler beads because she had so much fun using them on our summer trip.  She has loved them.
Lots of shapes to create with perler beads.
The dr. is in the house!
Decorating her cake.

Christopher did baptisms really early with the priests.
Now her hair curls?!  When she's sweaty?  Was it because we went back east and met humidity?


Pictures with library prizes.
Everyone wanted pictures with the background.
You'd think I forced them.
Or made a funny smell.
But this is what they wanted.
The kids have their own bags because if they want to check out more than 5 books, they have to carry them.  (my rule)
Joseph had fun stealing my phone and playing with the special effects.  There were 5 pictures just like this.


Emma's cute cowgirl outfit, and she's holding a piggy bank she got from our across the street and one house down neighbor, who is a banker.
Popcicles at the library party.
When we went to the Nike outlet to buy the boys shoes, we told the older ones we'd pay $25 of their first pair and $15 of their 2nd pair.  Well Michael bought 4 pairs.  I went in his room one day and realized all his shoes were black and white, of some variation.
Cuddle time
The moon coming over the mountain. It was pretty big.


We had a dinner with our friends the Fishers at their house.  The kids made a play for us.

Adalyn figuring out big swings at the Huish's (neighbors)
Makayla was playing 'daycare' with the kids and they had a pirate theme day.  She wanted a photographer.


My parents entered the MTC!!!! They talked about going on a mission together my whole life and now's the time!  They are in Montreal, Canada teaching Institute, making food for institute dinners, chaperoning Institute dances, attending sacrament mtg for both the French and English wards.
Sister picture.  Makayla and Adalyn share a room.
Rob went to lunch at the MTC with my parents.  (My dad got an important phone call from the travel office about how they were going to get into Canada, because other senior missionaries had boarder issues.  That night Rob and I realized I could have gone to lunch with them too.  Oh well, maybe next mission.
Playing roll the ball.

Emma is sharing her scooter with Adalyn and teaching her how to use it.


I find random pictures like this...

Makayla braided my hair.

Ta-da!


I love reading to my kids, but apparently I need better reading posture.  No, I"m not taking a selfie, I was trying to convince one of the kids to give me my phone back.
Makayla did a cute little braid and pony tail.


Cheese!


I did one on her.

And Emma


Adalyn randomly has curls this day.  So cute!
 

The end of July

Makayla is getting pretty good at braiding my hair.
Usually Adalyn doesn't want to get in the water, so I often bring her swim suit, but don't change her into it.  Well, with her cousin Brooklyn there, she got really wet!

Michael picked alot of blackberries from our backyard.
Adalyn trying on Michael's football helmet.
This summer I got tired of the kids telling me I never make anything they like, so I let them each choose a meal per week.  We ate alot of the same thing.  This lasted a few months, then I went back to making "yucky" meals.  Spoiler: in the last week of February 2023, the kids are surprised they liked what I made twice in a week!  (King Ranch soup & tortilla chips (I told them it was nacho cheese dip with chicken, but we had to call it soup so it could be dinner), and Chicken Fajitas (Michael loved the chicken, but didn't want the peppers and onions.)


Found some Texas jam on clearance in Utah when we got home from our trip.
Cutie Pie
Happy kids (well, Zach always thinks of a crazy face for pictures)
Happy Emma
Cutie Adalyn


Bored Joseph?  He was playing with this fidget toy.  He likes wearing pants...even in July


We saw this crazy paint job.

There were a couple leftover birdhouses from Activity Days Day Camp (a 4 hr event), so Emma and her 2 friends (sisters 18 months apart) painted them.
These girls LOVE the Tie Dye shirts we made at the reunion.

Michael's bday party.  We walked to the park 1/2 mile away and they played 2 hand touch as one of the activities.


Alot of teenage boys in our house.

Makayla practicing being a mom-holding a toy like a baby while vacuuming.



We made a TON of Jam.  The orangey ones are plumcot, and the deep red are berry.  It's a team effort.  Rob does the cooking part of it, and I make sure the jars and sugar are ready.  We work together filling and flipping.  (We use the flipping method of sealing the jars.)


Patriotic hair chalk.
Bubbles!
Makayla loves doing hair chalk on everyone.

We needed something to help us wait our turn.  Bubbles it is.

Enjoying the evening shade.  Makayla was doing spa treatments this day.



Makayla and her nachos. She loves tomatoes.


Zach wanted to trick me into thinking he was in bed.
Adalyn loves emptying the dishwasher.  Usually Emma empties the top shelf, I pull out breakable stuff and knives, and Adalyn does the rest.

Joseph went thru a phase where he wanted me to take pictures of his breakfast.
before milk.
Emma wanted to show off her pretzel creation.


Joseph's oatmeal.
Before milk.
A different day.