Taryn's Big 6 Birthday Day

She started out so tiny. Brent was scared to dress her because he literally thought he might break an arm off. There's no denying she adds a whole lot of flare to our home even in her pint sized body. Her zest for life is unbeatable and she loves so passionately. So here's to our beautiful 6 year old-she's amazing!

THE butterfly cake WITH eatable glitter....of course because who on earth could enjoy a cake without glitter? And look at that smile! Yes she really is that happy most of the time....especially on a day focused entirely on her.

For her birthday party she requested (and was REALLY serious about it) a Barbie rock out party...Thanks to all the kids that indulged her...It was truly a rock out.

The fancy cup cake decorating station courtesy of Aunt Rebekah's gently pre used decorations...It really wasn't as crazy as I was imagining letting 16 little girls decorate their own cup cakes...We of course did the traditional scavenger hunt to find the pinata and also pin the horn on the unicorn. And since this was Taryn's day face painting was an absolute must (I figured it was a better choice than the make up make overs she really requested.) We also had a get the Barbie dressed relay and a make the Barbie purse craft during which I was impressed no one got glitter glue or puffy paint on furniture or floors...Afterwards I found myself very thankful that birthdays come only once a year....

Super Scholar

It's nice to start the school year off right. At the end of each month Cami's school awards a kid in each class with a super scholar award. She was awarded super scholar the first month. She really loves to read and does it faster than myself or Brent (honestly). She got sick last June (yes right after she finished 1st grade) for a couple of days...She read the first Harry Potter the first sick day, the second Harry Potter the next sick day and by the end of two weeks had finished all seven books. At first we were like no way she is just skipping over parts but then we'd ask her questions and she'd know everything we were talking about and ask us really thoughtful questions in return. I think she has read them all at least 3 times if not 4 by now...Now if we can just slow her down enough to write legibly we'll be in business!

Traditions...Family Game Night and Taco Tuesdays/Thursdays or whenever

So this year has been crazy busy between my job at church, Brent's job at church, the work situation, and girls with dance, soccer, and piano...We felt like we were just rushing around and not exactly having fun as a family, although individually lots of things were fun. SO we made a change.

Brent knew of this family who for years and years has a had a family game night. No matter what they all drop other commitments and hang out with each other. They seem to be a close nit family and we really want our kids to like us and each other.

We do spend every Monday night together as a family but usually we are working on "learning" things. Thursday nights were open and we decided to institute family game night. The first one was a hit and ever since the girls remind us that it is game night and get all excited to choose out a game. It actually has been really interesting to see game strategies of a 7 yr old and 6 yr old and 2 yr old. Cami's favorite game is battleship or the balloon game while Taryn prefers Fancy Nancy build a parfait or Don't Eat Pete. Jocelyn likes anything she can sabotage....It has just been really nice to take some time and shut out the world and make it a focus to have fun and enjoying each other. I hope it lasts.

This is the balloon game and Cami is actually good at whooping us on this one-and Taryn always begs to be on Brent's team for some reason....Maybe she knows he doesn't get as distracted by Jocelyn as I do....

Jocelyn swiping the game cards....

We also started a Taco Tuesday tradition. Who knew the girls would like hard shelled tacos so much?! Easy for me to prepare and I don't have to talk anyone into eating. YEA!!

two ponies and time flies when your having fun?

So the other day I was wondering why has it been so hard to find time lately...time for painting toe nails, time for cleaning the house, time for reading, time for blogging....Then I got Brent to download pictures (new computer stores/downloads different and I haven't succumbed to figuring it out yet) and I remembered where all my time has gone.... Behold my time sink...BUT isn't she cute?

My last few months according to Jocelyn.

The Diaper Situations...

So apparently Jocelyn decided it was a great idea to change her own poopie diaper during nap time....She was REALLY proud of herself and I got to do REALLY a lot of extra laundry! (two days in a row no less....)

The mostly naked child waking up happy...

The soiled yet removed clothing, blankets and cuddles...(no visible nasties for the faint of heart)...

The diaper alone in its glory...

WOW what a good trick Jocelyn!

She has decided she likes to unload each puzzle simultaneously and throw all cabillion pieces all over her room....SERIOUS FUN!!! Now that is something to smile about.

And just in case the books feel left out she is awesome at unloading the bookshelf and dragging books throughout the house. She occasionally stops to read them too...(during which time I am booking it to repair the damage from the previous ten minutes)

She has decided that lotion makes the BEST hair product. I think this was the third time she slicked her hair on this particular day...And just in case you are wondering why I didn't move the offending lotion after the first slicking rest assured I did...BUT Taryn keeps spare lotion with her beauty supplies...and Jocelyn is amazing in her climbing abilities so even up on high dressers it is not safe....

And taking a break in the madness of hair care lets enjoy the double ponies for the first time. Jocelyn has been one bald baby and what she does have is curly so it looks shorter than it is. Now the back is getting long enough to slick into two ponies...."Long enough" is loosely used in our family.

Jocelyn has learned how to throw great fits lately...For several weeks they revolved around her booster seat because she wanted to sit at the counter with the big girls....She won.

Jocelyn refuses to eat any bread unless it is home made. Good thing I like to make bread. When it cools this is what I find Jocelyn doing since she is tall enough to reach now.

I have never been a huge make up user. I did own three things of lipstick-mostly because I bought horrific colors the first two times (I am totally color challenged when it comes to make up for myself). Well it is safe to say I no longer have any lipstick...Jocelyn used it all on her art projects and own extreme make overs....

Lipstick to recolor the rocking chair-doesn't it look great?!

A new color for the bathroom walls? Not to mention after I took this I closed the door and that was where the real priceless art work turned out to be...

And WOW doesn't she look inviting!?

SO...time flies when you are having fun??? At least that is how I explain it when wondering why I don't have time to do anything on my to do list....

Two little funnies

Jocelyn is a funny mix of energy and crazy vs her total silent laid back side...As usual she has wreaked a little havoc lately. She loves painting the bathroom with lipstick or our furniture with her toothbrush BUT she is so cuddly and loving.

Last night Brent went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He noticed something pink or red on his brush but figured one of the kids tried to put their tooth paste on his brush...So he picked it up and started brushing away. After a few seconds he was like "YUCK! DISGUSTING! Someone put hand soap on my toothbrush!!!" Yup, Jocelyn had been playing in there during my shower and gave Brent a nice surprise....

Tonight we were "trying" to say a family prayer. We knelt down in a circle and all was quiet. Before I could figure out what was going on Cami was busting up. I opened my eyes and stopped praying and saw Jocelyn was reaching out and saying duck duck goose! Glad she has good associations with family and the floor.

What happens on vacations doesn't really stay on vacations...

especially when you come home looking like this....20 weeks later....and the surprising news is that it is possible for us to make a boy....now what do we do with a boy? (other than absolutely love him of course)...

The First Day of School!

Wow school started early this year and wow summer was way too short! Wow the house was quiet that afternoon and wow Jocelyn took a great nap!...I do really miss the girls and I catch myself clock watching until I can pick them up BUT it is nice to be able to get a couple hours of jobs done and have Jocelyn have a little peace.

Anyway, Cami started second grade and has a super nice teacher who she loves. Her teacher is really young but energetic and works really hard to challenge Cami. Taryn got lucky and got the same fab teacher Cami had in kindergarten. I must admit I was pretty worried for Taryn to be in such a structured place but so far so good. She has made new buddies quickly and came home with new phone numbers for play dates on the first day.

Taryn had a week of testing then got to start "real" school. This is a picture of the first day of "real" school. She is really proud of her backpack and yes, she did insist on the black leather when it was over 100 degrees....

TA-DA!!!! All ready to go but like three hours early.....

Taryn on her first day of school (just a testing day). She chose out just the perfect dress and of course insisted on curls in her hair.

Doesn't she look so grown up? What a pretty kid!

Cami anxious to get moving on her first day. We went to 7-yes 7-stores before she was satisfied with this bag and lunch box...She was excited to look older and doesn't really want any babyish cartoon stuff on her bags anymore....

Happily leaving the house and Taryn jealously watching from behind (in a nice way)...

So here's to a good happy year and tons of learning (and playing)!

Swimming lessons

What we for reals spent most of our summer doing was swimming. The girls made a lot of progress and can't wait for next year's lessons. Jocelyn even tried getting naked a few times and yelled "WA WA! WA WA! (water water) wanting to get in. I think I'll probably start her next summer.

The pool is obviously outdoors and not heated which made for some serious shivers with such a mild summer... BUT from my sitting in the 100 degree sunshine the shivers looked welcoming. Anyway here is what we did mostly every day all summer.

Taryn swimming across the pool.

Taryn distracting her friend...

Taryn kicking hard enough to splash everyone...

Taryn learning how to breath and swim at the same time.

Cami telling me to go away and quit taking pictures...

Cami learning chicken star rocket (elementary backstroke I think)...

At the beginning of the summer Cami would stop here at the side every trip down or back...By the end she could make it down and back without the stop.

Peek a boo!

The other day I could NOT find Taryn...I was starting to get a little concerned then she started to laugh....She had been holding really silently still to try and trick me. Very tricky indeed!

Father's Day

I love that our kids get really into holidays. They scheme and plan for weeks about all the surprises they are going to do. Cami always makes a homemade book and Taryn always makes snowflakes or cards in commemoration. We always make a banner for the kitchen for birthdays or holidays and breakfast in bed is a must. So for Father's Day the girls helped with breakfast in bed, then gave Dad gifts, and had Brent take a nap in his hammock while we made a fancy dinner. We even used the China.

Cami's gift was particularly fun for Brent. She made him a book with pictures of her favorite memories with him. The one he liked best was a picture of the two of them upside down on California Screaming Roller coaster. Cami's pony tails were sticking straight up and her mouth was open screaming. Brent had hands in the air and a big smile. Probably a very accurate account of their ride. What a good kid! Brent is a good Dad and he is lucky to have such beautiful good girls!

Oh look! Good things come from Bed Bath and Beyond! In this case a waffle iron and three little girls...

THE NAP which can be so elusive in our house..... not to mention weather cool enough to be outside in June is pretty elusive too-perfect afternoon!

Dinner with place mats, candles, and china.... Fancy smanchy!

Disneyland...the happiest busy place on earth!

We finally took the family to Disneyland! We went to Disneyland shortly after we were married and had a great time but a the end of the day we agreed not to come back until our kids were at least 42 inches tall and able to really enjoy it. Well two out of three hit the mile stone and we figured that was good enough.

Brent's sister and her family had a trip all planned and we joined in. I am glad we went with cousins and the girls thrived on the peer pressure. Cami even rode on California Screaming and the Tower of Terror (although there were some tears of terror she says she loved it). It was good for her self confidence.

The cousins were die hards we were up both mornings and at the park for opening and left at closing. The cousins are also pros and knew which rides to ride when and when to get fast passes and where to eat and when...It was way convenient for us to tag along.

And although Jocelyn wasn't big enough for rides other than the kiddie ones she enjoyed climbing every fence and took great naps in the stroller. We really scored having her as our baby.

The girls also loved staying in a hotel since we haven't actually stayed in one for a while. The pool was right outside our room and we wished we had packed our suits...I think the highlight for Taryn was being allowed to buy a treasure in the park the last day-of course a jewelry box and locket.

The drive is only 7 ish hours but the WHOLE way down, every two minutes Taryn asked are we there yet? We both thought we might loss it by the time we did get there.

And since it has been almost three months since we went and I am tired here are some pictures to tell the tell of Disneyland....

Jocelyn on one of the thousands of fences...on this particular one she was watching the ducks and saying "duck, duck, duck...."

When we first got to the park the girls REALLY wanted to go meet all the pixie hallow fairies (they have been reading the books) and on the second day we scheduled them in while the cousins were pursuing some other more serious adventure.

The girls favorite fairy.

Entering the park for the iconic Disneyland picture....our kids and their cousins....

The girls were totally beat after such long intense days so we let them sleep in the morning we left. It was really cute to see two little ladies in a ginormous bed still cuddled up to each other.

Jocelyn getting sunburned watching the parade with cousin Rachael. Jocelyn's favorite was Mickey and Minnie.Taryn's favorite was the whole Little Mermaid section and Cami just enjoyed the general splendor of everything. The looks on all three of their faces was worth the sun.

Cami and Taryn clapped the entire time.

The lines seemed really long to me-longer than they have in the past so this was a familiar site. At least Disneyland goes to the trouble of trying to make the waits as pretty as possible. Here the girls are looking for fairies by the ponds.-except Jocelyn who had a constant eye out for "duck ducks"

Taryn LOVED the tree house Tarzan rope place. I think Cami's favorite was the haunted mansion. We did each place multiple times...

Sweet Sweet Baby Faye....What a sweet baby!