family picture fun

 I try to do some family pictures each year and I just take them myself.  Last year we set up a tripod and it worked out great when we did our group pictures but this year we have wonderful neighbors who were so willing to come and help us on that part.  These pictures are just a few out of many that I thought were cute and a few that I thought were funny.  The things I love most about most of the pictures are the personality you can see in them.

 Like this little girl who is packed with personality and this picture shows it.  But she has a very sweet side and you can see that in a few of her pictures also. 

 The sun was very bright so you can't see Elizabeth's big beautiful eyes very well but she still looks as pretty as usual.  She is such a sweetheart and is the for the most part the peacemaker of our family. 

 Alexis is the little model.  She knows how to smile for the camera and what moves to make.  She is so beautiful and is growing up way to fast.  I still can not believe my baby is 10

 Ryan took these pictures of Brytlee on the swing and I think they are so precious.  She looks so sweet!!!

 I had to throw these funny pictures in.  The group family pictures.  I have to tell her how to smile and she has a hard time knowing what smile is natural.  So we get a few of these but they crack me up!!! 

 I think this one is great... this is what she does when we say "big smile" 

 these were some that I wish would have turned out.... but this is as good as it got.

 Ohhhhhhh.... how I love my honey!!!!

 Had to do some photo shop but I think these two turned out cute.  I am so in love with my family and I am so grateful that I get to be a wife and mother to these wonderful people.  I feel so lucky sometimes I don't know what I ever did to deserve it.

Adison 1 yr pictures

 I have taken the summer off from the blog so now it is time to catch up and try to remember all the fun we had.  I took some pictures of Adison when she turned one.  A friend of mine let us use her  very cute outfit and she looked adorable.  I wish I knew how to photo shop these a  little better because they still are not even close to how cute she really is.

 I love this one.  She has blown me a kiss

 She is showing her pose.... looking good

Adison is such a great little girl and we all are so in love with her.  She is really into baby dolls right now and she loves to push them in her stroller and she also loves it when her sisters push her in also.  She loves to be outside and is a pro at the trampoline.  She will say "one, two, three" and then land on her bum.  She is growing up really fast and it is crazy how much she learns and picks up on each day.  She is one smart cookie. 

Funny

Yesterday Elizabeth got in trouble and so when I went to talk to her she lost her temper and ran to her room and yelled, "I am going to my room and I am never coming out!"  I just let her cool off and didn't go after her and about five minutes later she opens her door and yells, "MOM, did you hear me??? I said I was NEVER coming out!"  I still let her wait and about five minutes later, "Mom...... aren't you going to come and talk to me?"  I thought it was funny, and by the time I went and talked to her she was back to normal and ready to go back to playing. 

Happy Fourth

 We stayed home this fourth of July, which we have not ever really done.  The whole day felt so weird to me and I kept thinking about the times of the activities we would have been doing... but saying home wasn't so bad.  It was nice to just hang out and relax while the kids all had a ton of fun playing in the water with cousins. 

 

 Alexis was so excited because she caught a monarch butterfly with her bare hands. 

 Ryan was a little tired because he had stayed up the WHOLE night before fishing with some friends.  It was supose to be a great time for fishing but didn't really turn out to be true.  But he still had a good time I think.

 Adison put on these glasses and she ran around being funny and she knew she was funny. 

 The kids are being told the RULES of the slide so they don't break this one.  We have bought one each year and they have all torn or just stopped working. 

 Brytlee LOVES Kate.  she asks to have her over every day

The kids had a ton of fun and so did we.  It is always nice to have a bbq and talk to adults and just hang out.  That night we did sparklers and a few little fire crackers.  I have not done that in forever so it was fun. 

The many faces of Adison

 Adison is so funny!  She has such a BIG personality and is always doing something to keep me going.  I forgot how busy they keep you at this age.  The last week or so I have felt like I have not been able to get much done, and she is into everything or wanting to go outside, and just really busy.  She is talking like crazy and can say most anything.  She has her own little language she will speak still and it is so cute.  I love when she wants to eat something she will say.  "za za za zah mmmmmmhhhh"  The faces she has been making the past few weeks are great.  She has started saying "Cheese" when she see's the camera so she has gotten good at smiling.

 This is, OOOOhhhhh, or wow face. 

 Another "cheese" face

 this is... I know I am cute!

 She did one of her "Za ah za zha.... ha ha ha ah ha"  it is like she is telling a story and a joke at the same time. 

 Adison has decided that she no longer wants my help with anything.  She has to feed herself, she wants to drink out of a cup NOT a sippy cup.  She wants to put her own shoes on, and do everything on her own.  She is such a messy kid, and if she is eating and doesn't like it.... she just chucks it across the room. 

 She has not wanted to wear the cute little head bands that look adorable on her for a long time now.  But she does enjoy putting other things on her head..... like these underwear.

I find her putting these on her head more than I should.  She is such a funny girl, and such a sweet heart.  Something new that she is doing that is so funny.  When we are outside if she gets dirt on her hands she has to have them washed right away.  She comes up to me and say's,  "it yucky"  over and over.   She will also do that if she is sticky or has food on her hands.  She loves to put lotion on.  She calls it "rub ub" and when I put it on her hand she will rub it all over her head like she is washing her hair.  She has gotten really good at singing happy birthday and I can understand most of it when she is singing.  She also loves to do ring around the rosies and sings it pretty well also.  This girl LOVES to dance.  Anytime she hears any music she will start shacking her arms and her head.  She is such a cute little dancer. 

Lost another tooth

Brytlee has lost ANOTHER tooth.  this is her third tooth and she just turned five in February.  The last time we went to the dentist he said that she was "  very Advanced" for her age.  (when it comes to her new teeth coming in)  he said she could have most of her new teeth by the time she is six..... crazy!!!

 I think she looks so cute with her little missing tooth.  It just makes her look so grown up.... it makes me a little sad.  

This was what Brytlee picked out to wear for Fathers day.  She came down so excited and Ryan said he liked it.... and it was his day so we let her wear it for the day.  But then she put it on again the next day and I had to put my foot down.  I don't know where my kids get there matching skills, but at times it makes me a little nervous. 

Cute letter

I thought this letter was so cute.  It if from Alexis to Elizabeth.  It is so nice to see that they really do love one another.  There is nothing better than watching them play and get along and laugh together.  I know they will most likely fight in the next few seconds, but it is nice while it last. 

It's what fun is

Lagoon!!!!  Yesterday we took the kids to Lagoon and had the BEST time.  We left Adison home with the neighbors so we could do all the grown up stuff with the kids now that they are all big enough to go on all of the rides!!!!  I was so excited to go on all the roller coasters with the girls and  just do it all.  We got to the park right after it had opened and it was the perfect day to be at the park.  We could walk onto almost every ride and if there was a line it was a very short one.  (like 10 minutes)  

 So our very fist ride we were going to get on was the old Roller coaster that is old and all made from wood.  There was no line so we were just walking right on when all of a sudden Alexis FREAKED out and started yelling and crying and grabbing onto everything she could to stop her from having to get onto the ride.  Everyone was staring at us and I felt so dumb.  The other girls were ready to go and very excited about the ride and Alexis was like a cat that we were trying to drown.  So we told her that she could just wait for us and then go on the next one.  But it was like this for every ride.  I have no clue what her problem was and I was really shocked it was my 10 year old I couldn't get to try a roller coaster...... so weird.  So I bribed her and told her I would give her what ever she wanted and that didn't even work. She watched all her cousins go on the wild mouse and so she thought that one didn't look so bad.  She did like it and tried a few others and then warmed up to most of them but the two coolest rides in the park.  The colasuss and
Wicked.  So Ryan and I grabbed her and took her on Colossus kicking and screaming and telling me that she hatted me and I was the worst mom in the world.  But after the ride was over she said.... "That wasn't so bad"  after going on that a few more times she worked up the courage to go on wicked and she LOVED it. 

I was really surprised my little Brytlee loved all these big rides and wasn't scared of any of them.  A few of them were so fast it was hard for her to hold her head up so I would hold it for her.   But after each ride she would give me a high five and say, "that was awesome".  We stayed the entire day and didn't leave until they closed down the park.  We got food on the way home and everyone was so tired they couldn't even eat it.   It was such a great day and we had tons of fun.  The girls all slept in till almost 11:00 this morning and I think I could have slept a little longer if Adison would have let me.... She wasn't as tired as the rest of us. 

Swimming

I took the girls to a swimming pool that has a great slide today and they had sooooooo much fun.  We have my niece Mya with us for a couple of days and they all play together so well.   I really wish I would have taken my camera to get a few shots of them on the slide but I was really busy just making sure all five girls were safe.  I was really nervous and thought I had lost my mind taking five kids to the pool by myself,  but they were all great!   Adison was the one that really surprised me.  She LOVED the slide also and was really good the whole time.  I was really tired of going up the stairs to the top of the slide about half way through so I put her down and she was happy as could be climbing them holding my hands.  (so that made it a little easier the rest of the time)  I bet Adison and I went down about twenty times or more and the girls were very close to 100 or more.  They didn't do anything but the slide the whole time and they ran up the stairs as fast as they could each time for over three hours.  I really hope they all sleep well tonight.... I know I will

Deep thoughts

So it has been over a year now and I still am struggling to get the baby weight off......  and I have been doing the gym thing about every day for the past year and have really cut back and been eating really healthy to try and make it work but not it is time for a new thing... the D word.  I really hate to go one a diet and I don't know if it is just me but when I am told (even if it is me telling myself) that I can not have something.... that is all I want.  My mind has been doing some crazy thinking about food.... even foods I really don't like I want to just pig out on.  Then I get on pintrest to see what is new and I see all the pictures of these yummy deserts and snacks and food that isn't so great for you....   not HELPING.  It has only been two weeks and I am doing pretty good at this but I REALLY want to cheat........  I go to bed at night thinking, "why am I doing this?" then when I wake up in the morning and see that I lost a pound I decide to stick to it another day.  I am not doing this trying to get any comments about it, I just think it is so weird how our minds work.  We want what we are told we can not have.  Even if it is something we didn't want in the first place.  For me right now.... it is just food that isn't good for me.....mmmmmmmmmm