First Day of School

And they're off. Second grade and Kindergarten first day of school. They were both very excited, looked adorable and walked right into class. We are grateful for good teachers, nice kids in their classes and a short commute. :) They both came home from school buzzing about the whole day and so excited to tell me all about it. I think I'm in denial about them really being gone all the time. We had such a fabulous summer, idyllic really. I told Aaron we need to start planning what we are going to do for fall break right now to get me through. 

34

I turned 34, just like that I'm really 34. It was a pretty typical day filled with caring for kids and we actually drove to Arlington that day so lots of packing and cleaning too. But Aaron got me Indian from our favorite spot in Arlington while we were there and bought me an oreo cake. Then after we got back I had a combined party with my birthday twin, Margaret. We had a swimming party at our house and it was perfect. They made a texas sheet cake (one of my favs) and we put sparklers in it to blow it out. Happy Birthday to me! I have a feeling this is going to be one of my best years ever. 

Happy Birthday Camilla!!

I can't believe our sweet girl is 5! 5 whole years old. She woke up and said to me, "Mom I am never going to be 4 again, last night was the last time." She has been so excited for her birthday and loved having a day all about her. It was a pretty fun day filled with swimming and a quick date with Dad. 

For dinner her choice was Chuy's. She wanted an enchilada with beans and rice and of course, a push up pop. 

I made it through dinner with my four littles all by myself. Not for the faint of heart my friends. 

She some how convinced her Dad to throw her a princess birthday party. Aaron did all the work and put together a darling little party. When Camilla woke up she asked Aaron to get her breakfast and he said, "how do we ask for things?" She said, "do I have to say please on the day of my princess birthday party?" That's our girl. She ate up the whole princess thing. 

The girls had a dance party.  

Of course lots of swinging in the big swing. 

Aaron gave the girls a mani/pedi while they ate their princess sandwiches and watched My Little Pony. 

Then it was pink cupcake time. They made and decorated their cupcakes and loved it. 

Happy birthday baby girl. 

Camilla brings so much passion and spunk into everything she does. No one will climb up into your lap and cuddle with you faster and you can't help but forgive this girl about 2.5 seconds after getting frustrated with her. She works so hard at everything she does. She is determined, genuine, and very funny. I just know this one is ready to take on the world. Dream big my beautiful girl! 

2 months

Our sweet angel boy is 2 whole months and he is fat!! He has grown so much its crazy. We are enjoying this little butterball more and more as he continues to grow. This months our sweet boy is really starting to enjoy his baths, he started smiling at us (oh how we all love that smile and fight over it every day), he is grunting and loves to stretch out. He is trying to find his fingers all the time and loves to look at mobiles and dangling toys. Spencer loves to be held and loves his pacifier. 

Spencer was blessed this month and he was perfect. 

Spencer's brother and sisters are still crazy about him and really help me by watching him, playing with him and inserting his paci. Spencer is getting very strong and does well with his tummy time. 

Spencer is sleeping longer stretches at night and unfortunately doesn't have much a schedule during the day. Poor fourth child grabs a nap whenever he can, usually in the car. He has days when I wake him up from every single nap but his favorite napping spot is his swing. 

Official stats:

Height: 24 inches (85th)

Weight: 11 pounds 14 ounces (50th)

Head: 40 cm (75th)

Woah!! This kid grew so much this month, he gained almost 4 pounds. The doctor and nurses couldn't believe how much he had grown. They were all very impressed and pleased with a breastfed baby growing so well. It was a proud mamma moment. 

Lately

 Just some cute things my littles have been up to as our summer comes rapidly to a close. 

Looking adorable all ready for church. We give our kids a lot of liberty with their clothing choices (the girls take full advantage, Carson could care less). Brookey wanted her pink tennis shoes and Millie her boots. 

We love this baby of ours. Trying to play with his older siblings but just can't stay awake. 

Brooke got her first hair cut. She is now our short haired girl.  

She was so excited to get a hair cut with her big brother and sister. 

The girls both got braids. Oh how I love these cute girls. I can't believe I am already here getting back to school hair cuts! Nooooo!!!

Going out with a bang

So our summer flew by, it was so wonderful but way too fast. Well we decided to go out with a bang for our almost last weekend and drive to Arlington. We were able to watch Sheppy play soccer and hang out with Cory, Sheppard, and Evie. Then on Friday we all went to Hurricane Harbor. My parents flew in that morning, Aaron flew in late the night before and we all worked together to make it fun for all the kids. Carson was an animal, he loved every single ride. He even went on the Geranimo and wanted to ride every tall slide. He was fearless and a blast. The girls mostly wanted to swim in the lazy river. :) I was back and forth feeding Spencer and my parents watched him the rest of the time. Carson and Aaron opened it up and closed it down. After we got home Aaron put the kids to bed and then went and picked up Indian food from our favorite restaurant and an Oreo chocolate cake that Brookey picked out for me. We ate delicious food and watched old Modern Family shows. 

Then on Saturday we had a fun morning and then I went to the temple (I did a session in Spanish!) and then when I got home it was time to get ready to go to a party for Camilla and Evelyn. We went to the country club to go swimming and swim we did. They had diving boards and a big deep end and our kids had a blast. Then when they were so hungry they couldn't take it anymore we went back to my parents' house who had a fabulous meal ready. Aaron's parents came too and it was fun to spend time with them as well. 

Then it was cake and ice cream time. Camilla picked out a rainbow cake with Grandma and Grandpa and baby Evie had some very fancy, yummy cupcakes. 

We sang to the birthday princesses. They are both gorgeous girls. 

Then on Sunday we blessed our sweet baby Spencer. It was a beautiful blessing. Aaron blessed Spencer to be kind and loving, to work hard, to grow in his testimony of the Gospel, and to always remember his 3 very special names and the good men who he shares them with. He also blessed him to have a special relationship with his mother who sacrificed so much to bring him into the world. It was just lovely and we were blessed to have so many people that we loved there with us. 

Aaron's co worker, Ryan and his girlfriend, Hannah made the drive - so nice of them.  

The Priesthood circle, minus Chuck who made a special effort to be a part of it with us too. 

We love our sweet boy and are so grateful to have eternally in our family. 

The Swing

Hours and hours are being spent on our new swing. We love it! 

I love that we spend so much time in our backyard, it has been the greatest part of our new house. 

Fourth of July

Man we really love the fourth of July here at our house. Aaron had Friday and Monday off work and it was SO nice to have the long weekend. We spent all morning Saturday just swimming and swinging and eating outside it was just a great day. Then on Monday we head out to our favorite fourth of July spot, Blue Hole. Aaron went with a few of our friends very early so we were the first ones in line. It was a great day. Our kids are more and more fun at Blue Hole and it was so hot so the water temp was perfect. We all spent a ton of time swimming and going off the rope swings. We also sat around, hanging out with friends, ate delicious food, played spike ball, and watched the kids. It was pretty much a perfect Blue Hole Day (minus the meltdowns at the exit:). We stayed until about 5:30 so it was a long day. 

Brookey even went off the swing this time. So love this girl. 

The girls and I were exhausted when we got home. Brooke fell asleep in the car and went straight to bed and Camilla followed soon after. Aaron and Carson decided to stay up and go to the fireworks. Man I love how these two boys are the best of friends. 

Carson loved the fireworks. 

There is no one in the world Aaron would rather hang out with. :) 

Happy Anniversary

Aaron and I have been married for 9 whole years. Sometimes our anniversary gets a little lost in the business of our lives and Carson's birthday happening the day before but we did go out on a date to celebrate. It was probably one of my most favorite dates ever. We had baby Spencer with us of course but it was so nice to just be us and just talk. I feel like I got to talk to him about so many things that have been on my mind and heart the past few weeks and I just love spending time with him. We decided to go to Zilker Park in down town and hang out and go for a run around town lake. It was like 100 degrees so the run was interspersed with walking and lots of sweating. After we were done we came home and put the kids to bed and hung out and watched Fed Up.  

I am still very much in love with this man and proud of the marriage we work hard at. This past year has been difficult with my pregnancy, Aaron's stressful job and travel schedule, and being busy but we continue to work together as a team, always together. Love you babe. 

7!!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy Carson. We cannot believe that our angel boy has turned 7 whole years old. He is without a doubt the sweetest boy there has ever been. We enjoy him so much. Carson's big birthday request were triple waffles for breakfast. He reminded me many times before I went to bed that he was going to sleep in but I needed to get up early to make him special birthday waffles. I made the batter and set up his special birthday seat the night before so when he woke me up that morning he was concerned that I had forgotten the waffles but happy when I told him that I gotten it all ready after he went to bed. He sure loved his triple stack waffles. It was served on his Roman numeral place mat, of course. 

Then Carson was off to camp. He sure loved his camp this year. We were very happy with it and he was so excited to go every day. All his teachers and the director told him Happy Birthday. Then Carson got a big birthday surprise when Grandma and Grandpa showed up with Mia. They came to surprise him for his birthday and he was thrilled. When he got home from camp Dad had a special birthday lunch delivered and Millie and Brookey had gotten him cards and balloons. It was an exciting day. Then the kids got to watch a few shows all together. These 3 sure love each other. 

Then the kids spent the whole afternoon/evening in the pool.  

Grandpa taught Carson how to jack knife. The kids LOVED having Grandma and Grandpa get in to swim with them. We had planned to go out to dinner but the kids were having so much fun swimming we just picked up dinner and brought it to the house. Carson was thrilled with his special day. 

Then two days later was his party. This was a serious party. We had a great time. There were a TON of kids and everyone had a great time. The kids mostly just swam and swam. There were lots of water guns. 

Carson and Paolo. Carson had friends from school, church, and the gym there. He has made so many great friends. 

The kids played in the yard and jumped on the tramp. 

Then it was cupcake and singing time. There were so many people that it was so loud when they sang. 

Roman Numeral candles of course. Everyone loved those. 

For Carson's birthday we got "him" a snow cone maker. It is pretty awesome. We made snow cones for everyone and they were a hit. 

There was also a relay race and many very tired kiddos at the end of the day. The kids swam for hours. We loved it! I am so proud of Aaron for making this pool so blue this summer. It has been so much work but I think we've finally got it figured out. :) 

Lately

Just some things we have been up to lately. 

Spencer loves his baths. I don't have time to let him hang out in the bath very often but when I do, he loves it. 

The kids act out ninja warrior in the pool. They climb from the pool up the slide and then slam the steering wheel as the buzzer. Love my ninjas. 

Brooke is swimming more and more these days and loves to tell people she can swim, "all by myself."

Spencer is such a fourth child, he falls asleep anywhere. 

Carson has made some new friends in our new ward. We are so happy to see him getting along with his new friends. He went to a birthday party for one of his new friends and had a great time. 

I'm just enjoying summer so much. I love sleeping in, having my kids home all day and of course, lots of swimming. I just feel like I am enjoying my kids so much right now and happier than I have ever been. The other night Aaron called to see if he could go and play tennis with a friend and I was like sure. I started thinking about how a couple of months ago I would have been like NO way, I need you home to help me with the kids. But now its totally fine, I am so much happier not pregnant. :) But man I love having this new baby. 

But something I do not love is lice. Yuck! We have been dealing with it on and off for a few weeks. I hate it!