H~s 9th

Happy Birthday to my beautiful 9 year old Harper! And, since I am in a picture kind of mood, here is a collage of H's Yellowstone trip. You know what I noticed most about H in all the vacation pictures? She is always smiling. I know that there were times in our trip where she was frustrated or cranky, but she always tried to smile for the pictures. I love that about her :)




(I had to add the following because it really shows her heart)

He has a six shooter, shooting EVERYTHING.

Her name is Harper.

AND, this...this, is the cutest video EVER.








(Just to make sure it's heard...his first words are "I shoot a mountain lion, Harper.")

She's such a good big sister. LOVE you H!

(Wow...2 blog posts in 2 days. A record. :)

2011 Vacation Slideshow

I had SUCH a great time making this. We had a wonderful trip and made many memories. I've done my best here to put them in the order they occurred. It is my hope that this video captures a small fraction of what I have stored in my heart.


(Don't expand because I saved this video in an easy to upload format because it was so long :)

Lego Love

The kids heard that my little jewelery box was breaking so Quinn and Harper took action. Quinn designed the fancy little box and Harper fashioned a ring tree. Love, Love, LOVE them!

Bits and Pieces

Writing to remember a few snippets from today...

In random order:

Harper: At dinner, she said, "Mama, do you know you have the best mama smile ever?" I don't know what she's up to, and frankly, I don't care. I'll take it :)

Quinn: This afternoon the kids went door to door looking for work. (Yes we feed them) Surprisingly, a neighbor told them to pick up sticks from the yard and she would pay them $2 each. She went to give them the money beforehand, and Quinn gave it back to her saying that he couldn't take it until she saw the job he had done. I WAS SO PROUD OF HIM!!! I saw a glimmer of the man that I pray for him to be.

Nate: After the kids brought their money home to show us, Ben told them that they now had to pay taxes. Running away upstairs, Nate yelled as he went, "I don't believe in taxes."

Judah: It is so fun to walk hand in hand with Judah. He is so short and his little legs are so chubby, that he has to take five steps for every one of mine. I love it. I looked down at him today as we were walking and felt happiness and sadness at the same time. It is such a precious time, that will be gone all too quickly...

Sonora: Alright, I admit, I saved this one for last. The first words I heard this morning have stuck with me all day...She walked down the stairs, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "What is that ugly smell? Smells like chicken."

A Perfect Day

Today was a perfect day.

Beautiful weather, awesome agenda of activities, interesting conversations, loving family, and a day where smiles lit up every moment. My heart is full.

Here is what I managed to capture from what the girls called "the best, most best day EVER!"...

The tea room provided beautiful hats for the girls to use during tea.

The atmosphere, service, and TEA were fantastic! What a treat!!

FINALLY at the barn!

The riding lesson started with a grooming lesson.

More grooming...although, this was considerably more scary!

Harper riding after all her hard work.

Sonora learning the reins.

Getting ready to brush AGAIN :)

I LOVE this picture...it sums up the day for me...ALL SMILES!

Thank you April and Will for the gift of a perfect day...it will be remembered...

Tea Party

Yesterday, the girls and I had the opportunity to go to a Tea Party at a friends house, thanks to our Keeper's group. We learned about tea, how it is made, various uses, and a bit about etiquette. We had a great time, and learned a lot!

The girls before we left home.

The girls and I before we left home.

Getting settled.

Chatting with friends.

Listening and learning about tea.

Finally, TEA!

Beautiful smile :)

Treats

And more treats...

Sonora was the last one at the table. She loves tea.

It was a wonderful afternoon with tea and friends!

The Game of Life

Well, since I haven't posted since JULY!!!, and I have finally finished updating everything, I think I should finally take back up posting on here. I know that in the 6 months that I have taken off from blogging I have missed the opportunity to chronicle so much.

Last night, we had a sort of family game night. We chose the game of Life and with all six of us playing, it was a looooooooooong game! It was interesting, as things usually are when we are all gathered around the table, and as you can see from the look on Quinn's face, this was a no nonsense game. He was in it to win. At all costs. The little bugger took all my life tiles, but I'm not holding a grudge...


Sonora had a bit of a learning curve.


Nate was all business, and the fact that he was the banker (and a good one at that :) came as no surprise to anyone!


Did I mention that this was a really long game?


The game fare of the evening was butterscotch candies. Thanks to Harper. The entire game Sonora kept asking for one more candy, just one more candy, and at the end of the game as no one was listening to her, she finally gave up...walked over to Harper and said..."HAAARRRRPEEEERRRR, can I PLEASSSSE have a hopscotch?"

And finally, I really have no comment on this image, it speaks for itself. I would however, like to wipe some of those memories from my consciousness.

Quinn walked by just now, and looking at this picture, he said, "Ahhh...those were the times!"

Yes, indeed, these are the times...

11 Years

We are celebrating our 11 year anniversary today!

Honestly, I don't know who these kids are...


Now these two I recognize...


While we were getting ready to take our 'real' picture, H~ snapped this one...I loved it and thought it summed up the last 11 years...


Very thankful today,

In the Blink of an Eye

I have been struck lately at how much the kids all seem to be growing. Their childhoods seem to be flying...I put this collage together today with tears in my eyes.


Incredibly thankful this Lord's day...