Allie Sue

Allie is getting baptized in a few days, so we went out to get a few pictures of her in her new white dress.  I thought she looked beautiful and had fun taking pictures.  She is such a fun girl and I'm so glad she's mine.

She and Lily are getting baptized on the same day, so we got some pictures with her too.

I love my membership in the church and am so grateful that I have been baptized and have those blessings in my life.  I am happy for Allie and her choice to be baptized.

A Birthday Girl

Our Allie girl turned 8 on the 8th!  

I think it was a great day for her.  Mike took her out to breakfast that morning, so this picture is actually just one that I made her pose for.  She chose Froot Loops for her birthday cereal, but got Villiage Inn instead.  Lucky kid.

She got to spend the day playing with friends and going to Princess Academy at a neighbor's house.

That night, we had some family over to celebrate with us.  She wanted an 8 layer cake, but I wasn't able to find enough round pans to make it 8.  She settled for 5.

She got her beloved stroganoff for dinner and devoured enough for 3 grown men.  :)

She got some gifts that she has wanted for a long time and Mike surprised her with a new fishing pole.  That girl likes to fish.

Eight years with my Allie girl.  I have loved all those years, days, and hours with her.  There have been a few moments that I could do without, but she has been an amazing kid.  I know she came to our family to bring me happiness and she does a great job at it.  Love you Allie Sue!

Conversation with Jake...

The scene:  We had been on vacation and were out of clean underwear.

Jake:  Mom.  I'm all out of unders.

Me:  I know.  They're in the wash right now.  They'll be ready in an hour.

Jake:  Okay.  I'll just go commando.  That's when you go without unders.

Me:  (laughing) Nice.

The Nail Salon

Allie and Lily made a nail salon.  They made a sign and had things all set up to give manicures and pedicures. They were bummed that no one was coming to the salon, so when Jason went to sleep, Nate and I went over to check it out.  

Their cute banner and sign were appealing, so I went up to see what they could do for me. 

During the slow hours, they had been working on their own manicures and I have to say that the results were a bit frightening for me as a potential customer.

She said the wind was blowing and it affected her performance.  She promised that mine would look better...

Nate wasn't scared off though and ended up getting a lovely green shade on his fingers.

She did a lovely job and after we spent a few minutes trying to get fingernail polish off of Heidi's white porch furniture, it was time to close up shop for the day.
If you are disappointed that you were unable to stop by their shop, I'm sure they'd be happy to give you a private appointment.

Hat

I heard Jason saying "hat" from the other room.  I figured he was playing around with one of Nate's hats as he always likes to do.  When I came in, I saw something that made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it with you...

This taking the diaper off thing has been something that Jason has enjoyed for a while now.  We have had one pee incident and just the other day, there was an unfortunate poop incident.  I wasn't happy at all.  I have resorted to making him wear onsies, but when he is determined, he can even get a diaper off through that.  Crazy boy.  At least I'll have something to laugh about when you're older.

Hummingbird

We have found a few nests in our trees over the years.  It's so fun to see the birds come and go.  The other day, Allie and Jake discovered that we had a hummingbird nest in our tree.  I thought it was so neat!

Things I don't want to forget...

Nate is a huge fan of the movie Cars, and then he discovered Cars 2 and that was a happy day.  When Planes came around, that became a new favorite, and I'm sure he'll love the second Planes.  He's been our first kid to really watch a movie.  Allie and Jake just weren't into them.

Anyway, the thing I don't want to forget is that Nate will go and find his planes and fly them around as he watches the movie.  If it's Cars, he'll get McQueen and zoom him around on the table.  He talks to himself and makes his toys talk and it's just the cutest thing ever.  So I don't want to forget it.

My Sam Friends

Remember how I have some friends because of Sam?  Merideth was born just a few months before Sam and then Cale was born a few years after him.  Their moms are some of the greatest people out there.  For 3 years now, we have met up at the splash pad and let the kids play while we talked.  

The kids didn't really want to get together for a picture, but we insisted.

Cale's brothers and sisters are on the right, Sam's in the middle, and Merideth's are on the left.  We have quite a crowd.  I think they all love the splash pad and I love seeing the others as they grow up.  It's a fun tradition and I love these gals.  I'm glad our kids brought us together.

Jason was just a week out of his tonsillectomy, and it was one of the first days that he was happy most of the day.  He had a great time and it was so much fun watching him discover the water.

Jake and Allie were great to help keep an eye on the kids.  Last year, they said they wanted to go back with their ripstiks.  They remembered just as we were heading out and they were glad because they thought it was fun to weave in and out of the spray.

Nate was a joy to watch too.  He loved it and had all sorts of fun going in and out of the spray.

A Happy Birthday Party for...

Harry Potter!  When I published that last post, it was already out of date.  We finished the 3rd book and then moved on to the 4th.  I thought Allie might not want to keep going, but she said that she does.  Anyway, we finished the 4th book on July 30.  July 31st is Harry Potter's birthday.  It's also my little brother's birthday, and Mike's dad too...but we celebrated Harry Potter like any other crazed fan would do.
I sent the kids an invitation by owl post.  I got all the ideas and the printables from HERE if you would like to throw your own nerd party...

  I got to work making the treats and it wasn't too bad.

These little Pumpkin Pasties were really good.  They are just little pumpkin pies and I have decided that I'll make them every year in the fall because they were pretty easy and so good.

The kids ate all the food and kept going back for more...even the bread with cucumbers on it.  That's always a good thing.

After the dinner, Jason and Nate went to sleep and we watched the 4th movie.  It was scarier than I remember and had a few scenes that are awkward to watch with kids (since when were there kids making out in the carriages in the books?).  We are reading the fifth book now, but we probably won't watch the movies.  We usually spend the entire movie with the kids saying "why did they leave out...?" or "that never happened in the book!"  I'm glad I passed on the love of the books and not necessarily the movies.

It was a fun night and the kids all loved it...so we'll probably do it again next year if you want to join us!