May 22, 2014. Last day of Pre-K.

Ruby had her last day of preschool today! She has had a great year and learned so much.  It's hard to believe that she will be going into Kindergarten next year. I always get a little emotional when my kids move onto a new chapter in their lives. But I know she is ready and will love it!

As always, I like to do a comparison shot of the 1st day and the last day of each year. I can't believe how much she has grown. Such a cute girl!

Little Shadow.

Lyla is my little shadow. She follows me everywhere and wants to participate in what I am doing whether it is cleaning the bathroom or sewing. Sometimes it drives me crazy, but most of the time I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. 

February 22-23, 2014. Moab.

Logan came home from work at 4:00 one day and announced we were heading to Moab and that we I had 1 hour to pack. We had talked about it a couple of days earlier but ultimately had decided not to go.  He knew that he was going to be getting super busy with work and that we needed this little vacation together, so I got busy packing. It's no easy task packing for myself and 4 kids in an hour but I got it done (although I did forget a few things!) and we left on time!

We got in late so we went right to bed in order to get rested for a fun day of hiking a head of us. We had a great time visiting Arches National Park. The kids are troopers and went on a couple small hikes with us. Our kids really do not like hiking, especially Ruby. Not even kidding she sat down about 2 minutes into our hike claiming her legs were exhausted and that she was not going to go any further! Somehow we convinced her and we made it to Landscape Arch. Later when we hiked to the viewing point of Delicate Arch she talked Logan into carrying her. 

The kids participated in the Junior Ranger Program, a favorite of theirs. Although Collin was the only one to complete it and earn his badge. They each got $10 to spend on a souvenir and were in love with what they bought.

One our way home, we stopped at Canyon lands and hiked around before the big drive. I really enjoyed Canyon lands and wished we could have spent more time there. It was beautiful and the kids were able to climb around more than they could in Arches.

Such a fun last minute vacation!

January 22, 2014. Potty Training!

Lyla has been showing signs that she is ready to be potty trained (mostly taking off her diaper every time she goes) so one day I decided to run with it. I put together a fun little morning for her and Elmo. At the beginning of the day Elmo wore diapers just like Lyla but soon they were both in their big girl underwear! Yeah! And both Lyla and Elmo got to have a potty treat when Lyla used the potty. What could be better!!! She thought it was so fun to go potty with Elmo!

Lyla did really well and still does when I stay on top of it. But she still needs to go so frequently that I tend to just put her in diapers most of the time. Lets face it, diapers are so much easier. Looking at these pictures though is reminding me that I need to get back at it again! Hopefully soon I can post a picture of her fully potty trained! Then we might need to have a party. It would be the first time in 9+ years that we haven't had a kid in diapers. That's a lot of diaper changes!

December 31, 2013. Happy New Year!

We had so much fun celebrating New Years with the kids. Like last year I put together some activities and put them in a paper bag. The kids took turns opening them every hour. We had so much fun. Some of the highlights included ice cream sundaes, dance parties, hide and seek (my favorite of the night), resolutions, and ringing in the New Year with a toast and some party poppers! The kids loved staying up until midnight (we set the clocks forward 2 hours) and I loved celebrating with them! I'm sure it won't be too much longer before they would rather be with their friends.

Although 2013 was a difficult year, it was also a year filled with many blessings. I'm grateful for those blessings, and most of all grateful for my family. They are everything. I am one lucky wife and momma!

Happy New Year!

December 27, 2013. Ice Skating.

I took the kids ice skating at Station Park over their Christmas break. They loved it, and Lyla enjoyed playing on the playground. Ruby wasn't such a fan of the whole thing until I finally convinced her to stand on a chair next to the heaters. She didn't think it was too bad after that! :) Both Sophie and Collin are such good ice skaters. It was fun to see them out on the ice playing around together. I love that they are such good friends.

They had so much fun skating, that we decided to go again. This time with Dad and the Rec. Center. Ruby tried it out this time and loved it as well. She got pretty brave skating around the rink with the help of a skate mate! Afterwards she was so proud!

December 25, 2013. Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We were able to celebrate with family and friends. We spent Christmas day at our house enjoying one another. We ate our traditional Christmas breakfast casserole and the kids spent the day playing with the gifts that they received. I'm so grateful for this time of year and that I get to enjoy it with the people that I love the most!