Remembering a Hero

Arianna ~ May 2011

Ella~May 2011

Sophia ~May 2011

Elijah ~May 2011

the mother and father ~May 2011

cousin love:)

a hero remembered

cousins

flowers

slight chance of rain

my girlies

my main men

A WONDERFUL day 

was had as we picnicked and remembered 

those who served our country 

so we could have the freedom 

that we have today in America.. 

we wont forget the men who died

Happy Memorial Day! 

Check out last years pictures to see how much the kids have grown- its unreal!  

No Words Needed

Its gonna be a bright, bright sunshiney day!

 What a good day I had today:) I got SO much accomplished- dont you LOVE that feeling?! It doesnt happen often enough but when it does- aahh! The sun was also shining this afternoon and boy, does that lift my spirits- I remember living in MA and it raining for like a week on end- no sun- just HUGE gray clouds. I really am thankful for Colorado because the sun is normally always shining! We have had a weird spring, though- lots of clouds and rain. 

I got some tomato plants and green pepper plants planted as well as some flowers.

 Its lookin like summer! 

On another note, my hair needs some major help and its coming on Friday! I am getting my Groupon and heading down to Aveda for some color and a cut! I think I need it desperately! I SO wish I could grow my hair nice and long with big wavy curls but alas, I must come to grips that my hair will never flow in long lovely locks.. short is for me forever. Its okay though, there are some SUPER cute short cuts and I will be getting one- pretty exciting! 

Have a lovely Wednesday, everyone! 

I love my new grin!

Sophia with her hair wavy- I braided it the night before- that requires PATIENCE!!
Brings back memories of my mom braiding my hair as a little girl! 

" Mom, I love my new grin." ~ Sophia

Sophia had a loose tooth for quite a while 

and the day of the field trip to the zoo, 

she lost it!

She was eating a piece of cantaloupe and out it popped!

This was her first tooth, so she was pretty excited!

The tooth fairy must have been VERY busy that night 

because she forgot to take the tooth while Sophia slept..

Needless to say, the next night she got double the money! 

Picasso, I am not!

I know, another hobby:) 

But I just LOVE this new little painting place right by house- 

Canvas and Cocktails!

They teach you how to paint a certain picture, 

play fun music while your painting and

 I cannot tell you how relaxing it is to just sit for 3 hours and paint!! 

let the creative juices flow!

"Aspens" is my second painting that I have done and

 it looks even better in real life hung in my bedroom.

I think I am hooked! 

I think its so cool how everyone has slight variances of the same painting

Happy Birthday Jenny! 

BEFORE AND AFTER

August 2010

 What do you think? 

Have they grown up to look more like little second graders now? 

I think so!

May 2011

SCHEDULES ROCK!!!

School  is over today and I am feeling motivated to get ready for next week.

4 kiddos at home makes me cringe a bit 

because I know if I dont keep them busy, 

they will drive me crazy and fight with each other:)

So, every week, I am making a wipeable schedule for our day! 

I want to focus on educating them and having fun! 

Bible- we are going through The Jesus Story Book Bible and coloring a picture for that story.

Math- this is primarily for the twins because they need to work on addition and subtraction facts. I found some great worksheets at mydadsworksheets.com. If any of you have some ABEKAs addition flashcards that you arent using- I would LOVE to buy them from you and I'll pay to have them shipped too! I plan to do Math, Writing and Reading while the little two are sleeping.

Art- I really love The Crafty Crow for TONS of ideas for Art projects and fun stuff to do!

Writing- I am going to buy some journals and have them write in it each day on a topic I choose:) I will let Ella draw since she cant write yet!

Activity- we will do things around our neighborhood that are primarily free- parks, splashpads, swimming, museums,etc..

Reading- I am just having the girls read one chapter a day of a chapter book. They will probably read more- they love to read! So, the first 2 books are Ribsy and Henry and Ribsy. I LOVED those books growing up- they crack me up! 

So, there you have it! 

I am excited for the summer- just wishing the weather would start feeling like summer:) 

Happy Birthday, a tad early!

I remember when I got pregnant with the twins being a tad sad that they were going to probably be born in the summer- I think my actual due date was in September which would have been REALLY cool- I love fall and do NOT have any fall babies! You may be asking why I cared about what season my babies were born in- well, I know its weird, but I thought it woud be sad to not be able to celebrate your birthday at school. I remember with fondness all the homemade treats my mom would make and let me bring in to school to share with my friends for my birthday! I would get to pick a special person to help me pass them out and I usually chose Karly or Valarie, although once I chose Mark, a boy I liked:) 

(and yes, I married a Mark, but not the same one)

We would pass out the cupcakes to friends and I always asked mom to make more than enough so I could go around to all the teachers and give them out.Aahh! Memories! 

And now, I have 3 SUMMER babies!!!!

Thankfully, I talked to the teacher and was able to let the girls celebrate their birthday this last week of school- a bit early! But who's counting:)
 I made these cupcakes inside ice cream cones with mint buttercream frosting- they were pretty tasty- but one note of caution- I made them the night before and the next morning, the cones were not as crisp as when they first popped out of the oven.
RECIPE:
Make a cake mix according to directions.
Spoon batter into ice cream cone and place in cupcake baking tins.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
Let cool and frost with a piping bag to get that ice cream look
Top with sprinkles and a sour cherry candy.

They got soggy- I bet the kids didnt notice though! 

And the best part of sharing your birthday with a twin is...

you have a built in best friend to pass out your birthday treats with!

End of the Year

 End of the school year for us, means field trips and lots of them! The twins went on 2 field trips in 2 weeks and I was able to tag along!  JJ was in our group and was quite the ladies man:) He cracked me up! The first trip was to the zoo and it was a gorgeous day to walk around and look at animals. 

The Denver zoo isn't much to brag about but it is nice to be outside and walk around.

The second trip was to The Denver Museum of Nature and Science. That was pretty cool for me but the first graders didn't have the patience or desire to read all the explanations and plaques, so we got through it pretty quickly! 

Of course, Ella and Elijah could not go since I was a chaperone and they thought in some strange way my little two would distract me from my job of chaperoning..

SO,

when the girls went to the zoo, 

Miss Melody watched the little too and they had fun playing with their friends!

And when the girls went to the museum, 

"Miss Meggie"took the little two to the zoo 

complete with a picnic lunch 

and new outfit from Gymboree:) 

I love how she spoils my little two:) 

 I am so thankful for the opportunity to have fun with my kids and their school friends. 

Next year, Ella will be in pre-K for 3 hours a day so it will be just me and Lij! 

Can you believe it! 

I feel old!

This is the last week of school for the twins and then they will be 2nd graders 

and our summer will officially start! 

I have a schedule already printed and filled in with

 activities and projects I want to complete with them. 

Mark leaves for KENYA in about 2 weeks- I cannot believe it is so soon! 

He has raised a bunch of money but still 

needs a bit more to reach his goal.. so if you would like to donate.. visit this link

Valor Christian Mission Trips.

He will be working with an orphanage and 

Aids Relief center for 2 weeks along with about 15 teens from Valor and 2 other sponsors.

I have been baking up a storm the past few weeks to help him raise money and cannot believe how much kids will pay for home baked treats and being able to eat them in class!  

Its been good, although I am a bit sick of baking.

Mark also has been working hard and putting in lots of hours building websites to raise extra money.

And a  SPECIAL thank you to those who have donated so far!!! 

especially one of Marks students parents who handed him a check for $1000 for his trip! 

What a blessing all your contributions have been!  THANK YOU! 

Through the course of his trip, Mark is hoping to be able to email 

updates and pictures to those who have donated!

He gets his shots today for all the diseases that he could possibly contract 

so pray he doesnt get sick from the shots...

I really am SO very excited for this trip. 

I already have most of the 2 weeks filled up with activities and play dates 

and things to give me a break and make the time go by faster! 

And my dear friend Megan is going to sleep over all 2 weeks to keep me company:) 

I love her!!! 

Ella said "Miss Meggie" will be our daddy for 2 weeks while our real daddy is gone! 

Please keep Mark and our family in your prayers! We would greatly appreciate them!

Well, off for a play date at Littleton Historical Museum and lunch with the twins! 

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!! 

A Real Fairytale

 Friends getting together to watch a Royal Wedding- what could be sweeter- 

add in a few fancy hats and little cucumber tea sandwiches and fancy china..

and it is a classy event to be sure!

Special thanks to Melody for hosting and tvo-ing the event so we didnt have to watch it at 4am!

I think one of the coolest part was telling our little girls 

that their really were such things as 

princes and princesses!

Its not ALL just pretend!