Five Girls and A Daddy

summer catch up post

2011-09-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

Okay so I know it has been a REALLY REALLY long time since I posted last and there might not even be anyone out there checking my blog any longer but I wanted to get these pictures on here in case I EVER get around to printing this thing out!So here a BUNCH of random pictures not really in any particular order except maybe backwards from the summer, starting with the first day of school! So here is our summer in a miriad of pictures........

Hope everyone had as enjoyable a summer as we did!

Ivy Boo

2011-06-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just some pics of my baby!

I'm waiting for the day that she doesn't look weird in pink.......

Laundry hats

catch-up!!

2011-05-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

Ivy is growing up too fast and she LOVES her daddy!

She follows him around and cries when he walks out the door.

Lilly's choice of shoes. She is quite the fashionista.

Sibling Day at the preschool! I had Bear and Alli with me so it was double the fun!

I can't believe that we have one last week of preschool and Lilly is a kindergartner! She has grown so much this last year and she is SO excited for kindergarten.......as am I!

Maddy's 80's party!

What a beauty!

F.A.T.

2011-05-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

What is the one word that women don't want to be called......okay I guess there are a few words that women don't want to be called. But I am pretty sure that for 99% of us there is one word that starts with an F and ends with a T......and has an A in the middle......that we don't want to be called, especially on a regular basis! Am I right ladies?

So Lilly has started displaying some of her obsessive tendencies lately with certain words, this "certain word" with an A in the middle is one of them. She has decided that she needs to inform me of every person that she knows or sees that she thinks is fat. And guess what......I made her list! Infact I think I am her number one! Which means that she wants to inform me of this multiple times a day!

We have had many conversations now when she is pointing out the lady at McDonalds that is "you know what" that this isn't a nice thing to say and that it doesn't make people feel good. I have explained how everyone is made differently and that it doesn't matter BLAH BLAH BLAH. All I really want to say is stop calling people FAT!!!! And by people I mean ME!!!!! Frankly I don't care if you whisper to me that the lady walking down the street is fat or that the man checking the groceries is fat, as long as you just whisper it to me. But when you won't stop whispering to ME that I am FAT, I can't handle it anymore.

So I finally got her to stop saying people were fat but she has still decided that I must not forget that I am fat. So we are driving in the car, or walking down the street, or going to bed, or eating lunch (you get the drift right.....it is ALL DAY), and she will say to me, "Mom remember what I said about you?" To which I have to respond, "Yes Lilly." Because if I don't respond this way she will say, "But mom I just want you to remember what I said. Just remember what I said about you."...............seriously? There is nothing worse than feeling pretty good and having a good day and then having your 5 year old remind you that she thinks you are fat. Gotta love kids..........right, I do have to right?

Did I mention that she also tells me that daddy is really skinny? Do I still have to love her?

mommies in training

2011-05-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

Every year the girls look forward to take your child to work day. Probably just as much for going to work with daddy as getting out of a day of school. So Thursday night we were all in the kitchen and girls brought up that it had been take your child to work day that day and that like half their class was gone. I hadn't realized it was that day and though Dustin knew that it was, he also knew that he wasn't going to have time to take them that day. So the girls were a little disappointed but understood and he promised that they would do it another day and he would take them all downtown and show them a fun time in the city. BUT! Then I had a thought. Daddy wasn't the only one with a job. I HAVE A JOB TOO! And so I asked them if they wanted to come to work with me the next day and they could be mothers assistants. They were SO excited. I told them that they could decid what we were eating for all the meals and they could help take care of the babies and of course miss school. I couldn't believe how excited they were. They were up at 5 in the morning making breakfast for everyone.....of course no one was awake until around 7 but they were THAT excited. Maddy came in my room and took the baby monitor out so that they could hear Ivy when she woke up and they brought me breakfast in bed and got Ivy up and I didn't even hear a peep! They fed her and changed her diapers and played with her. Then we all headed to the store to shop for our meals on a list that they had put together. It was a very fun day and by the end of it I think they were ready to not be mommies anymore! They were asking for their break time. I told them they had to wait until the baby was down for a nap or asleep for the night! They didn't like that very much!! They even picked out Ivy's clothes and got her all dressed for the day.

I think they are going to be GREAT mommies someday and I am so proud of them. I think I might want to keep them home everyday!

technically a pre-teen??

2011-05-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

She sure seems to be getting to that stage anyway if she isn't technically referred to as a pre-teen. I am not sure when you are allowed to call a girl that. Frankly I think Lilly seems a little pre-teen to me but I don't think at 5 she qualifies.

ANYWAY! Maddy turned 11 last Sunday. And yes it was kinda awesome that our birthdays landed on Easter this year. I only remember one other time that my birthday was on Easter and I think I must have been around 7 or something. I decided that since our birthday landed on Easter that we would do alittle bit of celebrating the Friday before since Easter was TOTALLY going to upstage any birthdays. So she woke up to a decorated door area and a present. She was SO surprised. Dustin and I had picked out a new outfit for her to wear to school. She looked to cute!

The last couple of "present" holidays have been interesting with Maddy. She is definitely at that stage where she doesn't really know what she wants. She doesn't want clothes yet but she doesn't want "toys" either. So this year after prying and prying to try and have some idea of what she wanted (discluding a cell phone and a laptop) we decided that generic was the way to go. We picked out a few different gift cards for her and gave her a wallet and a new purse and a card letting her know that daddy and I were taking her out for a special birthday dinner and shopping spree, just the three of us. She was so excited! And we had so much fun a couple of nights later. We went to the mall and just shopped with her. She was literally running through the mall! We had such a good time with her and she is really growing up and becoming such a fun person to be around. We love you Maddy!

She is having her birthday party this Friday, a sleepover none the less. Wish me luck!

And as for my birthday! Dustin took me out to a really beautiful restaurant in Portland, The Portland City Grill. It is on the 30th floor of a building downtown and it was really breathtaking. We ordered WAY to much food and talked and had a really great time. It was so delicious! I think it might be my new favorite restaurant. Thanks for a wonderful birthday date Dustin. I love you!

just too cute

2011-05-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

There is nothing more to say

bring on the sunshine.....

2011-05-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

We have a few scattered days of sunshine around these parts lately and I can't tell you what that vitamin D does not only for the body but for the SOUL! It is amazing how every ones moods perk up, including the kids. So Lilly, Ivy and I went out for a little stroll.....

Please don't leave us mister Sun. I really need you right now!!

More Tulip Festival

2011-05-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here a few more pictures from my camera......I know that anyone who looks at this blog was dying for yet even MORE pictures but really they are just for me to keep a record of! But I will let you enjoy them as well.....

Easter

2011-05-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

I thought this was the best Easter picture of the bunch........

Dustin insisted on getting a picture just with the boys, which means alone.

We wanted to take pictures outside but of course it was raining and so we opted for the always springy "in front of the stairs" shot. Oh well. The kids had a great easter egg hunt over at their cousins and an absolutely delish Easter dinner. I think we got pictures of the table somewhere. My mom made it ADORABLE with big foil wrapped easter bunnies that looked like big chocolate bunnies and all their little babies! Thanks for everything mom!

The Tulip Festival

2011-05-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to have grandma Beth come and visit for Easter this year. We decided to head to the tulip festival to check out the amazing sea of tulips and it was as beautiful as I remember!

These are on the way to the tulip festival when we very smartly gave Ivy a See's chocolate sucker.

I have a few more pictures on my camera but once again I have misplaced it! So when I find it.....again.......I will put up some pictures actually WITH grandma in them!

Joseys big concert

2011-05-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Josey had her spring concert a couple of weeks ago. She was so excited because she got the solo in her class! So we had to get a new dress for her! It was doubley awesome for Dustin and I because Maddy offered to babysit for us so we didn't have to take Lilly and Ivy. We actually got to just sit and listen and enjoy! Afterwards we took Josey to dinner just the three of us and we had a great time. She did wonderful and sounded beautiful! Way to go Josey!

the temple

2011-04-19T08:06:00.000-07:00

One of favorite things to do is walking around the temple together. So since it was supposed to be sunny last Sunday we decided to get ready for church early and take a trip out to the temple. It was so beautiful!

nerds....

2011-04-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is Ivy's new hat and she loves it! Grandma Moyes got it for her when we were there last and it makes her so happy to wear it. I took the girls to see Rio in 3D and since then they have been obsessed with wearing the glasses! It is so funny!

Even Ivy loves them!

videos

2011-04-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

random....and Lilly turns 5!

2011-04-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Lilly had a birthday......and I didn't get ANY PICTURES!! Isn't that so sad?? We had a party for her on Saturday and we about 10 5 year olds and then we ended up with older"helpers" for my older girls rounding out the kid total to about 16! It was crazy!! And to top it all off, the cat had climbed in the car and someone had closed the door and then the cat locked the car and the keys were in it.....and we don't have a spare. SO Dustin spent most of the day trying to get the car unlocked and it was a nightmare. All I can say is thank you thank you to my awesome brother-in-law that can freakishly fix ANYTHING! So I couldn't find the camera and Dustin was preoccupied and so we only got a couple of pictures. But she had a blast! Here a few pictures from latter that night.

My big 5 year old! This is Lilly in her "robolegs". Many of you know that she has a problem only walking on her toes. So we have been going to physical therapy and she has started wearing these splints at night. Next week she will get the ones she wears during the day. She has been so great about wearing them and actually seems to kinda like them! She thinks they make her look like a robot and so she turns into half robot half girl when she wears them and she loves that!

And here are a few random cute shots of my baby, getting so big!

beach trip

2011-04-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a little weekend family getaway a few weekends back. We had so much fun just hanging out as a family and going to the beach and the aquarium.

We had a blast! However we forgot how hard it is to do ANYTHING with a one year old. I think we will wait a couple of years before we do this again!

Happy (early) St. Patricks Day

2011-03-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Grandma Beth sent the BEST St. Patrick's day package for my girls! It was oozing green candy and bubbles and nail polish and ribbon and tissue paper! And these adorable shirts. But since my girls don't have school on Thursday they wanted to wear them today and I had to snap a few pictures of them after school.

Maddy got a special scarf that she decided to wear as a....tie.....?

This one is my favorite!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you don't get pinched!

Grown up furniture

2011-03-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

So I have pretty much finished decorating my dining room. There are a few more things I would like to do but for now I think it is a 100% improvement! I wish I had a before picture but I don't. But I even had a friend come in and say, "You have grown-up furniture!" That pretty much sums it up! And I love it and can't wait to eventually decorate the other rooms in my house and feel like we actually have a home and not just a house we live in! So here is the grand unveiling......but first......my new obsession! Cool chickens!!!!! I love these and want to start collecting them I think. But they have to be funky and cool!

And here is my new and improved dining space! (I need to hem the curtains still).

I "heart" craigslist

2011-03-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

Here is my fantastic Craigslist find! We have been needing a new table for .....oh, I don't know.......10 years!jk But we were in serious need of new chairs and a table. Our chairs were bought about twelve years when Dustin and I were first married! And they were breaking left and right. Half of them were held together with duct tape and I decided to try and paint them.....that didn't go so well either. SO! I convinced Dustin that I could at least find new chairs for 300 dollars and he agreed so I started looking on Craiglist and this is what I stumbled upon. The table and all 6 chairs for $380! And I was able to haggle it down to $320! I am so excited to have a real table and nice chairs!

Doesn't it look perfect in my space?! I just love it and am so thankful to my fabulous husband for loading it all up last night for me even though he had a man cold (and we all know how terrible those can be!) But seriously he was really not feeling well and I really appreciate all his work for me.

Now I need a few more accessories and some drapes or something to finish off the little nook! And thanks mom for giving me the push to actually get it! Who wants to come for dinner??

Maddy's limo ride

2011-03-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

Maddy hit the Elementary School jackpot! For their last fund raiser they had a prize of a limo ride to lunch for everyone who sold a certain amount.......my kids did NOT sell that amount. BUT! for every 5 things you sold your name got entered into a drawing for the limo ride. And Maddy's name got pulled! She was BEYOND thrilled. So yesterday she and 7 other kids were picked up at school driven to Jack in the Box, ate lunch, and then driven back to school. She said they watched a movie and listened to music in the limo. So I popped out at Jack in the Box to snap a few pictures of the event. Her little leg says it all!

She assured Josey that next year she would help her any way she could to sell the amount she needed so she could ride the limo.

2011-02-25T11:41:00.000-08:00

Allie and Ivy

2011-02-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

So we finally had Ivy's first birthday party with her cousin Allie. Allie's birthday is the day before Ivy so I foresee many many birthday celebrations together! Ivy was a little confused with the singing and wasn't even sure what to do with her very own cake. So daddy had to help her out a little.

Some of the cousins digging in.

I realized that I didn't get a good picture of Allie and Ivy together. I never seem to snap one of them together. I need to do that soon!

She finally understood that it was okay to DIG in!

Then her whole arm got frosting on it and apparently that was too much for her!

I thought this was funny cause she kept reaching over to touch Allie's hair and kept getting little bits of frosting in it.

Then the Hatch's went home and it was time to open presents. Dustin was able to video chat with his parents which was really fun cause they got to see her open her presents! But Ivy was very intrigued the whole time with the phone.

She got a ball.....

....a baby.....

....an adorable blanket made by Grandma Moyes......

some bubbles, some clothes, and from grandma Beth the cute little ladybug outfit and the little ladybug build-a-bear. She was a happy little one year old.

So here are the things I can remember about my little Ivy right now:

She loves to walk holding our fingers.

She has mastered "uh-oh" and loves to play that game over and over again.

She blows kisses.

She gives kisses......with her mouth closed!!! Hallelujah!

She will give "loves" or hugs under much prodding.

She waves bye bye and hi.

She is in love with EVERY baby and will carry them around everywhere.

She loves anything sweet.

She loves to play peek-a-boo and even tried to cover her own eyes which usually results in her covering her own ears.

She loves the kitties.

She knows what a fishy says and loves to do it.

She even said CRACKER the other day! I was amazed!

She HATES the doctor!!!

And last but not least.....she loves her daddy. She is my first and only daddy's girl. It has been so funny to watch. The other three girls were always momma's girls. But given the choice Ivy will always choose daddy over mommy. If we are in the same room it is always daddy who she crawls to first and as soon as he walks in the door she is in daddy's arms as quickly as possible. It is really adorable. But I have to say not having a daddy's girl before it is a little confusing for me. I am used to being the primary caretaker for my girls and therefore it is understandable why they would be more attached to me in the beginning. And this whole daddy thing is baffling to me! Don't get me wrong I think Dustin is a great daddy but come on......who changes the majority of the diapers.......who feeds her 99% of the time..,.....who plays with her during the most of the day and who usually puts her to bed?????ME! But the choice has been made and I am going to have to live with it!

There are a few more pictures on Dustin's phone. I will post those when I get them downloaded!

Ivy turns 1

2011-02-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

My little baby is 1 year old today! I can't believe how the time has gone by so fast! I know we all say this with every passing birthday but with Ivy being my last baby it seems so bitter-sweet. It is fun to have her growing up and watching her change and play and have more personality but I am sad that she isn't a little baby any more. So here is her photo shoot today for her birthday in her new birthday outfit from grandma Beth and her cute little ladybug from grandma as well. We are actually celebrating her birthday on Sunday with her cousin Ali, who's birthday was yesterday. These are for you grandmas!

Say cheese!!!

So big!!

One with the assistant, Lilly.

And then it was off to her favorite past time.....up and down the stairs.

This was her birthday present today because we were at the store and she WOULD NOT let this baby doll go. She loves baby dolls. I haven't had a baby drawn to them so much and so young but she just carries them around everywhere! So we had to add to the collection.

Valentines party

2011-02-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

This is the cake that Josey and Lilly made for Valentines Day all on their own! I think it turned out great! Here are Lilly and Bear on their way to the preschool party today for Valentines Day making their funny faces.

Here is the shirt that grandma Beth sent to my girls. Unfortunately we stopped and got Taco Bell before preschool.....and Lilly spilled beans and cheese and lemonade all over and insisted on changing.....oh well.

weekend getaway

2011-02-15T15:37:00.000-08:00

Dustin and I went away for the weekend for the first time in 6 years! It was fantastic! We just rented a little one bedroom condo within walking distance from the beach and just did nothing adn whatever we wanted. Seriously I am already dreaming of going back. We can't thank our friends enough for staying with our little girls and giving them such a fun weekend. We owe you BIG TIME!

random

2011-02-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is totally Ivy's preferred way of eating......not the safest.

We captured this rare event when we were out geocaching the other weekend. She NEVER does this! I was so happy!

This was after we found the treasure! We were so excited!

These are the shelves Dustin built for our garage. He just bought the wood and constructed them from scratch.....he was very spontaneous.

What a cutie!

2011-02-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

Look at what my littlr Ivy Mae is up too........walking. Well almost! She has just started taking those first few tentative steps and is so proud! Here are a few more from the last month or so.

the last of the annie

2011-02-15T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well I FINALLY found my camera so I am FINALLY getting the rest of my pictures on here. There are a few more from Annie and I promise this is it!

Annie Premiere

2011-01-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

Last night was opening night of Annie!!! The girls have been working on this for a long time now and they did such a great job! They were all orphans together which was really fun. Here they are waiting back stage for the show to begin. I told them I wanted to see them in character as really sad orphans. But here is how they were really feeling!

Maddy is playing Pepper. The bully orphan. She was a little nervous cause she has to say "Shut-Up" to Annie in the play. I told her that is was okay to say it in the play! She thought it was really funny because the girl who plays Annie is her best friend, but in the play they are supposed to really not like each other. I told her she was just going to have to pull out her acting expertise! She did great!

Julia was the orphan names Lisa. Her and Josey practiced and practiced to get down their signature move in the play. They do cartwheels and land in the splits! It is AWESOME! Julia is a really talented dancer and I know she helped Josey on her splits. At one point they orphans do can can kicks in Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile and Becky and I were cracking up because Julia's kicks were like up to her nose and totally pointed! She was so fun to watch.

Josey was the orphan named Zoe. She told me her back story was that her mom and dad had to give her up to an orphanage because they didn't have enough money to keep her but that she knew they were going to come back and get her so she isn't AS sad as some of the other orphans. She was SO nervous for opening night! But she was so adorable up there!

And cute little Georgia! She played the orphan named Didi. Normally you are supposed to be 7 to do these plays but the director let Georgia and another little girl who is 5 participate this time and it is the CUTEST thing to see them up there! Beck and I were amazed that Georgie could remember all the dance stuff to Hard Knock Life and Never Fully Dressed. She did amazing!

After the play was over the kids could come down and give autographs and take pictures and stuff. Here was Josey giving her teacher her first autograph. I think it was what my girls were looking forward to the most.

She has the nicest teacher. She even brought her flowers! How cute is that? There were a few teachers there and quite a few kids from school in it and they all brought their students flowers. Josey was so proud.

Maddy got flowers from a little boy that was in the play this year. He is such a sweet little boy and always brings Maddy something after her plays.....and gives her lavish Christmas presents.....and Valentines Day presents........she says she is pretty sure he has a crush on her. But he has done this since the second grade! I think his mom is just really nice!! But he gave her a big bouquet of flowers and a stuffed cat. I think I need to get him a box of candy or something??

Maddy and her best friend Kelli

Annie and Pepper

Pepper and Duffy, the two bully orphans.

This is Seth the little boy that brought Maddy the flowers. He played the dog catcher.

So after the play was over there were flowers being given out everywhere. Beck and I didn't bring any for our girls because we thought we would get them for closing night. Well Georgia was just CRUSHED! It was the saddest thing EVER! She didn't understand why everyone else was getting flowers. We tried to assure her that her flowers were coming on a different night but that wasn't really cutting it. So as she was standing there in tears one of the teenage girls from the show ran over and gave her this little pink carnation and it was like Georgia won a million dollars. She was so happy for that one little flower and Beck was really thankful to that girl!

Beck and Georgia

Beck and Jules.

I will have to take some with my girls as well but at that point I just wanted to get home. We had been up since 3:30a.m. because they were on the morning news for the show and it was 9:30 and we were exhausted. I had one more surprise on the way home though......I got pulled over! I was so mad! I wasn't even speeding either! Apparently my tags had expired and we hadn't remembered to put the sticker on but I was so tired and annoyed......oh well. Can't wait for the next show tonight and the next night and next week.............

Cheese!

2011-01-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

Officially my new favorite picture of Ivy! Could you get a happier picture??? I love it! And I think this is my new favorite picture of Lilly. She looks so grown-up and beautiful!

Here are a few more funny pictures from Lilly and Ivy's impromptu (and I add that because Ivy's face is really dirty after eating dinner and I hadn't cleaned it off yet) photo session yesterday.

I don't think I have seen a creepier picture of a baby........

or of a 4 year old........they get their "ugly face" making ability from the Moyes side......am I right??

Lilly's first haircut.......sniff sniff

2011-01-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

So I finally took Lilly to get a haircut last week. Her hair has been so fun with her little blonde ringlets and everywhere we go people comment on how beautiful her hair is! Which she loves.... a little too much probably! But it was just getting to hard to brush and manage. It was down to her little tooshy. So I talked her into getting it trimmed.

Here is the end result. It doesn't look that different.....except most of the ringlets are gone! I am so heartbroken! Not is just curls in weird waves! She loved getting it cut though. However we recently saw the movie Tangled. When Rapunzel cuts her hair it turns brown. She was very interested to know how dark her hair was going to be after they cut it. I assured her it would stay yellow!

Oh well! Maybe with the curls gone it will help her not be quit as vain? She is such a crack up!

Christmas Day

2011-01-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here are the girls waiting on the stairs for daddy to make sure Santa came. They had been up for a few hours but were given strict instructions to wait for Ivy to wake up. They were BURSTING, if you can't tell from the pictures. I think Ivy was a more confused than anything else. And then finally we headed downstairs.

This picture below is the best! They were SO EXCITED over every present! They were just freaking out all morning.

Ivy's corner had a ball popper in it.

Lilly's corner had a vanity.....because really nothing says Lilly more than vanity.

Josey's corner had her favorite Littlest Pet Shop play set she had been begging Santa for.

And Maddy's corner had a telescope in it. And pillow pets all around!

And unfortunately that seems to be all the pictures I took on Christmas! Things were crazy and fun and relaxing and we just played all day and ate yummy food and spent time together and forgot all about the camera....apparently. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years as well!

more Christmas Eve

2011-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

So these are in complete backwards order, but if you want to see the true progression of the night just scroll to the bottom and read it that way! After the beach trip we headed home for some more traditional Christmas Eve festivities.

Here are the fruits of our labors over the last few months of planning and shopping and the marathon 5-6 hours of wrapping and assembling. It was well worth it!
That is a disgusting pile of presents!

So we maintained a few traditions and started a couple of new ones this year. This feast below is Dustin's and my Christmas Eve treat to ourselves. Since we don't really have anywhere to wrap and store without the girls seeing or it being a complete pain in the booty we have started just doing it all the night before. And to make things more enjoyable for us we started assembling some of our favorite treats and this is the end result. A FEAST of our favorites while we wrap and wrap and wrap. I will say it does make me look forward to the long night a little more.

Here are the girls on Christmas Eve in all their matching jammies! Ivy looks so old in this picture!

One of the new traditions we started this year was adopting an elf. His name was Ethan and monitored the kids for Santa through the holiday season. Sometimes he would move around the house and sometimes he would leave little treats. Once we even found him in the pantry trying to get into some frosting! What a silly elf! Anyway on Christmas Eve he goes back with Santa to the north pole so it was fun having him around for a few weeks. But he left the girls a special Christmas Eve present cause they were such good girls this year. They girls went out to leave the reindeer food outside and Ethan was standing there with three Build-a-Bear boxes behind him. Inside the girls found a stuffed animal in matching jammies! They were thrilled and so excited to sleep with them that night. Unfortunately Ivy didn't get one and she looks a little confused in this picture below.

One last picture in front of the fire place before it was off to bed.

Here is Dustin trying out Maddy's new Christmas present to make sure she was going to like it the next morning.

And here is Ivy's Christmas Eve dinner.....

We tried to take a picture together in our new jammies as well but a certain little one insisted on being in the picture. But that's okay shes hiding my big hips for me. That is a great Christmas present!

Here is Dustin trying to see if his jammies will really make him a superhero.

The girls opened their presents from each other and then opened up the last night of the 12 Days of Christmas from The Moyes. They were the cutest picture books for each of them filled with pictures of them and their cousins and aunts and uncle and grandparents! They are the best! Thank you thank you grandma and grandpa.

And that concludes our Christmas Eve! Now on to Christmas.

Christmas Eve at the Beach

2010-12-28T10:46:00.000-08:00

Our favorite place to take a picture! The shark mouth! Half our pictures turned out a little blurry this year but that is what you get when you ask a 20 something male to use your iphone to take a picture....not the best quality. I made us stop at the Christmas store even though we didn't even buy anything. It just seemed like the thing to do on Christmas Eve!

Here are a few pictures from the Aquarium.

And then a few from the beach.

And lunch at our favorite beach place, Mo's. It is a funny tradition to go over to the beach on Christmas Eve but it has turned into one of our most favorite things to do! And it tires the kids out for the LONG night ahead!

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-16T23:33:00.000-08:00

So we started our twelve days of Christmas surprises from Grandma and Grandpa Moyes on Sunday. This is such a fun tradition that we LOVE and are so thankful that grandma puts so much time and energy into putting this together for us every year. We love you Grandma! Here are a few pictures in random order because I can't move them for some reason.

This year grandpa had a special present for everyone, John Deer pillowcases! WE LOVE THEM! I would really like to know if grandpa really sewed these?? I am extremely impressed if you did! And still totally love them if you didn't! But they are embroidered with a little saying of Grandpa says good night. Maddy said it was glow-in-the-dark but I haven't confirmed that yet. Dustin thought they were sleeping bags at first.....jk.

One night was a couple of bedtime stories and hot chocolate. Here Maddy is reading the 12 Days of Christmas, how appropriate.

Here everyone is eating their yummy brownie treat!

We are having to much fun! Thanks grandma and grandpa!

Aprons galore

2010-12-16T23:20:00.000-08:00

My little chefs! For Christmas my mom got everyone aprons! Ok maybe not the one Dustin is wearing but even he admitted that he really enjoyed wearing it even though it said girls just want to have fun.

The girls were so excited to wear them especially Maddy. She literally wears hers all day every day. She took it to a sleepover and then I even had to intervene when she was going to wear it school the other day!

I love this picture of my twins.

My mom wasn't originally going to get an apron for Ivy cause she is just so little but my friend was making them for us and she threw in this little apron for Ivy as an extra present and I have to say it is about the cutest thing I have ever seen! Hers and Maddy's match except Maddy's says Short Stack and Ivy's says Baby Cakes! So Cute!!

Of course Lilly got the sparkly sassy wipe clean apron.

And we went for the bug jar theme for Josey.

This picture cracks me up because everyone is so true to life. These are the stages that all my girls are in. If you look at each one of them you will see who they are right now. It is priceless!

And my sweet Maddy in her favorite article of clothing.

Thanks mom! This was a perfect Christmas present!

random Ivy

2010-12-16T23:10:00.000-08:00

Dustin finally downloaded all the pictures off his phone! I don't know why but I don't seem to be able to keep track of the camera much these days. So here are a few random shots of little Ivy getting so big!

Ivy has started LOVING her bath. If she just sees the bathtub she will start whimpering to get in!

She has also discovered the big blocks and these have become a favorite as well.

And doughnuts.....the girl is addicted!

And last but not least.......snow globes. What little girl doesn't love snow globes though? Especially one that swirls the snow on it's own and plays lovely little music box Christmas music? She saw this at Home Depot and I just couldn't leave the store without making it hers.

That smile is why.

Good-Looking Couples Likely to Have Daughters.....

2010-12-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

So my sister sent this to me the other day and I just HAD to post it here seeing as I have 4 daughters and 0 sons..... and since I get comments every other day about how sorry people are for my husband and that they are so sorry for me because I am going to have 4 teenage daughters and they constantly ask me if I am going to keep trying to get that boy.....and if you can't tell is gets REALLY ANNOYING!..... here is my new comeback:

I am going to direct them to this study: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/goodlooking-couples-likely-to-have-daughters/136509-19-93.html?from=tn
And then I am going to tell them that it's okay that I have only daughters because I still love them even though they are not boys......SHOCKER......and that according to this study I am a good looking woman and there is NO SHAME IN THAT! And then I am going to ask them if they have more girls or boys.....better yet maybe I will just tell them that I am guessing they have more boys....if you get my drift! :)

sorry Missy

2010-11-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

(Okay Missy so I am sorry that I don't have ANY pictures from Thanksgiving but my dad does and Becky does so hopefully we will get to see some of those soon! I will post them when I get my hands on them.) Here are a few random pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Ivy has discovered how much fun it is to play chase to the stairs......over and over and over again. If she didn't think it was so much fun I would TOTALLY put a stop to the insanity! "Are you coming mom?"
"I'm gonna beat you!"

"You found me!"

"Please please please just let me crawl up a few?"

"Okay, now I am ready to do it again.....you still there mom?"

We went and cut down our tree again this year. We named it.....Piney the 4th. This picture is so cute of everyone!

Ivy was already in bed so I snapped some of her the next day.

Thanks for the cute Christmas ornament mom!

She looks like she is trying to crush this ornament.

I can't believe this is her first Christmas! Maybe by next Christmas she will look like a girl?

Maddy, and her cute new bangs that she loves.

Lilly, who had to pose like 4 different times until she was happy with the position of every body part in the picture.

And Josey, who for some reason had made the most ornaments on the tree.

Maddy was having a pre-teen night, or maybe she wasn't feeling good. But I forced her to take a picture with me. She secretly loved it.....it's written all over her face.

I don't know what is up with the color on this picture but this was the face she was making most of the night.

And this was the face SHE was making most of the night. Aaahh it's great to be 8....and not have all the hormones kicking in.

Here are some other random pictures from Dustin's phone.

Ivy and her very own keyboard to smash on while mommy is on her computer.

Josey......eating a cracker.....I don't know, but it's cute.

Here are the girls next to our downed Christmas tree. They are so cute! They ran all through the Christmas tree farm yelling Marco Polo to find each other. I am sure it didn't get annoying to anyone.

And here we are visiting Santa. My dad has lots more pictures of the girls. The guy behind the counter said I could only take one picture.....but he didn't say anything to my dad about how many pictures he could take!

This picture cracks me up because Maddy totally didn't want to go on Santa's lap this year. I asked her to take Ivy over but then Ivy started screaming so Dustin rushed in to take her away and Maddy got left talking to Santa. Doesn't her body language look thrilled?

And here was Ivy and her first encounter with the big red stranger. I am sure my dad has some WAY better ones. I am excited to see them.

And here is Lilly I am sure explaining in great detail everything she wants for Christmas.

Apparently I didn't get one of Josey.....great.....I will never here the end of this from the middle child. I know these things....right mom? Dad please send me a picture of her!

Josey's soccer game

2010-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Can't you tell this post is about Josey's soccer game? I just started snapping these and they turned out so cute!

And here is the real pictures for the post. We have three very different soccer players this year. Maddy is a good little player that surprises me every time I watch her. Josey is a very skilled player that lacks motivation to really give it her all every time. And Lilly.....well......we are just happy if she actually leaves my side to play to be on the field. We don't really care if she touches the ball of not. (However she did score a goal for the other team and we were SO excited for her!)

I didn't get any pictures of the actual game cause it just seems too hard to take any good shots that you can really tell who is who. But these were from the pre warm-up. She had a really fun team this year and we really had a great time getting to know her coach and the parents. I am hoping she wants to play again next year!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Can anyone say serial killer???jk We made Dustin try on Becky's wig and it wasn't pretty! So we thought we would see what Ivy would look like with hair......it is still a little scary I think. All I could see was Dustin with hair.

She kept the wig on though for an oddly long time.....maybe she WANTS hair!

Trick-or-Treating with the cousins.

That laundry detergent was NOT part of Bears costume.
The group......

The girls insisted that I dress up this year. Maddy was particularly insistent so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and become the mommy cat.

Can you spot the freaky man in this picture?

Ivy enjoying a sucker. Doesn't she look happy.......dirty but happy!

She started here on the floor and then we realized she needed to be moved up to the highchair.

I love this picture! look at the smile on Ivy! They all look so cute. The original plan was to dress Ivy as mini-me with Dustin. I was going to draw stubble and eyebrows and dress them the same but then I realized that we didn't have any inside Halloween events to go to and that she would just be too cold. So then So we just improvised with her kitty hat and later a hand me down ladybug costume from Maddy.

I love this picture too!

Lilly the cat.....

Ivy the cat....

Maddy the cat....

And Josey the batgirl or (Draculaura from Monster High).....

We had a great Halloween this year and I am a little sad because it never seems like there is enough time to do all the things I want to but maybe next year!!

carving pumpkins

2010-11-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

We were invited over to the Hatch's to carve pumpkins this year. We had a good time trying to get all 10 pumpkins carved!

There are some that relish taking the pumpkin guts out and a few that despise it....can you guys who is who in this picture?

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our finished product. Things were just a little too chaotic!

more picture from the pumpkin patch

2010-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

A few more off the camera

This picture cracks me up!

How cute is this? Look at Ivy!

The cutest little black/purple kitty

2010-10-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Lilly is the first of the Halloween costumes to unveil. She has her first Halloween party today and she is SO excited! We decided to have semi-homemade costumes this year just cause we thought it would be fun. So you will have to wait to see the others! And for the record these were all her posing ideas......

And by the way she already has the attitude so she will not be wearing this at sixteen I will insist that she is a clown......

long random picture post

2010-10-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures from Dustins new IPhone. And since I have misplaced my camera YET again at least there are some on Dustin's phone. I need to get me one of these phones! These pictures are long and random and I don't have time to commentate but ENJOY!

Good-Bye Dolly

2010-10-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Here are the stars of Hello Dolly.....okay we thought so anyway! I finally snapped a few pictures on the closing night of the play. This was during intermission after one of my WONDERFUL dancing numbers (which by the way I FELL on stage one night....a little embarrassing! But a good story!), so I am a little hot and sweaty! But I am so proud of my girls for sticking it out and finishing it with me. It was a lot of time this month and crazy crazy schedules but hopefully we created some fun memories!

This is us in our costumes for "Before the Parade Passes By" including a flag from the parade.
And here we are in our costumes for "Put on Your Sunday Clothes"......not a whole lot different huh? They were cute though. In this number I had 7 little girls all dresses in yellow with yellow bows and skirts and sashes (I didn't put the girls back on) and we paraded on stage and curtsied. It was very cute.

This ones for you mom!

Such a trooper! No one could believe how well behaved she was on stage. She would even SMILE! It was seriously the cutest thing!

My niece Claudia. We got to know each other VERY well over the last 6 weeks or so. I am glad I had that time to really get to know her! Love you Claudia!

Striking a pose on stage after the play.

This was "fake daddy" as my girls liked to call him. We were paired up a lot as a family on stage. Josey told me she was going to miss Peter after the show. He was very nice to my girls and fun to dance with.

My girls had their own little room to watch movies in and eat snacks and color. One night I had to go back out on stage with out them and Lilly was having a hard time so the costume director came in and drew a picture for her on the chalk board. The girls thought it was the BEST drawing they had ever seen so they had to leave it up the whole time. Maddy didn't want to erase it so I told her we could take a picture of it to remember. Thanks Sally!

busy busy

2010-10-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

I found it! Hurray! So I snapped some pictures of Ivy yesterday in all her busy-ness. And I will get some pictures of the girls playing soccer and of Hello Dolly this weekend. Boy am I glad I found it!

Ivy has become the little busy bee around our house. She is getting quit good at getting around and wants to stand up on EVERYTHING! I found her under the table, where she found some chocolate chips someone had dropped. I am not sure that was the best thing for her to eat but I guess we will find out! She was in heaven though!

Then she saw the camera and made a bee line.

And this is my favorite! Check out those little teeth!

Then she headed over to the couch. I just think this looks so funny because she is SO little!

Then she was off and getting into niece Julia's homework.

Doesn't she already look so guilty!

And lastly I just had to show you the awesome cutting board my brother-in-law made me! I love it! Thanks Ryan!

pictures

2010-09-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am sorry for the lack of pictures but I can't seem to find my camera! As soon as I do I will post pictures of everyone playing soccer (including Lilly who scored a goal in her last game.....for the other team! But at 4 a goal is a goal and she is VERY proud of it!) and of everyone in the play (including me attempting the polka with my partner or better known as "fake daddy" according to Josey) and maybe of some of the crab Dustin caught recently (yes....I said caught) and then maybe of Ivy who is already pulling herself up at the couch but can barely see over the side she is so short! (Who by the way visited the doctor today and weighs a whopping 15 lbs at 7 1/2 months old!!! WOO HOO! This is good seeing how she gained 1 1/2 lbs over the last 6 weeks.) But, until then you will just have to use your imagination a little...... and I would really like to see how everyone imagines me doing the polka actually!

can't say something nice, don't say anything at all

2010-09-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today after church as we were headed to the car, we were chatting with another little family with their first little baby who is the same age as Ivy. I wasn't paying attention but all of a sudden I hear Dustin scolding Lilly for something. He told me afterwards that she had looked in their carseat and started laughing and said, "What a scary, ugly, freaky baby!" OH MY GOSH!!!! I was so embarrassed! They of course have an adorable little baby! Lilly's reaction was sort of bewildered that we were upset with her for saying such things! Kids can be so embarrassing and I guess I need to teach her about the can't say something nice, don't say anything at all rule!

In other news! Hello Dolly is finally coming to a wrap! We only have 2 weeks until showtime and things are getting more and more hairy. But I am finally starting to enjoy it more and I think the girls are as well. The other day I had to bring Ivy with me to a rehearsal. The next rehearsal the director came up to me and asked if I would be willing to have Ivy be in the performances! She said it was so cute seeing her up there with me and she would love to have her included. So they are making her a cute poofy dress and a little bonnet and she gets to join all the girls in our musical! I am totally excited about that! However at church today the director pulled me aside again and asked if I could step into another number because one of the members had to pull out of the play last minute. I told her that wouldn't be a problem but then I found out it is a full on dancing routine! With like a partner that has to lift me and stuff!!! How funny is that?! Wish me luck!

soccer mom

2010-09-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my mom about my night the other night and she told me that I needed to blog about it because it was too funny. So here goes!

This is just a snapshot of what my life has been like this past month and will continue for another month until "Hello Dolly" is over and soccer season ends. I have turned into "The Soccer Mom". Having 3 kids in soccer means that Monday through Thursday and all day Saturday is spent at practices or games. I am not complaining, because I signed up for this, but I am realizing just how logistically hard it is to get everyone where they need to be all the time (and then add the play on top of it and a small baby and it is OUT OF CONTROL).

So Wednesday was my first activity as the new activity day leader. I was excited to get to know the girls and make our first activity fun so they would want to come back. I also knew that Maddy and Josey had soccer games at the same time 6:00, a half hour in opposite directions. Dustin had already been home early the night before because we had 2 soccer practices, Lilly's game and my Hello Dolly practice going on so he couldn't make it this second night in time to get one of them to their games. So Maddy had to ride with her coach while I took Josey to her game. So we had planned to start activity days at 4:15. Then Maddy's coach asked me to get Maddy to his house by 4:45. I realized that I was only going to be able to make to activity days for about 15 minutes. Luckily my partner was great about it and that part worked out. I had spent the afternoon trying to get all organized so that I wouldn't feel overwhelmed by it all. Everyones soccer stuff was packed and in the car including water bottles and balls and a snack for the drive over there. I had stocked the baby bag with baby food and juice and books for Lilly. I had packed the soccer chairs and even remembered everyones jackets in case it got cold. I knew we were going to be gone for almost 4 hours. I thought I was all prepared. So we left activity days and rushed over to Maddy's coach's house and dropped her off. Then we started over to Josey's game.

We weren't late.....and that was about the best thing that came out of the event. When we got to the game it was just lightly misting. All I kept thinking was, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET IT RAIN! Of course Josey's field was the farthest one from the parking lot, meaning that I couldn't just sit in the car and watch. So I put the baby in the stroller (which is always fun pushing on the grass) loaded up our two chairs and grabbed my GIGANTIC baby bag and started huffing it over to the field with a sick 4 year old in tow. We get over there and I get everything set up and instantly Ivy starts crying. I started getting out the food hoping she was just hungry. And then it starts to rain a little more. I was still trying to stay optimistic that it was going to stop for an hour. Rain was about the only thing I DIDN'T plan for. Then it starts raining harder. Luckily a friend had brought an extra umbrella and asked if I wanted to borrow it. And I am really glad it was there, because within the next few minutes it started POURING! So I am trying to feed the baby and keep everyones heads covered. Ivy is still crying. Then Lilly decided she needs to go potty. So I spot the port-a-potty and we start walking over. This is when I realize that the jeans I am wearing are WAY to big because they kept falling down! The bottoms were wet and I think that was weighing them down but I could have walked right out of them. So I am holding the crying baby, holding the umbrella and trying to pull my pants up while trying to help Lilly get into the port-a-potty (inside the port-a-potty was a whole other adventure). We get back to our seats......still in POURING rain and Josey gets nailed in the stomach with a cleat. So I have to get back up and walk around the field, in front of all the other parents, holding my crying baby and the borrowed umbrella and trying to keep my pants from falling off with Lilly who sounds like she is going to hack up a lung. Luckily Josey decided she needed to head home even though there was only 10 minutes left in the game, with a little encouragement on my part. So I had to walk all the way back to the car in the rain with everyone and get them all settled and then head back out into the rain to retrieve my chairs and stroller and baby bag that are seriously DRENCHED.

The whole way home all three girls cried. Everyone was cold and tired and hungry and had headaches. Seriously? I don't know why I even attempted to prepare anything because it was an utter disaster and I felt like I looked like one of those frazzled, unprepared, unorganized moms that has too many kids.......oh wait I am that lady and my pants don't fit.

Such cutie pies!

2010-09-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

So with Maddy and Josey gone all day at school. Lilly and Ivy are getting better acquainted. Lilly is liking the one on one mommy time and we are having fun playing with Ivy. Ivy is getting closer and closer to crawling. She does crawl.....she just goes backwards! She often she just keeps going until she can't go any further......as evidenced below. She was stuck under the end table but seemed rather pleased about it. Sorry for all the junk in the family room but Lilly was trying to build a fort.

That little tongue has been a semi-permanent feature on Ivy's face. She has finally broke through her first tooth and that tongue really likes to feel it I think.

You have to blow up this next picture and ignore the carrot barf all over her shirt and face but seriously check out those lashes! Lucky girl!

I just can't wait to see what she is going to look like with a little hair. It is really hard to visualize her as a little girl as bald as she is!

And my little preschooler. The first day went really great. She even ran out of the room yelling, "I love preschool!" However the second day didn't go so well. I had to leave her kicking and screaming with the teacher as I tried to walk out with a smile on my face. Even though she is my third I still walked to the car fighting back the tears! I am such a dork. But I felt so bad leaving her there like that even though she is four and really needs to break away from me a little bit. Of course she was all smiles when I came to pick her up. And she told me that she wants to go to preschool everyday and that she is going to "zoom in there!". We will see how Tuesday goes....I am preparing for the worst.

Ivy is always so happy when the cats get brought close enough for her to torture them. They are really good natured cats and even though Lilly and Ivy aren't the most gentle with them they rarely meow or scratch. In fact I am shocked sometimes when I hear them purring as Lilly has them thrown over her shoulder.

Here is my little shrimpo again. I realized today that she was wearing a newborn onsie and 0-3 month pants......she is going to be 7 months next week. Seriously? She is making it easier though for me to hold on to the baby stage since she is my last baby! However at this rate I just hope that by 5 maybe she won't still be wearing baby clothes.....just kidding.

First Day of School

2010-09-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today was Maddy and Josey's first day of school......FINALLY! I think we are the last ones in the entire country to start school! I forgot to snap some pictures this morning so I made the girls let me take some when they got home. If Maddy looks like she is faking her smile.....she is. She was NOT happy with me about having to take pictures when she just wanted to relax. And if they look a little haggard and hair unbrushed, I promise they looked a lot cuter this morning. She looks so cute and grown-up!

I can't believe she is starting 5th grade! That is just crazy!

Josey on the other hand was all smiles about posing for pictures.

My big thrid grader. She got the same teacher that Maddy had for the third grade so she was very happy about that.

Josey and the baby.....who didn't want to snap pictures either.

And then Lilly wanted in on the action.

How cute are they?!

Lilly started pre-school

2010-09-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

So yesterday Lilly officially became a school girl! HURRAY!!!!! I can't tell you how long I have waited for this day!!jk She was so excited and loved loved loved it! It is a far cry from last year when she wouldn't even go to a dance class for a half hour by herself. When I picked her up she just kept yelling,"I LOVE PRESCHOOL!!" I think her favorite it part was the new school clothes. She kept doing fashion show after fashion show. All ready with her backpack and curls.

It is really fun because her cousin Bear who is three is in the same preschool. So Beck and I got to take them together and will get to carpool which will be very nice! I love this picture! Doesn't it look like Danny and Sandy from Grease.....if Bear was a little taller!

Bear was cracking us up he looked really excited.

Lilly insisted on a whole fashion shoot before we left so here are a few more poses for your enjoyment.

I am just so excited for her! She loves it and finally gets to carry her own backpack! And I get a couple hours a week with just the baby.......pure joy! More pictures to come of Josey and Maddy's first day today!

It's great to be Eight!

2010-09-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

Josey was baptized last Saturday! She was so excited and we are so proud of her! Here she is getting ready!

Josey and her dad!

This was Josey's friend who was baptized the same night.

Daddy and Lilly

My beautiful 8 year old Joselyn!

Look her stand up straight!family picture

Grandma and Grandpa Moyes

Grandma Beth

Thank you so much for everyone that came and supported Josey! We had so much fun!

Grandma and Grandpa drove for 2 days to get here and turned around basically a day later to drive home to get to Amanda who is due with her third! We love you so much and are so grateful that you could make it here for Josey!

Most of the cousins that live here now.....just missing Ivy.

Thanks so much for coming all the way out here just for the weekend mom. It was so fun to have you here and I know Josey felt so special! Love you!

We had a fun BBQ afterwards with family and friends.

It's great to be 8! Grandma and Ivy.......check out those eyes......I am not sure Ivy was very happy about this!

the cutest little girls on the block

2010-08-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Maddy and Josey and Lilly begged me to have a lemonade stand. I said yes and they were elated! So we decided that Josey was going to make special brownies and Maddy was going to make cupcakes and Lilly would make the juice. They set up this whole stand in the morning with the piano bench and sign. They sat there almost all day! They were SO excited about this. So the morning of I realized that we needed cups and cupcake holders. So I told the girls that I would buy them for them on loan and they had to earn the 3 dollars back by doing extra chores for me! Aren't I a mean mom!?

It was a little slow going in the morning so of course I had to head down and buy a lot of my own baked goods.....funny how that works! I paid my kids to sell me the baked goods I bought and helped cook! But towards the end of the day business picked up! They were selling juice for 25 cents and baked goods for 50 cents and they ended up making 10 bucks! I think I might send them out there once a week.

crawling cutie

2010-08-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Ok......so I should reword that to almost crawling cutie. But STILL! kinda crazy! She was six months on Monday! She is such a little tiny thing that I am starting to have to feed her formula in addition to my nursing. She is a nursing machine but she isn't gaining very much..... she only weighs 13 1/2 pounds! This means she is only in the 10% for her weight. She is still on the tall side though so that is pretty good. So, much to my chagrin I am having to supplement with bottles. She started solids this month as well and is SOO funny. She doesn't much care for baby food but LOVES anything us big people are eating. But here she is about ready to crawl. I don't know how I feel about this. It is always fun and exciting to see your baby figure out how to do something new but frankly my floor isn't clean enough to have a little one everywhere! And Lego's and polly pockets are definitely going to have to be all picked up constantly.

She pops up and rocks back and forth........now if she can just figure out how to move those arms at the same time she will quit face planting into the carpet!

You are so cute Ivy Mae...even though you pooped on the couch today.....wouldn't you like to know which cushion!

My littlest soccer player

2010-08-17T23:16:00.000-07:00

Yes that's her! I am so mad that these came out blurry. I really despise my camera! BUT! Here are the cutest pictures of Lilly on her way to her first soccer team meeting. She has been so excited to play soccer and when we got the call from her coach I thought she might just burst! So yesterday was the parent meeting. I couldn't go because I was at the cast party with Maddy and Josey at the same time so Dustin got to go with her.

I was laughing so hard because for Lilly, it was all about the outfit that she was going to wear. We found Maddy's old soccer uniform from when she was 6 and Lilly was SOOOO excited to wear it. I dragged out on old soccer cleat that was her size but I couldn't find the other one in time. But she didn't care! As you can see she wore just the one.

She had her actual soccer practice tonight and I got to take her and watch her. I wasn't sure how she was going to do because she tends to be on the shy side and if she gets in trouble for anything she is usually traumatized. But she LOVED IT! She was so in to it I think I could have disappeared and I don't think she would have noticed. She was so focused on kicking that ball and running as fast as she could it was so cute! They had a water break at one point and Lilly ran over really fast and took a drink and sprinted back to her coach and said, "Teacher! I am ready!" I hope she stays this enthusiastic about it the whole way through!

more play pictures

2010-08-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from their dress rehearsal the other night. I still don't have any from Alice in Wonderland but I did get a picture of Maddy as the rabbit! So funny!

Josey wasn't supposed to be wearing her flip-flops and she refused to tuck in her shirt in ANY performances. I guess she is more a free spirit than a lawyer.

Maddy as the white rabbit. It is really hilarious because she has to change from the High School student to the white rabbit in about 3 minutes flat. So I am in the bathroom buttoning up her shirt and putting the cumber bun on etc while someone else is applying the makeup. It is really pretty funny.

Josey in a gangsta pose

Lilly in a hip-hop pose

My cute stars!

Now she looks brainy.......right?

oh the talent.......

2010-08-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the girls in their costumes for the plays they are in, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. Here is Maddy in her costume for Alice in Wonderland. This play was really for 12 and up but she asked Maddy to come and be a part of it. I told her I was sure she would just have a minor part to help fill in the cast but she ended up as the White Rabbit! She was so excited! I don't have any pictures of her yet in her white tuxedo and rabbit face make-up on but she is super cute. This is her costume as the High School kid before she becomes the white rabbit. And here she is as Ariana Black. She is the evil daughter of the wicked queen! She has such a fun part! She gets to be on stage lots and be SUPER SUPER bratty and whiny.

And here is Josey. She got pulled into the Alice and Wonderland cast as well to be a double for Alice's sister/cat Dinah. She is was so excited!

And here she is in most of her costume as Brainy dwarf. These were all taken at a dress rehearsal and she didn't put on her bow tie and her little round glasses but she looks so stinkin' cute in her little suit! It is seriously the cutest little three piece suit ever and the cutest little dwarf in it. She has a really fun part too with lots of funny lines. She gets to be the know-it-all and she does such a great job! She says she looks like a lawyer with her glasses, her hair in a bun and her briefcase she gets to carry around. I will post some more pictures from their actual performances when I get a few more together.

We have their last three performances this weekend.....hallelujah! It has been fun but a really busy summer with these plays. I think even the girls are excited that they will be over soon. Then they get to start joining me at the Stake musical Hello Dolly rehearsals for the show in October. Lilly is so excited for Hello Dolly because this is "her play". And they all get to start soccer soon. All three in soccer.......I am really nervous about practice and game schedules conflicting. We have never done this before and I am really not sure how we are going to do it!Then at the end of October they get to audition for Annie! They are SOOOO excited for Annie. It is one play after the other! I hope we don't all get burnt out! I know Dustin is already burnt out but us girls are still having fun! Don't ask me again around Thanksgiving time.........

My sweet Joselyn

2010-08-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures off of my sister-in-laws blogs and they were so cute and funny of Josey I couldn't help but steal them. She is such a sweet goofball and I adore her!

How Cute Is This?

2010-08-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

I found Lilly and Winston cuddling the other day and couldn't resist taking a picture. And he was really happy! I thought maybe she was forcing him into that position but he was actually really happy right there. Too cute!

When did she get so big?

2010-07-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

So I have started Ivy on solid food these last couple of weeks. I thought she was going to LOVE it because she has wanted to eat whatever I am eating forever! She already drinks out of my cup. If I take a drink, Ivy has to take a drink. But surprisingly she didn't really enjoy the rice cereal. I tried it a couple of times mixing in bananas and such hoping that was the problem but still no luck. So today I pulled out straight bananas and warmed them up (per my mother's instructions) and then I started eating them.Ivy watched me and started acting like she wanted them. She ate half the jar! I would give her a few bites and then take a bite and she would look so thrilled that I was eating her food. Here she is eating real food!
I decided to try and sit her up in her swing and see if she liked it. These next few shots you have to look at her CRAZY eyes! It is hilarious! They get crazier and crazier!

How cute does she look though?! She is growing up so fast!

Luke has a brother....

2010-07-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Okay..... I know these are a lot of pictures of our little kitties, but they were SO cute! And yes I said KITTIES as in more than one. SERIOUSLY? I don't think there is anyone that is more surprised than me that we have two kittens.....okay, maybe Dustin's cousin Jason who asked him if H-E double hockey sticks froze over. But here is what happened. When we got Luke he had one other little kitten with him. We took Luke and our friends thought they probably wanted to keep the other little guy. So we took Luke home and he was adjusting but he seemed kinda lonely especially at night. Finally a few nights ago he woke us all up at some point during the night trying to find someone or something to play with. I can't keep any bedroom doors closed or my kids will FREAK OUT! We talked to a few people who suggested getting two kittens rather than one to give them a playmate and friend. So we contacted our friends and asked them if they for sure wanted to keep the other guy and that we would be interested in having them both at our house to play with each other. They thought about it for a few days and finally decided that since he was going to be an outside cat at their house that he might be happier with us and with Luke. So they let us have the other little guy. We were so happy that we were able to get his brother and that we didn't have to introduce another random kitten to him and that we would get some sleep at night! Winston, Marshmallow, Han Solo, Anakin Skywalker Moyes (not really sure which one is going to stick. Personally I am pulling for Henry but no one seems to be listening to me) is a really pretty cat, which is why our friends didn't really want to give him up in the first place! And he seems like he is adjusting okay. Luke was SO excited when we brought him home. He immediately started trying to play with him and lick him it was seriously one of the cutest things! They wrestled and chased each other all night and they really really seem happy together. I am not really an animal/pet person so this post is making me laugh that I am writing a paragraph this long about my CATS but actually.......they are kinda cute and I kinda love them already.

Winston has really pretty light blue eyes but I can't figure out how to fix the red eye on my computer anymore!
You have to look at how happy and comfortable Luke looks in all these pictures!

How cute is this! They looked like they were hugging!

Are they not the cutest things?! I HAVE CATS! WHAT THE?

Lilly thinks that they are opposites. One has the stripes on the top and white on the bottom and the other has white on the top and stripes on the tail. I don't know if that qualifies as opposites but they are so cute!

Ivy and the cat

2010-07-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

Ivy is starting to love her belly more and more. She just sits there and tries to "swim" her way to everything. Here she is with Lilly (rock star pose). Ivy loves the cat toy almost as much as Luke.

I love seeing them all hanging out together. Luke loves to play and Ivy LOVES to watch.

Here is her superman pose, high centered, with Luke watching on.

Swim Ivy swim!

Happy Birthday Josey Posey!

2010-07-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

It was Joselyn's birthday on Saturday! She was SO excited she could barely sleep the night before! Here she is after her shower and with her new outfit on posing outside her decorated door. And of course Lilly needed in on the action.

Her FABULOUS birthday outfit!

And she loved that I decorated her picture.

We headed to the mall to get her ears pierced. This is something she has been begging for since Maddy got her ears pierced 2 years ago! I told her that when she turned 8 we would get them pierced. We got to Claire's and wouldn't you know it......she didn't want to do it! She was in tears! So we didn't get the ears pierced but we did head over to build-a-bear where she picked out a birthday animal and she was all smiles about that. Here is Hedwig and the Harry Potter glasses technically go with the owl but Josey loves to wear them around. I am glad we had already purchased him before she saw the little build-a-bear wheelchair (if you remember this post).....too funny!

We also did something that Dustin and I vowed we would NEVER do! And if you really know me you know this is CRAZY like CUH-RAY-ZEE!!! We got

A CAT!

This is little Luke Skywalker Simba Moyes. HE is 12 weeks and the cutest thing ever! The girls are in heaven! Dustin seems okay and I think he secretly like the idea that he is a boy. Right Dust?

We have been keeping him in the bathroom to get him adjusted to our house. I had to take a picture because there were like 12 people in there playing with him. Josey also got a fun package from grandma Beth!

Thanks grandma!

And here she is trying to blow out those trick candles her mean mom put on her cake! Everyone had to get in on the action and help out.

Here are all the girls, Bear and their 2 dads......doesn't it look like that? So funny!

We love you so much Josey and are so glad that you had a wonderful birthday! We can't wait until September to see you get baptized!!

And a few of Ivy that were so cute!

Ivy has finally got the hang of bouncing in her bouncer and she LOVES it!

Here is Josey blowing out her candles and her sisters and cousins helping out.

Here are the girls playing with little Lukie aka Starfighter. They love to pretend that he is a Warrior cat going into battle.

my bathing beauty

2010-07-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures just make me smile. She LOVES her bath and just splashes and splashes!

This first picture looks so much like Joselyn to me it is scary! She is seriously maybe my MOST bald baby. Maddy was a close second. Poor girl!

This one makes me laugh cause she looks so offended that I was taking pictures of her in the bath!

And look at how chunky she is getting! She actually is only in the 30% for her weight so not really that chunky, but she is in the 70% for her height! go figure!