It's Time

So I tried. And as much as I hate to admit it, I just fell too far behind on the blog and am REALLY having hard time catching up. And being so far behind makes it hard to feel motivated to blog regularly. So as much as I HATE not documenting Many months, its the only way I will be able to keep the blog going. Luckily there is instagram and my chatbooks that document these missing months. So we will just cross fingers that I can keep it up from here on out.

I don't want to miss any kids birthdays so we are going to pick up in JULY of 2015. So here are some general highlights! 

THIS GIRL! She got BRACES! Oh my gosh! And she went from looking like my little girl to a little lady in an instant! It is so weird for me to see her this old and growing so fast! But she can ROCK those braces like it is nobody's business! She picked rainbow colors for the first time, which is perfect for this girl. And she was so excited about it. The very best part....so far hardly any pain at all. But here is a cute little story. I warned her that her teeth might be sore and told her to let me know if she needed a smoothie or something for dinner. So sure enough at dinner time she asked for a smoothly, to which I gladly obliged! The next morning I asked her how her teeth were (expecting them to be Really sore) and she said "Oh, they are totally fine!" I asked her if they were feeling better than last night and was surprised they didn't hurt more. Her response: "Well, last night they didn't really hurt That bad. I just thought it seemed fun to get a smoothly because I have braces and that is a big deal!" I just laughed! I love this girl!

This boy just melts my heart. For one day (before he had a badly needed hair cut) he wanted to try a new spike style. So we played around with it. I thought he looked So Cute and he loved it. But the next day he wanted nothing to do with it and wanted his old style back. Silly boy!

I am so lucky to have awesome neighbors/friends that suggest fun things for us to do together, like go to "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chic-fil-A. We Quickly made cow shirts and masks and printed out cow signs, and the two of us took 7 kids to chic and didn't pay a penny! Best day ever! Who can beat free chic-fil-a?!

Makenna and Kara......Kellen and Joseph

So blessed to have such amazing best friends for my kiddos! I know kids grow and change and that friendships change. But I hope (fingers crossed) that these kids keep these friends. They are so good for each other!

Mama Cows!

Kellen got this MUCH anticipated gift from the Robinsons (post to come) and he LOVES his claw game. He saved up a ton of money so he could go buy prizes to go inside. He stocks the game with goodies and then lets his friends and siblings come and play or sits and plays himself over and over. It is the cutest things. I was the claw master as a kid! Hope this boy does mama proud!

This summer I had a goal of going to the beach once a week. And even though we didn't make it Quite that much, we made it A Lot! And the kids loved it! They are at such good ages for the beach! Makenna and Kellen love to boogie board. We got a second one this year so they can go together. It is nice because they can catch the waves on their own but are also good at not trying to go out too far, so I don't have too much of a heart attack! Conner and Carys are great at staying close to me and the 3 of us love to hold hands and go jump in the waves together. We eat sandy food, lay in hot sun, catch sand crabs, build castles, catch waves....it's just perfect! The taste of summer!

This day we were there we kept seeing all these little creatures that looked like baby lobsters in the water. They were EVERYWHERE! And super easy to catch in a bucket. We found out later that they are called "tuna crabs". Whatever they were they were fun and made for a great adventure and a very happy animal loving Makenna!

At the Santee YMCA! Both these boys look so big in the is pic! Kellen is totally going through this "I won't touch my brother in a loving way unless I am threatened to do so." They play together All day every day! Yes, they fight too! But those boys are together constantly and are such great friends. But for whatever reason Kellen does not feel like he can be affectionate with his little brother. It bugs me and makes me sad, but I also know that boys are different than girls and don't dwell on it too much. They have a great relationship and love each other to pieces....even if they won't say it out loud!

Something I LOVE about having kids - seeing there imaginations at work! Turning paper bags into enemies to be used as target practice. Cardboard boxes becoming rocket ships and robots. Bicycles becoming firetrucks or horses or motorcycles. It makes me sad that we loose this part of childhood as we grow. It is something so incredible to watch unfold right before your eyes!

This little cutie! Out at Toys R Us trying to find presents for her big brothers birthday. I turn around and what is she doing? Hiding under the basket with a toy she is trying to hijack! Love this spunky little nut!

Summer is rough on little boys. I love that he is 5 and still passes out in the middle of the floor!

I told you these boys love each other!

If only Makenna could be a mermaid. Is that so much to ask?

We are growing corn! Or at least going to attempt. We hear it doesn't go so well here. But Carys is enthusiastic! Hope we don't let her down. I love how my kid are getting to grow up watching us grow our own food at home!