Saturday, October 8, 2011

Julia's First Homecoming

I can't believe my youngest sister is old enough to have
her first homecoming!

I am so OLD!


But, of course,
how exciting for her!

My sister worked her magic with the tremendous
amount of hair she has-GORGEOUS!


And when all was said and done
she made one stunning-
MODEST-
young lady who was ready
to dance the night away!


Julia,
I love you so much!

Continue to develop those amazing talents of yours,
remember what is important,
and how precious you are in the sight of God!

We love you!





Friday, October 7, 2011

Getting Out The Halloween Bins...

I'm a big fan of getting the decorations up early,
and taking them down promptly!

I just know that if we wait it will never get done,
so we might as well just throw ourselves into it.

This year we had the pleasure of having my nephews over
for the tradition,
but before we broke out the Halloween bins,


...we played...


...gangsta'd...


...bathed...



...danced to Princess Rapunzel music...

(Over, and over, and over again... :)


...ate yummy burgers...


...and an even yummier Halloween treat...

{Thanks, Iris!}


...and then we got the starty parted!

See for yourself...


My favorite part?

Seeing how deathly afraid Jacob was of the theme song, Thriller!

Of course being the wicked aunt and uncle that we are,
we cranked it up!

H A P P Y  H A L L O W E E N  D E C O R A T I N G!

{And torturing your nephews...}

Bwa-ha-ha!



Saturday, October 1, 2011

Painting + Death


We were able to help paint my mother-in-laws house,
which means the kids were left to their own devices
for long periods of time.

What did they find?

That death had struck even the smallest of creatures,
a caterpillar.

And so...


A funeral.

Note the dirty look Owen's giving me. 
Apparently it's not cool to take pictures at a funeral-
although in my defense some people ARE doing that now.

I'm just saying...


It was a very solemn affair.


And the caterpillar was certainly given
a funeral befitting of his...umm...status?


Personally,
I like the arrow. 

...

Great, job kids!

You can definitely be in charge of my funeral preparations,
but please,
no pictures... :)


Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Pillow Kings


Guess who can drag those pillows from all over the house
-no problem!-
but who is completely incabable
of putting them all back?

Sigh.

But I know I will miss this one day!

And so I'll smile instead...

But I'll sigh one more time first...


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Crafting


My busy bee
whose always cutting, gluing, and taping!

We never fail to get a note, letter, or craft
and it truly makes our day!

We love you, Iris!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Playing Dad + Reflections of An Aging Mom


Gabriel,
finally settled on the couch with his baby bear
carefully wrapped in a kitchen towel and
ready for a bottle of...orange juice?

Oh, well. 

It is a joy to see this little sweetheart of a boy
playing daddy and taking care of his baby!

Fast-forward twenty-years or so,
and I'll be posting photos of my children
with their real babies in their arms!

Can time really fly by that fast?

I not only believe so,
I know so!
 
 
 
This little guy is still in diapers,
and yet as I carry him off to bed
I know that soon
-very soon-
he'll be able to carry me!

And yikes-
I hope I won't be in diapers!

{sigh}








The Sacramento Temple

 










Bad To The Bone...





Friday, September 23, 2011

Mama Wars

And so it begins...





What is this?!?

I don't know but it's disturbing and fascinating all at once...

{he he}







Aughh!

A counter-attack!






Retreat!

...


Ahh.

A mama's victory is sweet...




Thursday, September 22, 2011

Strawberry Waffles + Jello Parfaits + Barbie Cake = Iris' 6th Birthday Extravaganza!

I cannot believe it!

Where did the time go?

My baby girl has officially lopped over to
two hands to represent her age...
six whole fingers now!



Her day started bright and early
with strawberry and chocolate chip waffles
and strawberry smoothies-
with the special plate and cup, of course!

Y U M !




For school we celebrated with
pink-swirled chocolate brownies!

D O U B L E - Y U M !


And when dinner rolled around,
we went high-end gourment with...

Macaroni & Cheese
(from a box!)
Cheetos
&
Piggies-in-a-blanket!


Since we have essentially three birthday parties every year-
one with Samuel's side,
one with mine,
and then finally just us on the day of,
we try to mix-up the desserts to avoid cake overload!

Hence the non-cake and non-ice cream parfaits!

She was so, so excited,
and even needed serious help in
blowing out her measly two candles!
{Yes, I'm a candle-scrabbler! 
Whatever's in my drawer is what we use!}


Since I've never made any of my girls a barbie cake,
I felt like this year was my last chance.


This is definitely foreign territory!
And I still can't get over how much cake it took
to cover Barbie's freakishly long legs!

I wouldn't have that problem!

{smile}


Thank heavens for cool whip! 
So, so forgiving!



And yes,
she's sporting a faux chopstick (toothpick) do!


This is what I'm talking about!

Look at that smile!

Even my big girls were thrilled!


We love you, sweet-potato puddin' pie!


Iris Luciana,

You are beautiful,
so funny,
incredibly smart,
and just a plain ol' sweetheart,
which in our opinion,
is the very best way to be!

Keep on growin', lovebug.

It is a joyous journey!

We love, love, love you!

xoxXOxoOxo
Mom + Dad