ribbons and curls

I totally remember my Mom putting these foam curlers in my hair when I was a little girl and now I am putting them in my girls hair.  

Leland and Claire were so cute and sat so still while I put them in their hair.

Claire wanted to have 2 ponytails and it was sooooo cute!!!!!

Leland only wanted one ponytail.  I love the color of this girls hair, gorgeous! 

It has happened!

Today I was on the phone with my sister and someone called in with a number I didn't know, so I switched over to answer it and here's what I heard.

"Hi is Coleman there?" in a little girls voice. I said "No sweetie, he isn't here can I take a message" she said "Yes can you tell him Gabby called". " I sure will". 

So it has happened, my son has gotten his first call from a girl.  Gabby is a girl in his class at school and she is such a cute and fun girl.  Anyway, Coleman gets home and I tell him who called and he was so embarrassed,  he was totally blushing and wasn't sure if he was going to call her back or not.  I told him she might just want to invite you to a party or something. I said you don't want to hurt her feelings so just call and say hey, it's no big deal. So he did and he got the answering machine and he left a message.  He looked so relieved, it was so cute.  I know it is completely harmless, but I just can't believe we are entering this stage in parenting.  I am sure she will be the first of many. 

happy day

I love my house, but there are a few things I have wanted to change from day one.  When we moved in the cabinets were like a off white grey color and it didn't match the trim color at all.  Well we finally got around to making some changes and I love what we did.  We had the cabinets painted and then had a white subway tile back splash put up.  It looks so clean and bright, I love it!!!!!  Here are just a few pictures of how it turned out.

ahhhhh! so sweet!

Coleman feed Ruby her bottle today and she just passed out in his arms.  He was so happy he even told me to take a picture, and how could I resist. 

What a chubby baby, I love it!!!

Last Day of school

We made it another year and I can't believe I will have a 5th grader next year.  It has been a fun year and Coleman has learned a lot, he had the best teacher. My favorite thing she did with the kids is they read the Book of Mormon in class every morning and I think finished it, what a great way to start your day and I am sure that is one of the reason she had such success in her classroom. Today was the award assembly, Coleman came home today with the "Bone Chilling" award for always telling the best stories.  He loves to tell stories and apparently has been doing so in class.  Coleman loves to watch stuff about sharks, and shows like "I shouldn't be alive" and he loves to tell me all about them, I guess his class is hearing them too.  He also got a honorable mention for his science fair project, which he was VERY proud of.  The best thing that he had today was this piece of paper with his name on it and under that all these words that describe him.  He explained to me that his teacher had them all write one or two words to describe each one of their classmates.  This is what his paper said: funny stories, friend, good at sports, tries his best, good at kickball, awesome, always joking, nice, crazy, good talker, good at keeping secrets, funny, amazing, cool, and good looking!  As he was showing me his list he pointed to good looking and said "Mom someone said I was good looking, I asked my teacher who it was and she wouldn't tell me, Mom I am FREAKING OUT!!!"  I said "who do you want it to be?" He just smiled and said "I don't know."  I have a feeling he does know and that freaks me out, I think we are officially entering the tween years!  This is so weird for me, I can't believe I have a almost 11 yr old. I will have to say he is a pretty awesome, cool, amazing, fun, and yes good looking kid and I am glad he is mine!!!!  

Evelyn had a great year and It amazes me at how good she is at school.  This week she had a final test in science and had a 2 page study guide that she studied on her own for several days.  It was a lot of material and I really didn't help her at all, she was very self motivated and just read over it a little each night.  So the other day she came home from school and she said to me "Mom the science teacher gave everyone that made a 100 on their science test a bendy pencil and guess who got one?, uh me and ONLY me" She was pretty proud of herself.  She also managed to go through the entire 1st grade readers and almost through all the 2nd grade ones, she make my life so easy and really is a JOY to parent!  Her teacher gave out awards to every student today and Evelyn's was the Most Confident Award.  On the certificate it said, "Evelyn, You are stable, self-assured, and dependable in all you do.  I can count on you when I need someone with clear thinking and understanding.  You were the one I looked to for a model for the class."  Needless to say I am a proud Mommy.  She is excited for summer and is really starting to want to have her friends over all the time, which is fine by me!  I will always welcome all friends at my house anytime( then it is always my rules).  Evelyn is definitely not my little girl anymore and I am proud of who she is becoming. 

I am so happy it is summer and I am excited to spend time with my kids relaxing, swimming, and going to NC for a LONG vacation.  I love my kids and wish I could freeze time just for a while, they seem to be growing up way to fast.  WAY to FAST!!!!! 

Oh yea GRITS!!!

Today Evelyn had a project at school where she had to give a presentation on 2 states.  She had to do Hawaii and North Carolina.  Lucky for us we have several families in our ward (church) that are from Hawaii, so we borrowed a Uliuli (a shaker they use when they dance) and she talked all about dancing and Leis.   North Carolina was a breeze, for obvious reasons.  She really wanted to bring in a treat so we decided to tell all about grits and how they are eaten in the south.  We brought a big pot of grits in and let the whole class taste them.  Not one kid in her class had ever had them,  Evelyn felt so happy with her report.  Evelyn's teacher was so excited and just loved them.  She thought they were going to be more like rice, so she just kept saying she was so surprised by how they tasted.  Several of the kids loved them and asked for seconds, a couple of them could not get them off their desk fast enough.lol.  I was so proud of Evelyn and even though we live in the west my kids will always LOVE grits!!! And we will always be southerners at heart!!!!

Do you think she is happy?

almost gone, yum!!!

Mrs. Soderstorm and here new favorite food.  

Spring Program

Today Leland had her spring program at Challenger school.  It was so cute and I was so impressed at how well all the kids knew their songs. She was so happy that Brian and I were both there, she even wanted Evelyn to miss school(evelyn wasn't having it). My favorite was "This is my Country" and "Zip-a-dee do da"  they had the cutest movements and Leland sang her little heart out.  She was so cute, but you could tell she was a little embarrassed.  I've waited for a child that loves to sing as much as I do, and I think I finally got one.  I was a very proud Mommy.  

I love this sweet girl so much. she has such a happy and loving personality.  She is growing up so fast and it is just not fair.    

Leland and Ms Sandy her teacher.

"I want to hold her standing up, PLEASE!!!'

I probably hear this phrase 20 times a day, for some reason they want to hold her standing up.  I guess they see Coleman doing it and they want to prove they can too! Well Ruby is 16 1/2 lbs of dead weight, so this is no easy task.  Leland can do it pretty good, but she can't walk around at all. Claire on the other hand needs a little help, and Claire likes to do things HERSELF!  This can be a challenge for me to "help" her without her knowing.  Today I put my foot under Ruby's butt to help hold her up.  Claire thought she was so big and strong.  

I love that these girls love their baby sister so much, but if Ruby is anything like me sometimes you need a little breathing room.  OK maybe it's just me that needs breathing room, because Ruby is always happy when her sisters are around. 

Look at those chubby thighs! WOW!

Claire looks a little drugged. Hey that's an idea, maybe if I give Claire enough benadryl  she would sleep all day and leave me ALONE! 

I love how Ruby is looking up at her big sisters. 

She is probably thinking "please don't drop me".

So Sweet!

twins

Leland and Claire love to dress alike and it is so funny to me that often times when they do people ask me if they are twins.  Now I don't know about you , but do these girls look like they could be twins?  Uh, NO!  They are the best of friends and Claire loves it when her sissy doesn't have school so she can stay home and play with her.  I can often find them dancing to High School Musical 3, playing house, hiding in the cabinets and telling stories (so cute), and just enjoying Max and Ruby on TV.  Of course they do fight, but when they are happy together nothing warms my heart more.  

I am so grateful to be able to watch my girls grow up with their sisters, it is one of my greatest joys.  I hope they have wonderful childhood memories of playing with their sisters! I know I do!

cat nap

Having 5 kids is a juggling act, and tonight is a prime example.  After attending Evelyn's baseball game I got the kids dinner, read to the girls (Coleman is still at Lacrosse at this point), put Leland and Claire to bed, help Evelyn get in the bath, go feed Ruby her solids, run back upstairs and wash Evelyn's hair(if she does it herself there tends to leave a lot of shampoo in her hair-we are working on it), then I have to tell Leland and Claire to GO BACK TO BED!!!!, I go back to get Ruby and put her in the tub and feed her, and my sweet little Ruby had fallen asleep in her highchair.  Honestly she is the BEST baby and just makes my life complete. 

The best big brother

Coleman has strictly forbidden me to post anything about him, so don't tell him.  Every time I take a picture he asks me "Are you going to put it on you blog?" or "You better not put this on facebook."  I try to obey his pleading orders, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

  

Coleman has his moments when you can tell he wishes he had a brother or better yet, 4 brothers.  I really try to be understanding, even when he is a total BUTT!  Considering it all he still manages to have a bond with each one of his sisters.  Coleman is so in love with his newest sister, Ruby.  He always asks to hold her and many times she has fallen asleep in his arms.  I know it is hard not having a little brother, but I think Heavenly Father got it right and these girls are very lucky.  Coleman is pretty lucky too, it pretty common for the girls to be Coleman's "servant" and they worship the ground he walks on.  So hopefully one day he will be grateful he has all sisters and know how blessed he is!

We love our Papa

While Brittany was here Brian had a brilliant idea, to have his dad come out for the Lakers vs. Jazz game (we are Lakers fans all the way) as a pretty awesome birthday present.  So he hopped a plane and the kids were thrilled!!! As much fun as Papa had with this big bunch I think he enjoyed the Lakers BEATING the Jazz the most, Brian was pretty pumped too!!  We are so happy he was able to come.

Owen and Ruby

Best Friends in the making. 

 Owen is in love with Ruby, as soon as he sees her he goes nuts, she always makes him smile.  From the picture you might think they are the same age, but Owen is 9 mons and Ruby is 6 mons.  Guess what though, they both weigh exactly 16 lbs.  It was a lot of fun seeing them interact with each other, we mostly just protected Ruby from getting malled. 

The 4 amigos

Brittany, Ian and Owen came to visit a week ago for 2 weeks.  These 4 kids had a blast together, especially the older 3. We did a lot of fun stuff: Farm Country @ thanksgiving point, kangaroo zoo, afternoons at the park, McDonald's play place, many dance parties(as Ian called them) and just hanging out at home.  Ian even slept in their room a few nights.  Now the girls argue over who gets to sleep in his bed, they love him so much. 

Score!

Due to the fact that Brian is very busy we have always had someone else cut our grass, but this summer we hit the jackpot.  Coleman is ready to take over and he is actually excited about it, we'll see how long it lasts.  I can't believe he is so big, I feel like he was just a baby.  The other day it hit me that we have less years with him at home than he has already lived.  I am so proud of the young man he is becoming, he really does want to choose the right.  I feel truly blessed to have him as my son and so grateful that my girls have him as a big brother. 

Daddy Love

Brian loves this little baby almost as much as I do, he loves that Ruby is starting to get excited when she sees him.  

Ruby is sucking her thumb more and more each day.

She looks so little

I haven't had a high chair since Coleman was a baby, but with so many kids we are running out of space at the kitchen table.  Ruby, my chubby little girl, looks so little in this big chair.  I am all for anything that makes her seem smaller than she is, I do NOT want her to grow up.  I love this baby so so much and she is the sweetest thing around!