Five out of my six greatest blessings

Life is CRAZY!! There is rarely a moment to sit but I honestly would not change a thing! I love that I have a husband who is willing to work so hard so that I can stay at home with our children. I love getting them ready in the morning and hearing all about their days when they get back. I feel so blessed to call these five cute kiddos mine! Now if only we could get a picture with all five of them looking and smiling!!

Gray's First Day of Preschool

And then there was one... well actually two since Nash does not go to school until the afternoon. BUT I have four kids in school of some type! Gray was so excited to go this morning. He got dressed in his new Cars shoes and t-shirt. So funny because I never would have let Luke wear a shirt like that on the first day. It is so interesting to remember what you thought was important! Sorry Luke! I have come to realize that if it gets him excited to get dressed then I love it! He said he drew pictures and got to play. He had such a great time and I am so glad!! Here's hoping for a great year! *This picture shows what he does every time I ask him to smile. He gives me the winky eye! He is such a cute and funny kid! Love him!

Nash's First Day of Preschool

This year Nash is going to the elementary school for preschool. He goes four days a week. He was so excited to go! I am a little sad that he does not miss me at all but I am so glad that he willingly goes! When we had his assessment he said "Mom, why are you coming with me?" He is so ready to be big and go on his own. He blew through the assessment so quickly and really impressed his teacher Mrs. Cheri. So excited for all that he will learn this year. Love you cute boy!! *The cute girl with Nash is our neighbor Reese. She started kindergarten today!

Fun Family Night

As Joey and I have been training for the half marathon in September, we have been spending a lot of time on the new Murdoch Trail. We love running on it. We decided on Sunday to take the kids on it. Luke and Nash rode their bikes, Harlee rode her scooter, and Joey and I pushed Nash and Gray in their strollers. We went about 2 1/2 miles and the kids loved it! I loved being out enjoy a little exercise and nature with the fam. I don't think this will be the last time we do this!

First Day of School

I honestly cannot believe the summer has come and gone! Seriously the fastest summer ever! Today Luke and Harlee headed back. Luke is going into 4th grade and Harlee into 1st. They will both be gone all day and I MISS THEM!! Luke has Mrs. Rhode who is actually his soccer coach. Harlee has Mrs. Sheri who she had for preschool. They both have so many friends in their classes and I am so glad that they are excited. Luke discreetly kissed me goodbye and went off to find his friends. Harlee hugged me a few times but held it together. I am so proud of her. Joey gave both of them blessings last night. I am so grateful that he stays worthy to give that gift to them and to me! I find such comfort in the words that I know came straight from a loving Heavenly Father. I just know that they are both going to have great years.

Are you a sad baby??

If I ever wondered how another one would fit into the mix, Tag fits in just great. He is just as dramatic as the rest of them! He is so funny lately with his pretend crying. If you ask him "Are you a sad baby?" He will close his eyes and start fake crying. It is the funniest thing! I love his little personality. These are just a few shots of his great acting ability! Love this funny guy!

Our new place

The backyard The pool The front room Kitchen/Dining Room Boys Room Luke and Harlee's Room Kids Bathroom Laundry Room Master Bedroom Master Closet Master Bathroom We are in HEAVEN!! We feel so blessed to be able to have this beautiful home to spend time together as a family. I have a feeling that most of the time will be spent in the backyard! The kids would swim all day! Especially our little water baby! We put him in his this floating jetski and he is set. He cries whenever he needs to get out! We love all of the details that the previous owner did to the house including framing the bathroom mirrors. It is a wonderful place and we could not be more excited! We just left and have already planned to go back in less than two weeks! Feeling so lucky...

Second half of St.George

We could not wait to get back to St.George and get moving into our new house. We knew the work that awaited us but we were so excited! We went stopped for pizza and went straight to the new house. I took the kids swimming and Joey went to the townhouse to start getting things. We were not going to move the big stuff until we got the moving truck on Thursday morning but wanted to get most of the little things moved. He would bring back a load and I would unpack it. We had a great system going. I was the next victim of the flu and thankfully it did not last long! Darolyne came to watch the kids on Thursday morning so we could move the rest of the townhouse. She had to take care of Luke who was the next stomach flu victim! Once the furniture was out, Harlee and I went back to clean. Friday we worked on decorating the new place. I took Harlee school shopping and to lunch. We had a great time. Then we all went to dinner at the Pizza Factory with Grandma and Grandpa. We spent the rest of the weekend in the pool and enjoying our new house. We feel so lucky to have this place and look forward to all the wonderful memories we will make!

A Day at the Beach

Tuesday was another fun day in Cali! I got up early and went to have breakfast with Tara. After breakfast I went and spent a little time with Nannie. Then I went back to the hotel, we got ready and went to spend the day at the beach. We went to our more secluded spot at Laguna Beach. It was beautiful! Harlee got sick on the way there but the fresh air helped her to have a good time while we were there. The kids LOVED playing in the waves. Tag would have crawled right into them if we would have let him. They loved playing in the sand too! I miss being able to go to the beach whenever I want! So fun to watch the kids enjoy what I loved when I was growing up. After the beach, I took Nash, Luke, and Gray to visit Nannie one last time before we headed back on Wednesday morning. So fun to see her and so fun to spend a little time in my hood!

Knotts Berry Farm

What a FUN day! We had told the kids about Knotts but it was way better than they had expected. We all stayed together all day and took turns going on big kid and little kid rides. This was the first time that Nash and Gray had ever been to an amusement park. They loved it! Luke's favorite ride was Monazuma's Revenge. Harlee's favorite ride was Sidewinder. Nash's favorite ride was the Skateboard ride. Gray's favorite ride was the Planes ride. They all had the best time. We had to cut the day a little short when Tag had a messy diaper that even made it's way to his hair! We went back to the hotel, cleaned up, then went to have Roundtable pizza with Nannie. Such a great day!

Let the vacation begin...

On Friday night we made our way on our much anticipated, eight day vacation to St. George, California, and then back to St. George again. I would like to say it went off without a hitch but from Friday until Thursday someone was puking daily! Through the sick we managed to have a great time and make some fun memories. I will probably break the trip up into a few posts. So Friday night we made it down to St. George by around midnight. We got a late start because Gray threw up several times! We stayed at our townhouse and starting packing for the move. I don't think I have mentioned it in previous posts, but we sold our townhouse and bought a house with a pool! So excited! So Saturday we spent some time packing and we got to go see our new house. This is our third we have bought without seeing it first! Crazy but we were not disappointed. It is a beautiful home full of beautiful detail. We got to go enjoy some lunch at Pizza Factory! We got ready for bed early so we could head to Cali first thing in the morning. We did not get the early start we had hoped for since Tag was up sick all night! On the drive to Cali, Nash got sick and we were so grateful we brought the throw up bucket! When we got to Cali, we checked into the hotel. It was such a nice place. We opted to stay at the Residence Inn which is more like a studio apt. So nice to not be so close to neighbors and worry about the noise our five kiddos would make. Joey stayed behind with Nash and Tag, and I took the other three to visit Tara and Nannie. It was so good to see them. We went back to the hotel and prayed everyone would be well for the next day that we planned to spend at Knotts Berry Farm. *The last picture is of the kids at Slick Rock Park that is located right by our new place! Cannot wait until it is cool enough to climb the rock walls!

On the move...

Our baby is officially a walker! He has decided he likes to be up and walk all over the place. I can't believe it. I did know that it would be on his time in true (stubborn) Childs nature! He is so big and we couldn't be more proud. Way to wait until the last minute to avoid physical therapy! So proud of our Taggie!!

Goodbye Snaggletooth??

For weeks our friend was hanging on for dear life- hanging on a little crookedly I might add! Thanks to some licorice at the pool snaggletooth made it's exit. Harlee was so excited to finally lose the tooth and was excited when the toothfairy did not disappoint! Luke was excited too since they decided to share money! Smart kid to share money with the gal who is losing teeth on a regular basis!