Sarah's first haircut!

Before I get to the pictures of my sweet little Sarah, Here is one worth a laugh.

It has been a HOT summer, no doubt about that. So when my kids got up a few weeks ago and it was only 70 degrees, they decided to dress for the weather...

You would have thought it was snowing!!

Anyway... My sweet little Sare-bear is 2 1/2 now. She's always had more hair than her older sister, and I never wanted to cut it. But it was starting to look stringy so I made an appointment with the one and only MinDee. Sarah was very excited.

Before...

Yes, she has a huge bruise on her forehead. When I asked her what happened she said she fell on a barbie.. I knew barbies were dangerous!


I was really sad for her curls to be cut off!

All ready!

Tada! I know she doesn't look a whole lot different, but now it is all even, and not so stringy!

Of course, I saved her locks in a little baggie...


Now onto some misc. pictures that I have taken:

Maddy lost her baby for her dollhouse and I told her I would get her a knew one for her Birthday. Not good enough. She wanted one that day. So I made her use her own money. She decided to buy a whole family. (an african american family) The girls LOVE this new family. Now the original family is referred to as "mommy, daddy, little girl, and babies" Apparently this new family actually gets individual names! Sarah was looking frantically for Sean a week or so after this family moved into the dollhouse. I had NO CLUE who this "Sean" was. Finally after not understanding her description (it's blue) I asked Maddy where "Sean" was. Immediately Maddy went and got the new daddy from her room. She said "this is Sean. And his wife's name is Tara. Like my friend Benjamin's mommy." So now we have Daddy, Mommy, little girl, baby (one is still lost), Sean, Tara and new babies.

Kids are so weird.

Now for a random story. I was taking out the garbage one morning when I noticed some ducks waddling out from in between our house and the next door neighbors. I went inside and called to the girls because I wanted them to see how cute they were. When the girls came outside I was surprised that these birds walked RIGHT up to them. My kids were terrified so they ran back into the house. I followed them in and went to tell Joseph about these ducks. I opened the front door to show him and they were standing on our porch!! Naturally I decided to feed them some breakfast... bread! The girls thought it was fabulous... until one tried to come inside the house!

On the porch

This one was eating a piece of bread when I snapped this picture. Its totally makes him look evil and mean. Not the case!

I can't believe how friendly they were!

(I also noticed in this picture that my rug has words across it. Not there when you look at it on the porch! I guess it was super faded when I bought it and the flash brings it out!)

What a crazy life we live...

End of Summer

I am so behind! What's new though...

SEVERAL weeks ago we went to the beach as a family. Our stake was doing a youth service project and Joseph was asked to help cook lunch, so we decided to make it a family outing! The kids and I just chilled on the beach while the youth picked up trash. After Joseph's responsibilities were done we got to spend some quality time with our kids.

Maddy and Joseph jumped in the waves...

She thinks she's a model...

Ben had a blast eating sand. So. Gross. But look how happy he is!!

Sarah made a friend with an older girl (about 10 ish). She caught Sarah a little fish and put it in her bucket. Sarah watched that little fish for a LONG time before I made her let it go. You can't really see it though.. but it's there!

Sucking on a piece of ice... She was "so thirsty" Nevermind the water bottle that was FULL of water!!

Ben and Joseph taking a walk down the beach. Ben is never happy unless he's on the move!!

We had a great time and it was a perfect end to a HOT summer!!

Who does that??

Earlier this summer Maddy came out of her bedroom about 10 minutes after being tucked into bed. She was hysterical... I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Finally I realize that she is flipping out about a loose tooth. I tried to keep calm (inside I was flipping out because she is only four and a half!!) She was convinced that the ice she was chewing earlier was responsible for her wiggly tooth. I explained that it was apart of growing up and that calmed her down and she went back to bed. Joseph and I were sort of anxious about this losing teeth thing. We really didn't think it would happen for a couple more years. Is it normal for her to have a loose tooth already?

A few days later she informed me that she had another loose tooth. I figured she was just saying that because she got so much attention the first time around. But no, she wasn't kidding. Both of her bottom teeth were lose. Not even barely... straight up LOOSE. I wasn't going to mess with them, I just wanted them to come out on their own, so eventually I forgot about it.

On September 2nd (I remember because it's my big brother's birthday) she came into my bedroom while I was doing my hair, and asks if she can put her tooth under her pillow. I immediately stop what I'm doing and ask her to repeat her question, she then holds out her little hand and there is her perfect little tooth. To say that I flipped out is an understatement!

I was so emotional about it! My baby lost her first tooth!! (she probably thought I was crazy..)

All I can do is think about how Maddy's little face is forever changed. She will never look quite the same. She looks older! She's growing up! All she can think of is the tooth fairy. When she gets her money, she's going to buy her baby brother a new pool floaty. (she's been saying this since she discovered her tooth was loose. Ben's floaty blew away... ) What a good big sister, wanting to look out for Ben!

Needless to say, that night Maddy went to bed without a problem!

She even put a sleep mask on... Her tooth safely tucked under her pillow in a ziploc bag.

In the morning she was very excited to find a dollar under her pillow. Joseph took her to walmart so she could buy something (with some convincing that Ben was fine without his old floaty) She bought herself some M&M's and paid for them by herself. She got .25 back and her own receipt. If you know Maddy, you know she was WAY more excited about this receipt than she was about the candy, or the change!! She still has it too, folded up in her special box. I took a picture of my baby girl's new smile, and pretty good thing I did, because it didn't last long... That night, she lost the other one!

Who does that?? I mean, Seriously??

Two teeth in 24 hours... and she's only 4 1/2 years old.

I believe the tooth fairy might need to get a second job to keep up with this kid!!


Oh, and my little guy got his first haircut with the clippers... So. Hard. Note to self: don't try and cut your 14 month old's hair with a 4 year old assistant. Way stressful. But the end result was good! He looked normal anyway!

Doughnuts and Skittles

Saturday morning I realized that we were out of milk. Not good when you have three cranky kids who want their cups filled up! I took Sarah to the store ASAP to buy some milk, and while we were there, we picked up some yummy doughnuts for breakfast. My kids were THRILLED. It was like Christmas morning...

It's as if he's saying "Cheers!"

This crazy boy inhaled his doughnut, and then ate what Sarah left behind. She was more interested in her chocolate milk, plus she had a KitKat in the car on the way home from the store. (and yes, it was barely 9am) Like I said, it was like unto Christmas morning. My kids couldn't figure out why I'd willingly give them this much sugar in one meal! I'm sure they'll survive. I too was given the magnificent breakfast of doughnuts and chocolate milk on more than one occasion as a child. And I was able to develope proper eating habits! Well, most days... :) After all, pretty much every morning the kids are forced to eat the boring whole grain cereals with little to no sugar in them....






Ben was a MESS. I think his sugar high was wearing off too...


I think it's a bit obvious that the next step for Ben was the tub.

I was trying to snap a picture of him when he tries to suck on the handle... but this time he only held on to it.

It really is the funniest thing. He will get on his tippy toes and suck on the handle of the tub... Why? Who knows. Why do my kids do half of the things they do??

Now, if this doughnut thing wasn't enough for you... this will be the icing on the cake.

Anyone that knows me well, knows my love for Skittle art. I accidentally discovered this so called Skittle art as a wee highschool student. I had two older brothers serving full time missions for our church, and I wrote letters to them as often as possible. (Which was A LOT seeing that I would write them letters in class instead of taking notes.)

This is a bit graphic, read on at your own risk :)
One day in my history class I was writing one of these wonderful letters while eating some Skittles. When all of a sudden I lost focus and one of said Skittles fell out of my mouth and rolled onto my paper. Leaving behind a streak of color ... Then, an idea was born. As gross as it is, it is great fun. And yummy too. I proceeded to lick my Skittles and make my brother a beautiful picture. It has evolved into putting a small handful of Skittles into your mouth, getting them nice and wet, then letting them fall out of your mouth onto a peice of paper. You then wiggle the paper around while the Skittles do their thing. When you are done with that color, you suck them back into your mouth, and eat them! (I know, it sounds super gross...) But hey, don't knock it until you try it!!

(*Fun fact* I made a piece of Skittle art as part of an art project in college... and totally got an A. "Wonderful use of water color" the professor said.) Heh heh heh.

Have I lost anyone's respect yet??

I now have a younger brother serving a full time mission for our church. It would only be fair for him to have one of these masterpieces. So I decided to teach my daughters how to do it for FHE. Best night of my life.

Sarah loved the fact that she could eat the candy, spit it out and eat it again!

Maddy caught on pretty quick... she's good too!

My budding artists



THE FINISHED PRODUCT

Maddy's Masterpiece

My Masterpiece

Sarah's Masterpiece

Where is Joseph's Masterpiece you ask? After all, this was for Family Home Evening. Well, he sat at the table and watched in horror and disgust, as his lovely wife and daughters painted with their spit. He was traumatized. Well, that, and someone had to hold Ben!! I think my daughters have discoverd a new favorite way to "paint" haha! I hope Elder Passey likes his art!

After our art class we went outside to enjoy our backyard. (Something we rarely get to do since it's been SO hot lately)

We went for a walk around the Cul de sac and then pulled out the bubble machine.

Ben was trying to eat the bubbles

Maddy was jumping around like a crazy girl. Maybe it was all that sugar....

Ben discovered water from the last rain storm, that was hiding in the drawer of their outside table. That kept him busy for a long while.

Daddy and Ben relaxing in the "flying saucer". This might be the only thing we like about our swingset...

It was a great way to end a fun day.

Beach BBQ!

The family decided to have a Birthday BBQ, in honor of all the August Birthdays in our family. Funny, that most of said family members were not in attendence... But that didn't stop us from partying!

We headed down to the state park to play at the beach and then have a cook out when the men were off of work. We met my mom and the kids at the beach and played all afternoon.

Ben LOVES to put things in buckets or bowls. So having a sand and a shovel to put into a bucket kept him busy for a while.
He loved watching Allie build her castles too.

As always, Sarah was attatched to Erynn's side. ALL DAY. Poor Erynn. That has to get old! But hey, It's a nice break for me!! Maddy floated back and forth between the boys, and the girls. Depending on who was having the most fun.

We had a water fight, and chased eachother around... I had a great time. The kids were really good too! We packed up around 5 or so and headed up to the shelter that we had rented. Dad and Joseph cooked hotdogs and hamburgers, and we had us a birthday feast. Potato salad, baked beans, chips and some good ol' root beer. And of course... cake. Ben was SO tired. He fell asleep in his stroller after his sugar high. All day at the beach followed by a sippy cup of Hawaiian Punch. Yeah buddy.

He slept for a few hours too! We had to wake him up to put him in the car!

Papa and Mama were able to come too. It's always fun to get them out to the beach! I guess they deserve the credit... The BBQ was their idea!

My "Mama"... She made the most amazing baked beans...

I took this picture as the sun was setting. (of course, the sun doesn't set on the east coast... so no pretty sunset pictures...) However, as the sun was going down, HUNDREDS of dragon flies started swarming around the pond. It was beautiful!!

I couldn't get a good picture... but in this one you can see one zooming by! It looks like a flying saucer! I wish I could have taken a video. It was so neat to see.

We were able to go with my mom and watch, while she and the kids did an inventory of a Sea Turtle nest. She and the kids volunteer with the turtle patrol at the state park. It was neat to see Ryan, Erynn and Josh be able to sort the turtle's eggs, and see how many hatched and made to to the ocean. They were so proud!

We stayed well after dark, and had a great time. Last year Andrew and his family were able to be there... Hopefully we can do it again soon and get the whole family there!

Temple Trip!

We had the opportunity to take the kids to the Columbia Temple last weekend. My mom, my sister and I got to take some family names through, and it was a wonderful experience. Joseph walked the kids around the Temple grounds for a little while, and then Uncle Ryan came and picked up the kids so Joseph could join me. The kids loved being there!

Ben is just starting to walk well, and thought it was great fun to be able to walk around outside!

He was cracking himself up!

Sarah was all smiles too. On a side note- we are trying to potty train her (with NO success) but amazingly when we got to Columbia she was dry! So I asked her if she needed to go potty and she said no. Then I said, "Do you want to use the potty at the Temple?" She excitedly agreed, and I took her.. and she went!! I thought it might be the beginning of a new trend... Has she had success since? Nope. Maybe if we lived closer to the Temple, we'd have more luck...

I love this picture... They just held hands and walked off together.

Maddy is such a ham! She has been learning about the Temple at church, and has been learning the song "I love to see the Temple" as well. When we were walking around the grounds she just stopped and burst into song. She sang both verses to "I love to see the Temple"! She was VERY proud of herself. Then again, that seems to be a state of being for her.

Daddy and Ben

Family Picture!

Our family is forever...

These next few pictures are very out of place after seeing pictures of the Temple... But I'm blogging about my life right??

Here we go...

Why is it so entertaining to wear underwear on your head? Combined with that face... it really is something to laugh at!

Maddy has spread the joy of it onto her younger sister.

Sarah actually thought to pull her hair out from the leg holes! She was calling herself "Llama Llama Red Pajama" for anyone who has read that children's book. (If you haven't you should! They are so cute!) I guess she thinks her hair looks like llama ears. Silly girl!

Our little Ben is getting so big! He now eats his meals at the kids table instead of the high chair. And he's SO proud.

The sun shines right through the window and blinds the kids in the morning. I have to keep the blinds shut until late morning... but Ben still has light coming through onto his face!

For the record... I LOVE this table. Our kitchen table is over carpet, so I have this little table set up in the kitchen. My carpet would be a disaster without it!