July 4, 2014

Oh the 4th of July, how I love thee.

 We made delicious homemade chocolate ice cream

 And swam at Grandma Lemmert's of course!

This is Dolphin Daddy; their favorite ride

 We BBQ'd some amazing burgers with all the yummy sides we desired.

 Then came the taste test of our ice cream

 It was a hit!

 We drove over to our usual spot to watch the Apache Junction fireworks.  We got there early so we hung out in the car being silly for awhile. 

 Then got to our seats for the show--it was a good one!

Killer profile-want some face with those cheeks?

 

Happy Independence Day!!

June days

Sometimes Evan doesn't like to sit in his high chair to eat so we put his tray on the floor like he's an animal!  The look on his face is my favorite. And see his rubberband bracelet?  Cyrena made that for him. It fits perfectly and he wears it often! He also finally started crawling on his knees!

 I had to go change the bulletin boards at church so Anna pretended she was leading primary music.

 Evan does not love it when his sisters carry him around...

 Everyday Every so often the girls like to be SUPER goofy

 David got tickets to a Diamondbacks game so we took the older girls and had a blast.  We had a parking pass where the players park so I had to take a picture in front of one of the cars

 Natalie slapped hands with a life-size bobble head

 Anna's trying to learn how to match.  When I questioned her choices she replied in an angry voice--"It does match mom. See-- it's STRIPES and STRIPES!!" 

 During the entire month of June the girls took swimming lessons Monday-Thursday.  They progressed so much and it was a fun routine everyday.

Evan is very spiritual :)

 Movie/popcorn day is Evan's favorite!

We celebrated Father's Day with two pretty awesome men.  We are lucky to have them in our lives!

 We celebrated Anna's half birthday and made sugar cookies!

 Our Cousin Coby came for a long visit at grandma's so we had a LOT of fun times while he was here!  Swimming, science center, rainbow looming, treats, chocolate chip pancakes, movies, and more!

 Evan is now a true lover of Grandma Lemmert's spaghetti (aren't we all?!)

 These kids had a blast playing together

Our little Cinderella

We try to start the kids working on chores as early as possible. Anna has watched the older girls do things and although she doesn't really want to do chores we found one beyond wiping walls that she doesn't whine too much about:

 I could watch her do this all day, it's very entertaining

Then she takes off her rags, puts on her Cinderella dress and promptly falls asleep

Natalie's Ballet Demonstrations

We just love our little ballerina girl.  She has done so well and it was wonderful to see all her hard work in action at her recital.  We just got a new camera so I was excited to try it out!

Love that she has a mole on both hands above her index finger--it's her signature mark.  She tries so hard to be perfect and do just what her teacher tells her to do.  

 

So graceful

 

 This is how Natalie smiles when she is being shy. Grandpa Taylor calls it her suppressed smile--so cute!!

 Natalie with her wonderful teacher Miss Sarah

 This is Natalie and Kandice's 2nd year in ballet together.  They will be starting their third soon.

Right before the performance the tiptop of her tiara broke off in my hands--ahh!  But she still looked absolutely beautiful. 

End of School Celebrations!

Another school year concluded and it was time for SUMMER!  I was so excited to get Cyrena all to myself and have all the kids together. 

 I love this picture--not sure what she's doing (just hopped off the step?) but it makes me laugh!

 

 She quickly changed into proper summer attire....

 And she was OFF on some swimming adventures!

 SO happy to be together again!!

 Natalie 'graduated' from preschool.  We had a little program and a reception afterward.  I had all the kids write their names on the chalkboard for decoration.  She is now officially out of my hands as a student. :(

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor were in town for the festivities and we had to fit some Chik-fil-a in!!

April Concluded

The rest of April was busy as usual.

 We celebrated Easter (somehow this is the only picture I got??)  We have a tradition that we ask the Easter Bunny to fill our baskets Saturday morning so we can focus on the Savior Easter morning.

 Cyrena and I had a mommy & me activity at the church. It was about "WHOOO I am" and it was adorable!

 We celebrated Natalie's half birthday by going to lunch and taking her friend Gracie

 Here are Evan and I at lunch. He still has his snaggle tooth in this picture!

Anna had her very first dental check up and she did fabulously!

Awards and a birdy

Before big kid school was officially out we had some fun with friends.  One day Cooper and Natalie found this fledgling bird in our yard. It couldn't quite fly yet so they took care of it for hours.  To the point where I was worried it's mama was going to be mad at them.  I could see the mama bird flying in circles around our yard.  I finally had them put the bird in a cardboard area and then eventually it flew away to join it's mother.  Wow, these kids had some major mothering instincts-it was quite funny!

 Cyrena had an awards ceremony at school  She has loved second grade!

 Her teacher, the awesome Mrs. Opdahl