Much prettier...

OK. I needed to get something better on the top of my page rather quickly, and these pictures are just the ticket. I have never made it to get the girls' pictures taken since either of their birthdays this year, and since we have our very own Sacred Grove in the back yard I just decided to do it myself. Too bad I'm not a great photographer and don't have a nice camera. But they are beautiful girls anyway.

Wow, I bet you can't top this bad hair day!

If I had any sense I would be way too embarrassed to post something like this, but it's just so funny I can't help it. Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. Hannah could hardly hold the camera still she was laughing so hard at me.

When Nate came home the day this was taken I noticed he was a little quiet at first. He was hesitantly asking about our day, and I was telling all about it. Then I finished with, "So, it was a pretty good day even if I didn't do my hair." He kind of had this sigh of relief and said, "Well, I didn't want to say anything about it." Ha Ha Ha! He was so worried from looking at me that he was walking into a war zone! Brigette posted a while ago how her kids could tell her mood from the state of her hair, and that is true with me too!

Good Things to Come

I absolutely love this!

Good Things to Come

We Love this Baby!

Success!

The beach was perfect! Ryan slept on the way there, and Ryan and Hannah both slept on the way back! Nikki reminded me of the time when she was about three years old and saw a spider on her pillow one day -- she refused to lay down to go to sleep for almost a week, most of those nights lasting until around 11 pm before she collapsed at the foot of her bed. No napping for her in the car if she doesn't want to.

The beach was beautiful, we all loved every minute of it, but I forgot my camera! Oh well. I do have pictures from last Saturday when Nate woke up and decided we should go to the aquarium. It was such a last minute decision that we left completely unprepared for fun on the beach, but we had some anyway. It just left us with an appetite for a real day on the beach, which is really why we went back yesterday. I'll post those as soon as I find my memory card reader to get them off the camera!

Summer break does have its drawbacks...

Yesterday: Ryan was too interested in what his sisters were doing to take a nap, even though he was in his crib for 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon and he had circles under his eyes he was so tired.

Today: Hannah taught him how to climb out of his crib this morning. Thirty minutes into naptime he still hadn't gone to sleep, and then I heard him knocking on the door calling, "Mommy! Mommy!"

Tomorrow: I'm prescribing a day at the beach with a long drive home to knock all three of them out for a great nap!

Last Day of School...

I can't believe today is the last day my little girls will be in the first and third grades. 4th and 2nd graders just sound way too grown up. I fully intended to take some pictures of them before they headed out the door this morning, but ......... with Nikki crying because I had the audacity to brush the tangles out of her hair and Nate running to the grocery store to get the juice boxes Hannah was supposed to take to her picnic at school today, it just didn't happen. *Sigh* It seems like our days become more and more hectic all the time. We are ALL so ready for SUMMER!!!!

I have been so neglectful of the blog lately. It seems like I just don't care to spend any extra time at the computer than I have to. I also lost my camera for a while, but now I have it back and summer is here and maybe I'll do a little better job of cataloging what's going on. We'll see!

Oh, that's good.

My friend Kristen posted this recipe on her blog. I made it this afternoon, and it's not going to last very long. Hannah was helping me and she said, "This is going to be my favorite treat ever! It has everything I love in it!" I just might have to agree with her -- butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, yum. Well,  Kristen, now you'll have to share some of your favorite ways to burn those extra calories!

Nikki's 7th birthday

We had Nikki's birthday party last Saturday. It was the opening day for our neighborhood pool, and Nikki was so excited about that because then she could have a pool party! Looking at these pictures makes me realize just how much she is growing up. I didn't get nearly enough pictures.

She wanted a three-layer cake with a sun, butterflies, and dragonflies. She has had it planned out for probably six months. I also have had an idea in my head of how I would do it and what it would look like for a while, but every step of making it ended up in near catastrophe. So, it ended up that Nikki really liked it and that's all that matters!

Thanks to all the cousins and aunts and uncles who came to her party! She had a great time and started asking when we would all get together again about 5 minutes after you left!

The Mothers in My Life

These are the amazing mothers that have had a hand in shaping my life. My mom, Eileen, Nate's mom, whom I had to include because my life wouldn't be the same without the love she has always given to Nate and now offers to me and our children, Grandma Bass, and Grandma White. Is there an adequate way to express gratitude for all that these mothers have given? I haven't found it yet.

And then Mother's Day is also a beautiful day because of these three precious children. What a privilege to be their mother. It's so humbling to see their unconditional love for me. So often I fall short of who they need me to be, but they still think I'm the best mom. Well, Nikki's card might have come a little closer to the truth this morning. It read: "From: Nikki   To: My Sweet Mom   I love you! You are the beast!"  

A couple of weeks ago Nate told me that he would take the kids to the zoo this Saturday, and I could have a free day to use that coupon for a massage I had and just do whatever I wanted. After a couple of days, I told him I actually wanted to go to the zoo. I didn't really want to be left out of the fun. But then he was out of town all last week. When he came home on Friday I told him I had an appointment for my massage and I hoped he and the kids had fun at the zoo. :) It was a great day! Usually when you go on vacation, by the time you get home you're ready to get back in the mix of things again. Maybe I needed a longer vacation because I  think I could go a couple of more days with no responsibilities. But then when I saw how tired Nate was getting into bed last night, I did feel sorry for him and know that I can't take too much time off. Running a family really does take two, and I am grateful I have a special role to fulfill.