No more orphan hair for the girls

I've always tried to keep my girls hair under control but with Avery's waves and Emily's curls it's hard for me to take the time every day and fix it. I never know what to do or how to do it so I would let Avery do her own hair most of the time and try to tame Emmy's curls and frizz or pull it into a ponytail. It made it easy for me but my girls just looked like little orphans especially the six year old with the attempt at a ponytail. I've found a few blogs that I really love they have step by step instructions for really cute hairstyles for little girls. Most are really easy but all are so cute! Avery's favorite is the waterfall pony and Emmy doesn't care but she needs to have her curls out of her face. I need to practice more but with Avery seeing how cute the girls hair is and wanting me to try it out I think I'll get it down. Emmy's hair is easier because of the curls just get it wet and it's adorable. Check out some of them on the blog list. Hopefully I'll get to take some pictures of the girls new do's soon.

God Bless America!!

Happy 4th! What a time to be truly grateful for the Constitution of the United States and to have all the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted! We truly are blessed as Americans!Our fourth of July this year was different than the past few years. This year we went to the pancake breakfast and bike parade at the church. The kids had a lot of fun. It was hard for us, Mom and Dad, to get up and be at church by 8; we were late by 30 minutes. It was fun and yummy anyways! We hung out at home the rest of the day and the kids had fun in our pool. We took our nap and quiet time then later grilled dinner and got fireworks. It was relaxing to just kinda hang out and spend time as a family. We were lucky Spencer wasn't scheduled to work today but he does work tomorrow.

"Watering the garden"

After dinner while I was doing the dishes Avery and Jake offered to go outside and water the garden. Emily of course has to follow. The garden has been pretty neglected and I do not have a green thumb but I do try and maybe this year I'll get more than two cucumbers and five tomatoes! Anyways I thought how nice they want to help with some chores. Well this is what it turned out to be after about ten minutes. It's summer right? Kids need to have fun and play. I love them. They had so much fun running around with the hose and I was glad that they eventually turned it over to Emily- she surprised herself by turning the hose toward her instead of at her siblings. It was hilarious! They wore themselves out and had fun and I had fun watching and taking pictures! Funny thing was that the garden was still dry after all that fun! The grass needed it though!

Texas Summer

This is one of the things that I've enjoyed about Texas- the frogs. I don't like when the back door is left open and they come in the house but for distractions for the kids they're great! "Let's go look for frogs!" We all use it Grandma, Grandpa, Mom, Dad, sometimes the kids do it on their own. I did find this one on our bathroom window. What is really funny is when we are opening something from outside and all of a sudden this frog jumps out! Avery and I are identical in that we "scream like girls" then Dad rolls his eyes and Jake goes to find it.

I also took these pictures of the kids while filling up the truck. Since it takes so long I had some time on my hands. I had a hard time getting all three of them to smile at the same time.

Ya gotta love Jake in this picture with Emmy- it's so Jake, always the silly boy! These kids are so funny!

One thing at a time please!

I'm finally starting to feel better but I'm still pretty tired most of the day. Well Emily is so funny she decided to climb out of her crib and meet Avery in the bathroom the past few mornings. I'm not so happy about that. Does that mean that I have to convert the crib into a toddler bed already? I'm SO NOT ready for that! Emily has also done pretty well using the potty when she wakes up in the morning and during her bath. So I tried panties on her and she did great two days in a row- no accidents! Then today two accidents right in a row- bummer! Oh well, she's only two and she totally gets the concept. But man I love the tiny bum in the tiny panties! The diaper butt is ok but I always smile with the underwear.
This is a perfect example of how we have to go with the flow. I was first planning on inviting the binky fairy to trade all her binks for a big girl toy then tackle the potty training or toddler bed; but to just take one milestone at a time. Kids- you gotta love them! Avery has been a helper though with taking Emily to the potty which is nice! She's going to be a great help when the new baby gets here!

About 15 more girls to love

Last night I had my second Wednesday night activity with my girls for Young Women (YW). I'm getting more excited about being in YW! At first I was SO overwhelmed, I didn't think I could do it but the more I get to know the girls I get so much more excited than overwhelmed. There are about 15 girls in the program and I already love them! I remember some of them from serving in Primary or having them babysit our children but being able to work with them and see how much they will grow and learn is very exciting for me. I'm also excited to be able to work toward completing my own Personal Progress and accept and act upon the YW values: Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity.

This is the Young Woman Theme:
We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. We will "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:FaithDivine NatureIndividual WorthKnowledgeChoice and AccountabilityGood Works, andIntegrity.We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

As soon as I can get most of the girls together I'll post a picture of them. It's hard during the summer with all the family trips and activities the girls have going on.