bEaUtIfUl...inside & out!

 Kaeli's birthday photo shoot:

Twinners

 

Now Rylie and Kaeli both have American Girl dolls (Katie & Julia).  I didn't play with dolls when I was little, but now I think I want one too!  I'm pretty sure that being a mother of four girls has turned me from tom-boy to girly girl! 

eLeVeN!!!!

This beautiful girl just turned ELEVEN!  I was thinking back when she was just a little butterball of a baby...she was 90% cheeks and just the sweetest thing ever!  She really is such a fun daughter to raise and although I miss her as a baby, I am looking forward to watching her grow into a young woman. 

I was secretly relieved that she wanted an American Girl Doll, because it proves she's still a little girl :)  Kaeli named her new BFF "Julia".

 

I found these cute lanterns at Target:

Super STAR

Sara was "Star of the Week" at preschool.  She loved the special attention!  We were asked to make a poster, and although this poster may not be the fanciest... I love it because Sara got to help me with it. 

She came up with the picture captions

and wrote them herself.  LOVE IT!

She really is a

SUPER STAR!

 

be BIG

 Love this message...so important to remember!

Fabric for shades

My living room desperately needs color!!!!  So I'm thinking about making some faux roman shades.  Here are the fabrics I'm trying to decide from:

 

And then these are great for accents!  I love this first one for a pillow!

 

 

Chevron is so popular right now and I love it! 

Not sure why I'm gravitating to yellow?  I must be looking for some sunshine!!!

Laundry for seven

Laundry at our house is never-ending!  The kids aren't quite old enough to do their own, so I've come up with a way for them to be more involved.  Wednesday is laundry day for the kids' stuff.  I still do the sorting and washing, but they fold and put away.  When the clothes are dry and still warm, I lay them flat on the couch and smooth out all the wrinkles.  I stack them into piles as I go.

In the back of my mind I am always hoping no one stops by for a visit on laundry day.  At least I'm not airing our DIRTY laundry :)

       

When the kids get home from school, it's their turn.  Sam folds and puts away his clothes and Sara's, Kaeli does hers and Violet's, and Rylie does her own.  It really doesn't take them long at all and I don't have to worry about the clothes being wrinkly.  It also gives me time to move onto other laundry....

I had to laugh when I noticed Sam was wearing the same clothes over and over just so he wouldn't have so many clothes to fold.  It's easy to get away with that when you wear a school uniform and your clothes look the same from day to day, but I eventually caught on.  That is such a BOY THING to do!  But to give him credit, he thought it would be OK since he wears deodorant :)
       

Sam's Birthday Photoshoot

not easy to get him to NOT smile :)

Sam and I had some fun with his photo shoot.  I asked him to dress in his church clothes, because this is the age that boys receive the priesthood, and I wanted to celebrate that milestone.  I think he looked so cute!

 In case you were wondering....

 Yes, 

his eyes really are made of dark chocolate!

 

  
We really love our boy!  Sam is so positive and loves life.  He has such a big heart, and he's sooooo creative.  He is a big brother to four sisters, and does such a good job.  I always tell him he'll make a fabulous husband some day.  But not anytime soon!  I don't think we're ready to share him quite yet :)

 

Goggles

 Ready for a swim!

(This is now Violet's new "smile".  She just shows her teeth :)

tWeLvE

 

This time of year birthdays come around quite frequently at our house...so here we go again :)

Sammy is now 12, which makes me feel really old!  Sam wanted apple pie this year instead of cake...yum!  And he was so excited to finally have enough money to buy a kindle (this boy loves to read!).

 

Sam also had a pool party with friends at the rec center the next day.  It was a fun-filled weekend!