Hope

It was Hope’s turn to get her hair cut. She wanted bangs to the side…something new and different for her. She is blessed with great color and natural streaks. I can’t straighten it everyday but it’s a cute, short cut for the summer. Such a beautiful young lady!!

Summertime

On Friday June 5th at 12:00 pm, our summer will officially begin. It’s Hope’s last day of school. And I guess she will officially be a 3rd grader. Geez, the years seem to fly by. I’m sure I’ll be saying that more when she is graduating high school. And speaking of high school. Adam is celebrating his 10 year reunion and we started talking about how crazy it will be at the 20 year when our little Hope will be 18!! Anyhow, summer comes with excitement but also patience.

The pros of summer:

1. Not worrying about getting your kids to school on time. Seriously school needs to start at 8:30 or 9:00. Give parents a break.

2. No making lunches.

3. No worrying about homework getting done.

4. Grace will have a playmate everyday that’s not me. Although Hope and Grace are 4 years apart, they play great together. But be prepared Sarah, they will want to play with Jackson probably everyday!

5. I will hopefully be able to sleep in a bit.

6. I don’t have to keep Emma on such a strict nap schedule to keep in sinc with picking Hope up from school at 3:00 pm.

7. No lunch duty at school…it’s a little boring.

8. Don’t have to worry about washing the school uniform. (although it means more laundry from Hope and I hate laundry)

9. Fun swim lessons.

10. No tuition payment for two months!!!!!!!!!!!

The cons of summer:

1. Hearing the words, “I’m bored.”

2. Asking for a snack every 15 minutes. I swear Hope’s hungry 24-7 when she is home. And she doesn’t even eat all her lunch at school!

3. Being a referee to the girls arguments. They do play great together but they have their moments. Grace is a fiesty girl, which she gets from Adam. She may be small but she’ll take you out.

4. They will ask me to play American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, school, and “ding-dong hi” almost everyday. This is cute and I will miss this when they are older but I am not the best imaginitive play type mom. That is what dads are for. And if you are not familiar with “ding-dong hi” it’s a game Hope and Grace made up. They are usually always moms with babies. They come over to my house and ring the door bell, “ding-dong” and say “hi.” And we chat about our babies and husbands. They might be married to Troy Bolton or one of the Jonas Brothers or something and it goes on and on. It’s funny because you realize how much they copy your conversations with friends and family.

5. Taking 3 kids to run errands. I do have to say that my kids are exceptionally well behaved =) but it’s always easier with less kids or even better no kids!

6. It goes by too fast and you realize just how much your kids are changing and growing.

And surprisingly, I think that is all I can come up with for cons. So let the summertime begin. Let the girls get sun-kissed on their faces, get cute tan lines on their little tushies, eat popsicles in the heat, and play like they haven’t a care in the world. (which they don’t cause we take care of our sweet kids!)

School Days

We finally took Hope to get her eyes checked and knew that she would need glasses. I completely slacked off with getting it done sooner. But at least the very last week of school she benefitted from glasses. She loves them and looks so cute.

Hope with her amazing 2nd grade teacher!

2nd grade end of the year Luau party

Hope is such a smart girl, and we have been amazed by how well she has done. She is reading at a fourth grade level, already doing multiplication and learning things that I only vaguely remember. I’ll be praying that she continues to thrive in school and continues to get awesome teachers!

Got Milk

I had to throw in some cute pictures of Emma. I stopped nursing her last week. =( I’m doing good. It’s slightly strange because I nursed Hope and Grace for 2 years. But I had to stop and wouldn’t want to take any unnecessary risks (although I know in other countries nursing two babies is probably the norm). So now my mornings consist of warming up some milk and trying to still snuggle in bed. She’s such a cutie!

Nails

I told Hope that since she got good grades this year, I would take her to get a manicure and pedicure done. She was very excited because she’s only been one other time. So we are going to start making it a tradition. If she keeps up the good grades, then at the end of the year she’ll get a manicure and pedicure done and lunch with just mom.

After the nail salon, we went to lunch at the mall. Hope’s choice was Hot Dog on a Stick (one of her favorite places) but I opted for Panda Express instead. We had a fun afternoon!!

Adorable

I love that Adam has an awesome camera and takes random shots of the kids. Here are some delightful pictures of Emma. (she has a bit of pudding leftover on her face)

Grace’s 1st Haircut

Today Grace got her haircut…her first one ever!

This is her long hair before:

The chop-off:

The shampoo:

The cut:

The style:

And the cute after:

She is too cute for words!

Next up…getting Hope’s hair styled. She says she wants bangs and not just any bangs, bangs that go to the side. =)

I just love him…

This is the cutest puppy. Thank you Vern for sharing him on Tuesdays! This little guy is named Tank and he is so adorable!

Mother’s Day

I had the best Mother’s Day ever. My first present was on Saturday. Adam put the license plates on the van. Thank you, Adam!

And while he was outside doing that, Emma found Mouse the cat, or as Adam likes to call him…Tres. She LOVES that kitty. She doesn’t treat him different in the least bit because he has three legs. =)

On Mother’s Day we went to the 1st service at church. When we got home, Adam and the girls made me breakfast. It was fantastic.

And the breakfast included donuts. Doesn’t get any better than that!!

Snuggling with Emma Rose. She’s a snuggly piece of delicious!!!

And the day ended with dinner at Ruby’s, my favorite hamburger place. Thank you, Adam. My day was wonderful. And to my girls who make me a mommy…I love you!

Playing Outside

A couple weeks ago, when it was like 90 degrees out, we decided to enjoy some ice cream outside.

They are so cute in their bathing suits!

Emma’s a little upset that her ice cream is all gone.

Such cute kids!!