"I'll be the mommy and you be the sweetheart"

My girls are obsessed with raiding my closet every morning.

 Then we do a quick photo shoot.

 WORK IT! OWN IT!

 Hello!  I love this one!

 They get their purses and walk around saying "I'll be the mommy and you be the sweetheart" (Sweetheart means any little girl that is no longer a baby.) (love their vocabulary)

Tessa's 1st day of Kindergarten!

"Olivia, come here.  You're in the picture"

"Tess, just look at me and smile normal, honey"

"No.  Smile NORMAL."

"There we go"

Cute girl.

Today was Mason's 1st day of 1st grade.  It was a big moment in both of our lives.  6 hours at school is a LONG time.  I was a little worried that he would lose it at some point.  I dropped him off this morning and he was all smiles.  All of the kids lined up in the back of the school.  When the bell rang,  he turned around and waved and walked into the school with the rest of the class.  All day, anytime the phone would ring, I would be afraid it was the school calling to tell me that something is wrong and Mason is crying.  The call never came.

At 3:00, he was out in front of the school smiling and waiting for me.  It was a good day!  The first things out of his mouth were "I can cross the whole way on the monkey bars!" and "There is a boy named Ben and a boy named Logan (wogan) in my class" and finally "1st grade is 50 thousand, 10 million minutes long!"

Good Times

I'm trying harder to start to record the things we are doing everyday.  I want so badly to remember the moments we are having daily with our sweet little kiddos. 

Last night we got to go camping with our ward campout.  It was a quick little overnight and we weren't allowed to bring our trailer because there wasn't enough room in our spot. But... it ended up being so much fun.  Olivia was hilarious.  When she gets tired, she gets really hyper.  We all got in the tent and were squished shoulder to shoulder in the dark.  Olivia didn't know what to think because she always goes to bed alone in her room.  She loved the fact that we were all in this tiny little tent and thought it was time to wrestle and attack us all. Especially her daddy.  I loved laying there in the dark with my sweet little family listen to Tess prattle along about anyting and everything that comes into her head.  I loved listening to Mason repeat over and over that he loves me "this much".  I loved my little crazy 2 year old with her little blonde curls jumping and growling on us in the tent.  I loved to see my cute husband smile and laugh at his crazy children.  It.... was... the.... best.

Jackson Hole with the Wrights

Fourth of July - Fireworks

Wheeler farm

 Today we took the kids to Wheeler farm for some free fun times.  The kids loved the tractor.  Check out livy's face in this pic!

 We went on a wagon ride.  The kids loved it.  (I look like jilly green giant because of the angle)

 Cute facial expressions!

 Such a cute gap toothed smile!

 What a beautiful girl just chillin'

Tess's dance recital

Tessa had her spring ballet recital on June 2nd.  She did so great!  She is a girl that "dances to her own drummer" so she isn't always concerned with what she is 'supposed' to be doing during her dances but this time she really kept up with the other dancers and knew what she was doing.

 After the recital, she was so funny.  She was shy and didn't want her grandpa's to see her in her make-up even thought she couldn't stop looking in the mirror because she could tell that she was so beautiful.

 And she was crying a little because her friends were playing "bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish" and she didn't get the bubble gum.

 She loved the make-up look so much that she tried it again on her own the next day.

Olivia got in on the make-up action also.

Memorial Day weekend.  It was a cold and rainy Saturday and we decided to head for our indoor rec pool aka "the nemo pool."  (It has a fish slide that looks like nemo)

 The girls put on their sunglasses and were ready to go!

 It was Mason's first ever jump off the diving board without a lifejacket!  They don't allow you to wear life jackets on the diving boards or on the big slides. Kinda scary but He LOVED it!  He is such a fish! I couldn't even get any pics in focus because he would run and leap off of the end. He wouldn't hold his nose or anything!  He's better than me! (I always plug my nose.) Gotta have the goggles though.  He wants to see where he is going.

 Tess of course is also a fish!  She loves the water. She loves to dive under the water and never holds her nose either!

 Cute best sisters giving loves in the water

My beautiful Livy.  No fear of the water, just terrified of the life jacket.  Wonderful. :(  She is very brave and liked to lower herself down to the water until it touched her mouth and then spit it out like a fountain.  She also loved jumping into my arms whether I was ready to catch her or not. Typical Livy!  But she is beautiful.  Check out those baby blues!!!

everyday goodness

Tess is such a cheeser.  She is the happiest, sunniest little girl ever.  She is easy going and loves to play with anyone, anywhere.  I can't tell you how many mom's come up to me or call me and tell me "my daughter loves Tess.  She is the only one that my daughter ever wants to play with."  She has so many fun friends.  She just graduated preschool on Wed.  She was so cute and happy.  When it was her turn to be introduced and described, she stood in front of all the people and just couldn't hold still, her little body just exudes happiness and she was doing a little wiggle dance and her face was like this pic, just bursting with fun and happiness.

Love this little girl!

My Olivia!  Wow.  This one is a handful!  She is so stinking cute.  This is her when you ask her to smile for the camera.  She has a little crooked funny smile and squints her eyes so cute!  She very attached to her mommy but also very independent.  She does not like to be held in public, she even refuses to hold my hand.  There is just too much to see and do.  But, if a stranger tries to talk to her, she will hold on to me for dear life (thank goodness)  She is full of information even though I can't understand what she is saying half of the time.  She starts her sentences with "guess what"  and just about every other sentence is "I got my banken!" (blanket)  She is a spaz and is a joy to have around.  She and Tess just spent 15 minutes combing my hair.  I love having daughters!

Here is Mason's new smile.  He lost his top tooth about 3 weeks ago.  What a little stud.  It was a weird experience for me to have him loose his tooth.  You wouldn't think it was that big of a deal but it just changed the way he looks so much it made me feel like he is all grown up!  I want to cry.  Luckily he still likes to cuddle.  Lately when I give him a glass of chocolate milk or a little something he tells me "you are such a good mom."  It makes me so happy.  What a sweetie!  He is coming off of the video game addiction.  He hardly ever plays anymore.  Now that it is warm outside you can find him on the tramp or numbering the sprinklers or sweeping the driveway with our push broom. (these are his current favorite activities)

I love these kids.  Lately family time has been fun and a little less stressful.  They are just getting older and are able to understand when we put rules and limits.  I LOVE it!  Soon camping will be fun. or staying in a hotel room together.  (until now they have just been too young and whiny whiny whiny!)

As I type this my kids are fighting because Mason wants Tess to go downstairs and she doesn't want to.  I go out and tell the kids "The next kid who yells is going to go to their room! Who wants to be first?" Olivia pipes up "I do!!!" all excited.  We all busted up laughing, what a funny little two year old.