Memorial Weekend

Last weekend we spent some time with our neighbors. We are so lucky to call our neighbors friends and we really look forward to spending time with them.

We had a cookout and swim party Sunday evening, the rest is best said through pictures:

 I made a GREAT white sangria. You can get the recipe HERE. I did add Sprite so it wouldn't be so strong.  Probably 1 liter for everyone bottle of wine.

It was a great weekend, but I am still exhausted and tired and its almost the weekend again!!!!

Piece of my day

I was holding Chandler and he looked at me and said momma!!

Alayna and Preston were being really quiet in the boys room and when I went to check on them they were as quiet as could be hiding under the covers, just waiting for me to find them. Who knows how long they had been there.

Alayna has been talking a lot, but today while looking at  Scooby Do book she kept saying Eeek!!

Piece of my day

I spent most of the day in Lawrence with my friend Keri. We only brought along 3 out of the 7 children so it was nice and we could actually talk :) I am so blessed to have some really GREAT friends and blessed that my two best friends are sisters and that I get to spend time with both of them next week!!

Friendship isn't something I take lightly and when I find other women that inspire me and make me want to be a better person I'm gonna keep them. I also believe that Taylynn and Alayna will learn how to be a friend by observing the way I treat my friends and even strangers. I am no longer living a selfish life, I have four little ones to think about when I am walking through my day to day activities.

John 15: 12-13

This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.

Piece of my day

Today was just a great day all around. We woke up and went to the Farmers Market...ate fresh kettle corn popcorn. Went to a hardware store and bought some plants for our pots. Came home and ate lunch then put the kids down for naps and quiet time.

I painted some frames while Aaron planted the pots.

We had a wedding at three so we went to that and it was so beautiful. It was hard to enjoy with four kids in a quiet room......but they all did really great! Alayna had a friend, the flower girl, Bella. They played and dance, it was sweet. This was the first experience I have seen with Alayna and a friend. She now is ok with leaving mom and dad and playing on her own with a friend. It's bittersweet, but seeing her so happy is wonderful and hearing her say her friend's name...Ella....is adorable!

We got home and got the kids ready for bed and we all sat and played Candy Land!

DIY Chalkboard with polka dot frame

Supplies:

Frame- this one was from WalMart... $3

Chalkboard spray paint

Round stickers

Any color spray paint

This project only cost me three dollars because I had everything else on hand.

It's simple and quick!

Add some stickers to your frame like so....

Lightly spray paint over the frame

Peel off stickers. I used an xacto knife to help lift them up.

Spray paint the glass and make sure you do about three coats and it is important to let it sit for at least 24 hours. (I learned the hard way)

Put the glass back in the frame and.......

Piece of my day!

Chandler is crawling!!!!! He has been "moving" from place to place, but not actually using his hands and knees until today! Everyone else was 10 months give or take a week, so for Chandler to be 7.5 months and crawling is too fast. I need him to stay a baby, I'm not ready for him to grow up.

Piece of my day

After zumba I was so hot. So.......I jumped in the pool.....then I threw Taylynn in......then chased down Preston and threw him in (he was mad), then Alayna walked on in by herself! It was fun! This summer is going to be FUN!!!

Chandler is also pulling up now, he is doing things so much faster then the other three.....he NEEDS to slow down for him mommas sake!

ELMO

A couple weeks ago while we were shopping at a local grocery store Alayna saw a poster with Elmo and the other Sesame Street characters and that's all I kept hearing about every time we talked by a poster. It was cute so when I had the chance I did some research to find out if anyone was doing a giveaway for tickets and sure enough a country radio station was doing a color contest and giving away four tickets.

I must mention that we also won tickets for the same thing in 2008......and 2009, you can read about it HERE

Here are some pictures.

2008

2009

 

So all the kiddos colored a sheet and we turned them in quick because the next day was the deadline. I knew we had a good chance because we had four entries, but I had no clue how long the contest had been open. 

The day after we turned them in we got a call that we WON!!!!! I was so excited for Alayna!

We went to a morning show and I took all four by myself. they all did great!!! 

I am going to try to win again next year!

My graduate!

Last Monday was Taylynn's sing a long at school and her last day of preschool. Aaron and I dropped her off then went and got our seats. She was so cute up there, my little girl has turned into quiet a beauty! Alayna loved the music and probably would have joined Taylynn if I would have let her.

We took her to lunch after the program just to celebrate this special moment in her life.

I haven't gotten emotional yet, but in due time. Having her gone all day breaks my heart, it breaks my heart that someone else is going to get that time with my baby girl. I hate that I can't always be there for her, but this is where God really begins to work and make an impact in her life and mine. So I have to let go so she can grab on to Him.

Drink Stand

This last week we had a garage sale, man am I glad it's over!

Aaron and I decided about three weeks ago to make a "lemonade" stand for the kids to sell drinks at the sale. I found the DIY tutorial HERE. I wasn't sure if I could make it as cute, but I think it turned ADORABLE!!!

We used it for Mother's day already and I have lots of other parties to use it for, but we had a great time watching Taylynn and Preston sell drinks and snacks at the garage sale.