February

February always brings with it the schools annual Father Daughter Dance. Alissa was happy to be the only daughter on the date this year. I love this picture of her. 

She was either showing off her nails, or just being silly here. I think it was the latter. 

Of course they had a great time.

And we cant forget about Valentines Day. 

The girls always become envious when I get flowers, so this year, Daddy got them some of their own. I thought it was pretty sweet and thoughtful myself. It took them a while to realize the tulips were for them, and not that I actually unfairly got 2 bouquets this time. 

Brylee was of course excited to get a bag full of Valentine candy. Thats our little sugar addict. 

This was the extent of our Valentine breakfast....pink heart pancakes. I tried to make heart shaped bacon, but it failed....miserably. Pinterest lies sometimes. 

And this years edition of Valentine boxes for school feature a castle, a robot and of course, a minion. Pinterest is still good for some things. Turns out Brylee didnt actually need a box, but she was happy to play princess with her castle. Each one of these eventually fell victim to the dog. Looks like we have 2 sugar addicts in the house.

Madi made sugar cookies with the kids when we went out. Most of the pictures turned out blurry and with silly faces. Thought about posting the whole lot of them, but then decided to go with one decent one each. 

Looks like Zack was M.I.A. for the pictures.

 can I just say, I love that we have two girls old enough to babysit and handle all of this now. Its AWESOME!

Christmas...in April

No, we didnt actually celebrate Christmas in April. I used to be so on top of things...so punctual...so caught up! What happened to me? Well, it is what it is. Im going on 4 months ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy. Heck, lets be honest...I have a hard time remembering what happened last week. So your going to get the short and sweet version, where we skip all the middle stuff and go right to the end. 

First off, the Christmas Eve P.J.'s. I have really been wanting some stylish footie pajamas to take me back to my childhood...when I used to remember things. 

Even Jovi got a new outfit, since she outgrew last years. Shes a pig. Actually she looks more like Yoda, but she is supposed to be an elf. And she is soooo happy about it too! 

Now for a quick highlight of some of the favorites. (Guess Im not actually skipping all of the middle after all.)

Alissa made the good list again, so Santa brought her what she asked for...a saucer chair like Madi got last year. Now she can stop hogging Madi's.  

Brylee really loved the Vet kit that Katelin picked out for her. 

Zack wasnt expecting this one, but when I saw (and heard) it, I could resist getting it for him. This little minion actually talks, laughs, burps and farts. Isnt that against all of Gru's house rules? I love his satisfied smile. 

Our giraffe lover got a new giraffe for her room. She preferred it be real, but I already have enough poop to clean up around here.  

My mutual BYU fan brother hooked us up with this super soft and warm blanket. We all still fight over it.  

Now we skip to the end. Here are all of Katelins gifts. She really loved the new I-Home. (If only she would use it to wake her up in the morning). 

Brylees gifts... 

Zacks...I wasnt thrilled about the toy gun, but Dad and Madi thought it was a great idea. I had to remind him to stop pointing it at people a few times. Hmmmm....

(Minion not pictured here) 

Alissa's. 

Madi's. That box behind her contains a new desk for her future finished basement room, and the book she is holding is actually a secret box for "hiding her candy". She actually asked for it in those terms. :) Its hard having younger siblings. But I wouldnt know. 

And Ours (which is mostly family gifts). 

Half a decade of cuteness

Its hard to believe that our baby is already 5. I feels like with every kid, the birthdays come faster. Alas, here we are, celebrating another one again. Blogging all these birthdays together is kind of bitter sweet. It feels like life is stuck on the fast forward button, and theres nothing I can do about it. So we do our best to enjoy the moments as they speed past us, and hope to keep a hold onto them as long as we can. I remember each of their first birthdays like it was yesterday, but all of a sudden we are celebrating number 5. Before we know it, it will be 10...15 and then 20. So if my baby wants to be a princess, Im going to let her because it wont always be that way. The other girls are already past that, and moved onto cell phones, I-Pods, and drooling over boy bands. 

We already have more than a few barbie movies, but they are some of Brylee's favorites so she was ecstatic to get another one!

Zack got her a crown and a magic wand, because every princess also apparently possesses magical powers as well. She was happy to put it on right away. Another thing she is passionate about is puppies. I am surprised she hasnt suffocated ours yet with her tight hugs, similar to how she is hugging the new stuffed puppy and candy that Alissa got her.  

 Take note...puppies and candy. Thats how to get on her good side!

Katelin also knows this, and combined her love of princess' and candy. She got her a giant princess lollipop. 

 And, Madi has also taken note and got her a gumball machine filled with skittles. Thats one happy girl right there. Candy heaven. 

To encourage the developmental side of her brain, as well as church reverence, Mom and dad opted for a more practical gift. Princess lacing cards. She still liked it, even though there was no candy attached. 

At this moment in her life, she was going a little crazy for the newer Disney princess, Sophia. Currently, her interest has faded a bit. The excitement about this doll lasted about a week.  

She said she like this dress, but refused to try it on. Maybe she was just being nice? 

And since all her sisters and brother have their own robe, she determined she needed one too. Maybe she will wear that to church instead. 

Thats our princess, with her princess. 

You might actually be surprised to hear that after 3 other girls, Brylee is the only one to have a barbie cake for her birthday. I thought it turned out pretty good for my first try at it.  Just dont analyze it too closely. 

Since Brylee started pre-school, she has actually made a few cute little friends, so I felt kinda bad that she didnt get a party (nor has she ever had one). But we had to stick to our guns, since it was her odd birthday. I didnt want a revolt from the other kids. So, in lieu of a party, she chose to go and see Frozen. Of course she loved it and cant wait to own it! 

She will always be our pretty princess!

Halloween 2013

We have been trying since practically the beginning of our families life, to get the kids to all agree to dress up together in a common theme. We finally prevailed this year! Thanks to Despicable Me and its irresistible minions, we got the kids to each pick a character from the movie. Katelin was Margo, Alissa-Edith, Brylee-Agnes, and Zack the "Beedo minion". I thought it turned out pretty good, and it was so much cheaper!

This was taken before our ward trunk-or-treat.

Madi decided it would be cooler to match her friends, so her and two of her friends dressed up as Toddler's in Tiara's contestants.

We were so happy that the city finally decided to make trick-or-treating on Halloween this year, as opposed to the normal Sunday afternoon time. This meant we could actually go real trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood! We invited some friends who lived in the next city over to join us, since they werent as lucky to have the change made where they lived. Madi decided to join in on our theme this time, and become a minion as well. Ryan of course was Gru, and I was Lucy. Even Jovi dressed us as Kevin, the dog?

When we got back from trick-or-treating, we enjoyed a warm dinner of soups, chili, mummy dogs, rolls, and hot cocoa with our friends. And we cant forget about Ryans birthday, so we threw in a cake with some candles as well.

I dont know what this face was. Im sure he was just being Ryan. 

He got tickets to the BYU vs. Wisconsin football game this year, with a new BYU hat to show off his loyalties. It was a great time...cold...and they lost, but still a great time.

It was so busy, we almost forgot about our pumpkins this year. A quick photo shoot with those, an inventory of candy, and it was off to bed.

Madi carved the batman symbol.

Katelin made an owl.

Alissa, a traditional face.

Brylee chose Tinkerbell. 

And Zack's was of Perry the platypus. 

And for the grand candy finale...

The kids dumped all their candy out and then commenced the trading negotiations. I ended up with a reasonable supply of almond Joys. Yummmm....

Brylee refused to give anything away. Its like her dream come true!

Look at that stash!

I cant believe they actually ate all of that within a short period of time, and we didnt even end up with any cavities! Yay us! Now on to Thanksgiving pies, and more Christmas treats than our stomach's have room for. Gotta love this time of year.