Malea starts Kindergarten

Our little Malea started Kindergarten this year. She is so excited she can hardly stand it!

We had our traditional BOO HOO breakfast. So sad to see them start school again!

Kiah's first day of 1st Grade

BEAUTIFUL Kiah on her first day of first grade! Ms. Judge is lucky to have you!

Homemade Pool on Wheels

I love it when Joseph is home with the kids. He comes up with all kinds of crazy fun activities. This started out as a trip to the park, and then a little cool off with the hose, then came suits and a little pool in the wagon. Thank goodness for DADS!

Sister Friends Forever - Part 2

These girls crack me up! Again, all out-fitted for a performance and picture. A few key things to note in this picture: 1. nice Book of Mormon stories for music, 2. the girls took apart my small alphabet letter stamps and placed the letter beginning with their first name on their foreheads (where do they come up with this stuff???), and 3. they do have a ROCKING MOM!

HERE, HERE!

I have to say, one of the blessing of twins is that they get used to sharing early. We had a little boy over to play and when his mom left he was a little sad. The babies OVERWHELMED him with toys and fixed everything totally independent of me. Priceless!

No bathroom breaks for ME!

This is what happens when I leave the babies unattended for more than 2 minutes. DISASTER! This was after breakfast and if a chair is left not pushed under the table, and a cereal bag left for the taking -- the above pictures are the result. But, if you are feeling a little anxious about the babies being on the table -- don't be. They spend half the day up there. :-)

Visit from Michigan Cousins

We had a quick visit from Tricia and her kids from Michigan for the weekend. It was a BUSY weekend, with no husbands (Joseph went to UT for the weekend to see his grandparents and family), lots of playing, and lot of kids! The kids spent some quality time playing (like the tea party above), and we spent some quality time crafting!

This concoction was the delicious sandwich they made for their little party. It was filled with gold fish, cherries, apple wedges, grated cheese, and more. Here are the ties we made for our boys. Yes, these little guys are only 6 months apart! Tate is lucky to have a body guard for a cousin! Right now they are already 15 pounds apart! Come again soon!

Raccoon Creek Camping Trip

We went on the first camping trip we have ever been on with our five kids. The last time we went camping Kiah was 9 months old. So needless to say, it's been awhile. We went to Raccoon Creek a camp ground about an hour away. We had a blast with the Grant Family and will probably even attempt it again.

Setting up camp.

Yes, crazy to imagine - but we had 8 kids camping (ages 6 and under).

STICK collecting -- Owen definitely won!

YUMMY, tin foil dinners.

Time for Smores. Sure brings me back! I just LOVE them!

... and of course the chubby HUBBY contest (sorry Lance Joseph won with 3 gigantic marshmallows).

And what's camping without a 5:30 wake up call! This was OUR tent (yes we had 2 tents, 1 for the kids and 1 for us - NICE!) at about 5:45am.
One of the kids favorite things was the wildlife - 10 white caterpillars, 2 green ones, 1 green inch worm, and 2 raccoons (which visited at night to finish off the peach cobbler we left out for them).

Never ending FUN!

Then off to the water!

The bruise on Talee's cheek was the result of us putting her in the car to keep her from escaping camp (don't worry it was only while we were cleaning up, and the windows we cracked), and her sweet sister trying to help her out - while she was leaning on the door she opened. OOPS!

"Talee LOOK SAND!"

Mama's Crazy Helper

This is Talee's new favorite spot in the house. She climbs onto a little bench in front of the window in the kitchen and then onto the counter. She is a quick one and this entire process takes less then ten seconds. That is about as much time as it takes for me to stop cutting lettuce for dinner and answer the door - as you can see below.

YES, she has a knife in her hand. Lots of action going on in our house!! Stop by any time - but, I can't promise the brownies won't have big handfuls taken out of them, or that I won't have lettuce all over the kitchen! But, I do promise you'll go home smiling (or shaking your head and laughing)!

Our personal Fire Truck Visit

Our little community has the Fire Department come and do a home inspection for every home that changes owners. The duplex next door just sold and they came by and parked their fire truck right in front of our house. They had a few minutes while they waited for the house next door to be unlocked, so they gave the kids badges and a personal tour/visit. I have to say, the kids loved it and felt very special for this personal attention. Thank you Swissvale Fire Department!

"Sister Friends Forever"

Today after church Kiah and Malea came home from church with a very specific plan. They went upstairs changes their clothes (to match) and came downstairs with an idea for a new blog post. They wanted us to take their picture in the above pose, with their hair the same, (I do not however know exactly what the flower thing is all about???) as a reminder to them that "Sister Friends Are Forever!" That is a phrase they have used around the house a lot lately with a little hand shake and everything. Very, very sweet and very, very cute! They are great sisters and have learned at an early age the importance of sister relationships. There are few things that top them!