handsful

It’s birthday party time for our Lainey-girl and it’s a Princess theme…she was instructed to come all dressed up, so we obliged.

She found this gown in the dress up box. It’s got some age, but she couldn’t care less. This has been through Abbey and Marley, so I love that she’s now wearing it.

I made the mistake of telling Lainey about the party a week ago. She’s talked nearly non-stop about it since then.

How many night nights till the party?? What should I wear??? Which princess should I be?? When can we go shopping for her present?? Can we wrap her present now??? How many night nights again??

I’ve learned my lesson. She’ll get maybe a 2 day heads-up next time.

It was raining tonight, so Payton whisked her to the van quickly. Asian hair curls just fine, but it doesn’t stay too long and I worried the rain/humidity would immediately straighten it!

When I picked her up, her curls were just about gone but her smile wasn’t. She had a wonderful time being treated like a princess.

Our very own goofy Princess Lainey

It’s what I do. I’m constantly making changes, cleaning out closets, drawers, re-arranging something to try and make more room in this house. I’m a self-confessed PURGER…if I don’t love it, or it hasn’t been used in awhile, it’ll end up in the charity pile.

All that to say, I love breathing room. Clutter is my enemy (I think it’s Satan’s cousin?), and I’m in constant battle. With 8 people in a house, it’s hard fought!

Recently, we decided it was time to make a little extra space in Lainey and Dylan’s room. There aren’t enough bedrooms in our house, so they have to share. Hoping we can find a larger rental before they get TOO old for that. Dylan had been sleeping in what used to be a bottom bunk, so we brought the top bunk in from the storage room and set it all up. I love it! And, so do they…

Here are before shots:

Lainey’s side of the room. Can you say cluttered? That desk, the box that her radio sits on, etc. Blech.

And, Dylan’s side. Nothing much to it, his bed, bins underneath, and his Cars decals (oh, the boy loves Cars…)

And, here it is after we just got the bunks up so they could go to sleep. We were able to have rails on both the top and bottom (Dylan flails all over the place, so that was a must).

Next day, after we finished the whole thing. Love it. Ignore the unmade beds…it’s never been my strength to either do those or teach my kids. One of my many flaws.

Look at all that ROOM!? They can pull out those bins and have room to play.

Night night :)

Some days, it seems like Fall is right around the corner. But, this weekend was warm so we headed out on the boat.

Time for Lainey to try the new ski trainer.

Two tries and she was getting discouraged. Plus, her teeth were chattering. The water is getting a little chilly.

As they say, third time’s the charm. She popped right up and rode around without falling once.

She’s so little back there!

Granma and Granpa were with us yesterday to watch all the kids do their water tricks. No pictures, but Ethan wakeboarded and the girls did double kneeboards. I assumed you’d seen enough pictures of those things (sorry, kids!)

So, Lainey is officially a pre-skier. Dylan is psyched to try it next year!

Being short 3 kids certainly makes for a quieter house. And, a cheaper grocery bill. Just an observation.

Abbey, Payton, and Ethan were gone last week, with their Testify Youth Choir. They arrived home late Sunday night.

Marley, Payton, and Ethan left early Monday morning for our church’s youth camp for a week. Yes, the boys are crazy. They’ll most likely sleep away all of next week.

With less food to cook and laundry to do, my days have been lighter. That leaves more time to do summer things like yard work, projects (I will go through all the toys and school materials…), and just hanging out on the dock.

Everyone already knows that Lainey is part girl / part fish. She’s fearless.

Dylan, on the other hand, is more cautious and takes to things more slowly. We’ve had him in the water, but only in short bits and we’ve always had to hold him – a regular life jacket made him bob straight onto his face. The boy hates water on his face! I found a combo waist / arm float at the store and this one seems to work better. Plus, he’s finally understanding that he has to kick his legs to keep them under him.

This week, he’s made huge progress.

He’ll now go in the water “no help”, he says. He’ll let me count 1-2-3 and dunk him under. Randy has even tossed him in without him fussing. We’re not sure what changed his mind about water, but we’re glad he’s embracing the “fish” lifestyle of the other kids.

Blowing bubbles! Forgive the pics, I only had my little camera.

Today, he showed me he could swim on his belly without his face smacking the water.

Swimming is what they both want to do these days. Everyday.

Lainey learned to swim last summer, and this year she’s doing so well! We let her go without the life jacket in short spurts to practice. It’s harder in the lake, since there aren’t as many places to swim to.

We’re enjoying these slower days, but I’m beginning to miss having all my kids under one roof. Four more “night-nights” and we’ll be back to a louder house. And, bigger grocery bills.

Better go cut those coupons.

Happy Summer :)

I somehow missed posting this shot of her from Mother’s Day.  How can this innocent, sweet little girl be so….uh…spunky?  Yes, I’ll go with that.  ;)

Love you, Lainey Q!

supplies:  hot ball, empty cup, cup of cold milk

hold hot ball in mouth until you can’t stand it anymore.  Drop ball in empty cup.

take a big gulp of milk.  Repeat.  :)

Easter carnival at a local horse ranch = horse rides!  Or, as Dylan says “poursie” rides.

They asked for days before, “how many night-nights till we ride horsies?”

they couldn’t stop smiling.

I guess we have more horse lovers in the family.

our knight on a white horse :)

A happy day for our littles!