August 2010

August flew by but was an enjoyable month. Leah is growing up so fast. Brynlee will enjoy having more of my attention when the big girls are at school. Karissa and Makayla have had a fun summer, they have enjoyed their new kittens and can't wait for school to start.


So when we told the girls that we were buying a home and that we were going to move, Chris promised them that we would get them both a kitten, since we had to get rid of the cat we did have. We got two sisters. Makayla's cat is Frisbee and Karissa's cat is Suzie. They are both solid black and the girls hold them like babies. (I am not a huge fan of indoor pets, so I was determined to keep these cats outside!) Since they were so young when we got them they stayed in the garage. Everyday the girls would play in the garage and hold the cats as much as possible. Now they are old enough to be outside so they are loving the free life.

Makayla is a huge help. Here she is reading to Brynlee, putting her to bed. I love that she can help so much around the house. She will get Leah for me a lot of times when I am not able to.

I was determined to go to SeaFair this year and see the Blue Angels. So I loaded up the kids and we headed to Seattle. Right when we were parking we saw the Blue Angels briefly. Bummer, we missed it. There is always next year, right? We got ice cream and the kids played on some blow up slides and obstacle courses. Here we are watching the hydroplanes fly by and the girls are enjoying a snowcone (that they were so proud of to buy with their own money). We also saw the wake boarders do some pretty neat trickks. My sweet Bryn! I made peanut butter balls for the first time and it won't be the last, because they were delicioso!!! She wanted to lick the spoon, so there you have it!

"Help me! No, I don't want to go in the water."

The 3 big girls had swim lessons. They loved it. Makayla did great with front and back floats, back stroke and breast stroke. Karissa is almost there...ready to swim on her own. She loved going under the water, which is a big deal since she had tubes put in her ears at 18 months of age and you can't get your ears wet with tubes. Even after they had fallen out she did not like the sensation of water in her ears. This was a whole new experience for Bryn. She was very timid especially since the teachers were not so careful with her (her mouth would go under and she would suck in a lot of water and it would scare her) or maybe it was because she was the youngest one and the other kids new to lift their head out of the water. She also has no body fat so if it was overcast she froze and would not finish the lesson and wanted a towel. Her whole body would shake so badly that she couldn't even walk. (Poor thing!) But if she learned anything it was to put her face in the water. She loved it!

My "No Fear" Karissa. First time on a diving board, walks to the end and jumps right off. Like I said, she is ready to go for it and swim.

Brynlee is not so sure about the diving board. She wouldn't even jump, she had to hold the teacher's hands before she was getting off that diving board.

Cutenesses!

Karissa lost her first tooth! It had been wiggly for weeks, maybe months. Then one day we noticed that the adult tooth was coming in behind the baby tooth. (She might be getting braces one day.) So that baby tooth was hanging on for dear life. She went in the bathroom, looked in the miror and pulled it out. She was so excited, she ran around in pure excitement telling everyone. She was pumped about the tooth fairy coming that night!

I love the temple. We took our girls and walked around the grounds and took pictures.

Roo giving Leah a kiss!

My sweet girls enjoying their photo shoot at the temple.

Makayla and Karissa eating blackberries from our backyard.

Can you believe it, Leah is sitting up? So cute!

We really enjoyed the family campout this year. Grandma and Grandpa Conway plan a campout every year and we had a good time. We played badminton, went on a hike, played in the river, Aunt Beebs (Anne) did an awesome "Wizard of Oz" skit with the grandkids, we had a talent show and we ate lots of yummy food. So fun! I did not get much sleep though. Leah was either cold, teething or simply just likes her bed and was missing it, but we did not get much sleep. Other than that we had a great time!

These two are inseparable; noone can sit between them, noone can stand in line between them, not noone not no how! Karissa and her cousin Ellie are two peas in a pod.

Makayla had a lot of fun riding bikes at the campout with her cousins Jordyn and Peyton.

Leah loved the bumbo. Good thing Aunt Mimi brought a few good things for the babies. (Thanks for sharing!)

Brynlee had a good time being pulled in the bike trailer with her cousins Jackson and Landon. Thank goodness some of the grandkids are old enough to pull the younger ones. Thanks to Alisha and Savannah!

Me and Leah. We enjoyed going on a hike. It was beautiful!

I love all of the greenery. Thank goodness Leah fell asleep. Makayla and Roo did awesome at keeping up and even running ahead sometimes.

The river was beautiful. The girls had fun throwing rocks in and Chris even skipped a rock. (I love that man, not just because he can skip rocks but because he is an awesome daddy, he helps and supports me, he is good to me and he is my best friend!)

Makayla and Karissa were munchkins in the "Wizard of Oz" skit that Aunt Beebs (Anne) so awesomely did. They had a lot of fun!

I am so grateful for my many blessings. I am grateful I am a mother of four beautiful girls. I am grateful for my husband. I am grateful I am happy and healthy. My life is good!