School is out!

Well, it's been out since last Wednesday but I only got around to these pictures.

Honestly I half dreaded and looked forward to it.

 Really though I have been enjoying it so far.

I'm sure Preston and Abbi are thrilled to have the entertainment around.

Here they are waiting for the bus to come

for the last this year.

Picking out lollypops from their bus driver.

Wow!

Can you guess who loves her big sisters and can't keep her eyes off them?

On any of the pictures?

Like, on everyone she is watching them.

The picture below is from this post.

How right I was when I said that I don't know what the next 9 months will bring!

Now I'm getting all sentimental and weepy.

I can't believe Abby was not walking yet and

know she climbs and jumps and says a few words.

Preston was not even born yet and now he's

seven months old!

Most of all my two little black haired kids are gone.

I have been thinking and praying for them alot lately.

I am seriously missing those two lately.

My outside decorations changed too I noticed. No surprise there.

I can not stay committed to anything for long.

Anyway, no use staying in the past.

I put a little end of school basket together for the girls.

I got the idea  here.

They were tickled pink and could not wait to see what I got.

There was

water shoes

flip flops

pencils

activity books

flashlights

marshmallow sticks

small princesses with rubber dresses

toy story book with characters and play mat

beach balls

noodles

shirts that change colors in the sun

my Caddie Woodlawn book from when I was a kid

I have been reading it aloud to them

cosmic brownies, their favorite dessert

toy for Preston

We talked about the items and how much fun we'd have this summer using them.

Then Quintin and I went over the summer rules with them.

We wanted to hit the ground running with a schedule.

I have had these rules up for awhile now but we went over them.

Then on to the chore charts

(say this with a whine in your voice to get the right effect)

Oh, the weeping and nashing of teeth

and how it wasn't far

and that nobody at school has to work all summer

and how they got to play last summer

(which is not true)

and on and on and on.

                                         

just noticed the last one says no tattling unless it's seriously.

Seriously what?

Bleeding?

They're going to jail?

I probably meant serious.

So anyway to end everything on a good note

their schedule has gone very smoothly.

They are actually coming to me asking if it's time for Abby to go down for her nap

so they can have school time.

I think they enjoy that one on one time with me.

Also the chores are not that bad.

They seem to be getting the idea that the quicker they do their chores the quicker they have free time.

I have tweeked it here or there but over all I'm so glad we are doing it.

Tomorrow we are going shopping most of the day

so they have most of the day off.

And when I say shopping for the day I just mean stopping in two or three stores

including the grocery store.

With four kids that will take all day   :-)

Cows and Kids

This is the sight that greats me most summer mornings.

If you ignore the big fat suburban in our driveway and

the tractor trailers barreling past it is a very relaxing scene.

To me anyway. I love watching the cows contently chew their cud,

 the white rail fence, and the green of the grass.

If you're really quiet you can even hear them chew

and early in the morning when there is hardly any traffic
you can start a stampee just by blowing your nose.
Not really but you might startle a few.

And yes, I know they're heifers.

But peaking of stampeeds.

Look who came to our house.

Avery and Mia

Glendon came for the evening.

It was so hard getting a picture of that boy.

Mia is such a doll.

She is so lively.

I love to watch these too together.

They are 5 weeks apart.

She is so curious and full of energy and needs to see everything that is going on

and wants what is just out of her reach and knows how to get it. 

Preston on the other hand just likes to sit back and

watch what is going on and if nothing is happening,

well, hey is that a new freckle on my hand well,

lets examine that for awhile.

 

Who knows, though next year they could be totally opposite.

That's what keeps life interesting.

That and watching the cows across the road.

I can not help myself.

This guy is growing so fast.

Right now he is rocking back and forth on his knees.

I say," Preston stop. You're not allowed to do that. You're too little. You need to be mommy's baby!"

He just looks at me and smiles.

I know what he's thinking.

Where are the car keys, mom?

Now this is what babies are supposed to do.

Lay in their crib, suck their thumbs and hold on tight to their monkey's leg.

(the monkey looks slightly distressed)

Babies should also fall asleep in their jumper totally exhausted from jumping.

And yep I bet that thumb is firmly planted in his mouth.

Thumb, fingers doesn't matter he just needs to chew on something.

And what do his sisters do while I go around taking pictures of their brother?

Madilyn reads.

Which I LOVE to see.

I read so much as a child that it thrills my heart to have a daughter take after me.

bad thing- she does not hear you when you talk to her.

good thing- she rarely gets bored 

Olivia plays make believe with anything she can find.

(see that beautiful doll house in the background? and she makes a house out of blocks? Sigh.)

bad thing - her eraser distracts her when she should be doing her home work.

good thing- she can play with anything and make them talk to each other.

and this one pays the bills.

What now. Mom?

Get out you're bothering me.

What a whipper snapper.

What can I say?

Abbi's 1 and ALL bad!

By the way the office is on my to do list.

Quintin just finished the ceiling.

How do you decorate around a deer head? 



My babies have spent hours in these stroller being pushed around by their older sisters. 

And when the babies grow alittle bigger they think they're big enough to push the next baby around.

I have a feeling that this little girl had better enjoy the days when she's bigger then her little brother because I see those days rapidly disappearing!

Look at his cowboy boots up on the tray!

They probably all did that too.



Easter 2011

I am so far behind with my scrapbook blog thing here.

With summer here and all the fun things coming up I really hate to be this far behind.

So here are our Easter photos.

I had Quintin's family over this year.

I wanted to make Easter very meaningful this year.

I wanted the children to know what Easter is all about and create as much excitement around it as we do Christmas. As a Christian this holiday is the foundation of my belief! Anyway we had a calender that we opened up little windows everyday that had Bible versus that told the Easter story. There is also a story I picked up at Berean called Benjamin's Box. It's an Easter story through the eyes of a little boy. I also bought a cross and brought out our wooden donkey and Jesus. 

Aaaanyway, sorry I got alittle off track but the thing is, the only pictures I have are of the easter egg hunt. Oh well, they sure enjoyed that too!!! We had over a hundred eggs!  

Hey, redheads any eggs over there?

Very clever, Abbi stick with the man that hid the eggs.

Hurry, Abbi! The lawn mower is peaking around the corner ready to pounce on any egg he spies!

This was serious business to Olivia. You had to watch out so you didn't get in her way!

See her pony tail is flying as she's looking this way and that, scoping the landscape for any nook or crany the big people might have hid those candy filled eggs!

So Father, where did you hide all the eggs?

What you want to make us stand still?

We still didn't find all the eggs.

This is torture!

Preston and Grandma supervising.

All tuckered out.

TWO PEAS IN A POD

Olivia and Madi are so much fun.

Madi is getting to be quite the book worm.

Which is good except when you want her attention.

I am starting to really be able to have more grown up conversations with Olivia.

Which is nice after talking to a one year old all day.

Abbi doesn't think my jokes are so funny.

I hope they are always going to be good friends.

I like to hear them talking to each other in bed.

You do not want to get them started giggling.

Especially  Madi.

Although Olivia can be just as bad at times!

Olivia is starting to really understand the concept of jokes.

Is your refrigerator running?

Well, you better go catch it!

Preston's 5 months old

Ok I'm aware that he turned 6 months old two days ago but I'd like to keep up with these monthly pictures.

I think after 6months I'll do it every three months.

He is not doing much new yet.

He's just doing everything last month just a wholr lot better!

This is the new hat Grandma made him.

I'm so cool in my hat!

Out of focus but I save any picture I can get of Quintin with his kiddos!