Wordless Wednesday {Leap Year}

"Once in four years, just once, perhaps we could:
Forgive, forget, relax, care, stand out, speak up, contribute, embrace, create, make a ruckus, give credit, skip, smile, speak truth and refuse to compromise--more than we usually do. Pick just one or two and start there.
Hey, it's just one day.

Careful, though, it might become a habit."

{Source}

When she ask for pictures, I stop everything and do it!





Don't forget about the St. Patrick's Day Banner I'm giving away below. A winner will be picked on Friday!

Think Green.

I"m not sure where this burst of creativeness came from over St. Patrick's Day. I've never had that much affection for this holiday. I went back and forth about making a St. Patricks' Day banner. I mean, a holiday smack dab between Valentine's day and Easter doesn't always get the attention it deserves. And if Mars isn't making any St. Patrick's Day M&M's (at least at my Wal-Mart. I haven't checked Target yet) you know it's a lost cause....

But as soon as I saw the cute St. Patrick's Day fabric, I knew I needed a banner. And with a banner comes other decorations. Subway art, sifting through the regular m&m's to pick out all the green ones, felt clovers (Oh you know I did), green blocks, and a four leaf clover wreath. Cuteness!

I'm loving the green as much as the red and pinks of Valentine's Day.

Somebody pinch me!


If you would like to win the other banner leave a comment. I will do the full Mantle Reveal on Friday and pick a winner!! The banner will get mailed on Monday!

Saturday Fun.

We got a really heavy rain Friday night. It was gone by the time we woke up but left behind huge puddles up and down our street. The girls didn't let this go unnoticed and talked all day about running their bikes through the puddles. Before baths they finally got their way.

Elodie was a speed demon through the puddles while Addysen was in her own world cautiously going along the outside of the puddles. Elodie was soaked by the time it was time to go inside.

Be prepared. There are a ton of pictures. I was having too much fun with all the sunflare coming through the water.




This my favorite picture! I love her look, her hair flying behind her, the sunlight.







We couldn't let the girls have all the fun....I would look so much cooler on a cruiser. As for Chris...he pulls the girl bike off quite well.

POTD 2012 Week 8

-Evyn Kate fell asleep during the last hour of church. She has never done this.
-Evyn Kate loves green smoothies as much as we do. We usually do them for Sunday dinner. Mostly because I usually do a big lunch and we don't eat until 2 or 2:30pm. To make another big dinner would mean I'd have to be back in the kitchen around 4:30pm and that is no fun. Smoothes are just easier.
-We celebrated Mardi Gras with a king cake for FHE.
-Elodie made the A honor roll at school and came home with a frisbee.
-A love note to Dad from Addysen.
-Evyn Kate soaking up all the attention.
-Christopher has his weekly meeting with the missionaries on Saturday morning. We decided to go with him. We stopped and got breakfast and the girls brought their frisbee and soccer ball with them. We hung out in the gym. It was really fun and was a nice way to spend the morning. Especially since it was rainy and super cold outside.

School Stuff.

This has been a busy school week for Elodie.

All of the second grade classes put together a performance on outer space. It was super cute and Elodie got to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with 3 other kids in her class. Funny thing is they put her smack dab in front of the mic and we heard it more like a solo. She was over the moon about the whole thing and loved putting on a show for us. The hit was her learning that the song "Moon MADNESS" was not "Moon MAGNESS" like she had been singing it!





Every 6 weeks Elodie's school host an Accelerated Reading party for kids who meet or exceed their reading goals for that 6 week period. Every week the kids have to pick a book from the library and then take a comprehension test on that book. After passing the test the kids move up to a new reading level. As of now, Elodie is on a 4th grade reading level. She is doing amazingly well and has attended every AR party available.

For this 6 week period the kids that were invited to the party got to dress up as their favorite storybook character. They also got to participate in a little parade to show off their costumes. I didn't bring my camera with me but it was a huge hit! All the teachers got dressed up too and it was so fun to see all the different characters. After the parade, the kids went to the cafeteria and watched a movie.

Elodie talked about what she wanted to be for weeks. She flip flopped so many times. An American Girl Doll, Fancy Nancy, Junie B. Jones were just a few at the top of her list.

I went to the library with Addysen and Evyn this past Wednesday. Since Elodie hadn't made up her mind yet I was looking through the books trying to get a fun idea. I came across Ladybug Girl and KNEW Elodie would love that idea.

I totally scored in finding these red fairy wings at the Dollar Store. We went to Hobby Lobby and bought some tulle to make the tutu, some felt to go on the wings, pipe cleaners and pom poms for the antennas. In all I spent about $9 on her costume. So much better than the American Girl Doll outfit she wanted, which was a hefty $40!

Elodie was SO EXCITED about her costume! And of course pictures were involved. All the non smiley ones are her "I'm Ladybug Girl!" faces.

Here is the cover of the book. Man, I wish we could have found a pair of red rain boots in time.

Sidewalk Paint

Yesterday Christopher was invited to go out to dinner with a few other engineers from work. It was a business dinner, aka, free dinner. Poor guy. We faced it at home alone feasting on chicken nuggets and orange slices for dinner. Poor Us.

The only pleasure I get from Chris working late or not being around for dinner is that our evenings aren't quite as rushed. This is not say that the girls weren't in bed at 7:30pm because I don't miss that. For anything. But because I was doing a quick dinner, the girls and I had more time to spend outside.

While the girls were out riding their bikes, Evyn Kate slept, and I dragged a chair out to read. Of course as soon as I sat down I had the great idea to make sidewalk paint for the girls. And the thought wouldn't leave me alone until I got up and did it.

I had seen the idea HERE. I got a ton of my sumer list ideas from her site. And it took only a minute to whip up.

A couple of scoops of corn starch, a little bit of water, and some food coloring.

It kept the girls entertained for a long time. So long that I had to drag them in for baths. Bummer. It was a fun way to spice up our normal after school activities.

Next time I will add more food coloring. And we will definitely add this to our summer list for 2012!

Evyn Kate 11 months

Wait...What? 11 months? Already? Not fair.

I told Chris last night that Evyn Kate doesn't look any different to me than she did at 6 months. As if her 6 month pictures and her 11 month pictures could have been taken on the same day and no one would know the difference. See?


She is our dainty little baby. More so than the other girls. Still wearing all of her 0-3 month onesies.

I also tell Chris on almost a daily basis (because I don't want to jinx myself) that this baby is so good. She is content and happy. Which shows in her unwillingness to crawl. She is most content on the floor, with a pile of toys, watching everyone flit around her.

We will be celebrating her 1 year birthday in Arizona. Making a full circle from where we were a year ago.

Another one bites the dust.

Elodie lost her 2nd top tooth yesterday. Now saying words like THIS, THAT, and THING take on a whole new sound....

POTD 2012 Week 7

-The girls sharing the computer.
-My happy accident with Addysen.
-Me and Evyn.
-Elodie playing American Girl Doll with her AGD Emma. She is saving her pennies for the AGD of the Year McKenna.
-1st Valentines
-Making Chris' lunch. Every day.
-Lunch at Texas Roadhouse on Saturday.

Happy Accident.

I was setting up a little "studio" to take some pictures of Evyn yesterday and had Addysen sit in my frame so I could get my settings right.

Is it possible to love your children more in pictures?

Wordless Wednesday {Our Soon To Be 4 Year Old}

Our Love Day.

By way of instagram.

A Valentine Lunch:
-Strawberry Jam and Peanut Butter Sandwich shaped into a heart.
-Strawberry Yogurt
-Pink Lemonade
-Strawberries
-Peanut butter pretzels (totally unrelated to V-Day but you have to have something salty)
-A heart shaped Reese's
-And a love note from Mom and Dad

A Valentine Hair Do:

Dinner Prep:

Table Set:

Pink Punch:

Dessert:

Love Notes and Gifts: (Last night, for FHE, we wrote love notes to each other and stuck them in our bags. We didn't open any of them until tonight. While I was reading my love note to Addysen, Elodie started to cry. We could tell she was surprised by her own reaction! It was very sweet and made me realize that we should do this more often! My mom was a huge love note leaver!)