Got Dirt?

What's that saying? "Dirt don't hurt"... "A little dirt never hurt anyone" ... especially not my three kids! We went for a walk this afternoon and found an awesome dirt hill...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Anyone want to guess how much dirt made it into their bathroom? As long as they had fun......

Birthday Celebration

Dannen and Handy Manny have ritual everyday... after our girls go to school, he LOVES to sit and watch Manny & the tools on Disney Junior. So, why not celebrate his second birthday with his best buddies? Cupcakes decorated with Handy Manny tools from Christmas were super easy!
We don't know many people with little boys, and I watch two little girls every Friday overnight, so when it came to celebrating Dannen's birthday, we had a nice small sized friendly party. Two of the four boys of our good friends came over for some fun and cupcakes. The second oldest, Makenzie's other half, ended up in the ER being diagnosed with Dibetes that night, so we missed having him and his one year old brother along:(
Dannen LOVED all the awesome Hot Wheels cars, carrying case, and track system from Zamma & Auntie!
Not sure who had more fun... It was quite funny watching William try to put the track together with every little kid trying to "help" lol
Dannen and his buddy Micah liked playing with Dannen's new tool set... my poor coffee table lol
Ah, yes... the cake! It took three times to get him to sit still and not blow out the candles until AFTER we sang. He was really excited:P
CHEEEEEESE!
Time for sugar!
Nice... what a pair!
Yummy:)
We had a really nice time hanging out with all the little kids. Dannen stayed up pretty late, playing with all of his new toys. I never thought cars, trains, and tools could be so much fun!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Dannen!

Guess who's 2?!?!?
~Happy Birthday to our sweet little boy, Dannen Michael~
You are such a delight and truly an amazing gift to our family!
It's crazy to think this past year has gone by so fast... With all the smiles, conversations, cute little looks, and yes, the hugs and kisses, we can't wait to see what lies ahead with our now 2 year old son:)

Family Loss

Today, our family heard the sad news of my cousin's sister-in-law passing. She was in a very serious car accident only a few days ago.
Even though I only met her once, over a span of a few days, I could tell she was such a beautiful person, inside and out. I am very honored to have photographed her along with her family for my cousin's wedding.
Prayers continue for my cousin and her family... Such a sad loss, but happy thoughts that Heaven has a new angel to help watch over everyone...

Pantry Project

Ever since moving here, we've had to get creative with making space in our kitchen for pantry items. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my kitchen, but when it comes to cabinetry, it stinks:P If I were super tall and didn't have kids, then using the ceiling high overhead cabinets would be awesome. Our friend happened to give us an entertainment center we transformed into a pantry. It worked for holding most items, but was not pretty or effective when it came to having kids.
We made a quick trip to Home Depot this past weekend and found THE perfect pantry! It had to have plenty of shelves, a door, and my *hope* was to look like our already existing cabinetry.
Each kiddo, and even William, had a chance to help. Kaylie and Makenzie each held a side or two while I used the power drill (which I might add was AWESOME!) and nailed some of the backing. Dannen went to town hammering away at all the tiny nails on the back. As with any kid project, a few accidents happened with nails poking in the wrong places.... but we consider them "love touches" from our kids:)
Dannen ran straight for his Handy Manny tools and began working right along with me. He was very focused and determined to "do it all" by himself:P
Every once in a while I found screwdrivers and other tools/nails hanging in odd places!
This is our finished project:) I am in love... great storage with easy access for everyone!

Friday Fun

What's more fun than having friends over for a play date? Having them spend the night! For the past few weeks, Kaylie & Makenzie's school friends have been coming over. It's so much fun since they're all the same ages. Kaylie and Maddie are both in 2nd grade, while Makenzie and Brooke are Kindergartners.
The first night Dannen and I had all four girls to help entertain, we made yummy cupcakes! Who would have thought giving them so much sugar would make them bounce off the walls until 10:30 at night?!?!
The following Friday, the girls each made their own pizzas. Talk about such an easy dinner! Give them all the ingredients and listen to the giggles:)
One of the special parts about the girls visiting each weekend is our favorite little Pug puppy coming along, too! Ellie gets to make our home her home each Friday night:) We love having her here... Dannen is SUCH a ham and loves playing with Ellie. Once the kids finally go to bed, I really enjoy cuddling and pretending she's our dog:)
I've started babysitting them on a normal basis now. Every Friday night is "fun night" here in our house. The girls enjoy friend time and I enjoy the laughter.
This upcoming weekend will include a trip to Home Depot for their monthly kids project. This month all four girls will be making a heart shaped shelf with knob for hanging a jacket/backpack. Can't wait to have all four together! The following weekend, we're heading over to Lowes to make heart shaped music boxes:)
We had an extra special Friday when our other friends' little boys came over for a few hours. The oldest is Kaylie's "best boy friend" (aka the King along with Kaylie when she was class Queen), second oldest is Makenzie's friend, and the third little boy is 3... he and Dannen are best buddies:) The one year old got to stay home with his mommy. I LOVED having all the kids here! It was amazing to see how much fun Dannen had with other little boys and how well he interacted with both boys and girls. It was definitely something I am looking forward to doing again!!!