We're Ba-ack!

About 40,000 loads of laundry {and three sick kiddos} are callin' my name, so I'll leave you with this:

Happy Birthday, Kenner-Bug!

My second-born daughter turns FIVE years old today. Oh where does the time go? Where??? This birthday definitely snuck up on me. Somehow my baby isn't a baby anymore.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Happy 5th birthday, Kenner-Bug! You bring so much joy to our lives.

Here's Sissy, getting a good look at ya

You still love bath time! :)

You've always been such a good sleeper. Unlike, ahem, your sissies.

So serious.

Your smile seriously brightens the day

You ♥ LOVE ♥ your big sissy. It is so sweet to watch you look up to all that she does.

What fun times we have together

You seem to find the fun in everything

Leave it to bug to be the one to get her hands dirty.

You have the greatest sense of humor, and make us laugh all.the.time!

The infamous neck pillow. That's what I mean, Bug, you march to the beat of your own drum!

You are growing into such a BEAUTIFUL young lady inside and out. And this mama couldn't be more proud.

Love you bigger than the sky!

{And can't wait to hit the water slides at Great Wolf with you tomorrow. Wheeee!}

Bloggography Week 4: Aperture

This is my first week participating in Manic Mother and Better in Bulk's Bloggography Challenge, and I'm so excited! I love taking pictures, and even better when I can learn something new about my camera. This week the lesson was on using Aperture. I guess I missed the part about shooting something pink or red. Ooops! We've had some gorgeous sunny days lately, so the girls and I have put on our jackets and headed outdoors on an "adventure" ;) And this is what we found . . . dead grass. I know, I know, Super exciting ;) My husband saw me uploading pics and was like "What in the world are you taking pictures of grass for??" Oh, hunny.

f/1.8

ISO 100

f/6.3

ISO 200

f/16

ISO 200

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And there you have it! Go on, take some pics. Then head on over to Manic Mother or Better in Bulk to link up!

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, it's been awhile. Not that I haven't done anything embarassing. I guess I just chose not to blog about it ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, during one of our many backyard adventures of the week, Kenners did not swing her walking stick around and manage to poke herself in the eye. I would never allow her to wave a stick all around and then proceed to injure herself. I am a much more attentive mama than that!

Jeremy did not bring home four boxes of Girl Scout Cookies {two of which were Thin Mint ~ my favorites!}, and I certainly did not proceed to eat said boxes all by myself. {Well, not boxes. Cookies. You know what I mean}. I would NEVER.

I was not hoping to lose a couple of pounds before our trip to Great Wolf this week, and did not instead gain a couple of pounds due in part to the Girl Scout Cookies. I have far more self-control than that. Puh-leeze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, what have y'all NOT been doing???

Sisters

Recently we've been trying to get the older girls to sleep in their own room, and not in, you know, our room with me and hubs, and Kam. So, this is the new arrangement. Is it the sweetest thing ever? Apparently their beds were just too far apart, so now they snooze together. Ohhhh how this melts my heart. And yes, they do chat and giggle and read stories before drifting off. Aren't sisters the greatest???

Sunny Days!!!

Sunshine!!!

Oh how I love sunshine.

It's been MIA for months now.

But it made its appearance a couple of days ago, and has stuck around. And I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me. It turns my whole mood around. Everything is different when there's that golden-y goodness streaming through the windows, you know? {Can you tell I'm sooo ready for Summer?}

How do I love thee, sunshine? Let me count the ways:

Playing outside!!!

Enjoying the fresh air

{and the poor, neglected swingset}

When that beautiful blue sky accompanies!

When we make a spontaneous trip to the park

When I get to wear sunglasses because it's so bright!

When we're reminded of the little things that make life so sweet!

I'm linking up to Jennilee's ~ A Glimpse of Summer because I'm longing for summer too, girlfriend!

Edit: Uh-oh, I don't think I followed the rules :( I posted sunny pics, but not summer pics. For good measure, here's one of my favorites from last summer. I don't want to be a rule-breaker ;)

I'm Gettin' My Face On, How 'Bout You?

Alrighty, y'all, this gal is one of my new FAVORITE bloggers. Meet Beth from Stories from A to Z {if you don't already know her. I swear, I am always the last to the party!} She is super funny and gorgeous, and has challenged us to {GASP!} bare it all. That's right, reveal our beauty routine with full-on pictures of our nakey faces. Yikes! When I first saw Jenny's post I thought, "NO WAY". I mean, I am a girl obsessed with makeup. I do not go anywhere without makeup. Did I wear makeup when I was in the hospital for two weeks when I was pregnant with Kam? Yes. When I went into labor with Sierra in.the.middle.of.the.night, did I bring my mascara with me in the car? Yes. It's pitiful, I know. And that is why I was scared beyond reason. But, the more I got to thinking about it {and the less I had come up with to blog about today}, the more I thought how freeing it might be to just put it out there. So, here we go.

My stash.

I try new cleansers all the time. Two at at a time. This month it's Loreal Skin Genesis to remove the makeup {it's supposed to minimize pores, and by golly, I need it!}, and Biore Revitalize to cleanse the face. Sometimes I even get crazy and switch it up. I'm wild like that.

I use Neutrogena Moisturizer in Sensitive, and Clean & Clear blemish treatment. Always a must. Does it work? Not really, but I can't not use it. What is the deal with my skin looking worse now than it did when I was a teenager? Seriously? I'm so over it.

Most of my makeup is Bare Minerals. I started using it several years ago and have never gone back to liquid foundation. The thought of slathering on liquid makes me cringe. Seriously, it does. I go back and forth on the mascara. I have such a hard time finding one I love. Anyone else have that problem?

WARNING: Turn away if you're easily frightened by scary ladies in zero makeup.

Alright, this is me first thing in the mornin'. I know, right? Scaa-ry! Can we just agree that you won't click on the image to enlarge? Mmmmmkay.

And the routine:

The Steps: Foundation and concealer {too many imperfections to skip that step!}. I use Bare Minerals in Medium Beige, and Summer Bisque concealer. Blush in Thistle {also from Bare Minerals}. On to the eyebrows. I use Jane eye shadow in Brownie Points and an angled brush to apply the shadow to my eyebrows. Otherwise I have none ;) And don't forget the mascara! A little lipliner and gloss if I'm going somewhere, but I usually skip the lips if I'm at home. I'm always kissin' on someone {ahem, my children, not just random strangers} and I hate gooping up their faces.But WHAT to do about that hair? Oh I have so much hair. That's what takes the longest. The brushing, the drying, the curling. It's time consuming.

And voila!

Ahhhhh, that's better. Ready to face the day!

Okay, that wasn't so bad. Now go! And have a look at others who are gettin' their face on!

Dance Team Is In The Air . . .

It doesn't really have the same ring to it, but it's that time of year again . . . Dance Team Season!!!

Dance is a big deal around here. I started dancing when I was three and attended EVERY dance competition of my older sister, Heidi. Annie started dance when she was three. Each one of us had studio dance and each one of us was on high school dance team {and I coached Annie's high school dance team, ha!} . . . and, well, you get the idea. We love dance, simple as that. So, when I left my coaching position to get married and have babies {wink}, Annie took over for me, and has been coaching ever since. For 8 years, to be exact. Wow, where does the time go???

Anyway. Annie brought her team up, last weekend, for a preliminary competition to State. It was such fun to watch. A lovely group of girls ~ beautiful, talented, sweet. And the icing on the cake? They took 1st place in their division. I really wish I would have videotaped it because it was a great performance. Annie choreographed the entire routine, and the girls danced it just perfectly. {Chills.}

This is how the evening went:

{And please excuse the photos. The lighting was terrible, and I had Kam squirming around as I was snapping pics. It didn't make for the most pleasing of pictures, ifyaknowwhatImean}.

Annie's Team

Look at those pointed toes ;)

It was such a fun routine to watch!

Here's my sis, Annie, with her son, Jaymes.

{Incidentally that's Sierra, my niece~ Sadie, and older sister Heidi behind them}

Jaymes may or may not have gotten into the chocolate . . .

Kam stayed busy for about a minute and a half with Gramps' shoe laces.

Cleanin' up.

After a long weekend of water-drinkin' and health food eatin' {and dancin' your boot off!} you have to have a treat! Pizza and soda all around ;) And, oh yeah, did I mention my parents hosted my sister and her entire team? {and a few extras?} They did. 'Cuz my parents are super cool like that.

And the best part? Cousins getting to spend time together. Is this the sweetest? Kenners and Jaymes are best pals. It's too cute!

That was our weekend. Whew, it was a long one! What about y'all? How did you spend yours?