darn gopher!

I apologize to any of my PNW friends who are animal rights fans, but this gopher needed to die! I patiently waited 5 long years to get grass and this little guy along with several of his friends are ripping up my yard! They sell smoke bombs and I've heard stories about juicy fruit gum, but there is a certain satisfaction that comes with seeing the actual carcass.

New Do

For those of you who were asking to see it. Not sure how I feel about the bangs.

Bugsy

Our little man. Lainie came up with his nickname. He's had really huge eyes since birth and it reminded her of the guinea pig on bedtime stories. Isn't he cute in his dr. glasses?

Hooray for Dental Insurance!

It's been years since we've had dental insurance, but with Paul's job change came really great insurance. Today was check up day for 4 of us. Luckily my mom was in town and so graciously sat with us while we were at the dentist for 3 hours!! I have to get an old filling replaced, Anna has to get some sealants done on her big girl molars, and Lainie came away with rave reviews of her pretty teeth. Sadly, though Ava was not so lucky. She has the same weak enamel that Anna was cursed with and had 3 cavities. So sad. She's really going to hate the next visit.

Besties

Popsicles

The mornings are actually starting to cool down, but the afternoons are still hot. Today was a day for popsicles.

6 Months

The babes are 6 months...and I'm still alive! j/k Honestly, it's really not as hard as it may seem. We have days that are difficult, but most of the time we do fine. These babies are so sweet and happy and our whole family feels blessed to have them. They had their 6 month appt. on the 25th and are still so tiny on the growth charts. Owen weighed in at 16.2 and Lily 15.9. They are in the 30th percentile for weight and 57th for height.

Dixie Cheer Clinic

Every year the girls bring home a flyer for the local high school's cheer clinic, and every year I say, "maybe next year girls." This year I decided to let them do it. It consisted of a few days of cheer practice and some sideline cheering and halftime performance at Fridays game. My parents are in town and watched the babies and Ava for me while I took the girls to the game. The girls were a little disappointed to find out that they only got to cheer in one game, but now they are wanting to do another clinic when basketball season arrives.

Lizard

Paul went out the back door and this little lizard came into our house. He picked it up and gave it to Ava to hold...she thought it was pretty great. It seems everyday now she is looking for a lizard to hold.

Visiting Our FireMan

The kiddos and I loaded up the MV and headed to Vegas for the night. Paul is nearly off his probationary period with LVFR and so we wanted to go and check out his station and meet all his coworkers. The girls thought it was fun to see daddy at work. We checked out every nook and cranny of Station 1-the largest in all of Vegas. I've been putting off going for quite some time, just because it's a long drive with 5 kids, not to mention staying in a hotel by myself with all of them. It turned out great though. We all had a great time. Valet and a bellman do wonders. We even got upgraded to a suite. Paul met up with us the next morning. We spent the day at the pool and then headed home.

Green Grasshoppers

Both Anna and Lainie are playing soccer this season. (Forgot to snap a few of Anna's game, will do that one of these Saturdays.) This is Lainie's first game and first year.I was quite nervous for her to play...I thought for sure she would tire out quickly and play with her hair on the field-after all she is our little princess. She did great though. I found her clapping and cheering on the other girls while she was on the field, she thought it was great fun. I'm not sure this is her "thing" but as long as she enjoys herself, that is fine for me.

Snapshots by Anna

Every time I grab the point and shoot I find an array of pictures by the girls. These are just a couple. PS. Owen has gotten used to pink and Ava thought he needed to play dolls with her.

Lost Tooth

She could not be more excited! She's had a wiggly tooth for awhile now and decided today that I could pull it. She said to me over and over again... "mom, do I look silly? I think I look silly."

Blue Eyes

All my sweet kiddos have brown eyes like their daddy....all but little Lily. Where in the world did her blue eyes come from?

Always feeding the ducks

bottom photo by Lainie.