The Silver Lining

It's been one of those weeks where things have not exactly gone as planned, but isn't that what life is all about? I am happy to say that we have tried to make the best of all things and find the good amongst the not so good. So lets start with situation #1 and call it "How I made the best of the small flood I found in my laundry room". Good news- Monday is laundry day and the flood happened during a small load on Tuesday, so less water for the flood and the main laundry was already done for the week. And here's where we take those lemons and make a little lemonade...
The night of the puddles, we decided to move out both the washing machine and dryer which got me thinking about the fact that I had always wanted to paint my laundry room and wouldn't right now be the perfect time? So, the next day I found myself walking out of Home Depot, a gallon of paint on board and a goal in mind. By Wednesday night, the room was painted! Thursday an appliance guy came and fixed the $200-plus leak and now the laundry room is up and running. And just in time, too seeing as Mya decided that tonight was a good night to get sick and start throwing up. The joys, the joys. Just glad my washer was fixed in time.

Speaking of the sicky, I signed her up for Kindergarten this week! I think she is way ready, but at the same time I'm going to be so sad to let her go. I'm looking forward to it and dreading it all at the same time. Kids really do grow up fast.

Onto another fun situation for the week- the dreaded pink eye. And no, not the kids...

(I only share that horrid picture because we are all friends here, right??) It's really been a joy, let me tell you. Good news again- already had drops on hand so I'm just treating myself and it's definitely getting better. Good thing too because I'm ready to wear eye make-up again. Jake tells me I look pretty without make-up but he's really half blind without glasses so his opinion is taken lightly. One look at the above pic and we all know that a little mascara would do wonders.

I just finished the last book of the "Fablehaven" series last night. Such a good fun series! I can't wait until my kids get a little older and I can read it with them. I love books that blend fantasy into everyday life and make it seem natural. Sad to see the series end!

The girls are loving the net-free tramp, and are perfecting their gymnastic skills almost daily. Elle recently learned how to do a back flip and Mya is working on her front handspring. Good times and no broken bones- counting my blessings!

And the little boy continues to make me happy- I love babies this age. He's really improved a ton as far as sleeping goes. Ever since the sleep training, nighttimes are, for the most part, awesome and he's really coming around with naps. Not totally perfect with naps, but way way way better. I am very happy. He's continuing to perfect the art of rolling all over the place. Still not crawling, but you can tell he's starting to think about it- I'm sure it won't be long. He also has learned a couple new tricks- clapping and spitting his baby food all over the place. A fan of the first, not so much the second but I'm sure he finds joy in hearing his baby food fly from his mouth. He's growing quite a few teeth...

A closer look will show you he's taking after his vampiric sister Jada. The middle two will actually be in shortly, so his vampire days are limited.

And onto the last bummer of the week- my older sister Kellie was supposed to come for a fun weekend visit with baby Jane, but ended up having to cancel last minute due to one of her little boys getting sick. I was so bummed! I guess it's for the best considering the pink eye and the barf, but I really wish she could have come! Jake made the best of the weekend and took the two older girlies to an Astros game last night. Not the best pic, but they had fun getting ice cream in little pink helmets and watching the fireworks after the show. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that the pink eye stops with me and the barfs stop with Mya!

And lastly, my favorite story from nursery. Last Sunday Jada got my attention while we were eating and asked me, "Mom- am I getting married today?" and I said, "No- not today". Jake's mom started to ask her if that was what they talked about in nursery, but that was not the case. What she said was, "Lincoln said!" Apparently Linc has been discussing marriage plans with Jada during nursery class. Jake was talking to her about it later that night and she said, "He always says that." What can I say, you have good taste Linc. Jada is quite the catch!

Running is fun!

It's hard to turn down the opportunity to run in a race that not only is called a "Fun Run", but also offers all you can eat Blue Bell ice cream bars after the race. And you get to admire the awesome wildflowers along the way. I mean honestly, even if you aren't a runner, it's enough to almost make you want to get off the couch and jog around the block.

The older girls ran the kids 1-mile run and loved it. They got a medal and a t-shirt and ice cream. Maybe next year Jada will join in on the fun. She definitely wants to!

Track stars in the making!

The girls and I had matching shirts for the event.

Jake's parents were nice enough to come out for the weekend and help with the kids at the race so Jake and I could both participate. The girls loved having them here!

I ran the 5K and Jake ran the 10K. It's his third year in a row running with his buddy Deven. Considering we both didn't train as well as we should have, we finished without dying which is a success. I actually felt a lot better towards the end than I would have expected, especially with all the hills on the course. Maybe next year I'll go for the 10K.

Cole was not a fan of the cold ice cream bar. He would go for it, taste it, make a face and get really sad. Funny to watch.

Other fun things (because we are just fun like that)... the zoo had it's annual "Zoobilee" which is basically just a night for members to come and do some fun stuff around the zoo. Jake met us there after work and we had a great time as a family.

Onto something I said I wouldn't do...

That's right- swim team. It was peer pressure all the way. So many people here are involved with swim team. I honestly don't have much of a desire for my kids to be competitive swimmers. I just want them to be able to swim, which the oldest two both can do. But here we are, starting up with the Dolphins in a week. I'm telling you- it was peer pressure. The kids will love it- they have tons of friends on the team, and they will get really good at swimming. And I will become an expert at putting on swim caps. We will give it a try for a year and see what we think. All Jada needs below is her "gobbles" as she calls them and a swim cap! And, as a side note, she puts on that swim suit below almost daily.

Another fun FHE (or "Hamily Fome Evening" according to Jada) lesson idea- I was on a roll! We had someone coming over so the pull out the "Friend" last minute and pick a story for the lesson approach wasn't going to cut it. We talked about Lehi's vision and the Tree of Life and put "fruit" on the tree that talked about the symbols from the vision (before you give me too much credit- I found a lot of this stuff online). The girls then took turns trying to make it to the tree blindfolded (mists of darkness) without the rope, and then with the rope (the iron rod). Fun, creative and they loved it!

Jada has been perfecting her art skills as of lately...

The girls and I are kind of sort of (I say kind of sort of because we haven't really made it to all the meetings) in a kid book club with some friends. We had a lunch get together a little while back to discuss "The Boxcar Children". The girls have a lot of fun with it, and maybe I'll stop being lame and get us fully involved.

And lastly, some pretty polka-dot toes!

Summer Plans...

Last summer, I did this...

Jake did this...

And Jada did a little of this...

The family spent some time here...

And took a little road trip here...

And best of all, we (well, I guess really I) did this...

Busy enough. Now this summer, we are going here...

And here...

And... (drum roll, please)... the mom and dad are going HERE!

Florida, California, and HAWAII!!! Jealous??? (He, He.) Can you tell I like the beach? Go ahead and admire my hibiscus and get into the island spirit. Aren't they beauties?!