Morning Fun

We woke up this morning to rain, thunder, and lightning.  Once the lightning & thunder stopped, the kids went outside to play.  First, they explored the many places that rain was dripping...off the house, off the toys, etc. 

Then they realized that the rain made some pretty fun puddles to jump into.

 They played outside for about 20 minutes...

don't ask me how Jace ended up like this...but he did!!

Mackenzi realized that she could catch the raindrops in her mouth. 

Silly girl.  She loved it until a huge drop landed in her eye. 

Then, it wasn't so fun anymore.

They colored with wet chalk, played on the see-saw,

puddle jumped and explored in the rain. 

They had so much fun this morning!!

Caught....again!

We caught these two boys again.  The other night, we went to tuck in the boys before we went to bed and there was Quinn in Jace's bed.  This used to be a usual thing for him...sneaking into Jace's bed to sleep.  He hasn't done it in months.  I just love the special bond that they have.  Twins really do share something special!

Sweet Baby Girl

A couple of weeks ago, Kara (my sister-in-law) had her baby shower.  Everything turned out beautiful.  She wanted the decor to match Baby Madison's nursery.  I helped Wendy with the decorations/printables/games.  She got so many wonderful gifts and adorable outfits!! 

 The dessert table

 It took her a couple of hours to open all the gifts.

 Kara's fluid levels were low, so the doctors decided to induce labor at 35 weeks. 

Kara did an amazing job during the delivery.  Introducing our new niece....

 Madison Faith Rogina

5 lbs. 4 oz.

 She is just perfect and they got to go home the day after delivery.  Jeff & Kara are doing a fantastic job at their new role as parents.  Madison is just adorable and cuddly.  Everyone is enjoying their turn of giving her some love.

Especially Mackenzi!!!  She just loves her sweet baby cousin!!!

Congratulations Jeff & Kara!! 

Welcome to the best part of your life...Parenthood!!!

Our Water Baby

All three kids have been doing great in the pool this summer.  Mackenzi can swim with no assistance or float-aids.  Quinn has overcome his fear of the water (what happened to my dare devil?) and loves to swim in his own time....

but, Jace......

Jace is doing excellent.  He can swim underwater from one step to another.  He is so proud of himself.   He never ever wants his floaties or life jacket on.  Now he just needs to learn to lift his head above water to get a breath of air as he swims. 

Such a big boy.

Change...

Our house used to be baby proofed.  We had everything that we needed to live with little babies. Then it changed....our kids grew a bit older.  Now, our house is full of big kid toys. We no longer have to worry about little parts and  little pieces that can be choked on.  Diapers and wipes have been replaced with "chonies".  Bottles are a thing of the past, now we have sippy cups and big kid cups.  Most days I don't even have a stroller in my car.  I have three (fairly) good listeners that will hold my hand, hold the shopping cart, or walk nicely next to me.  But things are about to change...

Change always comes bearing gifts.

-Price Pritchett

We thought we were done having children. 

Three seemed perfect. 

 That seemed to be our plan. 

 But, nope...We are expecting one more bundle of love in February.

 This picture was taken two weeks ago. 

Since then, my belly has gotten a tad bit bigger.

Yesterday we had our first ultrasound.  We were relieved to see that there was just one sweet baby in there, going from 3 to 5 kids would have been a huge change.  Luckily, there was just one and it had a strong heartbeat!!!  It's taken some time to get used to the thought of our house being filled with cribs, diapers, swings, high chairs, and everything else a new baby needs.  But, we are thrilled to be adding a new little baby to our family.  The kids are excited...to say the least.  Mackenzi and Quinn are hoping it's a girl.  Jace wants a boy!!  Time will tell if our sweet baby is a boy or girl.  One thing is for sure...there's a whole lot of change going on in this house!!!

You're Invited...

Stop by to do some shopping for back-to-school accessorizing!!!  We'd love to see  you!

Back-to-School Shopping

Boppa and Nana decided to take the kids to do a little back-to-school shopping.  We had a fun day of shopping & lunch.  Mackenzi was so excited (and oh so opinionated) to pick out some new duds!!  Here is what she finally decided on.  Surprisingly she didn't choose one dress, but did pick a jean skirt! 

 She's in love with these new kicks.  Not my first choice, but she's over the moon about them!!

Thank you so much Boppa and Nana!!  We are sure lucky!!!

(The boys did some shopping for preschool too, but they're not quite done yet. I'll let you know what they chose when we finish!)

The Magic Eraser=LOVE

"Mommy, I wrote my name!!",Quinn says in a super excited, proud voice.

I'm changing Mackenzi's sheets, "oh crap" I think to myself.

"Where did you write it?" I ask him.

"ON THE WALL!!!" he says with the same voice!

He did make a pretty good 'Q'.

Thank goodness for Magic Erasers.

4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July weekend we left Thursday and headed back to Havasu with Matt's family.  The weather was even hotter than the previous weekend.  The kids were excited to go back.  They are sure river rats!!  We drove around a bit, swam, napped, and played hard in the water!!  Here are some pictures from our trip!!

 We came home on Sunday to beat the traffic.  We spent the 4th at my sister's house.  The kids swam all day long.  We had an all-American dinner: hamburgers, hotdogs, fruit,  pasta salad, and some yummy desserts.

What a great weekend!!!