Category Archives: five on friday

five on friday (06/21)

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Happy Friday! It’s been a while since my last “Five on Friday”, so I’m really excited about this! These small snippets of life are some of my favorites to look back on.

ONE. We’ve been really enjoying summertime so far! Swimming was a huge part of my childhood summers, so it just doesn’t feel like the season without having some fun in the water. We bought a month-long pool pass, and it’s been one of our favorite things to do! Nella always asks to go to the “wa wa”!These are some happy kids. Kaya and Kaelyn ask to stay for hours and hours, even if the water is a bit chilly.

Bonus: Everyone is tired out afterward!TWO. Michael took off work one day last week, and we all went bowling! Life has felt so crazy-busy this past month or so, so it was great to take a couple of hours to reconnect as a family. The lighting isn’t so great for pictures in the bowling alley, so this is the best I have from my phone. Nella sometimes really wants to take her turn, and other times, she couldn’t care less about it. Kaya is actually getting really good at bowling! She still uses the ramp and bumpers, but she might have scored higher than me…

THREE. We’ve had some fun at the library, too! I love snuggling up with my girls and reading. Kaya and Kaelyn would play with the blocks all day!Eve has been having a lot more fun now that she can pull herself up and play with the toys there.FOUR. Kaya and Kaelyn have still been doing swim lessons, so when Michael takes them, I get some quality time with Nella and Eve. I love my big girls, but having this time with the little girls is so precious to me.  It’s a little calmer, a little quieter, and I just get to soak in their sweet personalities. Also, I just have to put this here, because taking that picture of Nella and Eve reminded me so much of this picture of Kaya and Kaelyn, at nearly exactly the same ages, four years ago! It’s amazing how time passes so quickly and so much changes.Nellie loves to climb all the rocks!Eve really only has the option of swinging for now, but she’s more than content.FIVE. Our little Scoutie girl has had a bit of a rough month. She had her annual physical in May, where she was diagnosed with Lyme disease. She had a few days where she clearly wasn’t feeling well at all, and my heart was broken for her. I hate to see her suffering! She had another trip to the vet where she was prescribed some anti-nausea meds and probiotics, and she’s since been on the mend. She finished her round of antibiotics yesterday, and I’m hoping she’s able to stay symptom-free.

We also got her a harness, which we all love! It’s so much gentler than the “gentle leader” we were using, and it looks cute to boot.Happy weekend!

five on friday (06/07)

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Happy Friday!!! I’ve just managed to squeeze this post in before the day is through!

ONE. We had our church “carnival night” a couple of weeks ago, and the girls had the best time ever. I loved seeing their happy faces the whole evening. Who wouldn’t be excited about snow cones, popcorn, and a water relay race?Treats galore!Kaya and Kaelyn helped color the sign for the snow cone stand before it started. They are such great helpers!TWO. We’ve been attempting to work out in the yard a little more now that the weather’s been nice. I showed these girls how to pull weeds, and to my surprise, they thought it was so much fun. I’m hoping this is an activity they’ll love for a long time to come!Apparently, pulling weeds can turn you into a monster!At least this monster has a very cute smile.We also started some seeds in containers! I know we’re a little late for this season-wise, but we started the lima beans indoors as part of our plant unit for school. Since I knew I had some leftover seeds from when we attempted to grow a real garden two years ago, we figured we’d plant them and see what happens. From left to right: cucumber, two beans, and two tomatoes. They are growing just a little and I have hope for these tiny plants.Kaya loves her beans and takes care of them diligently every day.As does Kaelyn!THREE. Baby Eve had a big milestone this week…  her first-ever pony tail!!! It’s the tiniest thing ever, but it just made my heart so happy all day long.Those eyes!To take pictures, I have to distract her with random objects, like my lens cap. FOUR. Kaya and Kaelyn are still working hard at swim lessons, and this week, I finally got them some goggles that actually work properly. They have been wearing these around nonstop and playing “swim lesson” all day long!Nella borrows them sometimes and gets in on it, too!FIVE. Freyja and Claire were having some skin problems a couple months ago, but after a vet visit and a few rounds of meds, they are looking (and feeling) like their old amazing selves! We’ve been really enjoying seeing them so happy. Nella loves to prepare veggies for them. She also calls them the “Whee Whees!” since they make a “wheek wheek” sound when they’re hungry. Carrots for everyone!I can’t believe these piggies are almost 4 years old already!

Happy weekend!

five favorites (05/19)

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Happy Monday!!! I’m still making an effort to make these posts simpler so that I’ll write them more often. Here are a few fun recent moments!

ONE. We have been studying plants for the last few weeks and just wrapped up today! I decided to do something different than using a regular textbook for this unit, so I bought this set of lessons, labs, and powerpoints. It’s been a whole lot of fun for all of us! The girls are growing some lima beans in a bag, have learned about the plant life cycle, and are fascinated by carnivorous plants. They also really loved doing this pollination lab, where their fingers were insects, the juice box was nectar, and the cheese puff residue was the pollen.
The life cycle of a plant, according to Kaya. Notice the seeds dropping off on the last plant!TWO. We had our final Kangaroo Kids class last week. I’m always so sad to see it end for the summer! No one else in our class showed up, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Kaya built this little “ice cream shop”, and served her sisters (and me!) desserts for nearly the entire time. The balls were the scoops of ice cream. The green bucket was even “dairy free”, special for me. I just love her creativity.Kaya even built this little “seating area” you could go to after getting your ice cream. Nella was having a good time!THREE. The pink castle tent usually stays in the basement, but it’s been back in the living room for the past couple of weeks, so there’s been a whole lot of playing “house” and just generally hanging out in there. Even Evie loves it! Nella and Eve have been doing a lot more together lately, so I loved seeing them having a little party together in there.Nella is always taking care of a baby doll!FOUR. When you’re the size of a baby doll, you might just get a (nice, slow) ride in a doll stroller… Being the littlest sister seems to be the most fun!

FIVE. We watched the new Christopher Robin movie a couple of weeks ago. The girls loved it, and I cried the whole way through it. It was really well done! I found this sign in the big girls’ room after nap one day, and I just thought it seemed like something right out of the movie. The girls kept asking me if Heffalumps were real for a few days afterward, although they said this sign was to keep sharks away.

five favorites (05/06)

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It’s been almost two weeks since I logged on here, and I can’t believe how time is just flying by. We have had a whole lot going on around here (Conference weekend, Easter, two races I’ve run, Michael traveling), and I’m really hoping I can catch up on all of that soon, but for now, here’s a little bit of our lives lately!

ONE. Kaya and Kaelyn have been doing swim lessons this spring and are absolutely loving it. Kaya just completed her second session (and moved up to level 2), and Kaelyn finished her very first session and is doing awesome. They look forward to this all week!

TWO. We got a visit from Brittany and her THREE kids a couple Fridays ago! This was our first time meeting baby Henry, and he sure was sweet. Look at all these kids between the two of us now! We were also laughing about how Henry is vastly outnumbered. Alice and Nella hit it off almost right away and played together all day. Kaya, Kaelyn, and Caroline eventually warmed up and ended up building forts to play in. The only thing that could have made it more fun would have been having the rest of our original playdate group here, too! Blurry, but I still like this one, so here it is. I’m grateful for lifetime friends!

THREE. We had our very first visit to the nature center with Bianca and her kids! This is the kind of picture you get when it’s just too sunny: They were obsessed with the sandboxes and played in them almost the entire time.This topographic sandbox was awesome! I love hands-on things like this.Kaya loved this turtle named “Blueberry”.

FOUR. Would this even be a post without Kangaroo Kids in it? The girls enjoyed some hula-hoop fun!“Look, it’s Saturn!”I am kind of obsessed with putting Eve in every ball pit and taking her picture. Drumming in a pool of rainbow kickballs!Eve is really getting into all of it and having so much fun every time we go.

FIVE. We need a little more Nella in this post… so here she is! She is really into coloring and drawing scribble pictures lately. My office always looks like an explosion of art supplies… but I’m grateful the girls love creating and using their imaginations.Nothing beats this smile.

Happy Monday!

five favorites (04/08)

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One of these days, I’ll get back to writing these posts on Fridays, but for now, I’m counting writing this at all as a win!

ONE. I maybe should have just titled this “all the silly things Nella does”, because believe me, there are a lot. This girl knows that we think almost anything she does is absolutely adorable (and she’s right)! She can make a “camera” out of blocks and get us to smile!

She can also get her sisters to carry her around in a box (props to Kaya, who was obviously doing the heavy lifting here). Speedy delivery!

TWO. Nella also graduated to sitting at the big table! She loves being treated like a big kid. She also loves that she can escape if we forget to buckle her in!

THREE. Kangaroo Kids will forever be one of my favorite memories with my girls… and it was extra special last week, because Evie got to join in on a tiny bit of fun! She went in the ball pit and had such a good time.Then Kaya completely surprised me by doing a flip all on her own (and then she asked to do it again so I could record it)! I think I need to get her back into gymnastics.

FOUR. Michael was so pumped about being a “waiter” for the Young Men & Young Women’s pre-dance formal dinner last weekend. He was eager to get all dressed up and even practiced his “waiter pose”. I think he was a little embarrassed for me to snap his picture, so he gave me a full 0.005 seconds to take it, but why not?

FIVE. Another month has come and gone (how?!), so I already have another 1 Second Everyday video for March. I just love these! I’m not sure they’ll ever get old.

Happy Monday!

 

five favorites (04/01)

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Happy Monday (and April Fool’s Day)! We haven’t played any tricks over here, but I’ve already been fooled by at least one online article today. Whoops!

Looking back on years past, my “five favorites” posts used to be a lot simpler and shorter… and I’m thinking I’d like to get back to that. Simpler posts might encourage me to make time to do this more often, instead of trying to block out enough time to write one very long post.

So, here’s to a new week, and a new month!

ONE. Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck came to visit our house! Kaya made me a special “Disney ticket” that I had to hand to them so I’d be allowed to greet them and take photos. Kaelyn wants to go to Disney so badly, but for now, I guess dressing up is a good alternative!

TWO. When reading with Daddy…
…turns into TICKLING!I just love how much Nels loves her Daddy. She’s his little buddy right now. There’s just something extra special about the age of two.

THREE. If you don’t know what Kaelyn is up to, she’s probably cuddled up with a book! She’s our newest little bookworm. She tries hard to read what she can, and if she can’t read it, she attempts to recite books from memory.

If she’s not reading a book, she’s very likely to be playing with Evie! Kaelyn spends time with her any chance she gets. They truly have a special bond.

FOUR. Kaya made a “teddy bear picnic” for her stuffed animals. It was the sweetest. She drove them over to the event in the stroller, lined them all up, and passed out their “baby bottles” (markers) and food.

FIVE. These baby ROLLS! Do I even need to say anything else? I just love her so much.

five favorites (03/19)

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I meant to post this on Friday, but I keep falling asleep on the couch and not finishing anything! I don’t say that to complain; it’s just the season of life I’m in right now, and I want to remember it.

We’ve been having some fun around here amidst all the craziness:

ONE. These cute girls have loved our Kangaroo Kids class the past few weeks. They were especially excited to see these little hopper balls out to play with during one class. This is one of their very favorite things to do, and I think they hopped around for at least 30 minutes straight. Nella tried it out, too, but she hasn’t been very keen on having her picture taken lately. Bubble and parachute time is always a favorite! The bubbles are popped all over Kaelyn’s hair and jacket in this picture. We usually sing “Zoom zoom zoom, we’re going to the moon!” at the end of each class while playing with the parachute. I love seeing all the kids get so excited for this part.TWO. Nella is getting interested in coloring, finally! She really didn’t care for it at all until now. Now we just need to work on staying on the paper! Oops.THREE. We finished our standardized testing for Kaya’s first grade year, so we all went out to celebrate with frozen yogurt! These were some very happy girls. (Bonus: Nella was free because she’s under 3!)They have a giant chalkboard there, so of course, we all had to draw something. Kaelyn made this pig eating an ice cream cone. Adorable!Kaya made herself with a cat, with ice cream!FOUR. Nella is obsessed with helping me in the kitchen lately, whether it’s putting clean silverware away or baking. She loves putting the muffin cups into the pan… or just lining them up, putting chocolate chips in them, and eating them. Same thing, right? FIVE. I started using the 1 Second Everday app in February in order to encourage myself to take more videos. So far, it’s been a lot of fun! Here is last month’s little video collage. These types of things really help me see the beauty in everyday life.

Happy Tuesday!

five favorites (03/02)

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Happy March! I am so excited that we’re nearing the end of winter. Hopefully, most of the cold temperatures and snow are behind us now!

ONE. It’s been nice enough to go outside for walks a few days this week! Evie had her first stroller ride without having the car seat attached. She loved sitting up, looking around, and kicking her little feet the entire time. (Also, can we all just take a moment to admire those cheeks and her double chin? Definitely some of the best baby features. I just want to eat her up!)Our little “hoodlum” (what we call her when she wears this) was so glad to go outside, too. She always likes to wear this particular shirt because it has “a hat”!Kaelyn was excited to ride the tricycle for the first time! She made it about half a mile.
TWO. Kaya has started her first round of swim lessons! She always looks forward to it, and I’m so proud of how well she has adjusted to doing something completely new, with people she just met.

THREE. After she was always taking Kaelyn’s Minnie Mouse to play with, we finally got Nella one of her own. I ordered it online when Disney had a good sale, so when it came in the mail, we were all excited to surprise her.

Daddy started opening the box……and it was love at first sight.It was fun to have something special just for her.

FOUR. These sisters… are just crazy! They have moments when they fight or don’t get along, but the majority of the time, they’re best friends. They’re always coming up with some silly game to play, and I love seeing them do it all together. They were dancing (which looks a lot like running in circles through the house) while holding hands. These laughs are real! They also love hanging out in Kaya’s bed. Nella only stays up there for a few minutes (with Daddy or me supervising). Nella seems to think her big sisters are a little crazy! This one cracks me up.FIVE. Evie might be too little to run with her sisters, but she has a tummy time buddy! All the girls adore Eve, but Kaelyn has a special place in her heart for her baby sister. I think it’s because Eve is the only baby she remembers (and she also likes that their birthdays are close together)!I love these silly princesses.

five favorites (02/19)

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I meant to post this last week, but, well, you already know what I’d probably say here. These pictures were too cute to pass up sharing, so I just had to take a few minutes to write this out!

ONE. We started back at Kangaroo Kids for the first time since before the holidays. These girls are always excited, and I don’t think it will ever get old. I love seeing them all climb into the ball pit together (Nella’s favorite thing is still trying to throw as many balls as she can out…)!Kaya and Kaelyn play together the entire hour. I’m so grateful that they’re best friends and truly love being with each other. I think maybe we should sign Kaya up for basketball for real… She is getting really good at shooting hoops (and there are much higher ones than this there, too). I also still think she’s going to end up pretty tall (although she doesn’t like to hear that for some unknown reason), so that might even give her an edge.Nella looks forward to the bubbles at the end! This might be her favorite part.

TWO. I bought a Cricut machine on super sale a while ago, and between having computer/software issues and just being intimidated by it, it took me a long time to actually use it. Well, I made my first project, and it was so much fun! Also, it was a lot easier than I thought it’d be. I put this Minnie Mouse on an old t-shirt of Kaelyn’s for practice.She was the happiest girl! And now I want to make all the things.

THREE. I didn’t make this camera onesie, but I’ve wanted one of these forever, so when my favorite kids’ clothing store (Carter’s) had a sale, I finally got one for Eve. Baby photographer!Everything about this just melts me.FOUR. When flower-print leggings were on sale… I just had to. It’s hard to find something they can all wear, so matching all four girls was extra fun. I love living in a haze of pink. (You should have seen all the crazy things I was doing to get these laughs out of them… Nella’s plush “Baby Beagle” was dancing on my head and making the funniest noises! Nella also insisted that her Tigey be in the photo!)

FIVE. There’s nothing like a little girl who regularly steals your boots.There was one morning where my little boot-loving girl came downstairs about 15 minutes before her sisters, so she and I got to have some quality time baking muffins together. It’s rare to have that precious time with only her, so I relished it. She put all the muffin cups in the pan, and I tried to teach her the colors as she did so.

five on friday (02/01)

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Happy February!!! This is always one of my favorite months (it might have something to do with my birthday!), so there’s a definite air of excitement around here. This post is full of little moments from the week, which are always my favorites.

ONE. We had a tiny Dalmatian puppy living here this week… and apparently, this puppy knows how to drive a car!
Nella has been obsessed with this costume lately. It’s sometimes hard to convince her to not wear it for meals or nap time. So adorable!All that driving makes a puppy tired.We also had a cowgirl, walking her pet tiger around, one morning before school. I love seeing what they come up with.TWO. Speaking of school, our sweet Kaelyn has been working on Kindergarten material since the start of the new year. Suddenly, she just seemed ready, and more than eager, to do something a little more structured. She can read quite a bit, and she also loves working in her math book. She and Kaya started their own little competition to see who could complete more pages in their workbooks, which means that lately, they each do quite a lot!Another homeschool perk: getting to have lunch with your baby sister every day. Or maybe that’s not such a good thing, if the baby is trying to spill your entire plate onto the floor…THREE. Eve might not do schoolwork, but she decided to “work” on the toy laptop this week. She’s already following in Daddy’s footsteps!Really, though, she likes anything that plays music.Also… that little grin!!!I think I need 100 of her!FOUR. Nella asked to hold Evie this week, and it was just the most precious thing. She even shared the toy zebra she had been playing with. I love these sister photos so much, and I hope they will become the best of friends, just like Kaya and Kaelyn. CHEESE!Nella was also lucky enough to have a mini Daddy-daughter date this week. It was her first time pushing the little shopping cart at Food Lion, and she LOVED it! Beagle had a ride, of course.FIVE. We had a “slight” (compared to much of the U.S.) polar vortex this week, which meant that it was just perfect to let the girls stay in their jammies, and that always makes them so happy. Kaya also had a slight cold, so she enjoyed cuddling up with all the blankets and being so cozy.Kaelyn snuggled her best friend, Minnie! I am really hoping that we can take this girl to Disney one day.Happy weekend!