Category Archives: kaelyn

thanksgiving 2019

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We stayed home for this past Thanksgiving. It was only the second time we’ve ever done that, so it always feels a little strange, and I definitely missed my mom’s cooking (no matter how good mine turned out) and hanging out with my aunts and brother. We were also still sick with some kind of upper respiratory mess, so all I really wanted to do was sleep, but I still tried my best to make it a memorable day for my family.

Kaya worked really hard making a homemade garland so she could decorate for us. She comes up with these projects all on her own. I love that she loves contributing to our holidays with her art.We spent the morning watching the Macy’s parade while Michael played football with some guys from church, despite the crazy wind we were having. Kaya and Kaelyn made a bunch of turkey handprints! Waiting for turkey dinner is so exhausting that you have to feign sleep……until it actually leads to real sleep for someone very little.Those lips and cheeks. Ahhh! I did get to nap while the turkey was baking away, only to get it out of the oven and realize I had totally forgotten to put water in the pan for gravy. I panicked, but my mom told me on the phone that I could still add it. It worked, and I think it was actually some of the best gravy I’ve ever made.YUM. I love a turkey with a lot of spices.Michael has been made the official turkey-carver.I told the girls about the tradition of breaking the wishbone, and how whoever gets the bigger piece gets to make a wish. Kaya wanted to do it, but was so grossed out by the thought of touching the bone that she let me stand in for her.Kaelyn won it!Kaya also made these little placemats for all of us to use.We had some delicious dinner, followed by chocolate cake.These two and their faces. Always cracking me up. Kaya was really tired by this point and still disappointed that I didn’t win the wishbone for her.Eve had her first-ever taste of turkey, since she was too little last year. She gobbled it right up! I was amazed by how much she ate. We called our families afterward to end the evening. It was a simple, but sweet day together.

five on friday (01/24)

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We’ve had a lot going on the past couple of weeks, and to be honest, I haven’t felt much like writing here. I thought doing a “Five on Friday” might help me get back into gear. I have two memory cards full of DSLR photos to go through, but for now, I’m just going to share some quick and easy pictures from my phone.

ONE. We battled the stomach flu! By the time it went through all the kids, it was a whole week of sickness. It’s just awful seeing your babies feel so horrible, not to mention the amount of extra laundry and clean-up required. We made it through, and here’s to hoping we don’t see another stomach bug for a long time to come.TWO. Kaya has always loved Eve, but lately, they’ve really been playing together a lot more. Eve will jump into her arms, give giant hugs, and apparently, even enjoy a ride on her back. The older girls sometimes say, “I miss when Eve was a little baby”, but they really have been having a blast with her now that she’s a little bigger. THREE. Michael has been amazing in his recent calling as counselor to the Bishop, but he’s still adjusting to a new schedule. Meetings at 6:30 am mean that he is completely wiped out by 1 pm. He’s not a napper, but he has taken a few here lately. FOUR. What’s better on a cold, wintery day than a warm, snuggly puppy? Scout has really been my pal these past few weeks. She also turned 3 years old on January 9th (we have yet to get her a birthday gift)! FIVE. This little sweetie always keeps us smiling. She gets so excited over everything, even eating cereal! She’s such a good reminder of how even the simplest things can bring so much joy. HAPPY FRIDAY!

halloween 2019

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Our Halloween was a little different this year because we were out of town due to Karl’s wedding, which was the night before. We were able to visit with family and trick-or-treat in my parents’ neighborhood, which was a fun opportunity. Since we weren’t home, we did miss a few of our usual Halloween activities, like trick-or-treating at Daddy’s work and the annual church trunk-or-treat.

Kaya also woke up with a fever, aches, and chills on the morning of Halloween, so she missed out on most of the trick-or-treating. Kaelyn was really lost without her best buddy, which you can see in the group pictures.

Everyone was also content to wear costumes we already had, so we didn’t buy anything new this year. I was grateful that they were fine with keeping it simple.

Eve wore the lion costume that Nella wore two years ago, which is still just as cute as ever. She wasn’t very interested in pictures, but she was fascinated by the leaves. Oh my heart. Too much cuteness.Nella wore the elephant costume! It’s so fun to think of my three oldest all having worn it now.This was the first year I couldn’t really get everyone on board with a family theme, and then when Kaya ended up sick, Michael stayed home with her and didn’t worry about a costume. I’m glad I still got this picture of him with Nellbells!This giraffe costume always makes me giggle a little. Kaelyn was almost too tall for it! This is her giraffe face, I think. Haha.They weren’t really into group pictures without Kaya.I have always wanted to be a witch for Halloween, so I created my own version of the Wicked Witch to go with Eve’s lion costume (although there is absolutely nothing ”cowardly” about this brazen girl)! I had so much fun doing some different-than-usual make-up.My Dad had this brand-new wolf mask that  he was so excited to wear. The mouth really moved and everything, which made it a little scarier than it’d seem.My Dad, Mom, and I took all the kids except Kaya out around the neighborhood for a while. They were so happy to take their grandkids trick-or-treating for the first time ever, and I’m glad we could all do it together.Eve ate any candy she could get her hands on before we figured out that she shouldn’t be allowed to hold her bucket. She came home with a very chocolatey face! Kaya stayed home with Michael and handed out candy on the porch. She finally felt well enough to eat something, and so when we returned with the younger girls, she said she wanted to try to go out for a bit. It was just her and I, which felt really special. She also got a lot of candy, because by this time, people were wrapping up and just dumping all the candy they had left into her bucket. Toward the end of our time, a thunderstorm started, so we ran home just before the rain poured down.My mom baked some sugar cookies that everyone decorated at the end of the night. It was the perfect way to finish the day.We traveled home the next day, and as it turned out, our town had postponed Halloween due to horrendous weather.  Kaya wasn’t up for going out, but I took Kaelyn and Nella around our neighborhood for a bit and had a lot of fun. I was excited we got to have a second, unexpected, Halloween.

pumpkin painting (2019)

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The girls were so excited to paint their pumpkins for Halloween! This is a tradition we started back when Kaya was only two years old, and I really love how it’s evolved over time. Painting gives them the freedom to create whatever they can imagine. Kaya made a ladybug to match her Halloween costume!Kaelyn’s favorite thing in the whole world is a Dalmatian… so you can guess what she made! Nella was very serious about this job. She didn’t make a design, but she did choose these specific colors. Eve… well… She did what she always does… make a HUGE MESS! She also tried to eat paint (thankfully, it’s nontoxic) and ended up with it pretty much everywhere. I’m really glad I put this brown paper down first to at least catch some of the mess. She was having a good time, anyway.She did get some paint on her little pumpkin!
 Kaya had the idea to put some pipe cleaners on hers as antennae. So creative! I love it.Cutest little Dalmatian.Nella painted the entire thing! I made a quick “Sally” from The Nightmare Before Christmas! I loved all their designs, and I was amazed to see how their skills and creativity have really grown over the last few years. I hope this is a tradition they’ll always want to do!

pumpkin picking (2019)

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It’s the final day of 2019- I can’t even believe it! It might almost be 2020, but I’m still determined to get caught up on all the fall holidays and winter activities from this season. I’m really hoping I’ll be able to make more time for blogging and sharing photos in 2020. I’ve realized that it’s a much-needed creative outlet for me, not to mention, I love writing all of these posts for the girls to read someday. It’s been a little easier to work on posts since we’ve been off of school most of this month.

So… back in October, we went to our favorite pumpkin patch at Joe’s Trees! We took our traditional hay ride up to the field! It wasn’t busy at all this day, which was really nice. I like it when we have the place mostly to ourselves.Those rolling hills just take my breath away.We found the farmer-face cutout up by the corn maze this year! I love seeing how much the girls change every year they do this!We went through the corn maze, which turned out to be the perfect challenge. There have been years when it’s been way too easy, and other years when we’ve been lost and going in circles. We figured this one out in a decent amount of time and were still happy at the end, haha. Nellie was afraid of all the bats and ghosts hanging in the maze, but she fell in love with every single scarecrow. Kaya, Kaelyn, and Nella all wanted pictures with each of them.Eve wasn’t a fan of getting out of the Ergo (we also realized she lost a shoe while we were in the maze, so we spent a while looking for it. Turns out, we had lost it on the hayride and someone else found it for us)! We headed over to a patch of pie pumpkins and let each girl choose one. Again with the scarecrows! Nella was really happy that this one was a girl with bows.I was happy to get a picture with all my girls, even if not everyone is looking and smiling. This is real life, guys.Eve was obsessed with holding every pumpkin she could, but she wasn’t into pictures until we were about to leave. Seriously, a baby with pumpkins is always one of my favorite things to photograph! We had such a great time, like we always do. I’m already looking forward to going back!

mill mountain zoo

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Back in the fall (when the weather was still warm and glorious!), we went up to Mill Mountain Zoo for the first time ever. It was the morning of Kaya’s birthday party, and we thought it would be a really fun activity to do with the Grandparents in town. Luckily for us, our friends, Ben and Brittany, were also in the area, and agreed to meet us there. We had quite a group! It wasn’t crowded at all, and it also happened to be a special-event weekend, where they had different booths set up by various nonprofits. The girls ended up getting various free things, like sunglasses, bouncy balls, cups, pencils, and bubbles. They even received several quality books courtesy of the public library.

Eve really knows how to rock a pair of sunglasses!Blowing bubbles kept Nella occupied for quite a while.The actual zoo was incredibly small, so we really only saw a few animals, but I really enjoyed the simplicity of it. Some favorites included this Snow Leopard……the Red Panda (who we also got to observe during feeding time!)… …the Bald Eagle……the Red Wolf…
…the Eastern Screech Owl……and some turtles! The girls loved seeing all of these in real life so much.There were also some fun crafts, like this paper Red Panda and some pinwheel flowers! While the older girls did crafts, Eve had some Grandma snuggles and snacks.She also loved having some extra play time with Daddy. Her cute little belly button peeking out in this one really gets me.We all went to an “Animal Encounter” show, where we learned some facts about ferrets, and the girls even got to pet one. Afterward, we waited for the zoo train, which only runs once an hour. Ben read a book to everyone while we were in line.I also took a bunch of pictures while we waited, because why not?Yay! So happy I could spend some time with Brittany.And my mom!Baby switch! No one was quite ready for this picture.We squeezed onto the train, all except grandparents because we literally took up the entire thing. It was such a fun little ride!We went around the zoo twice!Ben and Brittany headed home, but we stayed a little longer so we could do some of the extra activities. We met a giant Red Panda!Kaya and Kaelyn both had their faces painted. This might have been the highlight of the trip for them. I loved watching their reactions when they looked in the mirror for the first time. Cutest little kitty. Sweetest little Dalmatian.This is surely one of my favorite memories. I’m grateful for all of these amazing Grandparents and our wonderful friends. Those smiling faces are everything to me.

first day of homeschool (2019)

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I feel like I shouldn’t be writing “first day” at all, mostly because we didn’t have an official start to the year. I took these pictures back in August, when public school started again. I love looking at these and comparing how much the girls have grown by the end of the following spring, so even if they aren’t technically “first day” photos, they are still “start of the year” photos, and they are so, so valuable to me.

We did school throughout the summer. I gave everyone about four weeks off between May and June, unsure of what our exact school plans would be during this typical “vacation” period. I quickly found that we all work better with structure, and so, we continued on with our studies. We did simplify, which meant working only on language arts and math during the summer months. When August rolled around, we added everything else back in (handwriting, spelling, science, history, and typing).

I cannot believe I have a 2nd grader, a kindergartener, and a preschooler this year. How on earth does time move this quickly? Nella has yet to start any formal lessons, but she has enjoyed having her sisters teach her what they know from time to time.

Because we didn’t take a long summer break, we’re currently taking off every Friday. This leaves a free day for doctor appointments, play dates, more in-depth chores, and unstructured play. Fridays are when we take an extra-deep breath and “just” be a mom and four kids. Fridays feel so simple, but keeping them open this way has been really healthy for all of us.

I sometimes let the heaviness of “doing it all” really weigh on me. It feels like a lot of responsibility, because it absolutely is.

Homeschool has definitely been a huge personal sacrifice.

But you know what?

It has also been a gift of immeasurable proportions. I get to have all my babies home with me, together, every single day. I watch that yellow school bus roll by in the morning, and I’m reminded of how grateful I am that I don’t have to say goodbye to Kaya and Kaelyn for eight full hours. I watch the bonds that all my daughters share, and I am beyond thankful that they’ve had this extra time to cultivate those relationships.

I also get to be there for all of their “ah-ha!” moments, when lessons just start to make sense and suddenly they understand what they’re learning, like truly reading fluently or doing multiplication. I cherish those times.

Sometimes, our school day looks like snuggling up to read books, watching a movie, baking, playing outside, or going to the library. All these things make my heart so full. Those are the days that make it all feel worth it.

Of course, there are days where sisters are fighting, no one wants to do their work, and a toddler is screaming all morning. These are the days that have me doubting everything I’m doing. We are all trying so hard, and I hope that’s what they’ll remember one day when they look back on these years.

Something I’m really trying to master this year is balance. Balance between schoolwork, playtime, housework, and my own “self-care” or hobby time. I’m really hoping I can come back here at the start of summer and say that I learned something significant about balance, but I have a feeling that I might just have to be okay with knowing that I can’t do everything all at once. Sometimes, I’m going to be a little behind in one (or more) of those categories. Maybe finding balance just means I need to find peace with that.We’re already about halfway through this year’s curriculum, and I can’t believe how much these little ladies have grown. Despite the difficult days, I’m thankful for this extra-special added role I have as their mama.

five on friday! (11/15)

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We’re halfway through November already. I really can’t believe it! I’m trying my best to get caught up on here before the holidays start.

ONE. Our beloved Kangaroo Kids class has officially ended until next year. I have just as much fun as the girls do, and I really could make a whole post out of it, but I’ll just keep it to the highlights here.They loved this new inflatable pizza.Kaya and Kaelyn ask about these hopper balls nearly every week. These were one of my favorite things in my elementary school gym class, too.Bubble time is Evie’s favorite! She is also obsessed with the bounce house now that she screams when we get out of it!Eve is also now a pro basketball player. Her little ponytail and headband made this even more adorable!

Michael got to come with us to an evening class (unusual for us, but it was a make-up class), so I had extra time to bounce around with the girls. This is one of my favorite things for sure.

TWO. Michael went to a conference at Cornell University last week. He even had the opportunity to present! I’m so proud of him for all the amazing presentations he does and how well he represents his team at work.He got to enjoy some snow, but thankfully, it didn’t affect his flight home at all.So pretty! I love seeing other university campuses.The girls had a very hard time with him gone, which meant they were constantly waking up at night and crying. It was rough. We did do quite a bit of Facetiming with Daddy (and when you have four little girls, it’s totally normal to have a unicorn on your head)!Kaya sent Daddy this text, and I thought it was just the sweetest representation of how much she loves him.We’re happy to have him home!

THREE. Our children’s museum closed at the beginning of the year in order to renovate a new space and move! We really missed going, and it seemed like forever until it was finally done, but it opened last week! We went for the first time and had so much fun with all the new play areas.The girls loved the vet clinic and had to play there first, of course.Eve loves guinea pigs, so this piggy was her best friend for the rest of the day. (Also, those fuzzy boots on her just melt me!)Daddy had just as much fun building tall towers and knocking them over.Kaya became a builder!They had these benches that you could decorate with markers. Kaelyn surprised me by writing this on the bench, and I hope they never paint over it.Kaya made a cat, of course!FOUR. This one was from a few weeks ago, but I love time with our friends so much that I had to put it in here. We had a few play dates with Aaliyah and Talyah at the playground before it got so cold. The girls play together so well, and I am grateful for friends.FIVE. After a rough week with Michael being gone, and then the girls taking turns being sick, everything felt hard. Sometimes, I feel like I’m doing this whole motherhood thing wrong, and I get discouraged. Without ever knowing how much this means to me, Nella took the special sticker she got at Kangaroo Kids (hearts are her very favorite), put it on a paper, and added some yellow scribbles. She gave it to me and said, “I luh you”. My heart melted.These precious little moments are what get me through the hard days.Happy Friday!

the sunflower festival

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We had a day in September that felt really special to me. I had been talking to Michael about how much I really wanted to see a field of sunflowers, but there weren’t any in our area that I knew of. He randomly found a sunflower farm (Beaver Dam Farm) that was having a festival about an hour away, and when he said, “Let’s go”, I might have been even more excited than the kids.We headed up there in the afternoon, after Michael attended our church’s stake service project and the girls and I had done all our chores around the house. The weather was warm but just slightly overcast, making for some of the best pictures.I was a little surprised to see all the thousands of sunflowers facing the same direction. After a Google search, I learned that sunflowers display “heliotropism”, a behavior where they follow the sun across the sky, until maturity, when they generally face east.Nella was really not into pictures this day. See her little hat squished into Daddy’s leg?We had a lot of fun taking a bunch of pictures. It was so beautiful out there being surrounded by the sunflowers and seeing the mountains in the distance.This is one of Kaelyn’s most natural smiles that I have photographed. I love it.Daddy was the baby-wrangler this day. He carried Evie the entire time, and although Nella didn’t want to take pictures, I still love this one because it shows how much Michael loves his girls.Sunshine feeds my soul. I’m so grateful for these outdoor days with my family.There were calves and a miniature horse to pet, which everyone loved, especially Nella. We got some kettle corn and boarded the hay ride!The flowers look like they stretched on for miles here.Kaya used her camera to take pictures the entire time, too.Nella warmed up to photos a little once we gave her kettle corn. All the girls were obsessed with it!We ended the day with snow cones- lemon lime for me, cotton candy for the girls, and a Dr. Pepper float for Michael. I guess we just need to give Nella treats to get her to smile for me!We bid the sunflowers goodbye and headed home. It’s one of those days I’ll always love remembering.

five on friday! (10/18)

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Happy Friday! I have a lot of small things to share that have brought me so much joy this week, so I’m glad to squeeze this post in just before Friday ends. Little things really are my favorite.

ONE. I have to start with these adorable matching sisters! I know I’m biased, but come on… that ear-to-ear grin on Nella and Eve’s insanely-blue eyes? They are really becoming little buddies with a perfect sibling relationship, meaning that sometimes they play and hug, and other times, they push each other and fight over toys. I really love seeing them interact, and having them wear the same shirts that Kaya and Kaelyn wore four years ago just completely melts my heart. They’re my next inseparable duo, just like their oldest sisters. TWO. Kangaroo Kids started up again, and these girls could not be happier. I love seeing them jump, climb, balance, and pretend. Nella has started asking, “Go Bim Bam” when she wants to go to our class, because at the end, we usually sing a few songs, including this one called Razzama Tazzama. Watching her have fun is just the greatest.Eve is all over the place now, walking and climbing on everything. She really wants to keep up with her sisters.THREE. Kaya and Kaelyn have been making some pretty fun art lately. Kaya started this one out as a galaxy, but it somehow turned into a rainbow, as most of her creations do!

Kaelyn made this card for Kaya. It says, “Kaya, I hope you like this card. I love you Kaya.” She even made a little “frame” for it (they learned how to do that from Mr. Rogers), and attached a cute turtle at the bottom. She’s so thoughtful.

This one is from Kaelyn, to me. She drew me outside with flowers and a butterfly!Kaya has also been really into making these bubble/block letters. She sometimes writes notes on the magnadoodle board and leaves them for me to find.FOUR. I got to do a photo session for a family Michael knows through work this week, and we had a lot of fun. Michael met up with me on location so he could take the kids, but they ended up staying and playing with the other family’s little girl, which was a blast. We all went to dinner afterward, and I’m still excited about the dreamy lighting we had.Those little arms reaching around Daddy for a hug… ahhhh my heart!FIVE. Kaya came down with a cold on Thursday, so she’s done quite a bit of sleeping, and we’ve had modified school lessons. We even counted watching The Magic School Bus as science, which everyone really really loved!In between sleeping, she’s read over 100 pages of Because of Winn-Dixie. I’m so proud of my avid reader! She can’t wait to see the movie when she’s finished.Happy weekend!