Nine Years

Nine years ago I became a Mom. Even though it's full of frustrations and craziness and half the time I have no clue what I'm doing, it truly is my dream come true - I've ALWAYS wanted to be a Mom! When Carly was born I had no idea how quickly and how deeply I could love a little person, and I love her even more now! Unfortunately, I sometimes forget that I am living my dream. (I think I maybe pictured it with less yelling and drama.) :) But it's also better and more rewarding than I could imagine (and when I have perspective, even the frustrating moments are pretty funny). I really am so lucky to have three healthy, cute, smart, funny, sweet, full-of-personality little girls! I love this part of President Uchtdorf's talk from the October 2012 Conference: 

Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end? We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”... There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.

So, I've been praying and trying to recognize my blessings and my happiness in the moment and I think I'm getting better at it. :)

For Carly's birthday this year she had a late-night movie party. Unfortunately it didn't quite turn out as she had planned which is kind of hard for someone who is a meticulous planner and perfectionist. And on top of that, there was one major party pooper (a girl who moped around and caused drama throughout the whole party). I wish I wouldn't have forgotten to take pictures of the party and decorations! :( But here are some recent pictures of Carly:

 Carly and her BFF - we are so glad that she and Carly are friends. They are only 4 days apart, but notice the height difference!

 Carly only asks me to do her hair about 3 times a year, so of course I had to take a picture. 

Opening some birthday presents before school.

Back to School

In our village (seriously, we live in a village within a township) there is an elementary school for k-2nd and another elementary school for 3rd and 4th. So, Carly and Ellie go to different schools this year.

 Waiting for the bus with our neighbor. 

Carly - 3rd Grade!

Ellie - 2nd Grade!

Aubree and I had such a great first day of school. (She's staying home with me again this year.) We took a nice walk to Wilcox Park and then to Other Tiger Bookstore where we hung out and read books for over an hour. We walked home and met Daddy at home for lunch. Afterward I had Aubree go upstairs for a quiet time with books (I was pretty sure she wouldn't take a nap since she didn't all summer), but when I went to check on her she had tucked herself in for a nice afternoon nap!

Ellie had a wonderful first day of school - she loves her teacher, her classmates, school in general...
Carly on the other hand was not in a good mood - apparently she has the worst 3rd grade teacher and no BFF's in her class (just regular friends). Poor Carly. I've been telling her that she can be like Anne of Green Gables - always making other people (even people who are hard to get along with) like her.

Family happenings

 Now that we're in our little branch we get to have the missionaries over for dinner every week. Here we are with Sister Blair and Sister Preszlar. Sister Blair's first name is Christine, but she told me that her sister and a lot of other people call her Camile. Totally random, but pretty cool - Camile is a good name.

 The girls have been taking karate lessons. I just about die whenever I see Aubree in her little outfit doing her karate moves! (She is quite possibly the cutest human being on earth... in my humble opinion.)

 Nanny Nette sent Aubree some makeup when she found out that Aubree was always sneaking my makeup. (Stephanie and I used to have a hard time sharing our makeup and we would fight about it. I guess with three girls I'll finally have to learn to share my makeup - I was just hoping to wait a few more years.)

 Last time we went to the temple we went to Walden Pond. It was only a 12 minute drive away - so we will definitely be doing this again. Here we are in a replica of Henry David Thoreau's home. I read part of Walden Pond a few years ago, so it was really neat for me to be there.

 Me and my man Thoreau

 Walden Pond - we all LOVED being there! The girls thought it was nice to swim in fresh water and I loved being somewhere so historical and beautiful.

 Mystic Y beach - one of the only free beaches I've found in our area.

 The girls went to their first vacation bible school (VBS) last week and had a fabulous time! There are VBS's pretty much every week of the summer put on by different churches in the community. I chose the Baptist church that my friend goes to and was really happy with how they organized it and what a positive experience it was for the girls. I think it was a good way for them to see the positive things in other churches and how much we have in common. And last but not least (in fact probably top of my reasons why) I also enjoyed having a free break for three hours every day - unfortunately I got very little accomplished.

Aubree won these cool sunglasses at VBS.

 Aubree and her friend at the VBS BBQ.

 The Mormons, the Catholics and the Baptists at the BBQ

 Playing Apples to Apples. Aubree would just choose random cards from her pile and she ended up winning by a landslide.

 I taught Carly and Ellie how to hand stitch some little dresses for their stuffed animals. Here's Carly's end product.

This is what Aubree would look like with bangs.

When I saw these at the candy store it brought back happy memories of when my Dad would come home from a business trip and bring us Neccos.

Mini Vacation

Our branch president and his family left town for a week and they asked us to house-sit and watch their dog and get their house ready for church on Sunday. We gladly accepted!

Enjoying the beautiful view from the master bedroom balcony

We love the pretty boats that we sailing past each day

 Aubree taking a soak in the bathroom. The whole house is this pretty.

 Jumping off the dock (plus a picture of the beautiful home in the background)

 Aubree treasure hunting

Some of the treasures. The girls are pretty sure the key goes to a pirates treasure chest. We think the top middle one is a bovine tooth.

 A trip to Ender's Island with Sandy (the dog we were taking care of). There is a monastary on the island with some pretty gardens.

 The girls watched a LOT of tv - but hey, we're on vacation.

 But just because we're on vacation doesn't mean the girls don't fight. So I put them on this raft to go out to sea. :)

 Taking a nice little stroll through the neighborhood

 Kayaking - doesn't Aubree look cute?!

 Crabbing with a girl they met next door. They caught about 15 crabs.

We sure had a good time pretending we lived in this fancy house! We're heading back to our 113 year old home tonight.

Lovin' the Beach

 Ridin' the waves!

Aubree's idea of riding the waves is to lay on the board on the sand and wait for the waves to come.

Unfortunately, the last time we went to the beach Carly was stung by a jellyfish! We might have a hard time getting her back in the water next time. Vinegar kills the venom, so I think I'll just take a spray bottle of vinegar with me to the beach from now on.