Changing direction

You know when you get married or you're about to have a baby and people give you tons of advice? Some of it you find useful and some of it goes in one ear and out another. When I got married to Jacob I remember someone telling me not to talk badly about him to other people, that I should try and highlight his good qualities when talking about him to friends. I really liked this and for the most part I've been successful at it. One of the reasons I like this is because it makes me forget the stupid little stuff he does that might sometimes annoy me because I'm remembering all the awesome things he does and qualities he has. It helps me to fall in love with him over and over again and reminds me how amazing he really is. Now where am I going with this you might ask? Well I'll tell you; for as good as I am at following this advice with my husband I've realized I'm not that good at applying this advice when it comes to my children. Now let me start by saying how much I love and adore my girls and they have AMAZING qualities but sometimes I look at those amazing qualities and I don't see them in the most positive light, I've realized that lately I've been more negative then positive and I want it to change. I've been trying to understand my girls more and how they're personalities work and how I can better understand and help them to be the best versions of themselves. So to help me along I wanted to write little letters to each of my girls and highlight and share what I love about them.

Savannah,
 You my dear girl were born to lead and there is no question in my mind why you were sent to our family first. Since I was pregnant with you I've known you would be full of energy and full of ideas and I was right. Your mind is always working and coming up with new and exciting ideas I just can't wait to see what you'll think of next because its never what I expect. Your creativity is beautiful, you see things in such a way that you capture them beautifully and in your own unique way.You're so confident, you have more confidence them some adults and you are fearless, nothing is unattainable for you. You are independent, you don't need the approval of others to influence your choices. You are an amazing problem solver, watching you work out a problem is fascinating because I get a small glimpse of how your mind works and its beautiful. You are passionate! You feel your emotions so strongly and this can make you so empathetic and caring. You are loyal, you defend those you love with passion and care for them with such tenderness when they are hurt. You Savannah are one of a kind and it is such a privilege to be your mother.

Olivia,
 One of you strongest qualities is your sweetness. You have an amazing ability to make those around you feel joy and safe. I've seen you help bring people out of their shell and you're able to make almost anyone smile and laugh. You have an amazing energy about you. You are determined and are able to find ways to achieve whatever task is in front of you. You are aware of those around you and their feelings, you are very tender hearted and sensitive, you feel your emotions passionately and freely and you aren't embarrassed to let others know how you feel. You are kind and often put others before yourself. You are able to find happiness in the smallest things and you openly and freely show your love to those around you. Your love and spirit are infectious and it makes being your mother a joy.

Abigail,
 You possess this amazing ability to light up a room Abigail. Your laugh is infectious and you radiate happiness. You are determined!!! Nothing will stand in your way to accomplish your goal and you will find a way to achieve any task you set your mind too. You are smart, I love seeing how you look at the world and the things in it and you look outside the box. You see something for more then its intended purpose and you can see its greater potential. Watching you explore your world is a privilege, you are so curious to know how everything works and how you can make it work for you. You are SO brave!!! Fear does not stop you from doing what you want. You're active, you want to know what's going on around you and you want to see and experience life. You Abigail are a joy to love and take care of.

Have you ever done this with your kids? Actually taken the time to put into writing what it is you love about them? Maybe I'm just not as on top of it as some of you but its amazing. As I wrote about each of my girls I could feel my love for them growing as I relived memories and saw my girls the way their Heavenly Father must see them.

Slow Down!

Where is time going?! I cannot believe how fast the days are flying by.Since my last post quite a bit has happened so here is the run down.

Savannah started kindergarten!!! I still cannot get over the fact that this girl is big enough to be in school. She goes to all day kindergarten and loves it, it has also been so amazing to see how much she is already learning. She can spell a few words and is just starting read very small words as well. She made it into the 100 club last week and she was beyond proud of herself. (The 100 club is for kids who can count to 100.) This girl was made for school and I hope she continues to love it and to do so well.

Abby is now 14 months which is also crazy to think about, she is starting to look so grown up and she desperately wants to be a big girl like her sisters. She is an expert walker now, she climbs on everything, and has just started talking. She can say hi, daddy, mom, Nanna for Savannah, more, thank you, bye, uh-oh, no, and more. There are probabley more but I can't remember, also she says all these in her cute baby way but for those who are around her we know what she's saying.

Savannah also celebrated her 6th Birthday in September she had been looking forward to it for months and was so exited to celebrate with her new class at school. I asked her some question on her birthday and her answers are below; What's your favorite color?, What's your favorite thing to eat?, What's your favorite thing to do?, What's your favorite movie?, What's your favorite thing about school?, and What's your favorite thing to do with your family? This little girl is amazing!!! She's such a smart girl, a fantastic big sister, so creative, fun, sassy, head strong, and passionate. There are so many things about Savannah that I admire she really is just the best.

We've also been trying to spend more time together sine Jacob is now done with school, the girls were excited when they found a butterfly in their pool.

We also went for little hike, poor Olivia got a blister so Savannah took a turn carrying her.

Abby with her BFF Jacob.

Savannah was convinced she was getting sunburned so she kept putting on more and more sunscreen.

The fair also came the end of September and as usual we had a blast! The girls had so much fun riding all the rides, getting their faces painted, seeing all the exhibits, and Savannah even rode a sheep!

One of my favorite things that happened the end of September was having a visit from my parents! We always love when they come and this visit was no exception. On their first full day with us we went to Bearizona and it was so fun. You drive threw part of the park and see bigger animals that can come right up to your car and then the second half of the park you walk threw. We saw all kinds of animals like bears, wolves, big horn sheep, bison, buffalo, otters, foxes, and some birds during the birds of prey show.

This was a shorter trip so they were only with us for 4 days but we had a blast hanging out, going out to eat, and exploring. I can't wait to see my parents again cause I can never get enough of them.

Also while my mom was here she took some pictures of the girls and I'm of course in love with them.

Lastly to start off our October we watched General Conference which as always was amazing! I love being able to hear from the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am always left wanting to hear more and looking forward to the next session in 6 months. I once again made conference packets for the girls and had huge success, I want to blog about them so I can have a place with all the info I need for next time.

Let the Parties Begin

Birthday season has arrived at our house, in the space of 3 months we have 4 birthday's to celebrate which makes for lots of fun and lots of tasty treats. Birthday season starts with this doll, Miss Olivia! I cannot adequately express how much I love and adore this now 4 year old. Olivia has one of the sweetest temperaments and she loves to make others laugh, it never fails that she will put a smile on your face. Just being around her makes me happy and fills me with joy, she's the best cuddle buddy, and just a total delight. It is honestly crazy for me to think she's been a part of our family for 4 years already and that every moment of them has been so wonderful.

We had a joint party for Olivia and Abigail because the girls birthday's are only 9 days apart. I had a lot of fun making their cakes this year and I was really happy with how they turned out. We had a small dinner at our house with some friends, it was a great night filled with yummy food, happy kids, and great company.

Another thing that's crazy is that this girl turned one! This year literally flew by and I'm still having a hard time believing that it really has been a whole year since this little girl joined our family. Abby really is practically perfect in every way to quote Mary Poppins. Her laugh is infectious, she is so adventurous and will do whatever it takes to try and keep up with her big sisters, she gives the best kisses, she knows what she wants, and she's one of the happiest children I've ever met.

These two girls are just amazing and I cannot even imagine my life without them in it, its like before they were born I didn't know what I was missing and now that I have them I never want to let them go.

Summer Family Vacation

To warn you now, this post has a ton of pictures in it so be prepared. Around the middle of July we were invited to go on a little hunting trip with some good friends of ours. The boys hunted coyotes and us girls had fun hanging out around the time share. We were there for 4 days and it was fantastic to say the least. All of us had a great time and it was nice to be able to get away and do something fun. The guys would head out early each morning and hunt pretty much the whole day and they were quite successful as well which you'll see at the end of this post. Us girls had fun walking to the pond,

playing on the playground,

exploring,

swimming, swimming, and more swimming,

and just having fun.

We were able to see some horses while we were there and the girls couldn't have been happier,

Jacob also took the girls fishing one night.

This guy had a blast hunting and was beyond excited because he got three coyotes during the trip.

Overall we had a blast and felt so grateful our friends invited us and our energetic kids to come with them.