Beautiful Chaos

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter 2015

Gorgeous Cherry Blossoms in our back yard Easter morning

Easter goodies

Lilly- 7 years old

Afton- 7 years old

Lizzie- 11 years old
Lucky- 7 years old :)

L squared- Lizzie and Lilly

Our 3 girls! So Lucky!

Story of my life-
with 3 girls it seems at least one is always upset about something :)

Ethan- 12 years old.
Or Secret Service Ethan since his glasses tint in the sun.

Our 4 beautiful, awesome kids!!!

And now standing, mostly to show height difference.

I thought this was funny- twins finding eggs in a very twin way :)

Me and my 7 year old cuties!

Opening up the eggs!

Checking out treasures!

Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Jim and I have been wanting to do one on one time with the kids for awhile. With 4 kids it is trickier to find time just with one child. After about 2 years of talking about it ( I know), we decided to just start! So each week we will take turns. The kids get $10 for their activity. Whatever they don't use can be rolled over to their next turn. We just rotate through the kids each week and they rotate what parent they go with.

Week #1 Lizzie's turn- (3/17/15)- Lizzie and I went and saw the new Cinderella movie. It was way cute and it was fun to go with just Lizzie. Plus on Tuesdays movies are only $5!!

Week #2 Afton's turn- (3/28/15)- Afton wanted to go ride the Scheels ferris wheel with Jim. Then they stopped at Artic Circle afterwords and got an ice cream.

I was teasing Jim he may have had a little
competition on his date night with Afton :)

I just love these two pictures.

Jim is such a good dad to his 4 kids.

Afton's face is so happy to be spending some time with her dad.

Week #3- Lilly's turn (3/31/15) She also wanted to go to the ferris wheel at Scheels with Jim. She chose to spend her money on TWO ferris wheel rides :)

Lilly didn't want to sit on Abe's lap like Afton did.

Beginning of first ferris wheel ride. Super excited!

This picture cracks me up. Here they are near the top.
She is quite nervous. But loved it enough to want to go again :)

I am really hoping we can keep this going. We have really enjoyed seeing the kids get excited thinking about what they want to do when it is their turn. It is win/ win for Jim and I too.

Friday, March 27, 2015

7th Birthday Fesitivities

Tonight we wrapped up birthday festivities for Afton and Lilly..... They kinda got a week long celebration.

-Sunday March 22nd- Family Party for Afton, Lilly and Bella

-Monday March 23rd- Family Spotlight for Family Home Evening. A little tradition we do here.

-Tuesday March 24th- Birthday Eve. They chose ice cream at Leatherby's. Grandma and Grandpa Harrison met us there.

-Wednesday March 25th- Actual Birthday. They wore their Birthday shirts to school. I made their favorite dinner (Fettucinne Alfredo). Jim and I gave them each a Razor scooter. They have been wanting a big girl one with only two wheels for awhile. Lizzie gave them a big bouncy ball and Ethan gave them some Beanie Boos stuffed animals.

-Friday March 27th- Friend Party. This year they wanted a Mermaid/ Under the Sea Party.

Invite

Once everyone arrived they made their own take home gifts (a beach scene and a necklace),

We had a little scavenger hunt and then had our under the sea dinner which included

starfish sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly with a star cookie cutter)
seashell pasta salad
ocean mist (lemonade with blue food coloring) that included ice cubes in the shape of star fish or fish
crab legs (carrots) and seaweed sticks (celery)

Then they had some cupcakes. I thought they turned out so cute. Lizzie helped me with the gummy bear idea.

We opened presents and then I sent them downstairs to watch Mermaidia for the last 45 minutes. It was fine and parties seem to be getting easier the older the kids get.

A lot of very cute 6 and 7 year olds!!!
-Rachel, Lilly, Miley, Willow, Lillia, Afton, Reagan,
Izzy, Maya, Hailey, Charlotte, Josie, Brooke-

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

7 x 2

I hate blinking..... every time I blink it seems I have another reminder my kids are getting older. I can't believe my "babies" are 7! Happy Birthday Afton and Lilly!!! From the moment we found out we were pregnant with twins, our lives changed forever. How grateful we are to have you in our family. You add much more beauty, pink, NOISE and just plain fun.

AFTON- This girl is still the cuddler and has such a big heart. She will give away something of hers if she knows someone wants it. She still gets very anxious, nervous during suspenseful parts of TV shows. In the last year has totally rocked it in the reading area. She has just made leaps and bounds which makes us so proud. Still has curly hair. Some days I just don't know what to do with it so we put it in braids a lot. The top layer is a very loose curl and underneath are very tight curls.

LILLY- our poser and talker girl. Seems to always be talking and thinking about something. Is very particular about her clothing and has been known to pick out an outfit for an occasion days in advance. Still likes things in a particular order. HATES doing any sort of jobs around the house. Does very well in school and loves to do homework. Hates to practice piano though. Has a very infectious laugh. When she is happy we love it!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY
BEAUTIFUL GIRLS!!!!

Friday, March 13, 2015

Lego exhibit

Fashion Place Mall was hosting a Lego Americana Roadshow traveling exhibit. So of course we had to go :) It was amazing to look at the Lego creations of some of America's icons. Our 12 year old boy really liked the evening too.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

A taste of winter...

This winter has been a very weird one. We have had a total of probably 2 snowstorms here in the valley all winter long. For a girl, who usually HATES winter with a passion- it was surprising for me to miss snow and cold this winter. So last weekend our friends the Roberts invited a few of us up to their cabin in Oakley to play in and enjoy the snow and get a little taste of winter.