(Mental Snapshot)

I thought I would just post quickly some of the little things my kids are doing right now, so I won't forget them. The other day Elle was outside with me while it was getting ready to rain but the sun was breaking thru the clouds. She looked up and said, "Oh Jesus is coming down, he's coming right now!" It was so cute and funny and just made me realize how much faith little ones have. Riley has been bored out of his poor little mind. He is constantly talking about his cousins, and how much fun he could have if we were in Utah. He talks about how Byron would act like an old man and chase them around. He also was sad like us all that he wasn't able to go to Bear Lake with the cousins. He nearly cried when we watched the video Becky posted for us. I feel horrible when he has a hard day and will be glad when he has been able to make some friends, it is hard to only have your baby sisters to play with. The other day I put him and Brooke in time and then forgot that I had. It had been quiet for a while so I went and tracked him down, he was laying in his bed crying. I asked him what was wrong and he just told me he was tired and bored. Again, I had forgotten he was in timeout so I just said OK, take a nap. It was only later that he asked how long he was going to have to be in time out that I realized what I had done. Whoops! Awesome mom moment. After I went to check on Brooke and she had fallen asleep on her bed. It did make for a quiet afternoon. Riley is super helpful and always looking for ways to help, he definitely is a first born and sometimes forgets to just be little and not worry about everyone else. He is anxious to start school. Brooke is always wearing her heart on her sleeve. We were watching Cheaper by the Dozen the other day and she started crying. She also started crying at Charlotte's Web, and Chronicles of Narnia. She just is emotional and it is pretty darn sweet to see her be so empathetic. She is starting Kindergarten this year and is so excited. She keeps wanting to try on her backpack. I don't know what I am going to do without her home with me. It is full day kindergarten so that is even harder...on me. So this fall it will be just Elle and Momma, that is going to be weird. But I am thinking I will be able to catch up on some of the things in my life that have been neglected. Life is good, busy as usual and I find myself needing to really slow down and enjoy the moments. I have found myself trying to take mental pictures of the kids doing different things, because I know soon it won't be cool for Riley to play school with his sisters, and Brookie won't be happy with Elle nipping at her heels like a puppy. They are growing too fast and I want to try and remember all the good and the bad.

The game of Life

Well here we are in Texas. We are getting more and more settled everyday and are slowly adjusting to the heat and humidity. We happened to move here during record breaking heat and I guess it was a good way to jump right in. The weather this past week has actually been really pleasant minus the humidity. The kids and I spend a lot of time inside as it is usually too hot to spend more than 15-20 minutes outside at a time. Bed times are all but lost around here as we usually go outside around 8:00pm when it has finally cooled down enough. Yep 2 posts in the past year and I am writing about the weather. It has been hard moving to a new area yet again, This was our 11th move in 10 years and it is almost getting harder with each time. Hopefully we will be here for a little longer than previous times. The kids are adjusting to the move good but miss their cousins. We have all had out bouts of homesickness. We especially wish we were going home for the Lillywhite reunion, and Candi's new baby Zacks baby blessing. A lot of tears have been shed and most of them have been mine. If I have learned anything through all these moves is how important family is and how you all should take advantage of living so close to one and other. The 4th of July just isn't the same with no extended friends and family to share it with. Wow, I sound whiny!!! Life really has been good and I have enjoyed getting to stay home with the babies all day. Riley is still just a good big brother who usually plays awesome with his sisters. I had been getting on him about waking up early and then sneaking into Brookes room to wake her up. Brooke is my girl that needs her sleep and if she doesn't get enough she is all drama all day. (In fact she is crying right now about Riley not wanting to play "puppy" with her, yeah drama) Well yesterday I found a note that said "Brooke, Come and play with me. Love, Riley". I asked Brooke what it was and she said Riley had put it in her room in the morning while she was sleeping but she didn't wake up. I just had to laugh, I guess there are worse things than a big brother wanting to play with his little sister. Elle is a character and a half. She makes me belly laugh at least once a day and makes me want to lock myself in the closet at least once a day. She is the funniest little girl, I need to post a video of her. Anyways hopefully I will be more current with my blog postings and post some stuff on our awesome vacation. Oh the creepy cruiser, super sunsoaker and all the other characters. Such a good time. Anyhow until then....

Silly babies....

So today is another day spent in our pj's we watched "Over the hedge" and had a delicious lunch of peanut butter sandwiches. I was looking over some pictures that are overflowing on our SD cards and came across this video. I had to laugh out loud. This was last Sunday night while I was at work. I guess Tom decided to have a band with the kids. I like to think Brookie got her awesome air guitar skills from me. Tom is better at remembering to just "play" with the babies than I am. What a good daddy Tom is, I'm one lucky girl...

We're back.....

We finally broke down today and signed up for Comcast Internet...finally. This is the first time in nearly 5 years that we have had to pay for Internet so I can't really complain, we had a good run... Tom is almost done with finals and I could not be happier. Just the internship that his new HR position will cover and we are done....YIPEE!!! I can't imagine a world without homework or finals...so nice. It has taken so long but has been worth it. On Wednesday Krystal, Kishell and I took all the babies on a free front runner ride. Lets just say 2 1/2 hours later I was wondering the wisdom of it all. We rode from the Roy station to the Woods Cross station and back. It was sooooooo busy, I guess that is to be expected when it's free. I had Elle strapped to my back in the back pack and Riley and Brookie walking. I had to stand the whole time from Woods Cross to Roy with Elle asleep in the back pack. My back was killing me and we were the entertainment for the fully loaded train. Amazingly no one was interested in offering us their seat...oh well. A group of Grandma and Grandpas did take Riley and Brookie on their laps (I was standing directly by them) for the whole ride back...Yes, Brookie wants to be kidnapped. All in all it was good that we went but I am looking forward to riding it tomorrow with the assistance of Tom. We are going to go with Candi and Kelly to gateway with the kids. I need a break and I guess that will do. Krystal came over tonight and we got stuff ready for the Mothers Day project group I am hosting next week so look for some pictures tomorrow. I'm gonna go cuddle in bed with my baby and hope that Tom will get home early again like last night (12:45am), I can't wait for a normal schedule....only 6 weeks...YIPEE!!!

Bed time stories...Lillywhite style...

Bedtime in our house is always interesting. With Tom's schedule at least 5 nights out of the week I go it alone. I have to say we have worked out a pretty good schedule and most of the time the kids are in bed and asleep by 9pm. We usually sing a song, read a book, and say prayers. Last night the kids decided they wanted to tell stories and this is what transpired. I especailly like how in Brookies version of Goldilocks and the 3 bears Goldilocks gets ran over. I realize how embarrased Riley gets when he is in front of the camera. I guess he is like his Daddy. Riley has been growing up so fast. I try and remember to slow down and enjoy these minutes because all too often I am just rushing to the next thing. What cute kids I have, I hope they know how glad I am that they are mine.