Emily is 9!

This was my first attempt to do any real cake decorating. With some supplies and tips from a friend, it turned out great. I'm very proud of myself. We made one for the family party to try it out and another one for her friend party. Emily did some of the decorating herself and had a blast doing it. We made a guitar cake since her party was with her dance teacher and they were going to dance to music from High School Musical and Hannah Montana.

Notice the side ponytail-that is her favorite hairdo now. The first time she did her hair that way (I don't know where she got the idea) my first thought was, that was how I used to do my hair, is that style really back in? I guess it is. She spends lots of time doing her hair now, often changing it multiple times a day.

Ashley couldn't get enough of the balloons!

She was pretty happy to turn 9. She'd been looking forward to and planning her birthday for months!

The kids all had a great time at the party.

The Sunday after her birthday, a friend at church mentioned to me that Emily is looking more like a tween and not like a little girl. I realized she's right, Emily is not a little girl anymore. She's interested in more grown up things and wants to look and dress more grown up. She is still very thoughtful, kind, helpful, organized, a good friend, and lots of fun to be with. We love her!

Oaks Park

A few weeks ago, we took the girls to Oaks Amusement Park for the afternoon. The girls have been begging to go since it didn't work out last summer with me being pregnant. We had such a great time. There were hardly any lines, the weather was perfect, (warm, but not hot) and the girls were really brave.The big slide is always a favorite!

I was impressed with how comfortable Nicole was going on the rides. Of course it helped that her sisters were always right there with her.

I especially couldn't believe Nicole wanted to go on this ride. I really thought she would get scared once it started, but she was smiling and giggling the whole time.

This is Ashley right before her first carnival ride. She went on a few with us and I think she liked it.

I'm so glad Matthew doesn't mind going on spinning rides, because I hate rides like that. I don't like getting dizzy.

Emily was so excited to ride the spider, the line had been too long last time we came.

We got free ice cream with the special that day and Ashley enjoyed a few bites off my finger.

Finished the day with the Go-Karts.

Strawberry Picking

We went strawberry picking the day after school got out. We got some friends to come with us which made it more fun. I really expected the girls to think it was boring and get tired of it real quick, but they had a blast. We had 2 buckets and they filled one themselves, I think they picked more than me. I love seeing these rows and rows of strawberry plants, so beautiful!


I was hoping Ashley would just hang out here, but she didn't like it too much. She stayed there for awhile, but then I had to get her out and then I wasn't able to pick as much.

Ashley figured out very quickly what strawberry picking is all about and started putting everything in her mouth she could find. It was pretty hard to keep her out of the plants.

We picked 15 pounds. I went home and spent the next 2 days making 3 batches of jam, smoothies and milkshakes, a strawberry pie, and froze or ate the rest. I LOVE Oregon strawberries.

Yes, that is the finished kitchen in the background. I just haven't taken the final finished pictures yet. Hopefully soon!

Dance Recital

I am really behind on the blog, here goes to catching up!

Emily and Angela had their dance recital before school got out in June. They were in the same jazz class this year. The recital theme was "On the Radio" and their dance was to Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me." They loved that they were dancing to Taylor Swift. I know I am biased, but their dance and the costumes were the cutest in the whole show. Emily was one of the oldest in the class, so she really knew the dance well and many people commented to me afterward what a great job she did and how well she knew it.

What I was most proud of though is that they really had fun on stage! At the dress rehearsal, they were a little shy and looked at the teacher a lot even though they didn't need to, but I talked to them a lot about smiling and just having fun doing their dance and they really did! It was so fun to watch them dance, can't wait for next year!
Their boots were just fabric that went over their jazz shoes. Up on stage though they looked like real boots and were so cute!

We finished off the evening with a late dinner at Red Robin. It was a fun night out with just the older girls (younger two were at home with a sitter).

I'll post video of the dress rehearsal later.

Ashley is on the Move!

Ashley started crawling last week. I'm glad she waited this long, she is almost 10 months old. It is so fun to see her exploring new things around her! I have to constantly check her mouth because no matter how hard I try to keep things off the floor, she always finds some tiny piece of paper or a toy left behind by her sisters. We're still getting used to this.

Yesterday she found the piano and she loves to bang on it and look at her reflection.
Coming to get the camera!

She is still our biggest baby. At her 9 month appt, she was 23 pounds, 28.5 inches long. I love her chubby legs!