Happy 4th of July!

I couldn't resist posting this cute pic of Aislynn in her 4th of July outfit (an hour later, she was pulling the bows out of her hair...so enjoy the pic!). We also had Vacation Bible School at our church last week...the last few pic's are from that! I was dressed as Snow White (it was an amusement park theme). The kids had a great time, learned fun songs and Bible verses, and made cool crafts (that was my department :) Happy 4th of July!





I can't resist...another cute one of Aislynn:

Aislynn's First Steps on Video!

Aislynn is 11 months old now, and has been taking 1-3 steps, (followed by falling) all week. This is my best video catch of her standing and then taking a couple of steps! She also is being a very good secretary by guarding the phone for me. :) 'Hard to believe my little girl is getting so big!

Happy 5th Birthday Titus!

Titus wanted a Speed Racer party (Speed Racer is the newest Disney flick to hit the theaters; The boys have seen it, but I have not, so I can't tell you what it's about first-hand....something about racing cars I'm assuming...Ha!). The night before his party, Titus helped me stuff his car pinata full of candy. I think he enjoyed that almost as much as breaking it back open later to get the candy out! Then in the morning, I had a surprise for him: Lucky Charms for breakfast!!!! (No matter how much they beg, I don't give in to my children's requests for sugar cereal when we are at the grocery store, so this was a real treat!).
Titus's friends came to our house, ate Speed Racer happy meals (well, some of them ate them; Some just took the toy car out and went on to the trampoline!), lined up to hit the pinata, ate cupcakes and homemade Oreo ice-cream, and went swimming. It was our first swim party of the year, and the kids that dared to enter the water didn't seem to mind that it was only 80 degrees out (I think last year it was almost 100 by now, but I'm not complaining!). Most importantly, Titus had a blast! He woke up the next morning saying, "Man, I can't believe I'm 5!"

Family Camp at Shaver Lake

I took my 4 kids and our good friend Kamaria with a nearby church to family camp up at Shaver Lake this weekend. Many people thought I was crazy to take 5 kids camping by myself, but I didn't believe any of them until I saw the HAIL as we were setting up camp....What did I get myself into??? The boy scout tents we stayed in were waterproof, but the entrances (2 of them in each tent) did not close completely, so it was quite a chilly, wet night. Despite having to snuggle Aislynn into my sleeping bag instead of in her playpen (I don't sleep well with a baby underpit), we made it through the night. I must say, I realized how nice it is to have boys when I had to leave the tent in the middle of the night to take Kamaria to the REAL bathroom....when the boys woke up to do the same, I just said, "Stand on the porch and make sure it lands in the dirt"! :) My favorite part of the weekend was making s'mores and being in God's beautiful creation instead of in Fresno! Oh, the tri-tip dinner Saturday night was unbeatable too! The kids would say their favorite thing was fishing....Titus AND Jaden both caught trout...our friend Garrett gutted and BBQ'd Titus's fish, but Jaden's catch is awaiting a visit from Papa. :) I have my limits....Hail, yes. Gutting fish, no. Kamaria and Noah's favorite part was probably climbing on all the rocks by the lake. Lots of good memories made!

Mother's Day

Need I say more? I am so blessed!

Aaron's News

My brother Aaron asked me to post pictures of him with his new girlfriend so that all you out-of-town family can see her. Serena is a very sweet girl who lives in the same apartment complex as Aaron. When I asked Aaron what he liked about her, he said, "She's pretty and beautiful". They also like to do activities in their complex together and go out to eat at fast food places. Congratulations Aaron on a new special person in your life! We look forward to getting to know Serena better too.

Quick catch-up

Man! Life has been so busy lately! Spring has sprung in Fresno, and all the busy activities of life are becoming busier for a few more weeks and then will come to a sudden END! SUMMER IS IN SIGHT!!! This last month, Aislynn started crawling, and she also had her first Fresno-ripe strawberries (see pic below of her thoroughly enjoying them!). Jaden is raising "meal worms" in his class, so they can watch them cycle through the pupa stage and into beatles...I sure am glad that "pupa" was a spelling word last week so I couldl learn how to spell it! :) Jaden also received his Sparky plaque last week, which is an award for finishing ALL THREE AWANA books for ages K-2. He was so excited to reach this goal...he memorized a lot of Bible verses to do so! I am enjoying the kids so much right now...but it seems I don't have as much time now that I have a crawler!

P.S. THe boys have already been in the pool...they say the water's great! Y'all are welcome any time to swim with us...Just call!








This is one of my favorite pic's from this month...Jaden and Titus walking down the sidewalk together hand-in-hand...AWWWWW!!!