Now we're just a little closer to winter {cue shoulder-shaking sobs}

Every time the summer ends it sort of breaks my heart. Last week MaShay & Jason stayed the weekend at our house after Maisey's party. We were outside on the porch, eating mango ice cream, playing Bocci in our jammies, with a beautiful end-of-the-summer-day sky on top of us. I live for those moments. 

We took a few trips over the past few months, but we did a lot of staying home. I tried to make fun stuff to do at home so I wouldn't have the life draining experiences of taking 4 tiny people to public places by myself, especially the kind of places that include possible drowning scenarios or me taking all of them to the bathroom every 10 minutes, while trying to breastfeed a baby. 

A friend asked me last week if I was ready for school to start. I told her I had mixed feelings about it. I love being around my kids and I love seeing them play together. But in the last few weeks, since Braden has been gone, we may have reached our capacity for one another. All of us. All of a sudden washing 2 swimsuits and three costumes and 2 sets of play clothes, and jammies, for each child, each day, got old. And feeding the entire neighborhood snacks or lunch got expensive. And trying to make it through the grocery store with the 4 of them in the time before Elise needed to take another nap, made me want to pick up some whiskey while I was there. 

I never wanted to be that Mom who hates summer break and longs for someone else to be with her kids all day. And I am definitely not that Mom. But I feel a little giddy at the thought of only having 2 of them with me in Costco, can't lie about that. 

I made moon sand! The kids love it! I do not love it. Pretty sure Braden despises it. Helps me find my kids because they leave a trail of it wherever they go.

I will miss summer nights when we have more time to let the girls stay up and play together. They love to wrestle each other to the ground. Braden and I like to sit on the couch and encourage them to attack each other. Because movies are too expensive these days.

Elise went swimming for the first time in St. George. I think she loved it. She smiled a lot. But she also smiles when she's covered in poop and hasn't slept for 4 hours so it's hard to say for sure.

We had to say goodbye to our neighbors, the Daws. I will always hate that part of military living. We get to meet lots of wonderful people but saying goodbye all the time has lost its charm.

One last hug for Zoe.

We played at the splash pad on several occasions with friends. Maisey in particular loves to play there.

The meeting of the minds:Are they plotting against us? I swear it's meetings like these where they're making their assignments for the order of waking me up that night. I've been saying it for years and now I have finally witnessed it.  "Okay, Maisey. Start us out around midnight. Let her get in an hour first because that makes it even more painful. Just walk up to her bed and do the creepy stare thing until she feels it. You can either stay there and ask to be tickled, or go back to bed. Your choice. As long as she wakes up. Then I'll wait about and hour or two- that's when she'll finally be falling back to sleep. I'll get up to tell her I had a bad dream. When I go back to my room that will wake up Lila, who will sing full voice until at least 4. By then Mom will be so frustrated She will get up to get a drink and that's when she'll hear Elise crying to eat.Ready.....Break!"

Anabelle started the summer spending all her time with a 4 year old friend. That friend moved. The neighborhood completely changed and now it's a group of girls who are mostly 10-12. I may lose my mind. She wants to go in their garages and listen to music and "hang out". I want her to play with ponies and pet shops. Not yet. This isn't supposed to be happening yet.

Typical

Also typical

Yep

uh-huh

And this....

And this too...

"Mom! We're wet! Let us in! Mom, we're stuck outside and we're nakie noodle. Mooooooooom". But I don't let them in. I let them dry in the sun. Save myself washing 2 towels.

First time in a swing.

I don't like it. Not one bit.

August 5th
Today is Maisey's third birthday. But she doesn't know it. Braden is gone so we are waiting to celebrate it when he gets back. I can't deny that I'm feeling rather broken up about it. It's no secret that I love age 2. I sometimes daydream of having all my kids as 2 year olds at the same time and imagine how hilarious dinner would be. I can only imagine feeling happy in Heaven if it somehow includes being the mother of toddlers forever. Sounds crazy, I know.

Maisey has been an absolute delight. I have treasured all the time I have spent with her while the other girls were in school. She has been my sidekick for the last few years as Braden has been gone a good part of her little life. We share a special bond for that reason.

I hope I never forget how it felt to have her run up to me throughout the day, throw her arms around me, and say "Love ya" or "squeeze ya" or hug ya". Or look up at me with hopeful eyes and say, "But can I come wif ya?" She gives the best arm/back/face tickles.

I saw a poem a while ago that I loved and made me think of my sweet little partner:

Hold her a little longer
Rock her a little more
Tell her another story
(You've only told her four)
Let her sleep on your shoulder
Rejoice in her happy smile
She is only two and a half for such a little while

What a 5 year old Lila-loopsy looks like

I took these pictures when Lila turned 5. I want to make sure I blog about them before she turns 6. Or 16. 

Braden and I saw this outfit while we were on a date one night (because although we try not to, we spend our time away from them quoting them and shopping for them). And it called out to us. We couldn't get over how cute Lila would look in it. It seemed to capture the essence of her- sweet, innocent, bright and fun. And that hat wasn't even on sale. If she ever questions my love for her, let it be known that I paid retail for something (at her Dad's insistence- I never would have done that without his bad influence). 

Lila's obsession over the past few months starts with an E and ends with lise. Sometimes that's a bit hard for me to manage. She has trouble focusing on anything other than her baby sister. She loves all babies actually, but she is partial to the cutest one ever, which happens to live in our house. 

She loves dogs and being outside. I often find her rocking outside by herself in the rocking chair or jumping on the trampoline. She loves beautiful music and can play several church songs by ear on the piano. She loves to swim, but not run through sprinklers. Many times throughout the day she will go outside and wander in the back yard playing with her imaginary friend "Achey", or "Achster "as she sometimes calls him. She loves a HOT bath. And she LOVES to wrestle. Her favorite animal is a butterfly. She loves spoonfuls of peanut butter, handfuls of pistachios, and will eat a carton of tomatoes with me. 

Her favorite things to do are crafts and play-doh. She plays well with Maisey and they spend most of their mornings playing "honey", a game where they pretend to be family and take care of each other. I just can't imagine where they came up with that story line. 

She has a giving heart that I admire. The other night we were eating dinner and we were having her very favorite food, seashell noddles with white sauce. It's the meal she picked to eat on her birthday. In the middle of dinner, when Lila has just started eating her noodles, and Anabelle has eaten all of hers, Anabelle asked Lila if she could have her noodles. Without a second thought, and with zero hesitation, she passed her plate over to Anabelle. She does those sorts of things regularly.

She was in time out recently for throwing a tantrum when it was time to come in for dinner. I carried her home and put her in the black rocking chair in Maisey's room. She was yelling and going crazy in there. I knew that her behavior was mostly fatigue as she doesn't sleep well at night and has a hard time holding it together the later it gets in the day. I realized that it had suddenly become silent in her room and assumed she had fallen asleep. I walked in there to wake her up, not wanting her to take a 5:00 nap. When I opened the door, she was standing up straight, facing the direction of the center of the base, with her hand on her heart. She could hear the National Anthem playing outside. She looked up at me and said, "I'm just doing heart time in time out". I let her out. It melted my heart. 

She starts Kindergarten tomorrow and I have to say, it is really tugging at my heart strings. I haven't ever had time just with Lila, like I have the other girls. I have to look for it in "cracking" her on the trampoline or letting her style my hair, as she loves to do. 

I am so curious about this peculiar and pure little spirit. I have the feeling she came to teach us a few things. 

I sure love you Lila-lou! 

This is the Place!

You know how every now and again you just have a perfect day together as a family? We happened to lock one of those in on Memorial Day. It could have had something to do with the fact that we were wearing coordinating outfits. People generally exist in harmony when wearing matching colors, as everyone knows. The weather was unbeatable, the place was empty, the donuts were dynamite, and we just enjoyed each other. I loved that day.

There is zero chance that little chick made it through the day. 

I include this picture only because when that goat stuck its head in the stroller and started licking Elise, Maisey unleashed a good bit of crazy on it and started yelling to get away from her baby. All while Braden and I look on. If the kid ( ha ha! get it? I said kid!) has to take a goat tongue to the face for us to be entertained so be it. 

The other day Anabelle told me there were no panties clean. I told her there were clean panties in the laundry room , I just hadn't put them away (for the second day in a row). She asked me why I hadn't put them away. Not cool, kiddo. THEN, she asked me what I had been doing all day. I'm thinking I need to have her do her own laundry, 1800's style. For longer than 2 minutes. 

Practicing the skills to milk a cow

I used my chalkboard to write notes to Braden about making out. Something about being in a schoolhouse brings out the 14 year old in me. He did say yes though. 

Panning for the gold that the workers threw in the river every time the kids were looking the other way.