Noelle and Brianna got to be presenters at a district wide event to represent their school and book categories.  Noelle’s book, Creepy Carrots, won in the favorite picture book category, which meant Noelle had to walk on stage, give a little speech and accept the trophy.  I was a nervous wreck because I wasn’t given directions on how to help her prepare for the night, but she walked confidently across the stage and gave a simple, well thought-out acceptance speech.  She was as happy and comfortable as she could be!  Go girls!

Harper came to play with us while her parents were at a convention in Dallas!  We had a blast walking the streets of downtown and literally spent the entire afternoon walking around and exploring.  We had no idea what we’d see or what we’d do, we just started walking!  It was more fun than we could have planned!  Personality plus right here! 

At any moment it could’ve started pouring, but it didn’t!  We walked over 2 miles all together!  Mike and I got so many stares with 4 girls.  He got lots of high fives.  People are so funny!

 

We originally had planned to swim in their swanky hotel, but it was closed due to weather, so we took to the streets, lol!

 

We started off in the biggest atrium I’ve ever seen.  We rode lots of glass elevators and just walked around checking everything out inside.

 

After about 30 minutes indoors, the girls were really wanting a treat, and they were being so awesome that they deserved one!  Nothing was open inside, but our map said their was a CFA a few blocks away.  That was our original plan, but it turned out taking a lot longer to walk with little ones in tow and by the time we made it there, it was closed.  It was a little kiosk CFA in an underground city type place.  Weird, I know.  We were confused too. 

 

So, we just kept walking and lots of little parks kept popping up with really cool things to explore!

 

 

The girls were so shocked this man sweeping was a statue and were about to walk right past it when I told them to go give that man a hug.  I literally had to tell them he was a statue and they could go touch him.  They went running!

 

 

This is one of my favorite buildings in the skyline.  Always has been, along with reunion tower. 

We happened upon this little cupcake store, and it was perfect timing! 

We tried red velvet and wedding cake cupcakes!  The girls drank more water than I’ve ever seen them drink.  They walked hard for this treat!

 

Doesn’t all of this look so fun?  We had no idea downtown was so kid-friendly!  They even had a free book exchange program offered by the library called Wheel Borrow.  We took a couple of great books we read when we got back to the hotel that were really fun for the kids.  Mike dropped a ton of our books off to say thanks last week.  I love honor system sharing ideas. 

Little did we know how much adventure did await in downtown!  This spring has been so weird in Texas.  It was snowing in March, and we’ve had tons of rain, severe weather, tornado warnings and flooding ever since.  Although it’s been unusual and not ideal, we’ve still had a great time!  Thanks for chilling with us, Harper!  You are such a fun little trooper, always in it to win it! 

 

This was Noelle’s family birthday year, and we had so much fun celebrating her!  We started out getting mani/pedis together.  She was in spa day heaven!  Then, she wanted a date with Mike and me, so that’s what she got!  She looked so classy in her Oscar de la Renta dress!

Noelle did an awesome job in AR (Accelerated Reader) this year!  She reads a lot and ended the year with 109 points!  We never have to make her read or worry about her making her points each 6 weeks.  She’s an amazing student!

 

We are so proud of Noelle and love her so very much!  I hope she remembers this night in particular as one of her favorite child-hood memories.  We had a blast! 

 

First, we had dinner at The Magic Time Machine.  This place is crazy, goofy, and so much fun for kids!  They encourage you to explore the restaurant in between courses and even give the kids an autograph book for the waiters to sign who are dressed up as characters.  Now, don’t get me wrong, it smells kind of musty and feels a little old, but the charm and playful atmosphere make up for it!

Every meal comes with a trip to the salad car.  We started our dinner here.

After our salad, we couldn’t wait to go explore!  There are so many different themed booths, but we only took a picture of a few.  This one was for Valentine’s Day.

Everywhere we turned, there was some little detail.  These crayon stars were on the ceiling in a random hallway.  Our waiter says he notices new things he’s never seen before every night he works.  I’m a very detail-oriented person.  Most of the time, it’s not fun because I notice imperfections that don’t bother anyone else, but in places like this and Disney, it’s a huge advantage because I get to enjoy more!

 

Here was the Halloween booth and Charlie Brown section.  Then, we moved on to the circus themed room.  The booths in this room were part of a carousel.

Here is a spaceship booth along with a Mexican fiesta booth.  So random and fun!  You can see how this is a kid’s dream restaurant!  And it isn’t frowned upon to get up and walk around, which is so nice when you have curious little ones!

 

This hallway was super odd and fun.

 

They took our picture at the beginning of the meal, and then at the end, they brought it to us to see if we’d like to purchase it, and when I opened the envelope, this is what we saw!  Lol!  Noelle loved it, and it topped off a super fun dinner with the birthday girl!  If you haven’t been to The Magic Time Machine, or have just forgotten about it, you should go!  We give it a thumbs up!

 

The next stop on our birthday date night was for dessert at Five Sixty, in Reunion Tower.  Mike proposed to me here 13 years ago, and this was our first time back.  Noelle was so excited riding the glass elevator to the top of the ball to the restaurant! 

Our beautiful birthday girl right before we sang happy birthday to her.

Our booth was a semicircle facing the window.  The view was incredible!  For those of you who aren’t locals, the restaurant seating rotates around the tower providing a 360 degree view of the city every hour.  It was so beautifully peaceful.  You really feel alive up here.

Noelle fell asleep in my lap after such an exciting day, and then the couple to our left got engaged right in front of us while we were reminiscing!  We were all clapping and whistling.  It was such a special way to end our night.  Mike had to hold Noelle on the way to the elevator, and it just reminded us of how quickly time flies.  So thankful she gets to be little for just a little bit longer!

Her birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, and since she has art class on Tuesday evenings, we went to her favorite restaurant, Cheesecake Factory, on Monday night. 

She wanted to try the red velvet cheesecake and said it was her favorite flavor so far!  She is an amazing big sister and always takes such good care of Anna Kate and Rose! 

 

On Tuesday after school, Malia’s mom, Susie, surprised Noelle with a homemade lemonade birthday cake.  The girls got to put on the candles all by themselves and have a piece of cake for their after school snack, so everyone was happy as could be.  This is what birthdays are all about!  Noelle felt so special!

I did the art class car-pool on the night of Noelle’s birthday, so we stopped by for froyo on the way home from class for one last hoorah.  Anna Kate, Ava, Emily, Brianna and Rose had a blast wishing Noelle one last happy birthday for this year! 

I’m thankful we haven’t reached double digits quite yet.  I keep telling her to stop growing up so fast, but she’s not listening.    Love you, Noelle!  We’re having so much fun being your parents and sharing our lives with you.  It’s never boring and always highly entertaining.  You’ve got such a bright future, and we look forward to loving and encouraging you every step of the way.  Happy 9th Noelle!!!

  

Here are a few fun pics of us hanging out after Anna Kate’s jelly bean birthday!

 

 

  

 

 

She’s such a sweetheart! 

Anna Kate and I had a blast on her spring kindergarten field trip with her friends!

Legoland is amazing!

 

Anna Kate loved driving the bumper cars!

Our city made out of legos!

Welcome to the lodge!

 

Holding the reunion tower in the palm of her hand!  She thought that was such a fun idea!

I love her little expression in this picture.  Peek-a-boo!  We were in this room all by ourselves and had so much fun hanging out together!

 

Malia, Anna Kate, and Dirk!

 

After lunch, we spent the afternoon in the aquarium.  It was equally impressive!

 

Beware of the sharks!

Anna Kate and Malia being silly, as usual!

 

Fun sea life!

 

  

This was my favorite field trip memory ever!  Anna Kate has been fascinated with sharks for a while now.  She always watches science documentaries about sharks on her iPad.  She was staring this shark down.  He swam right up to her and she jumped up and slapped the glass where he was as hard as she could.  Then she turned around and said, “I slapped a shark!”  I started busting out laughing and said, “Yes you did!”  She is so funny!

 

The new behind the scenes area was so fun for the kids to see!

 

Anna Kate was thrilled to get to touch a star fish!

We were even lucky enough to see a shark feeding and learn all about the process of how it works, which is much more complicated and organized than I would have thought.

Each shark has a station they get fed at every time.  They all get fed at once and the employees were each positioned at a station around the tank.  The sharks know which side of the tank is their feeding station and after each time they are fed, there is a white board with their names, and they keep track of how much each shark gets.  It was very cool to learn about.

Such a fun field trip date with Anna Kate!

  

 

 

  

From our family to yours, we hope you have a joy-filled day celebrating the moms in your life!  My heart overflows with love for these precious girls who made me a mom!

 

2015 (4, 6, 8) & 2013 (Ages 2, 4, 6)

 

Here are my 6 year old cuties!  My hair color in both pictures is natural but crazy that it has darkened so much!

 

This is one of the few dresses that I will be keeping!  Here are our precious 4 year olds! 

Mike and I decided to take the girls to the park for some fresh air a few weekends ago.  The weather was gorgeous, and it felt so good to be outside and play in the sun.  We are so excited spring is finally here and summer is on its way! 

 

It was such a beautiful afternoon to explore the great outdoors!

 

Such a beautiful monarch!

We had fun feeding the turtles our left-over sandwiches.  There were so many out today, and they snapped the bread right up!

 

I was scared this plant was poison ivy after I noticed one of the girls brushed past it with their legs, but no one started itching, so I guess it wasn’t poison ivy after all. 

The girls said the creek looked like Willie Wonka’s chocolate river today.  Sure would be fun if it was!

 

This girl loves her cat hat!

 

My parents dog, Jax, stayed with us for the past two weeks while my parents were on a cruise.  We love him so much!  He’s such a good dog.  I think we said that 1,000 times while he was here because it is so very true.

 

I love and admire Rose’s sense of adventure and “I can” attitude about most things in her little life.  She motivates me to push my limits and hang in there! 

Happy Spring!

You are so truly beautiful, inside and out, Noelle!  Happy birthday, princess BAE!

There are a ton of pictures in this post!  I had several pictures on my phone leftover from February, so here are my favorites!  Rose is our valentine baby, and she knows it!  I did the big girls’ hair in heart braids for their Daddy/Daughter dance.  They turned out super cute!

 

Rose and Noelle got strep in February, but it didn’t stop them from smiling and having fun, and they got a lollipop at the doctor, so that was a bonus!  Noelle made Rose a birthday banner and snack after her nap time on her birthday.  Rose’s favorite color is orange, so Noelle personalized her surprise just for her.  I love the way they love each other! 

 

Here’s a picture Daddy took of Noelle at the school dance.  We entered a little braid contest on IG and won a free headband!  It’s the one Noelle wore to the party barn at Easter.  It was super fun networking with some awesome braiders!

 

I found this Me & Bae picture Noelle created on my phone.  Super cute and so Noelle!  Anna Kate looked so cute in her Destin tee and sunglasses!  We’re so ready for summer and the beach!

 

Susie gave me this cute picture of Anna Kate and Malia at Rose’s birthday party hanging out on the bench on the carousel.  Rose decided her pony needed a fence made out of toothpaste.  She rarely “junks up,” as we call it, anymore, but when she does, it cracks me up.  You can tell by her smile that she didn’t get in trouble this time.

 

The 3rd grade wax museum was such a fun experience for Noelle this year!  Anna Kate’s already ready for her turn.

Noelle’s 3rd grade class

 

Rose is such a good girl on my allergy shot days.  Since I have to wait 30 minutes in the waiting room after my injections in case of a reaction, it gets old, but she’s a trooper.  The nurse gave her this teddy bear today because she was being such a good girl!  When Rara comes to visit, she wraps my presents for the upcoming weekend.  Those friends are lucky because she learned so many cool wrapping tricks in Japan.

 

We were trying on H&M clothes and hair accessories this day after school.  We ended up keeping all of these outfits, and the girls have enjoyed them so much this spring.  Anna Kate not touching Noelle in the first picture is such a silly sibling thing to do.  I didn’t notice it when I took the picture, but it made me laugh when I saw it after the fact on the computer.  So silly!

Our friend, Kristin, is having a baby boy in May!  Heather and I had fun going to her baby shower and cheering her on!

We noticed in a lot of the yards in Dallas, they had replaced their natural grass with turf grass.  The above picture is an example.  I doubt our HOA would go for this, but it surprisingly looked very natural.  I don’t know how I feel about having fake grass, but it was super pretty!

Another snack tray Noelle made for the girls.

 

Mike’s prime rib, sweet potato fries, and asparagus are absolutely delicious! 

 

Noelle still plays dress-up, but it’s not with princess dresses anymore.  She loves to try on my jewelry and play with her make-up!  I love seeing what all she comes up with!

 

Anna Kate always wears her ballet shoes and practices around the house.  She’s enjoying cooking with us as well.  Noelle loves to do crazy hair and make-up styles for fun.  I think this look would look so cool with a costume for Halloween or a play. 

I’ve been working so hard this winter/spring selling the girls’ outgrown clothes.  Here Jaalisa and I are about to sort my clothes from these racks to their clothing size throughout the venue.  It took forever, but we had fun!

 

The best part about consigning is buying super cute pre-loved clothes for my girls with the money I make.  They feel like it’s Christmas after a sale.  Rose loved this dress, and I love helping our family!

Mike and I had a blast hanging out in the snow after the girls’ fizzled out and went inside!  This snow fell on 2/27/15.

 

Uncle Stephen gave the girls this set of farm blocks when Noelle was a toddler.  I can say it has been the most played with toy through the years.  They all still enjoy it, and we’ve added pieces as the years have gone on.  You can’t beat wooden toys!  One night, Noelle dressed up as the “robber” and the littles had to catch her.  I wasn’t home and when Mike sent me this picture, my first thought was, “What boy did they have over for a play date?”  They are so crazy!

 

Here’s a sample of one of my preview boards from my shop.  I have so much fun selling new and pre-loved clothes to other Mamas across the country.  It’s so rewarding and fun!  Email me in the contact information above if you’d like to check out our items for sale (I do not ship from my home address).  Noelle made these fruit and veggie platters one day for our snack.  They are so colorful!  She impresses me every day with her creativity and work ethic!

 

Rose and I love Mrs. Peggy’s story time!  She’s amazing!

One last collage from Rose’s My Little Pony birthday party!  She’s already talking about her party for next year!

Mike, Carey, Ty and I went out to eat and to a concert in March.  We had so much fun, and it was a well-deserved night out!

 

We saw Cold War Kids at The House of Blues.  

 

Here are the girls looking out the window at the orthodontist office.  Their profiles looked so beautiful, and I’m glad I had my phone with me so that I could take a quick pic!  Nancy helped me find these super cozy harem pants at the Gap.  I love this outfit and will be wearing it from now on! 

 

Nothing is ever normal or dull around Rose!  Another snack idea brought to you by Noelle!  She didn’t like the way this one looked, but it tasted great!

Noelle has gotten several IG comments from Mindy, the mom and creator of the YouTube channel, Cute Girls Hairstyles.  I’ve been watching Mindy’s tutorials since before Noelle was born, so it’s been fun letting her know how much we’ve enjoyed their channel through the years! 

 

We had a super low-key spring break this year, which we’ve decided to make a tradition.  It’s just so very nice mixed in with the busy-ness of the spring to have a week right in the middle with nothing to do.  We are a super busy family, so making time to just chill out is important.  One day, the girls spent all afternoon making a fort to sleep in that night.  They worked together all day and named it NAR, The Official Tent. 

No one slept there through the night, but it was still fun and something they were very proud of!

 

Another day over the break, we spontaneously decided to go see the movie, Paddington, with Malia.  Although the first picture is blurry, I always enjoy my view and watching the girls take good care of each other, so I had to share this pic!  It will be used as evidence that they really do love each other during their next fight!

 

One night after work, Mike and Rose went on a walk.  When she saw this dandy lion, she made a wish and then blew it out as hard as she could.  Her wish was, “I wish that I can be a good girl!”  Aww!  Her heart is so sweet, even though she often finds herself in time-out.  Four years old is a hard age when you are the third girl.  She gets a lot of grace mixed in with love!

 

You would think Noelle makes us snacks every day!  She’s so good at it!  Her warm cinnamon apples are the best!  This day, she also made strawberries with cream and frozen yogurt drops with nuts and pretzels! 

 

The girls love riding the carousel!  One day last month, I let Rose dress herself, and the picture above is the result.  The backward shoes top the look off!  I usually make her choose one blankey, but since today was her day to do it her way, she got to take both.  She walked in to my allergist like she was the queen of the world!  Lookin’ good, girlfriend!

 

I love finding art and phrases all over the house, and I love that Noelle wrote, “Coolest family on Earth!” on our dry erase board. I’m so happy she feels that way!    I spent most of March craftin’ it up for Anna Kate’s birthday.  Every morning when the girls would wake up, they’d see a different craft completed that I had worked on the night before and get excited about Anna Kate’s party.  I listened to a lot of books during those late night craft sessions and had fun getting ready for her big birthday! 

We love power balls!  Rara gave us the recipe below.  They are fun and easy for the kids to make too!  The only problem is they are gone within a couple hours after we make a batch! 

Enjoy!

 

I love strawberry margaritas and fajitas and of course, our Cutie Kate!

 

Here’s Anna Kate on her birthday!  I surprised her for lunch, and we had the best time together! 

  

Anna Kate’s birthday is so close to St. Patrick’s Day, so she’s always super happy and excited this time of year!  Her teacher went above and beyond decking her students out in St. Patty’s Day gear!  Anna Kate has had such a blast in kinder this year!  Isn’t the middle picture of her pretending to find a coin from the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow hilarious?  She’s such a great kid!

Our little joys!

 

The past month has been really hard for me.  It’s so very difficult living with chronic pain and having to fight yourself to get through the day.  Some days are better than others, but having Rose 24/7 with me right now helps so much.  She’s always upbeat and ready for the next adventure.  She’s a hot mess, don’t get me wrong, but her demeanor is always positive!  A lot of days we have to stay home, and she is perfectly content.  She’s easily entertained and not hard on me.  Quite the opposite!  She’s my little cheerleader and keeps me going when the going gets tough. 

 

Noelle’s cheerleading team did such a great job in their school talent show this year!  Noelle and Ava went to Subway after their dress rehearsal.  One rainy Saturday, I had the big girls while another mom had the younger siblings, and we went to the Dollar Tree to buy crafts and kill some time.  A sweet lady made me get in a picture with them.  She said we were having too much fun!

 

One night, the week before Anna Kate’s party, I was buying a little bit of everything for her party, Easter, presents, and food I saw along the way.  My basket was so colorful, so I took a picture.  Mike absolutely detests Wal-Mart, but I absolutely love it!  I mean, this basket is great!  And the picture on the right, my heart just melts when she gives me that silly face!

 

We ended up making bracelets and shrink art once we got home.  Rose was having fun with the big girls today!

 

Anna Kate went shopping with me for her birthday in the pictures above, and she got an Icee for the first time and loved it!  Anna Kate is my shorts and t-shirt gal!  She loves dressing up or down, she really doesn’t care.  She still wants me to pick out most of her clothes because she could just care less.  Noelle is the exact opposite.  It’s so interesting to me!

When we got home, Noelle surprised us with a snack tray.  She’s gotten so good at making smoothies and is wishing for a new blender for her birthday!  She loves being in the kitchen!

 

A night out with the neighbors proved to be the night of the blue margarita that will not soon be forgotten.  We love our neighbors!

 

The girls both made posters for literacy night creating their own book cover for their favorite books.  They both won book fair bucks and got to pick out some super fun prizes! 

Saylor is adorable!!!

  

Rose being Rose.

Such a sweet heart!

Don’t grow up!

 

Malia and Anna Kate love getting extra play time on the driveway while the Mommies catch up after school! 

 

Rara has gotten to see several of Rose’s dance classes, and Rose just loves it when she comes!  We’re getting close to recital time and have all 4 of the girls’ costumes ready to go!  It’s going to be crazy!  Anna Kate dressed up as an “bug catcher” one night and caught bugs in the back yard.  She’s so cute!

A friend sent me this picture from Anna Kate’s birthday.  Noelle was covering Rose’s face in the back ground because she was afraid she was going to blow out Anna Kate’s candle.  

 

The Fearings gave Anna Kate this Beados set.  It’s super fun!

 

 

Mom and I had fun shopping one afternoon for her birthday in March, getting her fancied up for her cruise with Poppa.

 

The girls are enjoying our trampoline so much!  Mike took this next picture of Rose at the park; I love it!

It’s a shame she doesn’t have more personality! 

 

Anna Kate is a good errand runner!  The girls love going to the park on pretty spring days!

 

Rose is addicted to her cat hat!  She wears it almost every day!  She’s so crazy!  Anna Kate had so much fun at a tea party celebrating Campbell’s birthday with her!

 

Chloe and Anna Kate were busy enjoying their treats!

 

Anna Kate loved wacky Wednesday during red ribbon week!  I love this next picture of Rose with snow caked on top of her owl hat and huge gloves.  She was playing so hard!

 

Ava and Noelle were all dressed and ready to perform a cheer and dance to Shake it Off!  Go Lions!

 

I can’t keep house plants alive, but I love them while they last!  Thanks for the tulips, Ra!  xo

 

I love this picture of the littles playing on the iPad over Easter break!  They are such sweet little play mates for each other.  The day before Easter, when we had our annual hot dog supper at the party barn, was so sunny and beautiful!  Glad we got to play in it before the storms hit on Easter day this year!

   

Rose was so cute playing ball in the party barn!  Our baby is growing up way too fast! 

I think that was the longest blog post I’ve ever done!  We had a great start to our spring!