Superstars...

Our neighbors came over this past weekend to play and hang out.  And as usual, a good time was had by all! 

At one point, the four of us adults could hear a lot of commotion coming from the basement - which isn't all that unusual when the four girls get together.  Jamie and I investigated and found...

One lead singer and three back-up singer/dancers.  The strobe light from the old circus toy was going (which accounted for the bad picture), each girl had a different "microphone" and Gabby even had a head set on.  It was truly a great sight to see.

They took turns being the lead singer and sang a very wide range of songs.  The most popular though - Katie Perry. 

Those girls are the best of friends - we couldn't be more lucky to have them as our friends!

Weekend Wonderfulness...

This weekend, we got a sneak peek into what life might be like with 5 children!  Judson, Crew and Elsa spent the night Saturday night and spent the day Sunday playing with us!  We played hard, slept well, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of their visit with us!

Saturday night we had to play lots before bedtime.  It didn't take long for the boys to find their favorite toys.

Elsa joined in on the action too...

Before bed, we had a teeth brushing party.  

Then before lights went out, we all curled up for a couple of good books.  And what book reading session would be complete without singing a few songs?!  "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" were among our favorites.  

In the morning, it took no time at all before old toys were discovered new again.  

Elsa loved the attention she got and she truly loves to be in the center of the action.  She may be little, but she is one determined little girl!  And a darn cute one at that!

The four older ones played kitchen for quite the longest time.  Quinn took the orders and Crew, Judson, and Sullivan helped prepare the food.  

All in all.... a truly wonderful time with Elsa, Crew, and Judson.  They are so much fun to have around and our girls LOVE having someone different to play with.  There was far less whining and fighting than when they are alone - which is certainly fine by me!  If that's all it takes, maybe we do need a few more kids around here.  Either that or we will just borrow Elsa, Judson, and Crew a little bit more often!  :)

Laughing...

There are those moments in life that catch you off guard.  What you are expecting to see when you look at someone/something and what you really see are so different that they make you laugh.

Recently, Sullivan emerged from her bedroom early one morning dressed as a princess.  I was expecting to see a child in footie pajamas with messed up hair carrying her blankies.  Instead, I got this great surprise...

Isn't she darling?!

A day or two after that, Quinn was spending the night at the Kempers house.  Sullivan was sick, so she didn't go.  We got a text from Quinn that said, "Ate too much pizza tonight.  Having fun!"  and with that text came this picture...

They used an app to alter her picture before they sent it to me. Too funny, huh?!  

The girls make me smile and make me laugh daily!

Valentine's Day 2014

We like to be creative with our Valentines around here.  Every January I get the itch to go perusing around Pinterest looking for Valentine ideas.  Every January I go out and buy the materials to make these said cute Valentines.  Then February hits and I think I should get on making those Valentines, but with thoughts of the candy spoiling too early, I always postpone it until a couple of days before the party.

Well.... every year I also forget that Valentine's Day hits around the time of Parent/Teacher Conferences at school.  And this year was no exception.  So with long, long nights at work (and with Ryan out of town), we started our Valentines making event the night before at 8:30 pm.   

I won't tell you what time we finished, but it was much past a certain child's bedtime!  Anyway, they turned out pretty cute.

The containers say, "Hooked on You" and inside is a mixture of different gummy worms.  Quinn thought they were so cute, she didn't want to pass up the opportunity to have one herself!

Inside the package of gummy worms came a whole lot of gummy bears.  So Sullivan made use of those gummy bears with her Valentines.  She found cute Valentine baggies and put a label on the back that said, "You are 'bear'y special to me!"

She unfortunately came down with a terrible cold the night before her party and was way too sick to attend the festivities.  So we dropped them off and wished everyone a Happy Valentine's from afar. 

Even with illness and procrastination this year, nothing could get down our Valentines spirits!

Snuggles

Last weekend Sullivan had the honors of bringing home their classroom pet.  Thankfully the class pet isn't alive.  Snuggles, the stuffed bunny, came to share a few adventures with Sullivan.

On Friday, Snuggles had lots of adventures.  

Snuggles started the day with a few cuddles in bed with Sullivan.

Nana took Sullivan and Snuggles to the new LEGO movie...both of them said it was awesome. 

Papa played his guitar for them... Snuggles loved  jamming out.

Friday night, Snuggles went to Quinn's Science Fair.  Snuggles learned that we need to wash our hands often.

On Saturday, Snuggles helped Sullivan do a craft project.  She was a big help!

Sunday brought a day full of LEGO building...

And a birthday party for Judson and Crew.  Snuggles helped blow out the candles and had a great time with the whole family.

It was a weekend full of fun with Snuggles around.  

We were sad to see her go back to school on Monday!

Germs...

A while back a note came home from school that they would be hosting a science fair.  It didn't take Ryan more than a few seconds for his ears to perk up at this news.  When we asked Quinn if she'd like to enter the science fair, she was all game.

Ryan and Quinn did some brainstorming and eventually settled on determining if hand sanitizer works and if so, what brand works the best.  They did a practice run at it prior to the science fair...

The practice was a success which meant we were all in for the science fair.  We made a deal - Ryan would conduct the experiments with Quinn and I would help her design her display board.

Ryan conducted the experiments with Quinn... Never mind the messy hair, blanket around Quinn's neck and and the pajamas that Quinn is wearing.  We had to conduct the experiments in the morning so that they could make it to the incubator at the right time.

Quinn putting her display board together... 

The finished project on the night of the Science Fair...

Quinn is quite a lucky lady.  She had so many visitors come check out her board at the Science Fair.

Grandma Jane, Nana, Papa, the Kempers, and Uncle Eric came...

We were so blessed that everyone came out to wish Quinn well and check out her hard work.  She did a great job answering their questions and the questions of others who stopped by her table.

Here she is with the judges explaining her experiment to them....

What were the results, you ask?!  Quinn concluded that our hands are full of germs.  Hand sanitizer definitely works and kills germs.  Some however, work better than others.

We tested five brands out... three worked well, two not as well.  If you want the inside scoop into which ones work best, ask Quinn!  She can tell you!

I will leave you with Quinn's #1 fan when it comes to all things Science...

Sulla's Star Poster

Back when Sullivan was the Star of the Week, she had to make a poster of her favorite things.  She was given a blank paper and asked to design it any way she wanted.

I failed to get a picture of it before she sent it to school, but managed to get a picture of it this week.

Here is Sullivan's poster....

It is a little hard to read in the picture, but here were her favorites...

Season - Spring
Activity - Playing Outside
Snack - Goldfish Crackers
TV Show - Sofia the First
Holiday - Christmas
Food - Pomegranates
Animal - Monkey
Color - Orange
Book - The Bible (for the second straight year in a row!)
Toy - Babies

All of those responses fit Sullivan Grace perfectly. We love everything about that little turkey!

100 Days...

Last week also brought about the 100th Day of School. In kindergarten and first grade, the 100th day of school is a BIG deal.  Second grade, not so much.

Quinn and I were driving home from somewhere late last Monday night.  Working in a school, I knew that the following day was the 100th day.  I casually said to Quinn "Did you know that tomorrow is the 100th day of school?"

To which Quinn said, "Yep.  I know.  Oh, by the way Mom, I have to bring 100 of something tomorrow for a snack. We are having a 100th day stew with all of our snacks."

"Excuse me?! You have to what?!"  I thought.  I wondered if I heard her right.  And I did.  So with extremely short notice, we peeled into the grocery store parking lot to find a snack to bring for the 100th day.

Once we got home, we had to (take a shower and then) sort and count our Teddy Grahams and make sure there was exactly 100.

100 Teddy Grahams for the 100th day...

Quinn is officially 100+ days smarter now!

Stars All Around Us...

Last week was a whirlwind.  Don't ask me what happened or what we did because I am certain I can't remember.  But it was busy.  Which is why I didn't post anything last week.  I will be better this week.  I hope!  :)

Anyway...there was much noteworthy news last week.  Miss Quinn was Star of the Week!!

She was able to complete a poster about herself, bring some pictures to share with the class, and share a snack with her friends.  An all around good week for her in the spotlight!

Here is her poster...nothing shocking in terms of answers - expect perhaps for her favorite book.  She changed her mind about 20 times before she settled on this answer.  I am not sure that she has just one favorite book.  Which is just fine.

Here are just some of the pictures she chose herself to share with her classmates...

First day of 2nd grade...

Quinn's 1st Brithday...

A sweet week old baby...

Her dear friend, Nate, whom she doesn't get to see often enough...

With two of her most favorite cousins...

More of Quinn's best friends... Gabby, Livy and Sullivan

Her family's first family picture...

For her snack, Quinn thought for quite a while about what to bring for her snack. She finally said she wanted to bring Chex Mix.  I questioned her decision because I didn't really think that was a "star worthy" snack. Not only does Quinn have a student in her class that has a peanut allergy, she has another that has an egg allergy, another that has a dairy allergy, and yet another that has a food dye allergy.  Add all those together and it doesn't leave a lot of options.  Most of those kids bring alternate snacks for when they can't have the "star snacks".  But Quinn, with her massively kind heart, didn't want them to have to do that.  She wanted to bring something that everyone could enjoy! Chex Mix instantly became a perfect choice.

We found some cute baggies and baggie toppers to jazz up the snacks and make them look extra special.

Not only did the snacks look extra special, Quinn McKenna is extra special to us too!  We are so proud of Quinn each and every day - not just during this extra special Star week!!!