Valentine's Day Activities

The Saturday before Valentine's Day the Prosper Library was holding an activity where the kids could come and decorate boxes to hold their cards in. I am always up for a fun craft for the kids so we headed over that morning and spent the day gluing, coloring, writing, and cutting. The kids were so proud of their boxes that we kept them for several weeks after Valentine's Day.

That afternoon the kids had been invited to a Valentine's Day party. The kids picked out their own cards and prepared them all by themselves. Emeri of course couldn't write but she enjoyed scribbling to be like her brothers. Isaac had Ninja Turtles cards, Andrew had Transformers ones, and Emeri had Frozen cards. It was a party even before the real one started.

Here is a picture of all the kids at the party.  

These sucker bracelets were given to them at the party. The kids loved them but I thought they were a hassle. The kids got sticky all over their arms and anything they touched. Plus the moment the bracelets touched something it got dirt, hair, and dust all over them. GROUSE.

For FHE that Monday we made Valentine's Day cupcakes. The kids loved it. They got to help Daddy bake and then decorate some afterwards.

I think they enjoyed it a little too much. HAHA

I love how Isaac is getting to the age where he really cares about his quality of work. It makes doing crafts more fun and last longer.

The next day Isaac wanted to decorate the leftover ones to give to our neighbor friends. He decorated them all by himself and did a great job! He was excited when we got up to their doors but was a bit bashful when actually handing the cupcakes to his friends. That was okay though, it was a good opportunity for growth.

The next day one of the neighbor boys named Luke knocked on our door and gave the kids a piece of candy. I love how kindness can spread, especially with younger children. It was adorable.

Painting the Cabinets

Austin and I finally decided to paint our cabinets this month. The whole reason this started was because I felt like the kitchen and family room were so dark. I wanted to change the cabinets anyways, so turning them into a lighter shade of cream I thought would definitely brighten up the place. Plus, the bold orange cabinets made the counter tops look like mustard and pepper had just been thrown up. Needless to say I thought they were ugly and I needed light in that main living space. Therefore, something had to change and we decided on the cabinets since the counter tops are granite. 

The cabinets turned out to be more work then we thought; just like any house project. Austin did most of the work with help from Tammy and my father. We are very pleased with the finished look and hope it will last with 4 kids running all around. lol  The picture with Austin was taken while he was taking the doors off of the cabinets. He didn't realize how much work those would take getting back on. Matching them back up exactly was quite the process. 

Here are more pictures of the kitchen before we started. See how the back splash clashes horribly with the counter tops? The only solution was to change the color of the cabinets.

This picture depicts exactly the attitude we had compared to Tammy's when she came to help out. On Saturday we asked if she wanted to help us paint and she agreed. When we picked her up we said we needed to go get some off white paint. She then said, "so have you grabbed a bunch of samples and tried didn't colors of that off white?" Not wanting to admit we hadn't we told we didn't care about the exact type of off white shade. She was shocked. We then went straight to Home Depot and spent an hour and a half PICKING OUT COLOR SAMPLES! haha Once Tammy and I had our purses full of them we headed home to test the colors against our counter tops and back splash. To our great surprise none of the cream colors we originally planned on using looked good at all. The dark brown sample Tammy picked out that matched spots in our counter top looked the best. I was sad because I wanted to make the kitchen brighter but I couldn't say no to it, it by far looked the best. So, this picture is the perfect depiction of our "naive and relaxed" attitudes verses Tammy's "cheery analytic" one. HAHA We are so grateful we listened to her and took the time to get some samples. Thank you Tammy!

Here is Tammy painting over the primer with our first coat of color! YAY!!!

Ta-Da!!!! The finished product! Doesn't this color look so much better!? I love it. I still don't like the counter tops, and never will, but at least I can stand being in my kitchen now. 

Make up Party

One day in February Austin's boss wanted to take the both of us out to dinner. I was nervous because I feared my professional skills of communication and mannerism have been buried underneath spit ups, silly faces, peek-a-boos, and diapers. All which I would choose and do choose over any formal or professional appearance. Nevertheless, I was excited to meet Austin's boss and Austin said he loves showing me off. HAHA That always makes me laugh when he says that. Anyways, the evening went well and I felt I presented myself professionally but with a drop of my true self mixed in. 

The hour before our date, little Miss Emeri helped me get ready and calmed my nervous tummy with her pure innocence and giggles. She was so silly and made both Oakley and I laugh. It was my favorite part of the whole evening, just the three of us girls doing makeup together. 

I gave Emeri some blush and a large brush that I never use and she went to town. It was adorable to see her watch me and try to copy what I was doing. 

Oakley thought it was so funny to get her faced brushed. Look at the smile of pure joy.

Giant Ball and Camp Gladiator

Austin took the kids to Costco and came back with this giant blow up ball. IT WAS AWESOME! The boys spent at least an hour playing in it the first night. It was great for tiring them out. Austin and I kept saying how we would have loved an adult sized one. Some day Babe, some day.

Wow Isaac! You grew so fast in the last hour of play. AMAZING! HEHEHE

Okay, I admit it, I couldn't stay away. It was just too cool! I stole the ball from the boys and played a bit myself. Mommy style.

Over the past few months some women in our ward kept talking about this boot camp they were attending. It is called Camp Gladiator and apparently the first women to win the TV show Gladiator started this camp. Now it has spread all over the country and a women in the Prosper 2nd ward here became a trainer and is fantastic at it. After enough talk through some friends I tried it out. It was so HARD! I couldn't believe how weak I had become having four babies. There were women there twice my age out working me. That was it. I had to join, and I have been having a blast ever since. Rain or snow, CG is on and I love it! Not only do I get a good work out but there is free babysitting and some social time for me. For only 5 dollars a day I can't complain! LOVE CG.

Oakley's 7th Month

Happy Girl! Our 7 month old sweet heart loves sitting up, grabbing toys, eating solid foods, and playing with her siblings. She absolutely loves Emeri. Whenever Emeri comes into her view, Oakley lights up and smiles with great anticipation. 

Girls just want to have fun! We three silly girls love to play, laugh, and giggle together. I keep the camera close to me throughout the day because I know something Emeri does will make Oakley laugh, and I have to get it on video.

Isn't this the sweetest picture? Emeri got super sweet and tender with Oakley during her photo shoot. 

Tummy time is legit for Oakley. She isn't lazy she is smart. I mean, why stain your back and neck when you can rest it on the floor. HAHA Plus, she looks so darn cute.

I eventually got a smile out of her. I love seeing her smile behind the binkie. It is too precious.

It's Isaac in pink pajamas and Oakley in a turquoise shirt. Wait, or is it the other way around? Shoot, I can't tell, they look IDENTICAL.

I love these pictures of Oakley. She is so beautiful and happy. Her smile makes me smile.

Her sadness makes me sad though too. Teething is no fun.