Finals week... or should I say month.

One day I was in the kitchen with Brinley and heard her laughing. I looked over and saw her hanging on like a little monkey. 

It seems that with the girls changing sizes all the time, it's difficult to keep up with clothes and finding which ones will be tight enough or loose enough to fit well. These jammies are obviously a little too big. Brinley has also begun a new phase of always having a stuffed animal with her. Teddy bears, minnie mouse, etc. She has also really enjoyed pushing them in the swings in the back yard.

Friday night there was a cake auction at the church as a fundraiser for the Young Women. Ashlyn and I went for a walk outside and what did we see!

 Ashlyn and I went to a baptism of a little boy in my primary class yesterday. Whenever we get time alone, I tell her that these are our "dates". I cherish my one-on-one time with the girls.

I get a little choked up when I think about her growing up. I have to remind myself to enjoy every moment. When my parents left us at the end of my spring break last month I had this really sad feeling, especially the next day. I was thinking about not living in Utah close to family. Thinking about my girls growing up too fast. I had this realization that was simple but meaningful, and it was this. We can ONLY live in the present! We can't see the future. We can't go back in time. The best way to live life is to love what is happening right now and cherish each minute. This was a great lesson, but sometimes it's still a little difficult to remember, like when I look at this picture below.

Our cute little Claire! We sure love her! She is smiling and laughing more each day, even though she is another "sober face". With Brinley, she was very sober and we would sing the lines to Lady Gaga's song "Poker face" but replacing it with "Sober face".

Brinley is so good at giving a cheese whenever she recognizes someone is taking a picture.

So I have been wanting to get some camera equipment to use at school for different cases I have. I have been debating whether or not it is worth the money. I finally broke down and decided to use the money from the weight loss contest, and birthday money from my parents, Jenny's parents, and our grandparents. Thanks to all of you. I got the last items in the mail on Friday and have been having a ton of fun with it.

Here are some pictures I've taken with it. Try to guess what things are before you see a the bottom.

Carpet

 These flowers are actually about the size of a penny or smaller.

brick on our house

Our screen door

Mold growing on our fence

Crate paper hung for Brinley's birthday.


Jenny's beautiful smile.

Ashlyn's beautiful smile. She actually has an extra upper right lateral incisor. She has three incisors on her right side before the canine. This has caused a slight deviation in her midline. See how her upper and lower midlines aren't the same?

My FOUR cute girls! I love each of them so much! Jenny is such a hard worker! I have a lot of appreciation for what she does. It is so draining, and all of you moms know that. Yet day in and day out not only is she hanging in there, but she is looking for ways to be a better mom, to teach the girls more, and to show more love for them. She is an amazing example to me. She is such a caring person.