Brinley is 8 years old! She has been counting down the days until her birthday and baptism.
We are so grateful for this girl. She brings so much laughter and fun to our family.
We were camping the morning of her birthday and when we pulled up, she got a nice surprise of sweet messages from Grandma and Grandpa Martinson.
Brinley's delicious cake
Brinley's baptism day!
We are so proud of her. She has been looking forward to this day for a very long time. She was very nervous and excited, all mixed together.
Brinley drew and typed up her own program.
She enjoyed reading the notes written to her in between the time of baptism and getting dressed. She is so loved.
We have been so blessed to have wonderful babysitters. Hannah and Savannah came and gifted Brinley with a drawing she made of Jesus. It is beautiful!
She got a towel from the Primary
Birthday date to celebrate the BIG 8! We walked the zoo park.
She was excited to find this bamboo stick.
We feel so blessed to have great wonderful parents to come visit us. I am extremely grateful for how much they love and adore our kids. They are tremedously blessed to have great relationships with them. My heart is so full!
Nana and Grandpa surprised the kids with oreos! When Nana was on a Skype call with Emmett he said that he wanted mint oreos and she delivered! Lucky kids!
Scott is so impressive. Derek and Scott went to the gym and Scott's workout whipped Derek's butt.
Derek really enjoys going with him.
We took Nana and Grandpa to one of our favorite family hiking spots, Mission Tejas State Park. It was fun to hike and chat.
I love how hands on they are with the kids.
The kids are going to have so many fun memories.
We took them camping to Hanks Creek (which we have never gone too). We were nervous that it would be too cold, but it turned out pretty good.
This was such a fun moment when everyone would play frisbee. Everyone was having a great time.
Coloring with Nana
Magical
Oh how spoiled the kids are to have grandparents who read to them daily. It is a real treat to do it in person. I contribute my kids love for learning a lot to their grandparents who have shared their own love for reading. It has been a very fun tradition and bonding experience for my kids.
As I am typing this, I am tearing up with gratitude. Thank you so much Scott and Ruth Ann.
Games and fun!
Playing Family Feud: Kids vs. Adults.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Martinson for the skateboard. This gift has changed our family hobby! Since her birthday we have gotten 3 long boards, 1 one wheel, and skateboard. It has been so much fun to see everyone enjoy this gift.
Brinley has been on this skateboard ALL THE TIME! She loves it so much! It has been fun to see her practice and practice to really master this skill.
She is turning pro.
For Mother's Day, I got my mom a puzzle that is a photo of the Martinson Family. It was fun to put the picture together. I am not a very thoughtful gift giver, but this was a perfect gift for my mom. She loves puzzles and love pictures of the family.
PaDazzled!
Grandma in the back with all the kids.
Because one of our camping days was wet and very cold, we decided to stay home and go to a movie Raya the new disney movie. It was a lot of fun!
Sleeping Beauty
Grandpa spoiled the kids and got donuts. We have actually bought donuts 2 or 3 times since moving to Texas (even though there is a lot of donut shops). They were delicious!
Thanks Grandpa!
Grandpa's little buddy. It was hilarious because Grandpa would have 2 little followers: Desi and Emmett. Whenever Emmett wasn't by or he couldn't see Grandpa, he would ask, "Where is Grandpa?"
The girls found rocks at a creek when we were at a homeschool group activity. They brought them home and washed them. Then we planned to paint them. I don't know who had more fun, grandma or the kids?!
Grandpa teaching Emmett the proper way to throw a frisbee.
Again I love seeing the kids play and interact with their grandparents. There is so much joy!
Grandpa's fan club
This is one of my favorite memories with my parents. We just sat around the fire pit and talked and laughed. It was a magical night.
There is something magical about a fire pit and being with the ones you love. When we were with Scott and Ruth Ann it was also a very magical moment. We would sing songs and learned new ones. The favorite was called I LOVE THE MOUNTAINS!
After Brinley got a skateboard for her birthday, Derek decided to get a long board. He absolutely loved it and bought me one so we could ride along together. It is a lot of fun! I feel like I am a teenager again, young and free.
The joy of homeschooling, you can teach your child whatever you want, when you want. Derek did a whole lesson about the stock martket and the kids decided to invest their money. I am grateful for the passion that Derek has for money. He is so knowledgable and loves teach me and the kids.
More fun
New Haircut
Ashlyn found this book and bought it with her own money. She loves learning about money and exploring ways on how to earn more. She is so motivated. She has applied the principles in the book that advised to create cards around your room that says, " I will be a millionaire!"
Brinley's piggy bank she made out of paper.
We love to hike as a family and it brings Derek and I so much happiness to see our kids love and enjoy nature. They love our family hikes!
School stuff
In Ashlyn's book How to turn $100 into a Million Dollars there was a chapter about getting a job and having an interview. I had the girls each pretend that they were applying for a job. They had to type a resume. Dr. Williams called each of them to set up an interview and they had an interview for their "job". It was fun to see the girls learn life skills and get outside their comfort zones to learn something new. It was a fun learning experience.
Brinley applied to be a medical assistant.
Ashlyn applied to be a waitress.
We got a ukelele! This has been a very fun experience. We are learning as a family. I always wanted to have music in our home (probably because I am not very musical) and man is my wish coming true. I am so impressed with the girls learning this new skill all from youtube. Thank you YouTube! We found a great teacher and it is something that the girls like to do themselves. Ashlyn is becoming the expert and teaching the rest of us including her Grandma Martinson (who bought her uke a couple of years ago and doesn't know how to play it ha ha).
Dance Recital 2021
They did an amazing job!
More Hiking
The girls were teaching me about the Honeysuckles.
They all fit!
My dad bought me this BBQ 2014 and it served us well and the top broke off. Thank you for it DAD!
Emmett went on a date with Derek and Emmett wanted to go in the truck and Chick fil A.
He loves hanging out with his dad!
Rollerblade fun!
Derek found the tiniest turtle in the church parking lot. So cute!
We started getting together with other homeschool families once a month or so and doing fun activities together. This month each family picked a country where we present and bring a food item from this country. We choose Italy and the kids made gnocchi. It was so fun to have a fun event and all the kids did great!
I have been feeling so grateful for the village that is helping me raise my kids. I am extremely blessed to have fabulous teachers for my kids. We bought many giftcards to smoothie king and gave it to babysitters, teachers at school and dance, piano, and others. We are very blessed!
Derek got a vasectomy. This is how we picked him up from the hospital.
Derek was a little bugged that I didn't get anything done when we had Emmett, but I was not ready to make that big of a decision. Then he got a glimpse of my experience during his consult when the Dr. asked if he was 100 % sure he was done having kids. He then understood what a big decision that was for me.
We are so grateful for our family and we are happy to be complete. Derek and I have really enjoyed each stage of parenthood. We are excited for the next stage of independence of our kids. Yay for no more diapers, extra diaper bags, extra change of clothes, and the kids doing more on their own.
We have been talking a lot with our kids about a growth mindset. We have asked the kids to share ways that they have practiced something over and over to get better. Roller skating is one of those areas for each of our kids. They love it so much!
The local roller skating rink has a homeschool session each month and it was the last one of this school year. It is fun to get more involved with the homeschool community.
Our friends invited us over to their house to play on this waterslide. The kids had an absolute blast! We spend the whole day playing!
Our friends have 6 ducks that the kids loved! Especially Desi
Desi and Claire got a new bunk bed! They have been counting down the days. Dad's little helpers.
Happy Birthday to this little guy! He is 3 years old! We are grateful for this boy.
We celebrated PJ Masks style.
He wasn't feeling the best so he got to stay home from school and hang out with me!
Granny is super kind to send him cookies in the mail. He loved it!
Our Family Italy report
I can't believe this kid! He finished the Pre-K material where he knows all his letters and sounds. I guess we will continue to move forward. The next book he begins to read. He is one smart cookie!
I found Emmett in his room just looking out the window in his underware. It was a fun magical moment because it reminds me the joy of being a kid.
He got pop rocks for his birthday from the primary and he was so excited to try it.
My mother's day bouquets!
We have a dog named Ranger on our walking route. This is the closest we are going to be to getting a dog. ha ha.
DATE NIGHT: LONG BOARDING
It was so much fun to long board together. This is something that I can see us both enjoying!
Dance recital
Desi got a date with Daddy! She has been working so hard at school. This year she has been doing the Kinder level and other books that have taught her how to read.
Ashlyn made this mirror to go into her bedroom. She worked so hard.
The weather has been crazy here and raining so much! We have had a house around the corner flood 3 times in the last 2 months and we got nervous because the water started to get up to our back patio. We usually have a little river in our backyard, but this time our whole backyard was covered in water. What is up with this weather: tons of rain and snow!!!! what ???!!!
Our pool turned green
Ashlyn finished her course called Kidpreneur and created her first business. She make a logo, researched dog treat recipes, and went out knocking doors. She is so motivated to work hard and earn money!
We have a pet- Tina the Toad. She lives in our backyard by the swimming pool.
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