We are so proud of Desi. After our trip to Utah we started to potty train Desi. It started out where she was excited and it wore off in an hour. She would repeat over and over "I don't want to" and I would encourage her and thinking in my head "If I have to hear that one more time, I am done." After her naptime I decided that I am not going to encourage her anymore. Well she finally went in the potty and she got 5 chocolate chips...well she got so motivated! She drank so much water after that because I told her that is how she is going to get more chocolate. Note to self: Chocolate is the key to everything!!!
Party time during our potty time training!
Zingo
Ash and Brin had Art Camp! They enjoy it every year!
Brinley made a new friend
Some of Brinley's art projects during the camp
Ash had a blast in her Fiber Fun class
Emmett is learning to hold up his head in the Bumbo
Emmett is a happy kid and smiling a lot. I was wondering why it is so difficult to capture a picture of him smiling, but then I saw things through his perspective. He is smiling and happy and then mom pulls out this big pink rectangular item and puts it in front of my face and then makes funny faces. It makes me laugh that I expect him to smile when my phone is in front of his face.
We love going on walks at the zoo park.
Thanks Aunt Maren for this adorable outfit for church!
He looks so handsome!
We were watching our Aladdin video and now the girls are wanting to do more movies as a family.
Ashlyn lost her 5th tooth.
All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth.
I wanted to make Ashlyn a book of all her artwork from her Art Class that she took throughout the school year, so I have been looking online for a service and it is over $100 to make a book. Derek came up with an idea to have Ashlyn take pictures with our nice camera and make a Google photobook for $8! It was a fun project for her and we are excited to see how it turns out
Brinley wanted to join in and is making a book of her artwork from art camp.
I love how the girls are into Yoga for kids. It's called Cosmic Kids on YouTube
We love our library
Magic Show at the library
I love our one-on-one dates with the girls. We got dipped cones. During my pregnancy I craved these, but now I think they aren't as great.... pregnancy cravings can be so strange.
For our date night Derek and I tried a drive thru car wash. We must be getting old, if this is entertainment.
Brinley gave her first talk in primary. She did a great job!
Derek and Brinley made her talk together and they put pictures in for her to read it by herself. She did need help so Ashlyn was there by her side.
Great job Brinley!
I went on a special date with these two cute girls for back to school clothes. It was a interesting experience. These girls have totally different styles and it was fun to be in the dressing room with them. Brinley would try on an outfit and dance/admire herself in the mirror, sharing how pretty she looked. Ashlyn would try on a shirt and if it was comfortable she would want it. I told her that she should look in the mirror to see if she likes how it looks on her... this girl is all about comfort!
Brinley got all her clothes at Old Navy and Target was had the most comfortable shirts that is where Ashlyn got all her clothes.
I have been working on a few projects on my list.
This used to be white.
I also painted the chairs. It turned out to be a different color than expected, but it is ok. Derek says it reminds him of a dollhouse ha ha. Now every time I pass the chairs I giggle.
Before
We have the whole bench for church and they all cuddle next to me. I have to remind myself that there will come a time when my kids will want more space, but until then I am going to soak up all the cuddles and snuggles I can get from them.
Handsome Dude!
Ashlyn loves her Kiwi Crate she gets each month. This month she made a launcher. The girls have had a blast playing with it!
Family movie time
After I have a baby, I treat myself with a massage and a Diet Pepsi fountain drink. So relaxing and needed!
I love watching the father-son bond
I love how these girls play so well together (most of the time;)
It is hilarious how Derek uses gloves cooking and changes diapers (not together- thank goodness)
We have some great puzzle makers in our house
Too cute not to share
He is my lit buddy
I think he is going to be a Mama's boy
I love how these girls love to play with daddy during his lunch break.
Precious
Lunch at the library
I love my one-on-one time that I spend with the girls. I am going to miss this when school starts again in a few weeks.
We learned how to draw a firework from Art Hub for Kids
Swim Babes
My crew
Where do I put the food?
Last week we drove 2 hours to Houston because we were going to buy an Expedition. I laugh about this picture (see below) because I gathered all the kids together thinking that this will be the last time we will see this beauty of fun memories and see the ages of the kids when we were getting a new car...
Derek and I had a cool experiences
This is Derek now, chiming in. We have been getting used to spending a little more money in our life. After getting my truck, we thought that we would really like to get something like that for our family, thus, an Expedition. So we've been looking for a while.
I found a dealership in Houston that had a couple Expeditions we liked. So we decided to drive down and see them. I had a cashier's check all ready to buy. They were 2017's. But they were previous rental cars. I knew there would be some wear and tear and was okay with that.
We drove the expedition and were fairly happy with it. But I realized that our family seemed so separated. It was different than driving the van. In the van, I feel like I can see everyone at the same time, and it feels like we're all together. The Expedition felt different. It felt like the girls in the back were so far back there. Anyway, that wasn't the end of the world, just different. So we took it to get inspected. It ended up having an oil leak on the undercarriage. Honestly, it was kind of a relief to me. Because I knew there was a reason I could say I just didn't want to buy it. We were disappointed but it's been a cool experience.
Since driving around our van since then, we've realized how much we like our van! And that sometimes, it's okay to have an older version of things that is outdated, but you can enjoy it and not feel like you have to keep up with everyone else in Lufkin that has new cars.
We've had it for 4 years now. It has 114k miles on it and we've had so little problems with it. We just bought new tires for it so that means we're keeping it for at least a couple more years.
Here we are in the lobby while the Expedition was getting checked out.
We didn't end up getting the car, but we got to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Houston, Chuy's. Every time we have gone, we have been at the exact same table.
Brinley is such a sweet sister.
We went to Hotel Transylvania 3 in the movie theater. It is about them going on a cruise. After the movie we shared the exciting news that we will be going on a Disney Cruise in November with Grandma Martinson.
Daddy painted the girls' nails
Silly daddy
Ashlyn got some extra love from Emmett
Our family tradition
Cow Appreciation Day!
Ashlyn made the signs
We have had a locate waterpark on our family summer bucket list called Splash Kingdom and we went to dinner before and then to the waterpark. We all had a blast! The girls did all the waterslides and we had a family discussion about being brave and doing things that get us out of our comfort zone. I did a waterslide that I was a little nervous about, but the girls cheered me on and I did it. Derek has helped me realize that I (as a parent) need to do things out of my comfort zone and be an example to the kids.
They had a fun bubble machine
Daddy works hard to make our pool crystal clear.
We love our swimming pool!
Here is the girls new trick
They have also being doing a pile up with Brinley on Ash's shoulders and Ashlyn on Derek's shoulders... Crazy bunch!
Today has been a crazy day. The household got up at 5:30 this morning because of the loud thunderstorm (East Texas has the loudest thunder I have ever hear!) We went to get new tires at 8am before we leave for our beach trip with the Van De Graaffs tomorrow and it took them over 3 hours and it took so long at we walked over to Sam's club to get passport pictures. Then we went to the post office which took 2 hours to get our passport applications completed. I love how great my kids can be when we experience random adventures like today. Derek and I are so blessed to have great kids!
WE LOVE THEM!!!!
I finally got a smile pic
Videos
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