Wonder where she learned this from? Must be a little girl with 2 big brothers. It's so funny to see what your kids get fascinated with. This girl loves underwear - either strung up on her arms like a hand bag or on her head like a hat.
She also has a new found love of coloring...
I love the way she sprawls out on the floor - I just think it's the cutest thing. She LOVES to get in the craft cabinet while she's at it...
Not so cute, but it keeps her happy while I'm on the computer (most likely pinning away on Pinterest...haha!).
Sadie's other favorite things:
Trying on all my jewelry and accessories while I get ready each morning.
After some cooler weather last week, she has a new obsession with her winter hat and pink cheetah jacket - if she sees them, she MUST put them on (even if it's 85 degrees like today).
Shoes, shoes, and more shoes (she is her mother's daughter).
Rocking her baby doll and pushing her in the stroller - pretty much the cutest thing ever.
Shaking her little booty to good tunes.
Swinging and going on the slides at the park - she laughs the whole time!
Seeing her daddy off to work each morning - they are so cute with each other, it melts my heart.
Her binky obsession is still going strong. She doesn't always have one in her mouth, but she likes to carry them around and she has to sleep with one in each hand (and one in her mouth).
She's much more emotional than the boys were at her age, but she's also super loving and cuddly. Just don't make her angry or you're in for quite the diva fit!
In short, she's the princess around here and she knows it...
Just look at that face...I want to go kiss her cheeks off right now!
After one of the hottest summers in Texas ever, we are so glad Fall is here! Not only do we get relief from the nasty heat, but the boys get to go back to school and start a new soccer season too. Ben went into 1st grade this year...
The first couple days were great, but then he decided that "1st grade is longer than kindergarten" (even though it's not) and he didn't want to go back. It was breaking my heart because he was crying and said that he would miss me too much (never thought I'd hear him say that!). We said a little prayer that he could be happy at school and he was happy to report back after school that it worked. Luckily, we haven't had any more problems with that and he's back to loving school again...phew!
Matt Mo started Pre-K a week later...
He's going to the same school as last year so it was easy breezy the first day - he knew the drill and got right to work on some puzzles while waiting for the other kids to arrive. Gotta love his cheesy picture-taking grin!
Shortly after school started, soccer season began. Ben is with his same team from the last couple seasons and Matt Mo finally got to join his first team. After sitting on the sidelines watching Ben for 2 years, he is so excited to play! I had to snap some pics before his first practice...
Having both of them playing is a little crazy with 2 different practices each week and 2 games every Saturday. I guess it's only going to get worse as they get older and have even more things going on (plus Sadie too) so we'd better just get used to it. Seeing them progress and have so much fun is definitely worth it though!
I'm almost a month late, but we did indeed celebrate Ben's 6th birthday in July. He's slightly obsessed with Legos lately, so it was no surprise when he chose that for the theme. We thought it would be the perfect time for our first visit to the new Lego Land in Grapevine...
There were rides, lots of Legos to build with, and some pretty amazing creations for us to check out...
Dallas Skyline
The one and only Dirk
And Mo's favorite, Buzz Lightyear
The boys loved the giant jungle gym/obstacle course too. They were too fast to get a picture except for this one I managed to snap right as the birthday boy came down for about the 100th time...
He was so happy to have this Lego man shirt to wear that he got as a birthday present from the Hopewells - thanks again!
Even Sadie enjoyed herself in the smaller toddler-friendly "Duplo" area...
Overall, it was a fun time. We made the mistake of going on the weekend though - very crowded and crazy. We didn't even get to go on the Harry Potter ride or see the little Lego movie because it was so crazy and Sadie was getting overwhelmed - kind of a bummer when you pay so much money! Ben was happy though and I guess that's all that really matters.
At home, the Lego theme continued with his presents...
I love the look of excitement on his face...makes me so happy. Even though it was late, we couldn't resist his pleading to start working on it right away. We let him build the police cars and then finished the police station the next day after church...
He was so proud of the finished product (with just a little bit of help from his dad)...
He also picked out a Lego airplane with some money he got from his Granny and Opa. He put it together ALL by himself!
He also got some presents from Granny and Pops before they left on vacation - the Lego police helicopter that goes with the police station and an awesome quilt my mom made (that was a surprise even I didn't know about). Sadly, I didn't have my camera so I'll have to post those pictures after I get them from my sister...hint hint!)
I had very specific instructions from Ben for his birthday cake...I gave it my best attempt (which as you can see was not all that great and somewhat lop-sided. Oh well, he liked it all the same!)...
I can't believe my little boy is 6 already! He has changed and grown up so much this past year. I can tell he's going to be a fine young man (and probably an engineer if his Lego fascination keeps up...haha). We're only a week away from starting 1st grade and I'm just so proud of how smart, talented, and kind he is (well, most of the time). Of course, there are also times he can frustrate me to no end - he loves to bug and push buttons and he can get pretty crazy and wild (typical boy). But overall, he's just a good kid with an inquisitive mind and endless energy. We're so glad he's part of our family.
Warning: Very long post ahead...just had to get it done!
The next day we went on a little hike up at Cascade Springs with John's brother, Mark, and his family. It's a quick hike, which is good since it was pretty warm up there on the mountain, but so worth it for beautiful views like this...
It's perfect for young kids...the cousins had a great time together.
These guys were my picture posing pros...
Sadie had it made in the shade...
But, of course, she had to get down and do a little exploring on her own too...
The other explorers managed to find a few fish swimming around...
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at Mark and Candace's house - the kids played, the adults talked...it was great. We even got to help Emma celebrate her 3rd birthday that night (a fun little peek at what I'm in for as Sadie grows up - a whole lot of princess and pink!).
We met up with them again on Friday in Park City. John's mom (along with 6 more cousins...that's 12 total for this outing!) came too for some Alpine Slide fun. Granny Sylvia watched Sadie for us while we took the boys up the chairlift...
The ride up was fun, but it's way better coming down! John managed to catch me and Matt Mo crossing the finish line...
Later, we met up with my brother, Josh, and his family for dinner. They happened to be driving down from Wyoming for the weekend - lucky for us! We ordered a pizza and let the kids run wild at a nearby park...
Our kids are the same ages and they had lots of fun together. Sadie and cousin Zach are only 3 weeks apart...
It was fun catching up with them, we could've stayed all night chatting...especially the 2 lawyers discussing work (with a side of fishing/camping...yawn).
Our last day of fun before the LONG drive home was spent with cousins again...yay! This time, at Rock Canyon Park. There's a nice little river flowing through it from all the winter snow - perfect for the kids to go tubing down...
From what I was told, the water was FREEZING cold. It obviously didn't phase the big kids, but Sadie was not having it...
She still had a good time though...
She was happy to chase the dog and run away from her crazy brothers...
Later that night, we met up with some of John's high school friends and their families. Sadly, I completely forgot to take any pictures! It was a great end to our week in Utah though. Definitely a summer vacation to remember. We're already missing the mountains and the cooler weather, but nothing beats home, sweet, home!
The next day, we headed up to SLC to one of the boys' favorite places...the Discovery Museum!
I think they could spend all day in the "ball contraption" area alone...
They also really love the "construction zone"...
And, of course, the water area is always a hit...
Sadie was excited to splash around too...
But her favorite area was probably the play house. She wanted to rock the babies, push the pretend vacuum and talk on the phone... guess she wants to be like her mommy!
She also got a kick out of pretending to drive...
And pretending to ride...
I'm certain the Discovery Museum will be a "must do" every time we visit Utah from here on out!
After Sadie's nap, we all went up to Deer Valley resort for a picnic dinner and a free concert...
The weather could not have been more perfect and the band was pretty good too...good enough for Sadie to bust a few moves!
