According to Motorola, 7.

It seems like I am drawn to pictures when I'm having a hard day, as if I'm searching for good memories to make things better and bring me the hope of good times ahead.  This week has had its ups and downs.  Our month in Utah was brim full of wonderful times and it's been hard to come home and feel the weight of responsibility and parenthood settle back in.  Today Bry needed to play the organ for sacrament meeting and it was too much for me to handle holding Aimee and rowdy Lij and Alex...Olivia helped for a bit and then Stacee, and I was in and out of the foyer.  I had a really poor attitude and was so grumpy.  I'm trying to snap out of it, but I wish I could just be a happy, positive, loving, fun mom who doesn't have such frustrating times :0(  In any case, it's good to look back over the month leading up to our trip and see all of the good times we had, newborn baby, mother of four and all!

I love the outfits she picks out.

Me & Brie at Park day.

Love these sweet little kisses.

Aimee about the same size as Brie's doll.

Snuggles :0)

Brie writing a talk for primary.

Sunday snuggles.  I will admit that it was a nice respite each Sunday to stay home with just this little sweetie.  

Late night visitor.  It's interesting having a newborn + 3 young children.  There seems to frequently be someone up during the night for one reason or another.

Dad & you kids made me breakfast.  I think the day before must have been a hard one.

A few more pics of these sweet outfit on Aimee before she outgrew it...

Memorial Day BBQ.  The denim pockets were great for keeping the napkins from blowing away.

Remembering some of our loved ones who have passed on.

Little Roo, wet from rain or the hose?

I decorated for Memorial Day and kept everything up since we're not usually here for the 4th of July.

Adding final pictures and touches of color to our Summer Bucket List.

Oh my little Roo.

Actually got ready!

Alex being my grocery shopping helper.

More snuggles.

Air hockey with Alex.

A great book that was gifted to us by Grandpa & Nana Julz.

Brie, you've been working so hard to keep your room clean AND organized!

I just love this bright-eyed little beauty.

Sweet sisters.

Jenny and Aimee.

Yummy Chinese food thanks to the Hintzes!

Getting ready for family prayer, those 4 little cuties.

We had a particularly wet and cool June.  This must have been on an especially chilly day that we brought out the winter wear to play in.

You kiddos LOVE punching paper, almost an hour of fun getting ready to make a banner for Grauntie.

My first outing with all 4 kids.

Crinkle-nosed little man.

Big brown eyes, chubby cheeks and the best smile in the world.

Smoothie moustache.

Have I mentioned Olivia??  She was a God-send for us in June.  We paid her to be a mother's helper and she was such excellent help!!

Working on t-shirts for the Summer.  The markers were supposed to bleed with hydrogen peroxide, but didn't...good ol' Pinterest semi-nailed it.  The kids loved the project and they turned out cute anyway.

Roo squirting hydrogen peroxide on to his shirt.

Aimee sporting her onesie.

Picnic and water fun at Tipton Park with the Silveys.

Katie & Elinor came to play with the kids several afternoons as well.  They really helped us get through June.

Getting our Father's Day cards ready to mail.

Brie, Alex, Ethan and Aaron enjoying popsicles (Dad rented a truck to pick up Alex's new big boy mattress).

Roo saying hi to his sis.

Face timing with Grauntie.

Can you tell we like snuggles around here?

Working on Matt & Erin's reception invitation.

You kids came downstairs one day announcing that you were going to Disneyland. I played along and pulled out your mouse ears...CUTE boys!

We've done a few Friday (frozen) pizza parties.  I hang up our banners, spread out the red and white checkered tablecloth, chill some glass soda bottles (for rootbeer) and voilà!

Beautiful front porch flowers that Bompa & Mémé planted.

Dad spent a Saturday morning making delicious cinnamon rolls.  He is more of a baker than I am!

Trying to keep this busy little boy busy :0)

Post-back-porch-hair-cuts picture.

Brie, you just love your sis and take such great care of her!

Alex, helping bathe Aimee.

Lij and his orange hunting hat.

We requested to flip your hair out like mine one Sunday and you looked so much like Rapunzel at the end of "Tangled."

This picture reminds me so much of Brie as a baby--being born in December you often wore beanies and blankets to keep you warm.

Olivia pushing one of the GIANT carts while we shopped at Target.

Alex, you love to pack your backpack with things and carry it around.  Looks like Guinea hitched a ride this time :0)

The makings of an excellent salad.

Roo reading.

Sweet girl.

I followed a simple Pinterest tutorial and made a few felt bows.

Our little fashionista.

Points, Prizes and Puff balls---our Summer incentive system that has helped out SO much!

I think we can finally deem our guest room done!  

A picture I found of Me & Grauntie.  She has been a part of my life from the beginning.

I'm working harder to get showered and dressed...at least 2x/week ;0)

Water color paintings with you kids.  I am trying to chill out and even let Elijah get involved in the fun.

A zucchini plant is evidence to me that God blesses and prospers our little efforts.  With a little soil, sunlight and rain this little plant has flourished.

Roo helping me make fruit loop treats (in his new apron).

Neat and tidy and ready for bed.

Brie and Alex, you worked together to make Alex's bed one day.  I just love The Book of Mormon placed there as well.

Most mornings you kids CAN'T WAIT to see Aimee!

Picking out and trying on an outfit for Fancy Day with Aunt Em.

Me & Aimee in the mother's lounge, soon-to-be a frequent occurrence.

Getting pie ready to hand out at church for Father's Day.

Dad & Aimee, he was so proud to carry you around :0)

Brothers, brothers....

A modified Read-a-thon.

Brie coloring in a fun design.  I just love your choice of colors.

At 9PM the night before leaving for Utah I realized that we hadn't gone looking for fireflys yet and that it might be our last opportunity.  Dad humored me and stayed home with sleeping Aimee and dead-to-the-world Alex while Brie, Roo and I adventured out to spot those magical summer insects.  It was great fun :0)

**As a side note, I joined Instagram in May so it feels a bit like old news to do "phone updates" since many of these are on my Instagram account, but at least this way they'll be sure to make it in our blog book.**

the Kirks.

30-31 May 2015

Our good friends (from St. Louis) the Kirks were driving through from Michigan to Kansas and stopped in for the night.  Although Kate was coming down with a nasty cold which shortened their visit, it was great to reconnect, see how big Sam has gotten and to see Kate's growing baby bump!  We love you guys!  Let's make a goal to all be healthy next time we see each other :0)

First & Last of Kindergarten.

28 May 2015

You know we've been busy with four kids when it's already been almost a month since school got out and I am just now getting around to this post.  In any case, the last 9 months were very eventful for all of us...including for Brie who completed Kindergarten.  You never did an official preschool yet you jumped right in to full day Kindergarten and excelled  It was so fun to see how much you have grown up and learned.  You've learned how to do the monkey bars, talk a little eat a lot during lunch, make friends, raise your hand, listen, follow instructions, add and subtract, take brain breaks & dance, line up, be helper of the day, and do show 'n tell.   The most notable change being that you started Kindergarten knowing your alphabet and now can read all by yourself AND you've been writing up a storm. It was magical to watch that transformation!   Like Mrs. Kauten mentioned, you like to do things really well and it has shown in your school work and here at home.  Congrats, Bug, on all you've accomplished this year.  First grade, here Brie comes!

Lift & Love, Support & Serve.

7-20 May 2015

First off, I can't help but look back on last Fall when we had an outpouring of love and support during first trimester.  Here we are on the other side and I feel a similar outpouring of blessings!  Dad & I were so grateful to have Bompa & Mémé come visit for two weeks.  It amazes me to look through these pictures and see ALL of the things that we did and projects that got accomplished while they were here!!  I'll have to post later the specifics...

Thank you, Mom & Dad, for your stellar example of lifting and loving, supporting and serving.  We have been richly blessed by the two of you over the years.  Thank you for helping us make it through this time of transition.  We loved having you here with us!

Today marks...

...ten years since I entered the Provo Temple to be endowed, in preparation to leave on my mission.  How grateful I am for the blessings that have to come to me because of the temple and the covenants that I have made.

an extra special Mother's Day.

Not only did I feel so blessed to have my Parents come out to visit after Aimee's birth, but I felt particularly spoiled to have Mémé here for Mother's Day.

Dad sat in the van with you kids while I went in and hand selected flowers to be used for a floral arrangement to give to Mémé.  It turned out just beautiful and I was grateful to be able to do a little something nice for my Mom after all of the MANY things she has done and continues to do for me.

Saturday night my Mom helped me to "puff-erate" some tissue paper puff balls :0)...then I decorated the dining room with flowers, puff balls and garlands.  For breakfast Dad and Bompa made us omelettes (they had a whole assortment of add-ins to choose from) and a smoothie.  Yum!  Bompa stayed home with (a sick) Elijah and with Aimee while the rest of us went to sacrament meeting.  Brie & Alex went up with the rest of the primary kids to sing.  We couldn't really see your faces, but I could tell that Brie was trying to help a crowd-shy Alex to brave and that made me smile.  Then Dad, Mémé and I sang Aimee's song, "Mother Tell me a Story" for one of the musical numbers.  It was honestly very last minute and thrown together, but we got lots of compliments and it was special to be singing with two people that I love so much.  Especially since I have fond memories of Mémé singing to me and my siblings and because this song reminded me of Aimee's recent and special birth.

On Saturday Mémé and I selected and shopped for our dinner menu and then Sunday the men prepared it for us:
Honey-glazed salmon
Herbes of Provence Green Beans
Baked potatoes
Salad

It was delicious and nice to have the evening off from cooking!  Dad sweetly obliged my request to get a bunch of pictures of us four girls.  I think it's significant to have 3 generations of women together and wanted to document it.  (I would have requested a picture with all of you kids, but you boys are extra wound up on Sundays and we were trying to keep Lij away from Aimee so he wouldn't share germs.)

Our home teachers, the Cashes, brought me chocolate-covered strawberries (how nice is that!) and Dad gave me a new crêpe pan and toppings.

Throughout the week Brie showered me with a variety of cards and drawings.  What a sweet girl you are, Brie!  You had a few questionnaires that you filled out for me.  My favorite answers were that my job is to clean the house and that I am good at taking care of babies.  You also brought home a mini bottle of lotion from school and gave me a hand message.  What a fun treat.

It was a one-of-a-kind Mother's Day spent with some of my very favorite people in the world.  I am so grateful for you four who call me Mom.  I learn so much being your mother and you make my life full and meaningful.  I love you Brie, Alex, Lij and Aimee.

P.S. This is the postcard that we sent out.  I decided to send it out early, thinking that I'd be in labor or have a new baby on Mother's Day.  We ended up mailing them on Alex's birthday, little did I know that Aimee would be born the next day!