August 23

This baby is cute. I love her to pieces. She is growing up too fast.

August 22

Carter and Makenna were having a hard time getting along this afternoon so we assigned them an extra chore. This not was taped to my bedroom door. It says, "It's a hard not (knock) life for us." Oh, this had us cracking up so hard. Kids are hysterical. I guess introducing them to Annie does have it's drawbacks.

August 21

After lots of consideration we decided we cannot keep Luna in our backyard. We don't have enough shade for her or any place for her to burrow. We decided to take her to our friends house because they have turtle habitat set up in their backyard. Luna will be their 5th turtle and we're happy to know she is going to a good home! The kids all wanted to carry her up to the Meredith's house so we let them work together!

August 20

Today it was pouring rain outside and I saw this little turtle walking across our back porch. I grabbed the kids and showed them and they were so excited that we decided to put her in a bucket and keep her for awhile. The kids have been totally enamoured by her and we have had fun researching turtle habitats. We found that turtles love to eat anything red so she snacked on some tomatoes and strawberries. We think she is some one's pet because she has an L on her back. The kids are calling her Luna.

August 19

My plan is to take the kids to do something fun on Friday afternoons. We have piano lessons in the morning and we get the house cleaned up but then we get to play. Today we hit the Aquarium and botanic gardens and had a great time. This is at the end of the trip and the kids wanted to play in the sand for awhile. It worked out great because Emery was ready

to eat. It was hot so we stopped for a cold treat on the way home (as usual!)

August 18

This is pretty much my normal morning routine. I drop the kids off at school and then hit the McDonald's drive through on my way home for my morning Diet Coke. I might be addicted ;)

August 17

After quite big hassle we have finally purchased Allen a new car! This is the 3rd car we have tried to buy and this was the one that finally went through. Both the other cars we tried to buy were bought out from under us. Allen is happy for a car upgrade and I'm happy that we got such a good deal on a car that fits nicely in our budget.

August 16

Totally adorable and impromptu picture this afternoon. The kids had ice cream after lunch and I went to take a funny picture of Addie. The big kids jumped in and I got this super cute picture of my 3 messy kiddos. Love!

August 15

I love this picture. It's not the best lighting or the best composition but I LOVE how it captures the moment in our family perfectly! Emery was trying some new food and the kids were so into watching her and how she would react. It was so much fun to watch them watch her!

August 14

I will freely admit that I am not a fan of TV for kids in the morning. We never, ever turn the tv before lunch and often not at all. I was really tired from having Allen out of town all week so I let the kids watch some Disney channel this morning so I could sleep in a bit. They were seriously in heaven. It was such a treat for them!

August 13

Makenna woke up early and was playing with Emery on our bed. She requested that I take some pictures so they could be the POTD. Love seeing my big kids love on Emery so much. Having a baby with older kids has been a blast!

August 12

What is it about babies and paper? All of my kids have loved crumpling, tearing and eating paper right around this age. Today I gave Ems an empty chip bag and she was in serious hog heaven with that thing. She played with it for a really long time. I liked that nothing could come off in her mouth. Win-win.

August 11

We love popcorn at our house. But it can get pricey buying the boxed microwave popcorn. A few weeks ago I spotted this bowl at Target that you can pop popcorn in the microwave in. It was pretty cheap so I bought it on a whim. We LOVE this thing! It works perfectly and we have loved finding different seasoning combinations for the popcorn. Our current favorite is a mixture of cajun seasoning and dry ranch powder. Seriously delicious! We've definitely made up for the cost of the bowl just in the last month!

August 10

I have a huge list of projects that I want to do now that the older kids are back in school. This is my project from this week. I made this adorable banner for my girls bedroom. It was a really simple project and the entire thing only took me about 3 hours but I think it adds so much to their room. I see lots more fun banners in my decorating future!

August 9

Of course I love changing my house up for every season/holiday and last year I started decorating for BTS. These are my jars for the month - apples, rulers, crayons and wooden letters. So cute! On my dining room table I have a mini-chalkboard, metal school bus and a globe. I love celebrating even the everyday stuff like heading back to school!

August 8

Emery is 6 months old (officially yesterday). She is such a joy to our family. She is the happiest and most chill baby ever. She will smile and laugh at anyone and anything. She has gotten tons better about eating solids, is sitting up by herself and playing with toys, sleeps through the night most nights and loves to put things in her mouth. We love her to pieces!

August 7

First Day of School! The kids were so excited to take off this morning. Allen stayed home late to have breakfast with the kids, we took pictures and then headed off to school. The kids were so excited to see their friends after the summer. Carter did not even want me to walk him to class. I helped Makenna to her classroom with her supplies and asked her if she wanted me to stay for a bit. She saw her friends, said no and bopped right into her classroom. After school they both said they had a great day!

August 6

More BTS prep this weekend. Today we made super yummy caramel apples for the kids to take to their teachers on the first day. The kids had a lot of fun putting these together. We also packed backpacks with new supplies and the three older kids got father's blessings from Allen. I think we are officially ready!

August 5

Carter attended Star Wars camp this week and had a blast! My friend Bethany hosted the camp and she did an incredible job with different crafts and activities for the kids every day. He loved his Padowan outfit and wore it every day all week (I did wash it a couple times in between wearings). It was a great way for him to wrap up summer break.

August 4

With school starting next week our days at the pool are definitely numbered. I will be sad when the hooks in the laundry room no longer hold towels and swimsuits but backpacks and hoodies. I love summer!

August 3

I've wanted to join a produce co-op in NM since we've moved here. It has taken me awhile to track down one that will work for our family. Today we got our first produce box. I pay a few extra dollars per week to have it delivered to our door. Heaven. I am so excited to have this service, to eat locally grown and organic produce, and to have our family try a bunch of new things. This week we got to try Pluots (apricot/plum hybrid) and they were so yummy!

August 2

More BTS preparation. All of our new school shoes! Addison got the purple tennies because she has a ton of Makenna's old shoes. Both Carter and Makenna have some shoes that fit from next year but they've also outgrown some staples. The kids have to wear athletic shoes for school to be able to play on the playground so I try to buy the cutest girl tennies I can since they will be worn with skirts/dresses too. Luckily this year Makenna likes the Chucks look so we have several pairs in different colors for school.

August 1

Back to school madness has begun. We have just over a week until the first day of school and I have started getting the kids organized. First up, new backpacks for everyone. Carter wanted an across-the-shoulder type bag this year which is probably about the first time he's ever had an opinion about anything clothes/accessory relate - ever. Addie got the mini-backpack with cupcakes for preschool and Kenna got the cute owl backpack.

July 31

Now that July is over I'm adding a picture of some of my decor. I didn't add much this year but pulled together this little vignette on the dining room table. I love the runner that I found in a flea market in Colorado. Everything else I already had and was using around the house!

July 30

We do a lot of road tripping and I finally feel like I have a good system for keeping things organized in the car. I bought one of these 3 compartment bins and assigned one to each child. They could bring as much stuff as would fit into their compartment. There was plenty of rooms for games, books, coloring stuff, activity books, leapsters and iPods. Everything had to be in their drawer before we got out of the car every time. I also put a trash can in the back seat. These two things kept us way more organized and clean on our road trips this summer. I also made chalkboards out of cookie sheets for the kids and these came in very handy for drawing on but also playing games on laps and eating.

July 29

Tonight we grabbed dinner from Dion's and headed over to the zoo for the concert tonight. We had a great time again this year and the kids loved picnicking on the grass and listening to the fun bluegrass music. It is such a fun family tradition !

July 28

On a whim I put Emery in the grass while we were playing at the park. She LOVED it. I could not get her to look at me because she was so infatuated with the grass. I tried to put her back on the blanket and she cried because she wanted to touch the grass more!

July 27

It's good to know that we have a legion of Star Wars characters and Harry Potter Wizards working together to protect the universe!

July 26

I can't believe I am already shopping for school supplies. We start school in just a couple weeks so I took the kids to get their supplies today. This summer is zipping by way too quickly for me! I do LOVE getting new supplies for the kids though!

July 25

Today we headed to the local splash pad to play with some friends. It is a nice break from the pool and watching everyone like a hawk. The kids had a really good time. The key to fun at the splash pad is to bring lots of good containers for the kids to splash each other with.

July 24

I have a huge list of projects I want to get done and I wrapped up one today. I made these pillows for all three girls. I originally wanted pillows from Pottery Barn until I realized they would be about $60 each. I made these for about $20 for all 3. It was my first time using pom-pom trim and I learned quite a bit about how to do it better next time.

July 23

Today we started the long drive back to NM. We decided to stop for a few hours in New Orleans on the way home. We had no idea when we would be back in this area with our family so we knew had to take advantage of going on this trip. We had a lot of fun and saw lots of iconic things. We had beignets at Cafe du Mond, had a Muffuletta sandwich from Central grocery, saw a few live jazz bands playing, saw the river boats on the Mississippi, walked through the French Quarter and saw the Cathedral. It was very hot and humid so we jumped in the car and drove through the incredible Garden District. Seeing the destruction from hurricane Katrina was fascinating and we loved the above ground graveyards.

July 22

We can't believe this is the last day of our vacation. We've had such a fabulous trip and have loved the beach, afternoons at the pool and playing with cousins for hours on end. Emery really loved the pool but hated the beach. She was not a fan of the sand at all. She was a champ and stayed in her stroller most of the time at the beach but loved to play in the pool.

July 21

Some of the older kids have been swimming out to a sandbar a little way out in the ocean. Once they get there they dive about 10 feet deep to collect shells and sand dollars. Smith and Carter have been swimming out together at least once a day. It is fun to see them become better friends this week. They have a lot in common and really seem to enjoy being together!

July 20

We have been heading back down to the beach after dinner on most nights. The sunset tonight was so pretty. I love that I captured a tiny piece of it behind this picture of Allen and Addison!

July 19

I am loving taking beach pictures on this vacation! The beach and water are incredible and the kids are having so much fun. I love seeing my kiddos interacting with their cousins and getting to know them after such a long break between seeing each other! Makenna, Addison, Eva and Mariah were having a great time playing in the sand together!

July 18

It's a little brutal to get to a week long beach vacation and the first day is a Sunday! We went to the local branch this morning and then took some pictures after church. I was busy taking some cute pics of the girls with Grandma Frost when Carter decided he needed to make an appearance. Brothers are sure crazy and fun!

July 17

We drove through Louisiana today and took this picture at a rest area while I fed Emery. The kids have done SO well in the car on this trip. We couldn't ask for better travelers.

July 16

Today we started the long trek from NM to Destin, FL for the Frost family reunion. It is about 24 hours and we are splitting it into a two day drive. One of the most fun parts of our trip is we get to see several states none of us have been to before. Since both Allen and I are at the end of visiting all 50 states we decided to stop at the state lines of the states we passed through to get a picture with the sign. So fun! This is Mississippi and Allen's 8th last state.

July 15

Today was the final day of fairytale ballet. The girls have loved having this class every week this summer. Makenna's class did "Little Red Riding Hood" today and I loved the girls in their hoods and cute baskets!

July 14

There is nothing better than a fresh-from-the-bath baby. I love this towel set that Sister Martin (my mission president's wife) sent for her. I think of my beloved Sister Martin everytime we use it! And I especially love that she is so chunkster that it is almost too small for her!

July 13

Makenna has made GREAT strides in her reading abilities this summer. She is reading short, easy chapter books and is feeling so great about her accomplishments. This is her stack of library books for the week. I'm reading Harriet the Spy with her right now since she always talks about being a spy when she grows up!

July 12

I've hit a bit of a baby weight loss plateau. I hate that. This summer has been hard for me to lose weight. I'm stepping it up and cutting way back on carbs. This is my FAVORITE protein shake and I have one every morning. Water, ice, protein powder, dry oatmeal and frozen strawberries. It tastes like ice cream and keeps me full all morning! Yum!

July 11

This is one of those pictures that I didn't know had been taken until I pulled it off my camera. Carter and Kenna were apparently messing around with the P&S camera this week. LOVE this picture Carter captured of Makenna. Quite accidentally it has pretty good composition and I love that it catches the real color of her eyes!

July 10

Today I took a stab at one of the many projects on my to do list. I am going to do a light wash on the window I brought home from CO. First I had to break the glass out of the window, which I thought would be a very quick job. Several hours and cuts later I got all the glass out. Needless to say I didn't get to the painting today. I was very glad to be wearing the safety glasses and gloves with all the flying glass. Isn't this such a super flattering picture of me?!?

July 9

We were at the zoo today and I took this picture of Miss Ems in her stroller. It was super hot so her cheeks are cute and rosy. She's such a good baby and really does so well being drug around all of the time this summer.

July 8

Spoiled girl. She is happy as can be with her gigantic diet coke (stolen from mom), her blanket and watching a movie in the car. What can I say? It was a long day.