Super Cute

A girl on the move!
Irelynn so enjoys dragging toys around the house. It's super cute to see her peek over her shoulder as she watches the toy that she's got behind her. Sometimes she drags a toy mop or broom - sometimes she drags her ride-on airplane like pictured below...




I Love kids in PJ's.
They are such hams.

I love it when babies "go upsidedown" like this. Irelynn does it all the time! Little diaper-bottoms are just so cute!

When Irelynn grabbed the back of Branson's pajamas and began walking around with him, Branson responded with, "Chugga-chugga-choo choo!" It didn't take long for Natalya to join in the fun - and they all chugga-chuggad together around the house.


This picture makes us laugh. Irelynn has learned from Natalya and Branson that it's funny to run around the house screaming. Now whenever she's excited she runs around aimlessly while yelling, "Aaahhhh!" I think I can see her tonsils.

Friendship Girlies

I love living in an area where there are many good friends and neighbors nearby. And luckily, some of Natalya's friends from church, Olivia and Pammie, ended up in her kindergarten class this year! These three girlies are so cute together. I was telling our next door neighbor (Yara) about the girls and because she's so sweet, she offered to make them friendship bracelets.

So I picked up Natalya, Pammie, and Olivia after kindergarten one day to return to our home for lunch and bracelet-making with Yara. They turned out fantastic! And best of all, the girls were in heaven - they thouroughly enjoyed every minute. They first each chose their favorite beads and Yara helped them create a pattern.

Olivia's was teal and black with silver stars. Pammie's was green and blue with silver flowers. Natalya's was purple and pink with silver butterflies.

Now almost every time they see each other, they join their fists together and mention being "friendship girls".

Yay for Kindergarden!

Off she goes!

It took only seconds for Natalya to wiggle out of her booster seat and run into the Kindergarten playground. She had counted down the days until school began - and wanted to go to bed extra early the night before so that she could wake up faster! Natalya is the first kindergarten class of Henry & Evelyn Bozarth Elementary, a brand new school in our community. There are 4 kindergarten classes (nearly 100 kindergartners altogether) in a school of almost 800 students! We knew her teacher, Ms. Lee, before school began because our daughters took a dance class together. She is an outstanding teacher and does an excellent job with Natalya's class of 29 kids.

This is the kindergarten playground. The school is currently in the process of adding a canopy over the play equipment. They are also going to add murals on the blacktop.





Natalya's first day was a family affair! I was glad I wore big sunglasses, because it was hard not to get emotional when watching your oldest child become so independent and ready to move on to the next stage of her life. She was ready - I wasn't.


Ms. Lee asked the children to get their backpacks and stand in a straight line. Then she looked at them and said, "Tell your parents that you'll be fine - and that it's all going to be OK. Now wave good bye!"

That was it. She was gone. And I was left feeling proud of her, proud of myself, and a little sad to think that her baby years were over.

I love motherhood. I love every stage of my children's lives. I don't ever want to find myself wishing their lives away - but enjoying their current station and celebrating every step they take.

So Much to Blog, So Little Time...

In a perfect world we would all have plenty of time to do whatever it is that we want (like blog), cameras would never break after being left outside for 3 days, and internet would never get bogged down. But since we live in this wonderful yet imperfect world, there are always excuses for not keeping our little family journal current.

With that said, I think we're due to update our blog.

Where to begin... JUNE
Nearly every morning when the weather is exeptionally hot outside, my kids wake up and go running in the sprinklers. Here they are enjoying a beautiful morning in June.






On a few occasions, I have bathed them all together. With three kids in the tub the bathroom can get quite wet and noisy!

Because it rarely rains in Las Vegas, the kids celebrate even the slightest drizzle. They come up with so many fun activities when it's wet outside. Their favorite thing to do is make mud puddles in low parts of our grass and slide down their slide that magically turns into a waterslide when it rains.



I captured a sweet moment my dad was having with Irelynn - they were razzing (kindof like blowing spit bubbles) to one another. My dad is so good with kids.



JULY

Irelynn is fiesty. She's always getting into trouble - while wearing a smile. Dish soap, Old English, Cascade, Clorox wipes... I should think about locks for my cupboard doors.

She's a big help with the laundry, too.

She also likes to put things in the trash: remote controls, pajamas, flip-flops, toys, sippy cups, and dirty diapers. (At least she got one right.) And she's proficient at emptying the trash. Once she picked out a paper plate that had maple syrup on it. It drizzled all over her shirt, shorts, carpet, and kitchen floor. She was so proud. :)

Natalya and Branson SO enjoy playing on their computers. They take them everywhere - and when they get bored of one, they trade. Here, Natalya is playing Branson's computer and Branson has the Barbie computer.



COUSINS
Brian's sister, Angie, and her familiy just moved back to the United States from Germany. We went nearly three years without seeing them. So when we got word that they were going to make a stop in Utah (at Nana's house) before settling in Oregon, we packed our bags and got out of town in a matter of hours!
Angie has four little girls: Kaytee, Toree, Ashlee, and Brynnlee.


We went swimming with the kids at a local recreation center - it was awesome! I wish we had a place like this close to home.




Just the girls. Branson was done taking pictures.



Toree and Natalya - cute cousins!



Cousins with their great grandma, "GG".



Pop stars on microphones.

While in Utah, we missed my dad's 75th birthday! So we celebrated with him the day after we got home. We shared a delicious dinner and strawberry shortcake. Happy Birthday, Daddy!

AUGUST
A sad day at the Reeve house.

I finally trashed the world's best pair of sandals. They have been my companions for the last 13 years. They were so comfortable that even when they started falling apart I prefered to wear them over other choices. When they were literally "hanging by a thread" my friend Heather deemed them unwearable. So we documented the moment I had to toss them in the trash. Since then I have found a suitable replacement - however, not nearly as comfortable as my old favorites.

Irelynn likes to climb into boxes. One can't help but tote her around when she looks so cute just sitting there.

I finally finished painting our bedroom. It's a blue/gray color and I'm going to decorate the rest of the room with silver, white, and charcoal. I still need to finish buying our bedding - paisley printed European (square) pillows, and a white bed skirt. It's a work in progress...



Hiking in Red Rock - again!

08.18.08

Irelynn's 1st Birthday!! I can't believe that Irelynn is already a year old. Her first year has flown by so quickly. She seems to be on a fast track - crawling at 6 months old, walking at 9 months, running at a year... And of all my children, I wanted time to slow down the most with her. Unfortunately she seems to be growing up the fastest!

We celebrated a wonderful first birthday with her. We invited my parents over for dinner - Irelynn's favorite foods - which consisted of macaroni and cheese, watermelon, grapes, and milk.

I made her a classic white cake with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries in between the layers. I covered it with flowers to accompany her butterfly theme.



I found super cute blue butterfly wings for her to wear when she blew out her candle.



Like most 1 year old babies, Irelynn enjoyed the wrapping almost more than her gifts!

A few days after her actual birthday, we had a small party for Irelynn. We invited just a few neighbors and friends who had babies close to the same age as Irelynn.

I made her two chocolate butterfly cakes and one white flower cake.

I love this pictures of the babies! They were all born within a couple of months of each other. Chloe, Karlee, Irelynn, and Prentice.

We know a few other babies their age, but they were busy the day of her party. How fun it would be to have a picture of all the babies in a one row!

I love my family so much! We share such busy lives - we truly have to make the most of even the smallest moments together.

Well, life keeps rolling on. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with all of life's demands - including a simple journal entry every once in a while.

Oops.

I forgot to post Father's Day! I hope that my absentmindedness isn't cause to think that I under-appreciate my loving husband. He is such a wonderful man! My husband loves me. He is an excellent father to our three children. He leads and protects our home. Brian is self-driven and works extremely hard at all he does. He strives to keep balance in his life - and always tries to put his family and the Lord first. We're so lucky to have him in our lives.
I love you, sweetheart! Happy Father's Day!!



I was so impressed with the way the kids wrapped their present. It was the first time they worked together to wrap something - completely on their own. Branson cut the paper and tore the tape. Natalya folded and taped the ends - and added the bow. Great job, kiddles, on a gift wrapped with love! They were so proud of themselves.

I love my dad. He is such a good man. He has always been a truly excellent role model to me. And the best part is... he's an even better grandaddy! My kids adore him. They can't get enough of their Grandaddy. I love you to pieces, Dad.

A Backyard Campout

Daddy was working hard during the week and the kids were bummed that they didn't get to see much of him. One morning before he left for work, he asked the kids if they wanted to have a backyard campout on the weekend - and wouldn't you know it, they did! They were beyond thrilled. In fact I think they said, "Isn't this so fun?!" like, a million times.

It's not a real campout without s'mores! Yep - that's a s'mores maker.

Unfortunately, the wind was too strong to lite the Sterno can in the s'mores maker - so we had to take it inside.

Spooky ghost stories around the fire? No. Bedtime stories around a lantern.

They didn't last all night - the wind was terrible. But they did last a few hours.

We left the tent up for a few days and the kids played "house", read books, used it as their fortress and performed magic shows - all in their tent. What a treat! Thanks daddy.