random pictures

 Last Sunday Savanna was pretending to snap pictures of Caimbree before church.  When I saw the face Caimbree was making I had to hurry over and get a picture.  This girl and her faces crack us all up.

After church Jeff was asking Heidi why she had to push the limits before listening and Caimbree looked up at Jeff as innocent and sweet as could be and said, "Am I pushing the limits dad?"  It made everyone start laughing.  She always says things like that just make us giggle.  Any time we stop at a red light she gets frustrated.  As soon as the light she turns green she says, "Go people." 

Savanna stops at nothing to get a good laugh. We went to a baptism and they had doughnuts afterwards.  She made her face as messy as possible and then went around saying, "Can I have a kiss?" while puckering up her lips and laughing hysterically.  Life without her would be so incredibly boring and we love her to pieces! 

park days

We spend a lot of time playing at parks and we are looking forward to fall weather and more days at the park! 

sisters

These girls are so incredibly lucky to have each other and we are so incredibly lucky to have them as our children!  They bring us so much JOY!

pre-k picture for savanna

Savanna's school picture turned out so cute!  Oh man, she is such a beautiful, fun, full of life little girl and we love her so!

hiking in bellevue

 A few weeks ago we went hiking in Bellevue at one of our favorite places with the story book trail.  We read the new fall story they had posted along the trail and acted out the Billy Goat's Gruff story on the bridge.  We saw some deer and birds and had a great time in this beautiful place we call home!  Hiking is more definitely our favorite way to spend quality time together and we can't wait for fall break to do some more!

heidi at 7

 I have been trying to find time to get this busy girl's picture and post written or a long time!  Today is the day!  Oh my goodness do we love this gorgeous girl!  She is just growing so fast and we are so proud of the incredible girl she is becoming!

*Heidi loves to be part of anything and everything.  This year she is involved in soccer, dance, and piano and she says she loves them all. 

*I have never met anyone who loves school as much as Heidi does.  She hates when there is a day off and doesn't even like the weekends!  While I am sure there will be days and years she wishes she didn't have school, I have always said this is a child who was built for school.  She loves the structure, she loves to learn, she loves the social aspect. 

*Heidi has an unbelievable memory and is so incredibly smart.  Her tests scores are so high they are off the charts.

 *She has yet to meet a book she doesn't love and she constantly has one in her hands.  Lately she is obsessed with the Princess Posey series, but every time I get her a new book, she finishes it before I realize she even started reading it!

*Heidi loves to get dressed up and figure out outfits and hair styles. 

*When Heidi gets home from school, she races to her room to play school.  I am amazed at her creativity and imagination.  Last time I checked she was teaching her animals about missing addends and she had them in groups sitting around different plates with different counters.  She also has headphones she made taped to her wall she uses for a listening center. 

*Heidi says she wants to be a vet, a teacher, and a mom when she grows up.

 *Heidi is so responsible and she just seems so much more mature than her age.  She understands how people are feeling and has a lot of empathy. 

*Savanna and Caimbree are so lucky to have Heidi as their big sister.  She includes them in her games, she reads to them, and she is always watching out for them. 

*Heidi makes friends so easily and no matter the age, everyone wants to play with Heidi and considers he their best friend.  It's no surprise because she is so sweet and kind and she always has a super fun game up her sleeve. 

*Heidi is still a horrible sick patient, but she has gotten a tiny bit better at the doctor, but it is still a stressful experience for all of us!

*Heidi loves to take charge and feel big.  She often carries a calculator around as her phone and talks to her friends.

*Heidi often holds herself back with her mind.  She gets frustrated if she can't do what she wants to perfectly the very first time she tries. 

*She absolutely loves jokes and we absolutely love to hear her tell jokes.

*We are amazed at quickly she is learning to play the piano.  She loves to learn new songs and she loves to play for anyone who will listen. 

We could not be more proud of this 

amazing seven year old!

She has grown up so much

this year!  We are

especially proud to see her care and 

concern for others.

She is one in a million and we feel

so incredibly lucky and blessed she

is ours!

first canoe ride

Last weekend we went to Montgomery Bell to get a paddle boat ride in before they were closed for the season.  After the paddle boats, the girls were begging to do a canoe so we figured, why not?  We had blast in the canoe trying to keep them from tipping the boat over!  It was such a fun afternoon spent together!

oh sweet savanna

 I don't know what we would do without Savanna and her happy energy and spunk.  I love her excitement over the most simple little things.  One day at lunch she told me she should have been named Sparkles.  Her eyes always have a little sparkle so it would actually be a very fitting name!

One day last week she was playing dress up with Heidi and Caimbree and she was sporting some "earrings".  She had clipped alligator clips to her ears and then added some hair bows to switch them up.  She made sure she wore them everywhere, including the store.  I asked her if she thought she wanted to get her ears pierced and she said, "No thanks.  I will just do it when I'm 6 or 8."  Oh how grateful I am to

to have Savanna in our home.  We love her so!

love power

 The girls don't always get along.  There are days and sometimes weeks where they don't seem to agree on anything.  Or one or all will be overly tired and then everything becomes a struggle.  Thankfully, there are so many moments and days and weeks that reaffirm that these girls really love and care for one another.

The other day Jeff was with the scouts and the girls and I went for a walk.  They were giggling and running and playing some game that involved sticks and magic powers.  Caimbree was having a hard time keeping up and she would start getting a little sad.  Every time she did, one or both of her sisters would come running back and give her hugs and kisses.  They told her the "love power" they were giving her would make her run faster and then they would start running together again.  It was so sweet and so thoughtful of the two big sisters to keep coming back for their little sister.

Another day that week we were on a walk and Caimbree was so excited because she found a penny and couldn't wait to put it in her new piggy bank the bank gave her when we opened a savings account for Heidi.  She dropped it at some point and was completely distraught when none of us could find it.  Heidi whispered to me that she was going to run ahead and get a penny out of my purse and hide it somewhere so Caimbree could find it when she got home.  She and Savanna were SO excited to do this and ran as fast as they could to put a penny on the porch.  As soon as we walked up with Caimbree, Heidi and Savanna led her to the porch and the penny.  Caimbree was overjoyed and Heidi ran inside to grab my phone and take a video of her finding the penny because she just knew it would fun to re-watch how happy Caimbree was. I thought it was just the sweetest, most thoughtful act of kindness.  They are so lucky to have each other while I know there will be ups and downs as they grow, I hope they are always friends.