4th of July party @ Mom's - People

Loved this day - just loved it!

Lovey, Me, Taylor (13 months), Rebecca, 2-years

Taylor was like, "Seriously Aunt Amanda, how many more

pictures do I have to endure?"

Pam & little EllaMae (13 months)

Baby Rebecca in background; Grandma Rebecca watching

(the girls call her "Grandma Pink")

Mary-Gail, what a complex little 2 year old. She is so full of emotions and expressions. Most often Mary-Gail always has a smile on her face and a smile in her eyes (amazing how her eyes smile). Mary-Gail likes to tease Aunt JoJo into thinking that she [Mary-Gail] is grumpy & won't talk to her [JoJo]. Poor Aunt JoJo usually gets this look from Mary-Gail:

Lovey & I call this look: "The Stare-Down"

Mary-Gail is like this 98% of the time:

Smiling, happy, full of life, Mary-Gail; our little ham-bone Kemp Kutie

Climbing down & heading to the pool to play

(Cousin Isaac joined us - looks like he was having fun...NOT!)

Mary-Gail played with Aunt JoJo and didn't give her any "looks." Which made Aunt JoJo's day!

Mary-Gail played peek-a-boo w/Aunt JoJo, who loved every minute of it!

I love that Mary-Gail still plays peek-a-boo

JoJo having a fun time showing me that my kids actually do have boogers (sometimes)

Pappy was a little trigger-happy as he squirted "drinks" into Rebecca & Mary-Gail's mouths

The girls loved it!

Rebecca adding some "topping" to my cheesecake b-day cake...

...it turned out to be salt

Little EllaMae decorated herself with her blue-frosting, chocolate cupcake.

Now she can try-out for the Blue Man Group!

Becca & cousin, Isaac Kemp

Miguel, clinging to her Tickah on the drive home

These girls were so so so tired!

My three things

Today is my Birthday! We slept in (8:00 am - thank you girls for sleeping in!) and my Lovey made me my favorite breakfast food - French Toast with powered sugar on top. Delicious. Rebecca & Mary-Gail scarfed down their French Toast and asked me, "May I be excused?" so they could go play. Lovey & I enjoyed our bites and stole loving glances at each other. We shared a quited moment and a syrupy kiss across the kitchen table, before Rebecca & Mary-Gail came thundering back in.

My sister's, Jo & Car, have started a tradition where the birthday person shares three things they've done the past year: from accomplishments, to happy events - any three things. I turned to Lovey, twisting the questions a bit, and asked him "What three things do you love about me?" Lovey happily played along, and then I asked him, "Three reasons why you fell in love with me?" And then I got to thinking how I was going to answer Jo & Car's question - What three things have I done this year..? I'll have to think about that...

In the meantime, some pictures from the recent past months

P.S. It's Pixie's B-day too. She was my birthday present from Lovey 8-years ago. Happy birthday Pixie!

Cul-de-sac 'O Fire

My neighborhood usually has a grill-out/potluck and fireworks show for the 4th of July. This year was no different - a family next to us hosted the grill-out (bring your own meat) and everyone brought some fireworks to share. Lovey & I took our girls down around 8:00 pm, mingled with neighbors & friends from the ward, and watched the fireworks go off. I brought the cupcakes Jo gave me from our family party earlier today, and made white-chocolate dipped strawberries sprinkled in blue. They were so festive! (Thanks, Lori, for the idea & picture. And for letting me copy you!)

Lovey almost killed all of us when he lit a firework and inadvertently stood it upside down. I am sooo grateful no one got hurt!

Yummy treats to share

Rebecca, Isaac, Don't know, Amy, & Mary-Gail

Neighborhood kids lined up. Little pyros

Daddy & Miguel

Mary-Gail selected the firework she wanted

Brothers

My Lovey is on the left :O)

Let's start the fireworks already!

Mary-Gail and her "Second Dinner" - chips

Formerly Phread

Formerly Phread, a real, true-life mom saying it how it is. I first met Jenny two years ago - this week - at my in-laws house. My bro & sis-in-law, Jack & Carol, were having a cook-out & a "Cul-de-sac of Fire" fireworks show. I hadn't met a lot of people in the neighborhood since I was on bedrest two months after Lovey & I moved in. And I didn't make any effort to meet anyone after the girls were born or after they came home from the hospital - not my top priority, if you know what I mean. So Lovey & I waltzed down to Jack & Carol's house with the girls in tow, eagar to meet some people at the cook out.

I remember seeing Jenny at a Young Women's recognition awards night prior to me being on bedrest. Jenny was the YW Pres, prego w/#4, and had three adorable daughters w/Shirley Temple ringlet-hair (natural, of course). Jenny had a great headband on, and I thought to myself - what a great hair accessory!

So when Jenny introduced herself to me that night two years ago, I made a fool of myself - the girl with the cool hair accessory was talking to me! I found out that Jenny grew up in NY, played in a band, moved to Utah on not much more than a whim, and here she is. We chatted through bites of food and her managing her little munchkins and their incessant requests - baby number 5 was still in heaven.

Formerly Phread is a blog to be read. Jenny has recently completed two triathlons! Her most recent post speaks about Body & Balance. In particular, she highlights her newest trainer John (the other 2 trainers she'd been "working" with weren't working out). Formerly Phread - read it!

P.S. I first got hooked to Jenny's blog when I saw this post - crazy! I came to find out that Jenny wasn't kidding when I watched her 3 youngest - including the 2yr old whom she is referring to in that post.

Look at these cute panties!

I'm quickly finding that with potty training I have to do laundry more than once a week. I told JoJo that I do laundry once a week (sometimes I would do laundry once every two weeks), and JoJo couldn't believe I could wait that long. But, I reminded her I don't have six people dirtying clothes, and my girls don't change their outfits three & four times a day like JoJo's little Reese & Cy do.

Cough, cough, cough - Well, Mary-Gail has become quite the clothes changer. So, yes, I've increased my laundry duties to twice a week. But, when I see these cute panties I really can't complain. I love folding them - they are so cute!!! And the bum they cover are even cuter!

Success!

My big girl Mary-Gail went poo-poo on the big potty! Woo-hoo!!

Mary-Gail has been in big girl panties since Friday morning. We've only had a few pee-pee accidents, but we've had poo-poo accidents every day (Tuesday MG had two poo-poo's). But tonight she went poo-poo on the big potty!! I'm so happy!

MG loves her Ariel and Dora panties. And she has such a cute little bum in her panties too!!

And Rebecca...she is definitely NOT interested in going potty.