Happy Summer!

One of my favorite pictures of the summer so far. Brooke is changing everyday! We are having so much fun with her.
Sam waiting for the whistle to start the race. Sam and his cousins are doing swim team for the first time this summer. They are learning a lot. It has been a fun challenge.

Kindergarten Mother's Tea

Sam is my little lover boy and I love every bit of it. He made me a crown and told me that whenever he sees flowers it reminds him of me. Sam sang some great songs for me and got to introduce me to his class. Before we went up together he whispered into my ear "Mom you should dance around up there and make everyone laugh, that will be so cool!" I hope he wasn't too disappointed when I just stood next to him and hugged him. It was fun to be with him enjoy the afternoon together.

Good Job Number 3!

Sam really got the hang of soccer this season. He and his friend Blake dominated the team scoring most of the goals every game. I love to see sweaty little kids at the end of a soccer game.

The Brenchley Girls

My how fast they grow. Brooke 's cheeks couldn't get any bigger or cuter. She is such a good baby, good thing because even with a mellow baby four kids is really challenging me. Brooke is all smiles and loves to be held. Grace is talking a ton but needs to talk even more because she gets so frustrated when I don't know what she wants. We are starting to see some funny little tantrums emerge out of our once always happy Grace. She loves to be naked, eat cookies and watch Dora.
Our house is full of pink! Bows, dresses, little girl jewelry, baby dolls, tea sets, dress-ups, tons of pink, how did this happen to a girl who had the Michael Jordon Poster up on her college dorm room wall? I have always been a little bit a Tom Boy but I sure love these little girls in my life. They are the sisters I never had growing up.

Spring Fling at CTA

This is so Sam. Full of life and a dancing fool. This kid loves to dance! He danced the night away doing the macarena, the hula contest, the cha cha slide, and various other numbers of his own creation, some of which I have to mention look a little R rated. The whole family danced together well minus Paul of course who refuses to shake it in public. He can dance and does in the privacy of his own home. So interesting because the more people the better for Sam.

Chandler Traditional Academy Talent Show

Anne did a great job playing her harp for her school talent show. She had to audition a month ahead and practiced really hard.

Bridging Ceremony

We have come to the end of our Brownie years! I have been a Co-Leader with my good friend Tami West. We have enjoyed three years full of great memories; cookie sales, lemonade stands, crafts, caroling, food drives, many field trips and parties and most of all spending time with our daughters and watching them grow. I can't believe how fast time goes by. Anne seems so mature and has grown into an amazing little lady. We are having a hard time letting go and are considering continuing into Junior Girl Scouts.

Have Your Kids Ever Asked You For a Hamster?

Meet CoCo and Jack our foster hamsters. Our good friends finally broke down and bought their boys two cute little teddy bear hamsters, they were so excited to have them for about a month. Another friend of mine offered to take them for awhile to give her a break and since then they have been passed around among friends. It is the perfect way to experience hamsters with no cost and no commitment. Each family has them for a month. We have loved having them especially because they are not ours to keep. They go back on June 11th! Each family has even renamed them.

Brownie Tea Party

For our end of the year party for our Brownie Troop we went to Mrs. Potts Tea Party. The girls had a great time dressing up, having pink tea (pink lemonade), finger sandwiches, and cake. The girls had a manners lesson and learned how to fold napkins.

Happy April!

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Many of our family members joined us as we blessed baby Brooke.

Our Babies

Grace is loving being a big sister to Brooke.

Grace is 2! We had a fun party at Rolie Polies with cousins and friends. They jumped on the tumble track and had a blast in the big foam pit. There were balls to play with and a big inflatable slide. After Rolie Polies when went to the park for lunch and cupcakes. It was so cute to see the little ones so bouncy and happy. Grace got new sand for the sandbox. She is in heaven with her bucket and shovel. The weather is so great. We are out there for many hours lately. I am not in heaven since I keep finding white sand in my house. Half a bucket full all over the stairs. I keep reminding myself to cherish these moments.

Our present to Anne this year is a trip to the American Girl Store in California. We are going with her good friend Audrey West later this month. Audrey's birthday is in April. They are both turning 9 years old. Audrey's Dad Stewart made this cool poster that we wrapped up and gave to Anne on her birthday. Anne loved it! My mom was sitting next to Anne when she opened it and said "that girl looks just like Anne. IT IS ANNE! " It was a great moment. Thank you Stewart and Tami, what great friends you are.

Happy Birthday Anne! Anne had a great Birthday. Our good friend Kenna Peterson made this beautiful cake for Anne. She did a fabulous job and it tasted as good as it looks. Both sets of Grandparents came over to help us celebrate. Anne got new heelys and has been wearing them ever since.

What a happy baby! Brooke is doing so well. We are falling in love with her more every day. She is known around the house as "the newborn". Since we were still calling Grace "the Baby" Sam would always refer to Brooke as "the newborn" and it has kind of stuck. She is losing her newborn look more and more each day.

We have enjoyed going the Sam's football games and Anne's soccer games every Saturday. Grace goes crazy for any puppy she can find when we are there. Our kids ask us weekly when they can have a puppy. That is not going to happen for awhile. Grace is getting so big. She is talking and singing all the time. It is so fun to watch her interact with the puppies.

Sam just finished up his first flag football season. He was the smallest and youngest on his team. I think I signed him up in the wrong age group. He learned so much and had a lot of fun. It is a lot to learn at first. Sometimes he wasn't sure if he was on offense or defense which made for some entertaining viewing for the crowd. He was so cute out there trying to figure things out.

Have you ever seen a pine wood derby car with a hot pink paint job and a rhinestone heart? Anne and Paul had so much fun building their winning pine wood derby car. Girl Scouts doing the pine wood derby you ask. Well, that is what happens when the leader has all brothers and didn't get to do a car herself. Paul took this activity very seriously. Many hours went into the design and paint job. The evening was so much fun. We all had a great time.

Well, here we are with four kids. Let the fun and chaos begin! The kids are in love with their new baby sister. Grace keeps waving and saying "Hi baby! " all day. Grace seemed to turn into a giant overnight. She was our baby til Brooke was born and now she seems so old. We are starting right into the juggling act now that we are home from the hospital. Life is very full, packed with book reports, spelling tests, Dr.s appts., soccer, flag football, harp, piano, and girl scout cookies sales just had to be this week too and we have one motivated little sales person. Wish us luck. I keep thinking LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Once again thank you family for all of the help this past week. We feel so blessed.

Brooke Brenchley was born Jan. 23rd at 9:37 am. The labor and delivery went very well. These babies come fast and easy. She weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. We are all adjusting and recovering well, thanks to great family and friends that have helped so much taking care of kids, bringing food and letting me rest. We couldn't do it without your support.