She's Five!!

My oldest baby turns FIVE today. Ever since she surprised us one month early five years ago, she has continued to bring surprise & joy to our lives. I interviewed her last night- here's her answers: 1. favorite color is pink 2. favorite food is chicken noodle soup 3. favorite movie is Chipwrecked 4. favorite songs are Bible songs 5. favorite place is DisneyWorld 6. favorite subject is writing. 7. best friend is cousin Lilli. 8. wants to be a doctor for animals when she grows up 9. favorite thing to do with daddy is feed cows. 10. the president is George Washington. :). I love this age, and it makes me happy to see Laney getting older and more indedpendent. But, Laney Dawn, here are ten things I never want to forget about you right now: 1. You love your pink tag blankie and you won't sleep without it. 2. You won't let us eat without praying 3. You are the BEST big sister- Lawson often looks to you for comfort. 4. You love to sing and perform, and you have a wonderful voice. 5. You always want to color and draw. 6. You don't let a night go by without coming to check that daddy & I are okay. 7. You are terrified of spiders and most bugs, but love grasshoppers. 8. You love to dance, on stage most of all. 9. You do not like having your hair brushed. 10. You have such a sweet spirit, and you don't like it when anyone is hurt or sad. Happy happy birthday, Laney. You are my precious gift.

Friday Finale- Summer Week Two

5. Memories- tough tough week...especially Tuesday- I miss my friend like crazy. 4. Laney & Haley each had their grammy time this week. Makes it so fun to be home with the other two and watch the different dynamics that exist when one is gone. Also makes me realize how different it will be when they are all at least 4 years old. 3. Lazy mornings, cuddles, cartoons & strawberry milk- enough said. 2. We decided that John will now be a full-time rancher. He has turned his hobby into a full-blown crazy successful business, and it is time that it is his only career. Watching the one you love most do the thing they love most is priceless. 1. Laney's Party Prep- WOW! We are having a blast getting ready for Laney's 5th birthday party tomorrow! We've had great response and expect a ton of fun friends...more next week. Hard to believe this little peanut turns 5 on Monday- my greatest blessing that made me a mommy, she's the best of me...

Friday Finale- Summer Week 1

Week One of Summer Top Five 5. No schedules! The best part so far is not rushing around to get anywhere in the mornings. Not that anybody sleeps in, but being lazy in the morning is sooooo nice. 4. Our new favorite babysitter. We have the sweetest girl across the road who has stayed with the kids a few times. Jaybree is awesome-and close by! 3. No more mange. Haleys hair is a nightmare-yesterday we got serious and cut her hair short short. No more tangles for her, and she has the perfect personality to rock a short cut! (it wasn't to the point of mange, but it was bad!) 2. The start of S & S days. To us, this is Swimming and Sno-Cone days. We've had two so far and expect many more to come! 1. Family Getaway. Last weekend, we took off and stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool (exciting stuff), went to the zoo and ate at kid places. Because of John's second full-time job (hobby?), we don't always have a lot of weekend time together, so this was really special. A perfect start to the summer! Coming up this week is Laney's dance recital, Laney & Haley's individual trips for Grammy time and Laney's birthday party (first one with her friends.) I already feel like it is going too fast, but what a great time we are having! I am doing this on an I- pad, and as soon as I figure out how to coordinate Instagram, Facebook and the blog, we will be rolling, but for now, text is all I can manage. On a personal note, this weekend marks a year that Metisha went to her eternal home. Please keep her family (and me) in your thoughts as we all still struggle to go on without her light in our lives. Have a super weekend! Have an S & S day-they're the best!!