Sign Language Painting GIVEAWAY!

Click on the link below to see the cute painting Beth is giving away in a random drawing.

Sign Language Painting FIRST GIVEAWAY!!!!

New Boots!

River is our boot-loving boy! Boots have been a necessary (and important) part of his wardrobe from the time he was about 1 year old. Here he is in his new cowboy boots from Grandma Santa Claus. They go especially well with his new hair cut (notice how he is still dripping wet from the shower) and swim suit. He always prefers to wear his boots with shorts, of some sort. That way one can really appreciate the ENTIRE boot (rather than, you know, covering it up with pants).

Summer Uniforms

You've probably heard of school uniforms, but did you know there was such a thing as "Summer Uniforms"? Well... there is! Here you have it. Our kids are either on the cutting edge of trend-setting fashion... or just plain old W.T. As for me, I'm either the nicest Mom around or the laziest. You can decide for yourself. All I know is that I've had LOTS less laundry this summer than usual (read on, when you see what the "uniforms" consist of, you'll know what I'm talking about).

The Boys Uniform= Wife Beaters and Swim Suits. River inherited a wife beater tank top from Saige at the beginning of the summer. He immediately tried it on, ran to the mirror and proclaimed, "This. Looks. Awesome!" Raven had to agree that his own muscles did look "pretty good", so we bought them each a package of A-Line Tank tops and we were set for the summer.




The Girls Uniform= Dress-Up... all day, every day! Yes we go out in public like this... a lot.




The Babe's Uniform= A Onsie. Period. Unless it's Sunday, then we kick it up a notch with a dress, a bow glued to her sweet bald head, and (if she's lucky and I remember) some gold ballet flats.

Brainy Baby

River, reading to Secret. Secret, paying close attention! Isn't she CUTE?

A Fun Week of Partying with the Hills!

Maxi and the kids came to visit from Kansas and we LOVED every minute we got to spend with them. So much, that we miss them already!

The Best-est Buddies in the Whole Wide World=River and Zane


The Happily Engaged Couple= Raven and Rozy (They have been "engaged" for at least 2 years now. Jared and I don't mind Raven having a long distance engagement, and kind of hope it lasts through Jr. High and High School... that way we can avoid the "girlfriend" thing as long as possible!)
Swimming at "Nana's Pool" (We were so glad Maxi's parents were willing to share them with us!)
Meadow and Heaven loved having a friend their size (well okay, Paizley is WAY smaller than either of them) to play with.

Movie Party with LOTS of popcorn (a Hill Kid's MUST!) And... NO the boys aren't naked, they are in their swimsuits.
Girls Night Out at P.F. Changs. Come on Maxi... just move back! What's so great about Kansas, anyway?!

Seating Arrangement

When I set the girls up for this picture, Heaven and Meadow were tickled and looked at me like, "Really?! We really get to hold Secret without your help? Yay!!" Secret, on the other hand, looked at me like, "REALLY!?! Are you kidding me? Do you realize that I am only a baby? How many babies have you had? Five? And you STILL think this is a good idea?!" (Secret had a lot to say with the look she gave me).

Cute Hairstyle Ideas for Little Girls

Some mama with 3 little girls (that actually sit still to get their hair done), lots of creativity, and somehow the time, has put together a blog with ADORABLE hairstyles for little girls. She takes pictures of the process and tells you how to do it. This is my attempt at one of the styles on Heaven's hair (it looked cuter before it got mashed in her carseat). If you have girls, check out the link to her blog. (Thanks, Heather-Bird for telling me about this, I love it!)


http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/

Practice Preschool

I did a little "Practice Preschool" a few days this month with some darling kids from my church. We had so much fun! Raven and River LOVED getting to help (they are tortured that I'm doing preschool this fall during the time that they are in school-how dare I?). See if you can tell what the color of the day was.

Heaven and friends playing at Center "B".


Dancing to "Tooty-Ta".


Mr. Raven and Mr. River were "EXHAUSTED!" after everyone left.

P.S. In case you couldn't tell, the color of the day was yellow!

Foxy Baby

When I came out of my room, with Secret dressed like this, Heaven said, "What da heck? Secret's all... FOXY?!" (Secret's usual attire consists of a onesie. Oh and of course... toenail polish). I decided to fancy her up a little for her 4 month old birthday today! This last month Secret has acquired a few good habits: Rolling back to tummy (to counter the BAD habit she developed at 3 months of turning tummy to back, just to end up stuck there and angry!). She also has a new habit of giggling (much to our delight). She's still can't decide if she wants to suck her thumb, tongue, fingers or blanket. All she knows is she wants to suck something... but nothing will cooperate with her yet. Her other habit that is killing us softly with cuteness, is growling. Whenever she gets tired, she sucks on something and growls herself to sleep while being bounced on an exercise ball. She is hooked on her "lovey". Lovey is the most darling blanket in the whole world made for Secret by her Auntie Heddy. She chews and sucks and growls at it. It was in the laundry basket for a couple of days. I finally got it washed up yesterday and she was seriously SO excited to have it back. We love her to pieces!
"Secret's turn!"


"Now, Heaven's turn!"

Diving Dudes

The boys have had so much fun being on Dive Team this Summer. Raven has gotten so good at his back flips and River is the master of the inward dive (dreaded by Mom's everywhere...it's where they jump off backwards and dive forward...toward the board- ya, I hold my breath and chant "please don't hit the board" when I watch).

River preparing for an inward dive.


Raven concentrating (which requires closed eyes...every time) on his back flip.

A Good Rest of Your Life...

Raven did his fist painting of Jesus the other day over at Uncle Tommy's house (right smack in the middle of a party). As soon as he finished, he told me he knew just who he wanted to give it to... Aunt Nee Nee! She loved it. As we were leaving he told her "Well, have a good rest of your life...with your painting." He couldn't have given his first painting of Christ to a more Christlike person. We love you, Steph! Thank-you for the example you are to our family!!

Reflections of Christ

This is my favorite picture from an AMAZING photography exhibit we were able to see at the temple a couple of months ago.The feeling that accompanies these photographs is indescribable. After looking at all the pictures, Raven turned to Steph and said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Steph said, "What are you thinking?" Raven, "That the Spirit is REALLY strong in here!" Click on the link below to see a slideshow, put to music, of the photographs. Oh, and have your hanky ready!

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/

A Quick Trip to Target... Right?

No. With 5 kids in tow, I should know better than to think we can just pop into Target for a few minutes. The plan was this: Return a step stool that was too short for the bathroom sink, pick up Secret's 3 month old pictures, get some new shoes for the boys and then the beloved candy bar reward at the end for well behaved children. Sounds quick and easy, right? Well... it started out with me saying "Okay, kids we're gonna go to Target, lets go downstairs and get our shoes on!" Then, while holding Secret, I proceeded to take a little side "trip"... and fall down the stairs. (yes, I'm a clutz, and yes, Secret is okay). I should have known then that this "trip" was doomed. But no. I recovered, got Secret to stop crying and we all loaded up into the van. Crap! I forgot the step stool. Run back into the house, grab the step stool. Yay, let's go. Get to Target, unload all the kids, get into the store without anyone getting hit by a car, load Secret's car seat into the cart, strap Meadow and Heaven into the the cart. Crap! The step stool. Push the cart off to the side. Assign Raven to stand watch over the sisters. Grab River's hand. Run to van (which is parked very far away, since I don't know how to snuggle into a close spot with the 15-passenger van yet). Get the step stool. Back into the store. Yay, kids are still there, no one is crying. Wait in line, return the step stool. Walk by the dollar spot. Cool, lots of good books and puzzles, I'm gonna stock up for my preschool. Double check to make sure I have my wallet... CRAP! Forgot the wallet. Of course. Oh well, at least I already pre-paid for Secret's pictures. Lug everyone down to Portrait Studio. Wait. Pick up pictures. Here, Raven, hold these pictures. Might as well see if they have shoes for the boys so I can know whether or not to come back later... minus the kids, plus the wallet. Find shoes, try them on. Okay, let's go. "We're ready for our candy bar!" Raven, River, Meadow and Heaven are quick to remind me. Shoot! Sorry, guys, forgot my wallet! "But we WANT one! You promised!!" I know... let's go home and have lunch. We can have Skittles for dessert (I knew those Skittles I bought last week would come in handy). "Excuse me, are these your pictures? You left them in the shoe aisle". Thank heaven for other busy Mom's that noticed this busy Mom's lost mind and left behind pictures. I guess getting home and realizing I had left Secret's pictures at Target would have just been the icing on the cake. Okay, let's go, for real. Back to the van, load up, everyone hot, hungry and tired (Mom included). Needless to say, I DON'T recommend shopping with 5 kids. Even though the kids were good, I seem to lose my mind when I try to juggle the kids AND think at the same time.

Pocahantas

I saw this quiz on my friend, Melissa's (or should I say "Belle's" blog) and decided, "What the heck? Since I have NOTHING else to do (especially not laundry or dishes), I guess I'll take the quiz." It turns out I'm NOT Snow White (that's who Meadow usually assigns me as when playing "princess"). It looks like I'm Pocahantas... without the tan.

P.S. I made Jared take the quiz... turns out he's Pocahantas, too. No wonder our kids have such tree hugger-ish names.
P.P.S. River is Ariel.
P.P.P.S Evidently, we are OBSESSED with this quiz.


You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Happy 4th

This fourth of July, I painted more tiny toes and fingernails red than I can keep track of. Meadow, Heaven, Secret, Mine and a couple of baby dolls. River decided to join the fun and get his toes and fingernails painted "all bloody".


We went to Steph's next door neighbor's house to swim and BBQ that night. The kids had fun with "pop it's" out front and watched fireworks from the roof. Here's Heaven showing us that she needs more!


Secret chillin' after her own "firework" show in her diaper! Mustard, anyone?



Jared and the girls right before everyone fell apart. I decided that when 3 out of 5 kids are crying... the party's over and it's time to go home!

Skate or Die!

Saige ROCKED at his skateboard competition on the 4th of July! Raven, River and I went and cheered him on. So, it was like this: Saige skated and we died (literally) from heat, but it was worth it!


I have absolutely no idea what any of the tricks are called, but they looked good to me. Oh Ya, Baby!


River took full advantage of having Mom's lap free of little girls (Jared stayed home with the girlies-110 degrees is too hot for them!).


Raven was hilariously sucked into his Harry Potter book and only looked up to let me take this picture of him and to watch when it was Saige's turn.



He didn't even look up to walk! Talk about "having your nose in a book"!

Addicted

Here are the boys-crashed-after a late night of TV. I'll tell you what, keeping up with our favorite shows, "The Bachelorette" and "So You Think You Can Dance", can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally... but, according to the boys, it's worth it! River was so excited when my friend Kari met Jesse from the Bachelorette, that he had to thank Heavenly Father about it in family prayer that night. On Mondays instead of yelling "Yay! Family Home Evening!", the boys yell, "Yay! The Bachelorette!!!... Oh, and Family Home Evening!" When Grahm got ditched, Raven cried and said "What?! After that great connection they had?" When they were showing the auditions for "So You Think You Can Dance", both boys could not stop crying when people got eliminated, especially when one brother got out before the other one. Okay, since I'm on a TV kick, one other funny T.V. thing: on a commercial about diapers, it showed a mom playing with her baby with sweet music playing in the background. Once Raven figured out what the commercial was really about he said, "You mean all that happy/sad stuff was just about... DIAPERS!?!?"

Puppy Love

Our cute neighbor, Jillian, took Meadow on a date to get her DARLING new little puppy, Marley, some prizes. Somehow, Meadow ended up with a prize of her own. This stuffed puppy-dog is probably the closest thing she'll ever get to owning a pet. Five kids are enough "pets" for the Mama to take care of. Oh, and Daddy's allergic (shucky-darn!).