Wow, has it been a while!

I guess I forgot to post about Libby's farewell!

  Get ready for some very real, emotional pictures.  Libs did awesome on the day of her farewell.  She was so funny giving her talk and I'm sure everybody loved it.  I ran to Mom's right after Libby's talk to go get the food ready. 

Oh...my....goodness....there was so much food.  It was all delicious. 

Almost everybody was so stuffed after eating as much as we could that lounging around for the afternoon was mandatory. 

There's Libby writing her thank you notes. Tuesday we had a dinner before Libby was set apart. We were there late and ended up giving the kids baths there. You can see how tired we were.

Wednesday came quickly for Libby to leave.  

 Mandy and I decided to run over and say one last good bye.  

Poor Libs was having such a rough day.  (These pics are from Tuesday night but, they're not that different from Wednesday's emotions)

You can tell by these pictures how hard it was for her to go. 

Mandy and I were very good at holding it together until the garage door closed.  Then we each had our own tearful moment for our sweet sister, Olivia. Madden and Gabe could not understand why the life was being squeezed out of them over and over again.  Libby said, "These boys are going to be all grown up when I get back!" 

I said, "It's true...Madden already has a unibrow and a mustache."  We laughed because he really does!  But, I can see why Libby was sad!  Well, the weekend after Olivia left, Mom and Dad went to France with some friends and I think it was a good thing.  Mom probably would have bawled for three weeks straight if it wasn't for the distraction.  We visited Madeline during that time.  

Consequently while visiting her Madden decided to have a lemon and loved it!  He did the most hilarious face every time!  Mary also had her baby while the parents' were gone!  

Meet my sweet new nephew, Brigham Lewis Simmons.  

 

Maddie and I went in to see him while Ty stayed in the lounge with our kids.

 

They weren't allowed back in the hospital rooms.  

The proud Papa eating his hospital dinner.  I couldn't tell if he liked it or not. 

We've had a busy "family time" month which is always a good thing.  We had a Sunday dinner at Ty's sister's house.

 It's always good to see his side of the family and I think Tyler needs that time to see his siblings.  McKinley and Madden are such cute cousins.  

They rode the rocking horse together until Madden rocked a little rough.  McKinley then laid on the couch by London and tried to imitate her relaxing state. 

So cute!  Well, I think that's it for the update for now.  Until more babies are born, that is!  Adieu!

Isn't it Weird....

that two totally different looking people could produce this? and this? My best friend in the whole world, Abong Bain, took our family pictures for us. She is awesome. I was so grateful she thought of bringing a parasol for London to be distracted with. Madden was so terrible. Not only was I embarrassed but, unbelievably frustrated. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out because both kids were being so difficult. I'm so glad that Bong was patient and took a million pictures. Check her photo blog out here. It's called Just a Crush Photography and she's great! I felt relieved that we at least had one photo where we were all looking at the camera. I can check that off my list until next year! Woo hoo! Just for fun, check out my little geek. I don't know why he's been smiling like that lately but, it cracks me up!

Goodbye Libs!

My sister Olivia has left on her mission. I'm so unbelievably proud of her. This was not an easy decision to make, but once she made it, she was committed. Her leaving is partly why I haven't posted in so long. I've been trying to get in as much time with her as possible. This may have to be in two posts because I haven't even uploaded my pics from Libby's farewell! Oops! (Look at my sweet boy.) For some reason, the last couple weeks have been exhausting. I couldn't really tell you why, but they have been. Ty usually lets me sleep in a couple minutes longer than him every day. But, one morning we took Madden into bed with us and he actually fell asleep! Fortunately I got a picture of my cuddlers. Whenever I get Madden and bring him to bed with us, he immediately shoves me away and turns to his daddy. He loves Ty. I can't say that it makes me feel that great! The kids spend a lot of time looking out the window since it has been raining so much lately. In fact, I've found many lost sippie cups behind the blinds! Madden and London still love eachother and have taken to dancing with one another at any available moment. The problem is that when Madden gets bored, he squeezes the crap out of London! It's quite funny. Madden and Gabe are best friends. When it's dinner time, they both eat. When one gets their diaper change, so does the other. They're really like twins...except Gabe can be photogenic whereas Madden refuses to cooperate...and London. My parents' cut down a ton of trees in their backyard and laid a new driveway through the side gate. We all thought it would be fun to get all of the grandkids handprints in the cement. We came right after the gym so I was still in work out clothes. Madden was terrified of the big cement truck and hid behind my legs. London was more fascinated with it than anything. We ended up having to wait a couple of hours for the cement to set a little before we could print our hands. Maddie and I decided to go running and Madden played outside with the snow shovel while the other kids ran around him. Finally, we got to the handprints. Mia wrote her own name. Luke was second and Ginger was third. London argued about doing it herself but, finally let me help. Madden did okay at best. Sam did great. Gabe did poorly on the first try so Mandy had the cement guy smooth it out. She redid it and it didn't go so well again. Poor Mandy. Ellie left her hand mostly in a fist but, that's to be expected of a newborn. I love these memories the kids are creating. Speaking of memories I have to remember what the kids have said this week. Madden called a sucker a "cucker". London screamed her head off at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (we won't be watching that for a while.) She asked me why the girl turned into a blue monster. Go figure. I'm totally pulling a blank right now, but I'll write down the funny stuff for the next post. Adieu!

Happy Mother's Day!

To all of the wonderful mother's in our lives: We love you and wish you a Happy Mother's Day. Since Ty's mom lives in England, this post was made specially for her. We love you and miss you. We can't wait to see you again soon!

Easter!

I can't believe Easter has come and gone already. It was, as always, a good party at my parent's. Everybody brings a basket filled with something for people to grab in addition to all of the hidden eggs. I made cupcakes with chocolate nests on top! Problem was we had like seven desserts AND all of the candy from the eggs. That night I said to Tyler, "I've eaten so much crap I feel like I'm going to throw up." He said, "me too." But, when he said that I realized he was eating something. I turned around and he was emptying a BOX of skittles into his mouth. He looked at me and said, "What? It's too late now!" Ooookaaaay. I guess it was in his mind! The hunt was good fun. I missed Deaner and Monica since they couldn't be there. But, Mary and the kids came so the cousins were all together! It's so funny to watch them together. They really do love each other. So many times I'll listen to London and look at her and I think, "Wow, she looks exactly like Mia!" It's great how close they are. I left the kids at my mom's the other day so that I could get an extra workout. When I came to pick them up, I arrived to a sad sight. My parent's had finally cut down those gorgeous trees in their backyard. I was sorry to think that the Easter egg hunt was the last time the grandkids would be able to enjoy those monsters. At least Mom and Dad's house will be safer. Those trees would have taken out the entire back of the house if the right storm had come along! Our little family is doing great. Madden is so dang loud! He screams higher and louder than London. If she's singing, he sings louder. It's always a competition to that little boy. He loves things. Madden carries around the snow shovel in the backyard every time he goes out. He HAS to have something in his hands to use as a tool. It's become the biggest joke to my family. In fact, my mom hides her vacuum in the garage because he can plug it into the wall and starts sucking up who know what! Lulu is still a great big sister. The other morning she was acting up and had a serious attitude. On the way home from the gym, I was talking to my mom and she said she would talk to London. She asked her, "Are you being my sweet London? Are you being nice and loving to everyone around you?" I was watching London in the rear-view mirror and she was obviously having an inner battle on what to confess to. She finally said, "Weeellll, not esactly(That's how she says exactly)....I've been having a little bit of an attitude." Mom thought that was so funny and I was so proud that she confessed instead of saying that she was being perfect! I had also made bunny rolls for Easter Sunday that didn't exactly turn out. London was kind enough to tell me, "Mom, those don't even LOOK like bunnies." She said it very seriously and almost like she was talking to a child. Clearly, in her mind, it was like me coloring outside the lines! Oh well, I did try on those darn bunnies whether anybody else appreciated them or not! I hope you all had a great Easter! I know we did!