Abby

I haven't had Abby's pictures professionally taken for a really long time (like since she was 3 months old) - so we went to Walmart yesterday and this is what we came home with!

A lot of these poses she came up with herself - she is a natural! I am very proud of myself for actually getting to this appointment - Paige and Piper took turns screaming at me while I was trying to do Abby's hair - so I was going back and forth between kids, calming one child down then rushing back to try to find Abby to curl another section of her hair before the next baby would fuss. By the time we got in the car with Piper (I only could manage one of the babies for this outing, so Grandma got to watch Paige for an hour), I realized that Miles was still home - I had sent him to scouts 10 minutes earlier, so I found his shoes and got him in the car. By then, Abby was crying because we "forgot" Paige. I got Abby calmed down by giving her lip gloss and dropped Miles off at scouts. By the time we got to Walmart after waiting in traffic - yes, traffic in Cedar (there was a fire so lanes were closed) - we were 15 minutes late for our 30 minute appointment. I was completely frazzled, but the pictures turned out great! I am not so sure that I will ever adjust to 5 kids though - I had just got to the point that 3 was manageable. Oh well. . .

Sacrifice?

Well - I have just realized that Piper doesn't like it when I eat chocolate. She gets very gassy and the only thing that will calm her down is to feed her again. So for the sake of my sleep - I have now given up chocolate (yes - I value sleep more than chocolate). I did cheat the other day - just because I can't believe that one food would affect her so much - and had some zucchini bread with chocolate chips, but even the 3-4 chocolate chips that I ate got her quite upset with me. At least she doesn't mind peanut butter!

My Pancake Maker

The kids came back last night - they had a great time with their dad (he is going to send pictures, so I will post them later - but they spent the week at Lake Tahoe - one of their favorite places). Miles learned how to make pancakes (THANKS Grandma Gilmore) and was eager to show off his cooking skills - so we had pancakes for breakfast.
I was impressed - he not only mixed the batter himself (measuring too), but he poured the batter and flipped the pancakes himself. He wouldn't let me help at all - in fact, when I suggested he go sit down and eat with the rest of the family - he refused and cooked the entire batch himself. Here's what it looked like!

I have had a hard time this summer (and spring before that and winter before that) letting people help me. I used to think that I could do everything by myself - but I am learning (slowly) that I do need help (lots of it). Anyway - one of the things that I wanted to do this summer was to start a MTC - yes, it stands for Missionary Training Center (I got this idea from my sister-in-law, Thanks Elsa). Anyway, I wanted to focus not only on scriptures and stuff, but also on the practical things that missionaries are expected to know - like cooking, sewing, laundry, etc. Anyway, it was an idea that lasted for only 3 days - dispite the fact that both boys have been begging to cook all summer. So I really do appreciate Grandma Gilmore for taking the time and having the patience to help Miles - he loved it and loves that he has a new skill - not to mention, he is really good at it, so I love that he enjoys helping me (at least helping me cook - helping me clean his room or practice his piano is another thing). Anyway - thanks to the whole Gilmore family who took good care of my kids this week - they had a blast and got a lot more attention then I have been giving them for a while!!

The Photo Shoot!!!

I took advantage of having only 2 kids this week (Miles, Ethan and Abby are with their dad at his family reunion) and got the twins pictures taken. Here are some of the best shots!
Piper is on the left and Paige is on the right. Piper is usually the one who has a hard time sleeping, but for some reason - she slept through most of the shots (which is a good thing, because she also tends to be the fussier of the two)

PAIGE

PIPER

I will have to post more later - I have to finish my last paper (due tomorrow) of the summer - I am super excited to be done with my classes for a few weeks and to have the kids back. Hopefully we can cram everything that I wanted to do this summer into the next two weeks before school starts again - wishful thinking:)