and with Jennifer at Conversion Diary,
for 7 Quick Takes through Instagram Friday.
While I try to write something of relative substance here on my blog a couple of times a week, this is a fun chance to share the mundane details of what we've been up to and give you a glimpse into the details of my life. Ironically, most of life is lived through these small moments, and I love documenting them here. And, I do have two sons in addition to all these girls, but somehow I didn't capture them on camera this week. Oops. Next time I'll do better.
1.) Family Costco trip, after the kids got home from their weekly homeschool co-op. Even though I detest grocery shopping of any kind, my kids LOVE getting to go. On this particular night, Kevin met us at the store after he got off work, and we had pizza when the shopping was done. He had no trouble finding us in the store, because Tigist was angry and yelling the.en.ti.re.time.
2.) Dear, sweet Kaitlyn announced she had a "project" for the little ones to do one afternoon. It involved some drinking straws (swiped from the Costco food court the night before), glue, and nametags she made for each of the girls. Who were not as cooperative with her craft as she had hoped. :) Still, they had fun, and I love getting to see Katie in the big sister role.
3. Several months ago I bought a Groupon for Anna to receive some lessons in horse care/horsemanship from a local equestrian center. She was thrilled. Kevin took her Saturday morning and she groomed, cleaned hooves, bridled, and rode. And she gets to go again in three weeks for an assessment ride. She was super excited about all of it, but I have to admit I was maybe equally so, because I just plain love horses--always have. Not only are they beautiful and quite a lot of fun, but they provide a wonderful opportunity for kids to learn the value of hard work, discipline, and the value in caring for an animal.
4.) So we have a lot of squirrels in Denver. They reside in our backyard and love to steal my kids' shoes (and take them up into the trees), and eat the peaches off our peach tree. They drive me crazy, but I've never given them too much thought beyond thinking they're annoying. Well, until the other day, when one of the squirrels SMACKED MY TWO-YEAR-OLD IN THE FACE. Yes, in the face! The squirrel had apparently been hiding in a cardboard box that was ready to go out to the recycling bin, my daughter picked up the box, and the squirrel jumped out and hit her forehead! It scared her, needless to say, and also prompted her siblings (who witnessed the attack) to grab sticks and yell and chase off the offender. I would have given my right arm to see it all go down, but I was in the house, and instead had to settle for interviewing the victim later that night after her bath. My apologies for the poor lighting.
5.) Now that Kaitlyn attends our weekly homeschool co-op, my Thursdays are pretty quiet. Because all my rambunctious big kids are away, and it's just me and the three littles. Who I discovered are fabulous shopping companions. Just me, these three, a pumpkin spice latte, and the joys of Target. For a little over two hours we roamed the aisles, found great deals, and enjoyed one another's company. And if you ever want to be entertained, take Mary and Mekdes down the toy aisle. "Ohhhh, MAry! Loooooook!" Mekdes would say, to which Mary would reply "Yeah!" Those two and their sweet relationship just never, ever get old.
6.) Of course, when most of your big siblings are away for the day, it is the perfect time to sneak an entire stack of chocolate chip cookies. Oh, this girl.
7.) Well I figured it was time for a belly shot, being that I'm coming up on 18 weeks pregnant (!) now. Please excuse my pale, deformed-looking arm, and my horribly messy mirror (not exactly sure how my kids always manage to make such a mess). I'm not nearly so nauseous anymore (yay!), but am still pretty much exhausted all the time (boo!) We should be able to find out the sex in a couple of weeks and I'm so, so excited. And I've been feeling the baby kick every now and then over the past few days which never ceases to amaze me. Pregnancy is, simply, a miracle.
