The Christian Crew

 SO... Obviously life is very busy right now so, things suffer. Let's be real- having REAL balance in your life is an absurd goal when it comes to a summer schedule!  ( i shutter at the sound of that word)! That's why i'd rather  have a routine. See that sounds like I'm not so rigid, right? My routine includes waking up each morning- often before the sun is fully up- to nurse Slade, watering the garden, weeding, breakfast for four, chores, swim practice , cleaning, lunch, a small amount of rest or down time then onto the next meal and more cleaning. It never ends. Once the boys go down at 6:30, im off to the gym or for a walk or whatevs. Sometimes, there are wrenches thrown in this plan/routine, like bumps and bruises, dental appts, dr. appts, jury duty, poop clean up ( man an his digestive issues), deep cleaning, errands and so on . Its exhausting being a mom of 4! Im worn out every day. Mind you, i have to often make 2-3 diff. foods per meal b/c of food allergies...

SO, Lots has happened! Gavin is just about 3 months( new pics coming soon!) We have had such a great time with all the changes in our lives. Aria is officially an awesome big sister b/c she is so helpful and Brielle is getting better at being a big sister to both of them! Gavin in 10.4 lbs and 23 inches long ( VERY TALL/LONG for his age) He has been sleeping through the night since he was about 8 weeks and now sleeps from 7:30- 6:30 or longer each night! Brielle started KINDERGARTEN last week and Aria starts Preschool in a few weeks as well as what i'm working on with her at home! Brandon's Bro- Brian came into Town and they are out fishing today! Gavin went on his first hike and to his first MLB game too! Go Rockies! He slept through most of it too! I Ran with my friends and their friends in the WARRIOR DASH! I LOVED it and would so do it AGAIN! A girl Ran into our Car causing 1400. worth in damage. Everyone is fine and she got a jaywalki...

I can't believe i can still do some of this crazy shtuff!!! I may be almost 30 but, I'm not dead yet! ( plus i think 30 is still very young!) Elisabeth and Brielle LOVE the foam pit and rope but they can't climb it yet( neither can i) But, my friends can do it! Little Merich loved the pit! I got to babysit my friend's son for a day and HE was a riot! I even got to give him a faux hawk hair style! The girls thought having a boy around was fun but, they did say that his pee pee ( seen while changing diapers) looks like a worm. And once, Aria called it a tiny snake. Silly girls! Man, having a boy would rock our world in such a cool way! Here's to hoping, right? ( boy,girl, giraffe... we'd be ecstatic!) Aria is very serious on the beam ! She is getting pretty good at balance and strength stuff! Brinley ( in background) is getting some pointers! All my friends are doing cartwheels and very well i might add! But, I have to kick it up a notch with some aerial...

We have been getting ready for this Adoption Conference . Brandon will be speaking in the Adoptee Panel and I will be teaching the Adoption Advocacy Class. I have also been getting stuff rounded up for the door prizes, adoption arts display and more! I ordered some sweet binks from my friend Danielle - including this one! (PS- I'm the 1st person to ever put this on a bink) my friends Joelle & Almina took me to a place I've been longing to go- D Bar desserts owned by Keegan Gerhard and his wife. He is A Food Network Chef and Judge of almost EVERY CHALLENGE show on that channel. He made me a special egg-free dessert that night! Such a great place and great guy too! Last Saturday, Dara and I made this cake for her daughter Claire's Birthday! We had tons of fun. I made the tree, lots of leaves on both layers, some polka dots and flower centers! We had a blast making this! we added tons of cosmic sparkles:) So much fun!!! We are doing well- all of us are healthy and ha...

My Girls and I LOVE doing gymnastics! Brielle and Aria are so cute and are learning pretty well! Brielle has great balance so far and Aria has great muscle tone Brielle loves kicking, leaping and the beam. Not to mention she is very flexible ! Aria is feisty and LOVES doing everything but, especially is obsessed with just wearing her leotards! she is in a class with only one other girl but will be the lone little princess for a while b/c the girl just broke her arm ( not in gym) As for me... I did a workout at the gymnastics place yesterday and I'm so sore . I just want to curl up or sit in a hot tub! My balance isn't the same but, I can do some decent split leaps and jumps, I can still do a front hand spring and many other fun things. I fell off the beam too and gave myself a nice bruise on the inside of one of my knees! Guess I'm still trying to prove to my body that I'm not 29! I think I will do that type of conditioning every Tuesday and see if I can get my Aeri...

Normally, we go with our friends to the Nuggets Games. It's not like kiddos appreciate PRO athletes strutting their stuff but, we decided to take our girls and see what they thought of it all... Brielle liked the silly games people played on the breaks and the popcorn and candy . After that ran out- she kept asking for more and more. I'm not even sure she knew it was a basketball game! Aria was mostly concerned with the dancers and their many outfits. She asked me once why they were wearing their underwear ( referring to a sport bra top) and one time,s he said pajamas ( really baggy pants and sports bra top again as they did dancing for TAG TEAM - Man, those dudes are old now but, still, it was 90's week and so much fun!) Brielle loved rocky and i HATE my camera phone in moments like this! B would yell for Rocky even if he was on the opposite side of the court. Lucky, we are dear friends with this busy mascot ! He's such a great guy and father too! Good experien...

this trip was a bit different... since we went in the winter, we hit up most of the inside exhibits! and played a bit outside too! and went with our awesome friends!!! the girls wanted to stay at the zoo, even if they had to climb a tad to have their own space . We said no, of course! some monsters liked the kids the monkeys were hilarious! It was great having Uncle Todd ( my single, older brother) with us too! He lives in SD , where they have a fabulous zoo too! He said this one was pretty great too! We wore the girls out and they all slept well on the ride home. We picked up Cafe Rio that day for dinner. The sweet pork is delectable! It was a GREAT wintry day!

Aria could care less that we were taking a family pic! Here' s a HUGE splash bucket at the top L corner of this pic! So much fun! My girls Laying one on me:) Daddy and Aria Splashing:) Aria was such a great swimmer here. It's like she had no fear about it with a HUGE crowd around! And Brielle has always been a fish. She is getting so independent with her swimming Skills. She went off a slide that had an almost 4 foot drop off into the pool and SHE DID IT! You could tell the Lifeguards were about to freak b/c She is so tiny but then she swims to the edge like a pro and they are thoroughly impressed:) Good job, Big Girl! Daddy Took these next 2 of me. He is the greatest! We had such a fun time and enjoyed the slides and such. Next year Brandon and i will hve a date together at a BIGGER water park with CRAZY slides and such. BUT Pirates Cove was PERFECT for kids 6 and under and families! Good memories!

down at the park is our fav. place to catch Crawdads! One of the last times we caught these 5!!! The girls LOVE to show them to the other kids and try and touch the backs of them. then we release them back into their watery homes! Some of these tiny lobster looking things are fast and furious. Others are NOT and we like to catch those ones! Now it's tradition when we go to dekoevend park- play, swing, and catch crawdads!

As part of our family legacy, we want our children to be surrounded by people with integrity and moral values. hence the reason we go to church and participate in tons of the church functions! Our children NEED a moral compass and We are doing are best to see that they are raised to Love One Another and Christ Loves Them. No better place to teach them than in the home and then reinforced at church! Parents Set the Tone of a Child's LIFE forever! We are so grateful for our callings and for our membership in the LDS church. We love that we have great friends and live right by the Denver Temple (same City Block)! It's one of our favorite temples! We especially LOVE SUNDAYS because we get to relax, learn lessons at church and enjoy our family and friends. Today we had a bunch of friends dine with us over at our Other friends house and we had a blast! ( I avoid using my friends names until i have permission from them:) I made a strawberry creme pie and some brownies for desert and...

So, the first fondant and gum paste WILTON method class was pretty easy. We made balls and bases for flowers out of gum paste! At this point, i felt like a kid playing with edible play dough. It really was so much fun squishing and pulling fondant like taffy! these are some mum and rose centers- OH and we also learned how to make a bow! class 2- we made these flowers (mind you these are kind of broken from my girls playing with them a bit) class 3- we covered a cake board and made the daisy and the mum. my mum stinks- btw. But, it was my first try:) class 4- we covered our cakes and put our skills to the test. I decided on a Zebra cake - just for kicks. I also learned NOT to use pure gum paste for the stripes and ruffles- it hardens way too fast and tastes icky! THE best thing about FONDANT these days is that it comes in some awesome, tasty flavors! Like Buttercream Fondant, Marshamallow fondant, chocolate, orange cream etc... Fondarific is a HUGE company that makes some killer stuff! ...