sweet evangeline

Evie is so cute. Isabella often likes to say that she is the cutest baby in the whole world. (Well, a tie between her and India, a little girl from church....Bella can't decide!) Well, Evie pretty much is the cutest. And the sweetest.

Here are her landmarks recently, all mostly in the past month:

1. She started sitting up.
2. She started the "Army Crawl" and is officially EVERYWHERE.
3. She now shakes her head back and forth while smiling largely- not sure what this is all about!
4. Is waving as if to say hello...
5. Is clapping her hands....OK, so she misses sometimes.
6. Has gotten her 2 bottom teeth.
7. Likes to loudly proclaim "AH YAH YAH YAH YAH!"
8. Is enjoying Carrots and Sweet Peas.
9. Walks everywhere in her walker.
10. (Because I feel as though I needed to make a list of ten now that I am already here!) Has fallen off of various furniture...beds, couches, chairs....numerous times. Poor 4th child with older siblings who like to carry her everywhere!!!

simply delicious!

Butter. Butter! It is so good. I love real butter! You are probably laughing at me right now, but I do, I love butter. So rich and yummy. Way WAY better than imitation, and WAY WAY way better than the spray we have been using for the past 6 months.

And homemade chocolate chip cookies with real butter and.....salt? Words cannot describe! My kids, I have been deprived since last November 12. But today we are baking for some friends...and we are gleaning the leftovers.

Today the project is either Iced Molasses or Peanut Butter cookies. I am leaning towards the Iced Molasses because they are SO good, and old fashioned and kind of sweet (in a non-tasting way) . I love that about homemade cookies. If I only had some old lacey fabric and fancy vintage ribbon to deliver them in... That would be even sweeter (in the same non-tasting way). But my gladware will do, and we will enjoy the benefit of the next batch.

so fit.

Yes, it was marketed straight to me. The 30-something mom. Wii Fit. And it is fun! Balance games, Yoga, Hula Hoop...Tight-Rope Walking, Ski Jump, Snowboarding. And the old and true....push ups, jack-knifes, leg lifts. Really, it is more of an INTRO to fitness. But it is fun, I will give it that!

green is the new pink

My new cell phone! The girls actually helped me pick out this really fun, free, cute GREEN phone. And there was even a PINK option, but we all decided green was the cutest. And it was FREE (did I mention that??) so- all the better.

Phones are just crazy. They do so much. SO much. This phone has a radio on it. Like...the radio. Isn't that crazy? And I like the photo editing software too. What? On a phone? Hmm. Maybe not as powerful as Photoshop CS3, but it'll do when I want to edit your head into a "WANTED" poster....cause, you know I do that often! :)

tea party

Bella and Ab threw a little tea party for their sisters the other day. The made cakes in their Easy Bake Oven and decorated them themselves. They dressed everyone up, Emma the butterfly crocodile and Evie in her "royal walker". They served the tea and cake. They even did the dishes- because that is also a part of having a party! Good thing they still think it is just like playing at this point!!

Greek Salad!

If you ever go wine tasting in the Santa Maria Valley, I have to recommend Rancho Sisquoc Vineyard and Winery. It is beautiful....rustic, quaint, quiet. They have a back picnic area that is surrounded by lovely smelling jasmine- the perfect place for a picnic.

We went with some friends and took our picnic and no children! It was peaceful. And this time, I got a picture of Todd's Greek Salad... delicious!

and a little more...

practice swings...

last at bat!

Bella's last game. The other team had to forfeit! The didn't have enough players....those parents must've been even more ready than us for the season to be over! So we won. And then the girls that were there played a little scrimmage game for fun.

So after Saturday's closing ceremonies and pizza party, we're done! It was so fun.

a little more softball!

Abigail's last at bat!

Third base coach Dad tells her to run home...

Ab slides...the catcher actually drops the ball, so she is safe!

Hey batter, batter.....

The last game. Then the pizza party. After their last at bat, the coaches said, let's just play 2 more, for fun. Our girls all lined up on the field and yelled "NO!" Coach said "Don't you want to play?" and they all yelled, "NO! Pizza Party!" It was funny. The other team was all ready to play some more, but our girls wanted nothing to do with it. So, Ab's done. Yea!!

The vast shore

"Mom, it's so quiet at the beach!" says Abi, seashell held tightly to her ear.
"Listen to how quiet it is!" She places the shell next to my ear. I listen intently.
"Yeah, it is quiet there!" I say.

I remember coming home from beach vacations as a child with my seashell prizes. Free mementos from paradise- little treasures by which to remember the vast ocean and sweet breezes. Sometimes the smell of the ocean remained on those shells even years later. I also remember holding them to my ear- I thought they were some magic portal to the sea shore. I was still connected to that beach so far away. Maybe I could talk to someone there if they picked up the other end. But no one was ever there, on that peaceful shore- just the sound of the tide...it was always so quiet there.

So I don't have it in me to tell Abigail that you can't hear the ACTUAL ocean in the shell. I don't know how she came to believe as I did- but it is so precious and innocent that I will let her grow up thinking she can access the vast shore through her little shell. Maybe there will even be a faith lesson in there somewhere.

Happy Birthday

Todd! It's your birthday! Happy Birthday!

Four for pink.

I have 4 girls. Four. Girls. We live in a pink wonderland. If pink is an option, we take it. All purpose cleaner? The pink one, please. (Until I discover in smells really bad- then I oppose) It is not worth the argument, and if the pink scrub brush will make the shopping trip go well, by all means, get the pink one. It's not like I mind the pink. Sometimes I like it. Now, though, it is just habit. I go for the pink even when they are not with me. It is just natural at this point. Without a thought. I grab the pink one. And if pink is not available, they better at least have purple. At least. ;) Four for pink- and pink for all. (Poor Todd!)

funtimes...

It has been a while. Somewhere in the hectic-ness of my life, I misplaced my sense of humor! I have been running through the days at a frantic pace- and missing the fun times. No more! Officially, today I am proclaiming it. And in honor of the day, I will share the latest.

The girls sing 'cheers' at their softball games while in the dugout. The newest favorite goes something like "Bella's up to bat, Bella's up to bat....if I were you and you were me I'd scoot my booty back, I'd scoot my booty back." Of course, sang with attitude...I'd sk-you-t my b-you-ty bay-ack. Pretty fun, right.

So, Emma has started cheering, too. Yes, she often screams many of the cheers wherever we are- the best up until now being "hurry up please!" and "We don't drink no lemonade, we just drink our Gatorade...we don't play with Barbie dolls, we just play with bats and balls" (which she LOVES to sing, even though she also LOVES dolls...).

So, there we were at the grocery store. A couple of random childless women in the aisles with us. Respectable, nice looking women. Suddenly, Emma starts singing her newest: "I got my booty back, I GOT MY BOOTY BACK, I got my b-you-ty bay-ack." I look at Abi. I look at Bella. We all break out laughing. Out of context, I can only imagine what those women were thinking. I don't even care. I was really just enjoying a break from the pace. A moment of rest, a glimpse of laughter- treasures along the road!