Logan and Taylor's birthday party

Laser tag!!! Who doesn't love playing laser tag? The boys were super excited to invite 5 friends (each) plus their cousins to play laser tag for their birthday. I'm so glad they both agreed on doing this because I don't know what we'll do in the future if they want to have different parties. It was a win-win situation because for a few hundred bucks, we celebrated not 1, but 2 birthdays!!! The advantage of having twins, I suppose. Logan invited Dale, Brigham, Wesley, Rylan, and Halee (Halee couldn't make ot). Taylor invited Mira, Dylan, Zander, Zach, and Charlotte. And of course, Kai, Luke, and Eli were there. Luke was soooo sweet! He bought the boys a present (cars) with his own money!!! My heart was one giant puddle. And this year, I remembered to take a group picture, with most of the kids looking and a picture of the cake. Don't get too happy, because I forgot to take pictures of the invitations and favors. The invitations were SOOOO cool! They were tags, like VIP passes. You can kind of see them around some of the kids' neck. And the favors included a glow stick, a glow straw, a fidget spinner, and some candy. The kids were super excited about the fidget spinners. It's like the cool thing right now. Logan and Taylor had a great time, and Kendall was happy that there were 2 other girls there. Success! We survived a party with 15 kids!

Logan and Taylor are 8!

Official one-more-kiss-before-your-next-birthday pictures. I do take them every year, but I don't post them every year. This year, though, here they are! Because I know how much they both love it, even if they won't admit it.

This was their first Breakfast in Bed. Until this year, I didn't trust them with food in their bedrooms. Notice, though, how there is no drink on that tray. I'm not entirely stupid. Per my knowledge of their likes and disikes: CREPES. Logan once said that crepes are the best thing I cook. *blush*

Yes, I love my accent wall. And every fancy picture shall be taken in front of my fancy stone wall.

Guns and video games, because what else do 8-year-old boys like???

To celebrate, we went to KTR and Texas Roadhouse. We also ate too many cupcakes because they brought some to school, but they were extras from kids who were absent.

First Day of School 2017-2018

4th week into school and we miss having no schedule whatsoever. I miss sleeping in with Alexis, staying up late, building forts, doing crafts, having friends over for playdates, going to the science center and the movie theater, swimming at the cousins' house and at the public pool.

This is pretty much how the kids felt about going back to school. Well, actually, Kendall was pretty excited. The boys were not!

Kendall was excited to know a few kids from her previous class, including Rylie. She has Ms. Grieb this year, who was actually Taylor's 1st grade teacher last year. She is actually the teacher Kendall wanted (I think it's because she is young and pretty).

I don't really know the 2nd grade teachers, but Mrs. Hiers seems okay. I did request a teacher for Taylor who had a lot of structure, but could also let loose. Unfortunately, his best friends Mira and Dylan are not in his class, but he always finds them at recess. I am so glad he has good friends. It makes up for the fact that he gets in trouble every day at school, for not listening, not following directions, not finishing his work, distracting other children, etc. etc. etc. I'm already tired of getting his teacher's e-mails. I even told her, "This is typical Taylor-behavior. He gets distracted very easily and doesn't get motivated. He's going to test your patience and your ability to come up with ways to get him focused. Good luck!"

Logan is super social, but he doesn't seem to have close friends at school. He plays with other kids, but they're kind of different kids every day. He doesn't ask for playdates or anything like that. It doesn't seem to bug him, though, so I guess that's okay. He has Mrs. Smith this year, which he was super excited about because her first name is Logan, too. Haha.

I am praying for another successful year where the kids learn, progress, and mature. I'm hoping they will all develop strong friendships and develop a deeper love for learning. They already all love reading, which I am so happy about. Kendall loves reading 300+ pages chapter books, and the boys love reading shorter, mystery or comedy chapter books. I'll take it!

Alexis is 11 months

Alexis is 11 months! 28 days ago... Seriously. She's going to be 1 in two days, and I am just writing about this. 

Alexis, Alexis, Alexis... She is just the sweetest. She loves her mommy so much. But she also has a strong personality. Like if the kids want to kiss her and she's just not in the mood, she pushes them away. And if we give her food or a toy she doesn't want, she picks it up and tosses it. She plays with toys a little, but mostly she likes to make messes- the dishes, the books, the DVDs,... She took 3 steps about 2 weeks ago and she can now take about 5 before dropping on her butt. She sleeps great at night, but her naps are all over the place. I blame summer and being the 4th child for that.

We accidentally all dressed in purple.

The mess

11 months the day after the 4th of July

She loves to cuddle with stuffed animals.

That little butt is just too cute, and her hair so long.

I love that smile of hers. She loves bathtime.

I was trying to get her to take a nap. She didn't like that.

Kendall helps her to practice her walking daily.

Taking her to restaurants is a nightmare, so we have to inhale our food.

She enjoys helping me mop and pick up toys, as long as the vacuum stays far away.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

She recognizes her cousins because we see them often. She occasionally crawls over to them to snuggle (or maybe she wanted his candy...)

We tried to do a smash cake but she wasn't into it. Her hand is messy because I stuffed it into the cake.

Logan likes to feed Alexis like a birdy. It's cute now...