Pink Tiara and Tutu

This title is perfect to describe my oldest girl Bella. She is all about the glitter, pink, princess, glamour and glitz. Another significant event of the summer was our Bella's 4th birthday. "Where does the time go?" is so cliche but it's so very true and there is no understanding of this until you are a parent and see your child's life race past you. As a parent before you know it they're grown and having their own families. Birthdays can be a bitter-sweet celebration. This wonderfully inspiring child was born four years ago and we have the privilege to have her in our lives for a little while. The key there is a little while. Our children are not ours. There are different theories that they are their own, or the earth's etc but my personal perspective is they are God's. I am merely the care taker and trainer of these children which is an enormous responsibility that I do take seriously. But since they are God's they can easily go anywhere and do anything that He wants them to do.

I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you more about Miss. Bella Sophia. She is kind hearted, caring and fun. She does not like extreme physical activity unless she is distracted by fun. She as mentioned above loves all things pretty and girly she is a daddy's girl. Her favorite things consist of candy, princesses, my little pony, baby dolls and Barbies. I am so thankful to have her in our family. The truth is that our family would not be the same without her. She has taught me to be patient and loving even when I don't feel like it and to consider her unique sensitive nature. Thank God for Bella and yet another year to enjoy her vibrance!

Busy, Busy,Busy....

We have had some crazy couple of months, there have been projects, picnics, play dates, birthdays and graduations. I have been too busy to stop and write/type. There are some highlights to these last couple of months that I do want to share with you.

The biggest event that has happened this sumer is my little brother graduating from college! I'm so excited and proud of him! Attending his college graduation was quite the journey with four kids. I prepared for this trip like a maniac using all resources that Pinterest would provide for me. By the end of the trip I was sincerely surprised that all four kids did an excellent job the entire trip. Our trip was accident, drama and bad attitude free. The resources I used were very handy, simple and affordable.

First, I bought these beauties on eBay for $40 which were total lifesavers. If you are not familiar these are LeapPads they are simply a child version of a tablet without wi-fi capabilities and very durable. Before we left I charged them, uploaded a new episodes and a new game. What I love about LeapPads is that you can load the same game, movie etc, purchased online, on up to five devices!

Second, I purchased activity books, stickers and crayons from the Dollar Tree. These books kept the kids busy when they were not allowed on their LeapPads. I was surprised at what cool books they had for only a dollar. I did put in a few of our own books and picked up a free coloring book on the way.

Thirdly we had a ton of Penguin crackers from Walmart. They were about half the price of Goldfish and the kids really loved them. We had a few pouch drinks but I limited them to one drink while in the car to prevent "accidents" from happening.

Our trip was 8 hours total time on the way we stopped about 3 hours into the trip and stayed the night. On the way back we drove straight through and during both rides the kids were fantastic and we had an amazing trip with family!

                                                (my family, siblings and parents at Cracker Barrel)

 (Me, my little brother and little sister)

                                                                       (Our family)