Happy Birthday Claire!

I CANNOT believe Claire is 5 years old today!  (I know...broken record, but come on, how do these kids grow up so fast?)  Claire is such a thoughtful, sweet, funny, witty, smart, happy girl.  She keeps the party hopping, and we just love her SO much!

She had a great birthday today, filled with good food, fun presents and wonderful family.

We first got a bunch of pictures of her, now that she is 5 years old!  I let her go ahead and choose how she posed in them all rather than asking her to smile and look at the camera...this is the result of that.  

Then all the sisters wanted in on the pictures.  Especially Molly as you can tell (okay, she had just woken up from a nap and wasn't quite with it.)

Then the moment she had been waiting all day for...her birthday party!

Note Addison wearing tissue paper as a hat.

SO excited about the hat and shoes.

Rolling in the money.

One of the only two pictures of her cake.

 Then the kids all went outside to play while Claire tried out her new scooter.

It was the PERFECT day (at least I thought so).  We just absolutely adore Claire and are so grateful she's in our family!

Last but not least...here is Claire's birthday interview.  True to form, Claire gave some winner answers on some of the questions.

Enjoy!

How old are you today?

5

How does it feel to be 5?

Um, really fun, a little different because I'm a little bigger and my hair is longer and it's kind of excited (she meant exciting)

What is your favorite color?

Purple and it used to be pink, I changed to purple because I don't really like pink as much as I like purple anymore.

What is your favorite food?

Spaghetti.  But if it's my very, very, very favorite, it would be cake and ice cream.

What is your favorite toy?

Barbies and baby dolls

What is your favorite candy/treat?

Jolly Ranchers and cupcakes

What is your favorite thing to do?

To hug and love one another, and to play with my sisters

Who is your best friend?

You mean BFF?  Um...Zach.  And my other BFF is Els, Cadence and Joel.

What do you like best about school?

We get to play inside, and that we have lots of slides in recess

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Super Star, a Zookeeper and a Walmart store worker

If you had a lot of money, what would you do with it?

I would buy almost all of the stuff in the store, I would buy a house by Els and Cadence's and I would buy almost all the CTR rings, in case I lose mine.  And then I could buy some TV's, I could buy as many beds as I want.  I would also buy my favorite thing in the world, which is...um....Lalaloopsy.  And then I would have toy trees, a little bit of stuffed animals and the funnest stuff you (mommy) would have.  

What is your favorite book?

Dr. Suess books that we have and if we still had our Barbie books, I would like Barbie books, I love Barbie books.  And a little more Suess books.

What do you think is the most important thing you’ve learned in life so far? 

Jesus is respectful and if we choose the right even more than we do, that we would come closer to heaven. Also to love one another and try to choose the right every day.  And exercising, that's important.

How do you think you’re different from a year ago? 

Because I was 4 and now I'm 5, and I got a CTR necklace, and I broke it.  And I like watching TV more than I used to.  Also I'm bigger, and I think I dance different (she then proceeded to dance around for me as an example).

What’s your favorite thing about yourself? 

I'm nice to other people, I like to kiss people a lot and I like to do the "I Love You" signs.   Um, and that I have the nicest mom and dad. 

What’s your favorite TV show?

The Cat in the Hat

What is your favorite movie?

Barbie and the Fashion Fairy

If you had a whole day to do anything you wanted, what would you do? 

I would go somewhere and buy some shoes.  I would go outside and jump on the tramp, um, ride Brielle's scooter.  I would go to the zoo. I could go to Lagoon.  I could make a roller coaster and ride on it.  I would also slide down any slide I want, go to the park, go to the Rec Center and then I could play in my room and then go in the loft and play.

What’s your favorite part of the playground? 

The slides, the tunnels with holes in them and playing tag.

Do you think you’ll ever get married? 

Yes.

How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?

20 or 21 or 23, because if I wasn't married on those days I would have to stay with mom and dad forever. 

What have you learned about boys this year? 

Um, that they're nice, they're funny, they tease a lot, and they tell kind of fun stories.

Anything you’re scared of? 

I think if monsters are real, I would be very scared of that.  And I used to be scared of giant ants and then I think I used to be scared of giant trees when they're stuck in and tipped, because I think they would fall over.  I think when I was a baby I was scared of water.  Then I would be scared of lions, tigers and grownup elephants.

What is your greatest accomplishment?

The first day I jumped on the tramp, and the first time I got to play with my sisters.

Who is your hero?

Brielle, because when I get ouchies and she comes and tells me "are you okay" and then she sends me inside and I ask daddy for a bandaid.
Anything else you want to tell me?
I don't want to be funny anymore, because there's other jokes I will learn in, like, 100 weeks.  I might change a little bit more about myself.  Because if I keep doing it, it makes me feel too much about that, and I don't want to be too funny.  I used to be SO funny and I don't want to anymore.

Homesick

Lately, I have started to feel what I can only describe as homesick.

It seems strange to feel that way, since technically we are "home" in Utah and living in the house I grew up in.  But as I look around at my parent's house, I can't help but feel homesick for our home, and our things.  Things that me and the girls haven't seen since last summer.

• Our big couch with the tear in one of the seams of the coveted chaise lounge.
• Our ottoman that was home to many "hide and seek" games.
• Our big shaggy red rug that dyes our white socks pink if we walk on it too much. (Our white dog we used to have would end up with pink paws also.)
• Our little kitchen table that we barely squish around.
• Our hand-me-down bed and dresser (although a new bed would be nice)
• Our glider rocking chair complete with stains from baby spit up...how sad that I've never held Molly in that chair!  The changing table and crib are also missed.  All my babies have made their mark on these things, except Molly. 
• Our mismatched plastic plates and cups...even though they always made me a little embarrassed when we would have company over for dinner.
• Our framed pictures...like time standing still with my kids yearly pictures not having been updated, and no pictures of Molly framed.
• My digital crockpot, broken handle and all.
• The kids bikes, scooters, power wheel and Cozy Coupe car.
• Our huge collection of children's books. 
• My "Walmart special" curtains.

I could go on and on, but it's making me a little sad.

I feel like we're on quite a roller coaster ride right now (not that we haven't been on one for a while) as we start the process of figuring out the "what next" in our story.  We have started looking into buying a house - a goal that we thought was YEARS away, but suddenly seems much closer.

I find it both terrifying and exciting to think about.  Are we really ready for this?  Do we really have a choice?  When will it happen and where will we end up?  Are we going to finally be able to put down roots and not keep up our pattern of moving every year?

I know, "Home is Where the Heart Is", and I am SO glad to at least have my little family together, and equally grateful for my parents who have been so generous through all of this.

But I just can't wait to take our life off hold and be moving forward again.
Although the waiting may just kill me.

4 Months Old/Easter Dresses Photo Bomb!

Molly is now 4 months old...which I feel is impossible.  While it feels like she's been a part of our family forever, it also feels like we were just barely at the hospital with our tiny newborn baby.  Now she's not so tiny anymore, and she's getting more and more interactive.  She grabs at toys, rolls to her side, has rolled from her tummy to back (but it hasn't happened for a while again), smiles, is starting to giggle and babble, puts everything she can grab into her mouth, and has everyone completely wrapped around her finger.

 Addison wanted to get in on the pictures of Molly as well.

"Uh, mom...you're really going to let her sit by me here?  Are you sure that's safe?"

"Are you seeing this?  I feel I'm in danger."

"Oh, look, it's Grandma!"

Then Claire wanted in on the pictures as well.

Yesterday also happened to be the day our girls were wearing their Easter dresses for the first time.  Last Sunday a couple of the girls were sick, and I had to play the piano and give the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting, so I couldn't take those that were well with me.  

So, yesterday we got the girls all dolled up and wanted to take pictures.  Unfortunately there was a mishap with Brielle's shoes (I accidentally got ones that were too big...she was devastated.)  She was pouting, so we tried getting pictures of those that were happy together. 

Pretty much the effort was a failure.  Oh well, does make for some fun outtake pictures.

 The ONE picture we got of all four girls.  Pretty sad huh?

Brielle was showing her rebellion against not being able to also wear new sandals by sporting her nice big boots.  

We gave up the fight.

Maybe we'll try getting them all together again another time...and then again, maybe not.

Part II

Okay...so I guess I couldn't bring myself to not include these pictures from our Easter/Birthday celebration as well.  So I won't bore anyone with more words, just enjoy the pictures! 

(With a few captions.)

I love this picture.  Eliana (the tall one in green shorts) didn't know I caught her helping Addison and giving her eggs.  It was SO nice...especially since Addison is a pest to the big girls most of the time.

"MOM! There's one in the tree."  This is the face I got when I told her, "Okay, get it."

Molly looks a little freaked out...but Marty is such a sweet dad to all these girls.

Oh, why yes, there ARE more pictures of Jasec with his tongue hanging out.  Thanks for asking.

Can't get enough of this little beauty's big blue eyes and porcelain skin!

Wiggle cars...Best invention EVER!

This would be one of the few pictures I got of Eliana...she wasn't so happy with me taking it of her during a pouting session.  I love that my dad is kind of looking at her like "Oh, you silly girl."

Even though he looks sad...I LOVE his coloring.

Cadence, you have a baby on your head!

For some reason Addison was just laying on the floor holding candy behind her back...she is truly a strange child sometimes.

Okay, NOW I am done with all the Easter festivities...I promise!