Are We Having Fun Yet?

So I am not sure if it is the dog days of summer or what but I have not had very happy campers this past week. Fighting...whining...more fighting...crying...yelling. This is what seems to accompany many days (and it is not always the kids doing all of the above I am sad to admit).
Anyways...I always post only the really GOOD pictures. I thought I would give you a taste of another side of our lives in this season (no captions required the pictures say it all)!

A Little More Hope

Here's a few more pictures of our little Hope. Her personality seems to be coming out more every day. I can see how her name is fitting to her personality and the hope and joy she exudes. Yesterday at an appointment with all four kids we were sitting in the waiting room and everyone was impatient and melting down. There was a five year old Hispanic girl who started jumping up and down on her seat and when she did her long black hair would bounce. Hope found this hilarious and began to laugh and squeal at this girl like I have never seen before. Soon everyone in the waiting room was laughing out loud with Hope and the frustration of the wait disapperared.
So be filled with Hope today!

P.S. Check out my girl's rolls! It makes me smile!

Snapshots of Summer

Our corn just came in so we picked about 4 dozen (maybe one fifth of what is out there) and husked and froze about 3 dozen this morning. This is our first year doing a garden and we are having fun doing it as a family. The kids have learned how to peel corn, dig pototoes, pick zucchini, cut zinnias and weed the garden and really seem to be enjoying it...especially Sarah. That girl can tell you what is a plant and what's a weed better than I can sometimes.
Here's some shots from this mornings corn picking and a few other shots of summertime here on the farm...

Here is Sarah with a bucket of pototoes straight from the garden!

Just some summertime fun!

Miss Sarah turns Four...

Our little Sarah turned four at the end of July. We had a special day celebrating together. Sarah started out the day by saying "Mom I need a four year old shirt to wear". Luckily I had just the thing...a cinderella shirt I had gotten just for the occasion! We baked and decorated cupcakes in the morning then in the afternoon Sarah picked herself a birthday boquet. Picking flowers is one of her favorite things to do. She seems to have a natural green thumb (she gets it from both her grandmas)! Then she got to go on a motorcycle ride down the lane with Daddy and get pushed on the swings. We had her favorite meal of tacos and opened presents in the evening.
We love you Sarah! Know you have a special place in our family that no one can replace! We are proud of the BIG girl you are growing up to be!


The cupcakes decorated by Sarah herself....she is becoming quite the little helper in the kitchen (when she wants to be I should add) :)

This is Sarah after she opened up her present of some dress-ups and jewelry. What a princeess!

Swinging on the swings...another one of her favorites.

Just me & Daddy

Happy Birthday Sarah!

A Little Bit of Hope

Hope will be 5 months tommorow...which is hard to believe. This little girl bring so much life and joy to our family. There is nothing like her smile to make you feel like you are the most special person in the world! Despite her dependence on me in this season she is refreshing to be around because she thinks I 'm the best and she does not say "NO" or talk back to me yet! :) Here our a few pictures I took last week of our little Hope...

These last two pictures are not very clear because I had the camera on the wrong setting but I included them because they are very Hope. She is teething right now and is constantly sucking on her fist or whatever she can get in her mouth. She actually just got her first two bottom teeth. We are very proud!