"Take my picture, mom!"

Chloe wanted me to take a picture of her kicking her leg up. Then she asked me if I would put it on our blog. Well here it is, Chloe! I think you're a good kicker!

Chocolate and Vanilla

Brian and I had the chance to take just the youngest girls to the Cheesecake Factory last Wednesday. Hunter was spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa Olsen's house and Sommer and Sydney were at a birthday party. It was fun just to have two kids with us. When it was time for dessert we let them each pick their own. Of course, Lauryn picked chocolate and Chloe picked vanilla. Can these two be any more different?

Dance Company Lock-In

Sydney catching some air time!


Sommer & Sydney are waaayyy down at the other end! And Chloe is in the back somewhere holding a flag!


Peace out!


Sydney and Kaylee


Sommer & Brittaney (notice the pointed toes!)


5 Guys Named Moe - aka "Show Stoppers"


Our dance studio has a "lock-in" for our girls in company every year the week before recital. We spend the evening running through our recital routines, eating pizza and anything with sugar or caffeine in it. At about midnight we wrap up rehearsal, put on our pajamas and pull out the sleeping bags. We had about 50 girls from the ages of 5 to 18 wall to wall. It was such a hoot! I didn't get to bed until 4:00 a.m. It's fun to be young! I got to sit back and watch my four daughters jump around and be silly with their friends all night. It was fun to see my students turn into these crazy kids who are normally pretty reserved in class. What a great time! Luckily I was able to come home and catch a 3 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. I don't function well on 2 hours of sleep! I can't wait 'til next year!!

Swimming, swimming and more swimming

We've spent most of our summer so far in the water! We're up at 6:00 every morning to get to swim team and are there until 10:30. Hunter swims from 7:00 to 8:00; Sommer and Sydney swim from 8:00 to 9:00 and have synchro from 9:00 to 10:00; Chloe swims from 9:00 to 10:30 and Lauryn from 10:00 to 10:30. They all look like little Mexican children - especially Chloe. Of course, they just make me look extra white. Whatever. I'm glad they all inherited that awesome Neus skin!

Pick Your Battles

This might have something to do with Lauryn being the "baby" of our family. Or it could be that I don't have that "fight" in me anymore. Maybe my "pride" has left now that I'm 30 something and have 5 kids. I'm not sure. What I do know is that Lauryn can be extremely exhausting! She has had an opinion on what she wants to wear since she could walk. When she was 2 years old she wanted nothing to do with clothes and went around in a diaper or her underwear most of the time (yes, white trash, I know). I did dress her when we went out in public, don't get me wrong.

She is extremely fussy about her shoes. She has spent at least 3 days this week wearing only her swimsuit. We almost went to church last Sunday with no underwear (that happened once and I'm glad I caught it this time). SHE has to decide how I do her hair - which brush to use, which clip and which rubber band, if any, she wants.

So I've pretty much given up. Most of the time it's not worth the fight. We did have family pictures taken last week and there was no argument allowed. She did wear what I wanted her to. But most of the time it's really not worth the battle!

Puppies!

Our Jack Russell Terrier had four puppies last week. Aren't they so sweet? The kids love holding them and can't wait for them to open their eyes and start to move around. She had 3 boys and 1 girl. The girl is the smallest and I've been having to bottle feed her throughout the day because she can't seem to find any room to nurse with her three aggressive brothers always in the way! They should be ready for their new homes in a month or so. Let me know if you want one!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Brian had his 40th birthday on June 1st! We had a fun night celebrating with family and friends. It was great to reconnect with some of his "old" childhood friends. Thanks to all who came! Happy birthday, Brian!