Bulls Eye!

Clara had a fun time celebrating with her friends, learning to shoot a bow and arrow!  She is really excited for the movie "Brave" to come out, and was inspired to have an archery party....

 Beginner's luck....or maybe a future in archery??

 The happy smile after her bull's eye!!

 Hannah looks dangerous with her focus!

 Refeuling for the next round...

 Daddy got some time to play while the girls were eating-he is already planning HIS birthday party here in July!

 Such a fun group of girls!!  They got to shoot at the balloons for prizes at the end...

 Seven looks like it might be a "silly" year ;)

Family birthday...

We had a fun day together celebrating Clara's 7th birthday!  We headed north of Seattle, and ate lunch at a horse arena!  They had some beautiful show horses, racing around an indoor arena that the kids enjoyed watching while they ate.  From there, we went to a kangaroo farm!!!  We actually arrived a little too late for the tour we were planning to take, and Clara was devastated.  We decided just to walk around a bit and see what we could from the front of the farm, and one of the owners stopped to talk to us about the baby wallabees and kangaroos.  I mentioned that it was Clara's birthday, and she was so sweet, she gave us a personal tour!!  She let the kids feed bananas to the lemur monkeys and then brought out a baby kangaroo!  Everyone got a turn holding this sweet baby...

 Isaiah looks truly surprised that a baby kangaroo is on his lap!!



 This would be the perfect baby fix-I need one for home!!

 You can tell he's held a few babies before ;)

Aunt Julie got a turn...

 Feeding the alpacas and llamas...

 Happy Birthday, sweet girl!! We love you!!

seven

 Creative, joyful, kind, thoughtful, animal-loving, peacemaker, our pokey puppy ;)

 Clara, you are such a joy in our family!  You are an amazing big sister to Hannah, Lizzie, and Isaiah.  You are always coming up with creative, fun games to play, and they gladly follow your lead.  You are so good at making sure that everyone is included, and you are such a peace-maker, always making it work so that everyone is happy.  I brought home a variety of donuts on your birthday morning, and when I told you that you could pick whichever one you wanted, your first response was to let your siblings all have their favorite pick first!  You find joy in helping others and making others happy.  You rarely say a mean thing about anyone, and you are always finding the good in people.  You love to watch movies, and usually become the leading character in a full costume right afterward, incorporating your sisters into the play, too.  You've been working hard at swimming this spring and started piano lessons.  You love art and dance, and when I can get you to focus, you surprise me with your progress in math and reading.  Mostly, you just enjoying being creative and playing!  We adore your big heart and sweet spirit!!!

Saturday morning cartoons....

With the return of the rain, we've had some creative/messy indoor play!  I think every toy in the playroom was used to build this hamster maze...

 One cute little hamster in his tunnel...

A cozy little seat made by his sisters...

 This dog/owner fashion show kept them busy a LONG time with multiple outfit changes, runway walks, and photos...

 Hannah lost her first tooth!!!  She wiggled it free after bedtime one night last week, and she was thrilled!!!  We took it with us to co-op the next day (she had requested that the tooth fairy please let her keep it) and showed it to everyone!  She spent the morning cleaning and shining it in the bathroom sink before we left :)

Indoors and Outdoors...

It wasn't until we had our first little boy, that we finally bought a play vacuum!  Isaiah is obsessed with vacuums and brooms, which he calls "UUUUMMMM"!!!  He loves the button to turn it on/off and loves pushing things around the house....

He will take it outside and push it up and down the street, too!

 Daddy, showing Isaiah how it's done!  I love a man with a vacuum ;)

 These two were eating breakfast bars on the counter, when Isaiah found that dipping it in the cinnamon sugar bowl made it even better!!  Eliza was very happy about his discovery.  Any activity that these two can do together without fighting is okay with me! ;)

 Clara's concoction-this girl loves to make experiments in the kitchen!

 Hannah took hers outside to "relax" with!

 Always asking for an "underdog".....

 Peek-a-boo!

 Eating popsicles in the sunshine...

 Say cheese!

 Wednesday morning ritual of watching the garbage trucks go around our cul-de-sac.  I used to get so mad when they would come through because they would make so much noise and wake up Isaiah, but they've moved their schedule a little later, and now we look forward to this fun entertainment together!! I wish we had garbage trucks every day!

 Our four loves!

 Goofy faces!

 Dance performance on the trampoline!