Grandpa and Grandma have flown back to Michigan, leaving a hole in our hearts. We miss them so much already!

This past weekend we celebrated the Girls birthdays. We had one party for all three of them. Sophia will be turning 7 on Spet 6th. Vangie will be turning 5 on September 9th and Lucy will be turning 1 on September 10th.  The theme was "Hello Kitty" and we had it at the pool with some friends and neighbors. 

We set up at a shaded picnic table by the pool. It was perfect!  Sophia and Evengeline LOVED having a party and swimming with thier friends.  Grandma Kathy helped me make the girls birthday cakes. For Sophia and Vangie we made "Hello Kitty" cupcakes...
 For Lucy we made her a Turtle Cake!!! Look how CUTE it is!!!....





So the birthday was a huge success. This is a big relief for me. I am not much into planning parties. At least not right now... maybe when Lucy gets a little older and isn't such a HANDFUL I will be able to spend more time doing fun things like planning parties!

Happy Birthday to my THREE beautiful SEPTEMBER Babies!!

We used to have a "guest" room until we had the baby. With 4 kids there is no room for a "guest" room... but no worries, there is still room for guests! We just kick Lucy out of her room and viola.... a guest room! In this room I have a bed that I bought when we first moved out to Hawaii. It's a twin bed with a trundle that folds out from underneath.  When it is all folded out it is two twin beds side-by-side... so that would be the size of a king. I LOVE this because we have lots of room for guests.

I don't think the bed likes my dad. One night not long ago my dad rolled into the tiny crack that separated the two beds and fell through! Thankfully he was fine.  THEN, a couple nights later the trundle completely collapsed! (he survived that too!)  I guess the bed just doesn't like him.

This past week has been crazy busy. Please forgive my lack fo posting!  Papa and Grandma Kathy arrived last Tuesday. The kids and I were SOOOO excited to see them. (Well, Chris was excited too- but he is living at work now and we never see him.)

I left for AdvoCare success school in Dallas Texas last Thursday night. Papa and Grandma Kathy were going to babysit the kids while I was AWAY!!!  This had me all kinds of anxious. Not that I didn't think they could do it. My feelings were because I had never left the kids before... the only other time I left the older three was when my mom died and I had to fly home. I had NEVER left Lucy before. But I KNEW they were in the best hands possible. So I packed my suitcase, gave them all a big hug and kiss and  joined my three girlfriends on a plane headed to Dallas , Texas for a girls weekend soaking up all the AdvoCare awesomeness! (if you want to hear more about my trip to AdvoCare's success school, go to my OTHER blog www.schmitthappens.net/advocare )

Grandma and Papa took very good care of the kids... my Dad even gave Lucy a BATH! I don't think he has EVER given a baby a bath before!


Papa and Grandma also got the kids ready for church! After Church they went to Denny's, where each child got to order their OWN plate of food... Needless to say they had a lot of Leftovers! But Sophia was very excited to tell me when I got back that she got her "TWO VERY OWN PANCAKES". Can you tell that I often make them SHARE??


Below is Papa walking the kids to school.  How cute is that?




Papa also took the big kids to the pool a couple times. They had a BLAST. I returned home from my weekend away on Monday. It was so nice to see my little minions again and give them all hugs and kisses.

Busy week. Kids in school, which I LOVE... and THEY LOVE! Which is nice. Sophia cried the 2nd day of school but since then has shed no more tears. She was just scared of her teacher, I think... but now she likes her teacher and she is also making many new friends. This warms my heart. I HATE it when she is sad to go to school.

Vangie LOVES kindergarten. She is like a sponge, soaking up so much new knowledge!

Chris has been working, working working. He starts Shift work on Monday..... Swing Shift, my most favorite! (insert sarcasm here). So the kids basically won't see him because he will get home after midnight, when they (and me!) are sleeping. He will be sleeping when they get up and ready for school and he will be at work when they get home from school and in the afternoon. Hopefully it doesn't last long.


Here is Lucy smiling big and reeking havoc, which is her favorite pass time.

And below is Joey in his "Captain America" get-up. I think we will take the kids to see that movie today.

The kids started back to school this week. Joey is in 3rd grade, Sophia in 2nd grade and Evangeline started Kindergarten!! They are all excited (for the most part) to go back.



Check out Vangie's SUPER CUTE lunch box! She picked it out herself.

Here they are on our hike last weekend:


Check out the Videos page..... I put a video of Lucy walking from about a week ago. She is walking all the time now.. She NO LONGER CRAWLS AT ALL!!!  She is a MONSTER!