I give up

My house is a mess. And I've decided to give up trying to keep it clean, it seems there is nothing I can do. The more I clean the dirtier it seems to become. It's not just a little dirty, it is a mess. In order to put clothes in the washer I had to step on a 50 lb. bag of rice. My kitchen counters are covered in coupons, bills, house papers, etc. My bedroom/office/excercise room is totally crazy and cluttered, there are stacks of paper and boxes everywhere. Brooke's room is getting even more crowded as we finally bought her her own dresser from craigs list (so her and Owen no longer have to share). I am sharing this not so you all are embarassed that you know such a messy person, but to you let you know that I've decided this mess is not my fault. Yes, that's right I've been thinking a lot about the disaster that my house is becoming and I don't think it is my fault. I've decided that the blame lies 100% on the fact that our house is too small and there is not enough storage and organizational areas. It has nothing to do with me and my kind of messy kids and everything to do with this house. So I'm fully expecting that when we move in a couple months our new house is always going to be spotless, everything will always have a place and will always be ultra-organized! Heres to dreaming!

Princess Party

Brooke had a double birthday party with her friend Olivia today. The girls all loved coming in their princess dresses and had a ball. Here are some of the things we did at the party:

Wand & Crown Decorating




Musical Chairs




Kiss the Frog


Lunch



Hide the Glass Slipper


Pinata



Cake & Ice Cream
As you can see I decided to give the cake another shot. And I am glad I did, I think it turned out pretty cute.

It was a fun party. I am all about joint parties now, half the work all the fun, so great!

The Death of a cake

I had been trying to get a headstart on Brooke's birthday cake for her princess party on Saturday. I was just putting the layers together when Brooke wanted some help getting a movie started. This is what I returned to:





I hear Walmart has good cakes!

She's 4!

My little girl is 4! 4 seems really old, like she's really not a baby anymore.
Brooke has been very funny about being 4 she is constantly saying things like "Now that I am 4 you don't need to put lids on my cups." or "Now that I am 4 I can take a bath by myself." or my favorite "I'm 4 mom, you can just leave me at the park by myself and come back and get me in like an hour (Great idea, sweetie!)."

So here are a few things about Brooke at the SUPER OLD age of 4:
Favorite Food: Cereal
Favorite Color: Pink, purple, blue and light green
Favorite Book: Cinderella, Pinkalicious and Chrysanthemum
Favorite Movie: Cinderella
Favorite Game: Hi-ho the Cherry-o
Favorite Drink: Chocolate Milk
Favorite Thing To Do: Clean-up (this isn't really true, but it is what she said)
What she wants to be when she grows up: A doctor

It is so fun to see her grow up, she really is a sweetheart!

An Almost Perfect Trip

Reid and I are notorious in my family for hating vacations. I don't know if it is because we're just homebodies, we really like routines, or we are just cranky people but we do struggle with vacations. But we took a quick trip to Utah this past weekend and it was great! We were only there for a couple days but we got to do a lot of things and it was a very fun trip. The only reason I wouldn't say it was a totally perfect trip is that our kids didn't sleep well the whole trip and Utah is a long ways from Tennessee, it was a lot of traveling.

On Thursday when we got in we went to Temple Square. I hadn't been there in so long it was really neat. Brooke loved seeing the different pictures and statues of the prophets, she thought it was really cool.


On Friday Reid and I got to go to the temple without driving 3 hours and swapping the kids which was wonderful. While we were at the temple my mom took the kids to walmart and let them ride the little rides. She also had Brooke help her make an awesome cake. Then we went up to Thanksgiving point and walked through the gardens. The kids loved running around with their cousins.






That night we went bowling with Reid's family that had come up to see us. Brooke got one of the best scores, she definitely beat Reid and I, and she had so much fun hanging out with her grandpa.






On Saturday, we went to the Draper temple where my mom and stepdad were sealed. This was such a special thing and we were so glad we could be there. My mom and Jim have been married almost 12 years, they got married when I was in high school. So it was just so great to be there with them.



Then because it was Brooke's birthday, my mom had planned a special birthday party for her. She made this awesome rainbow cake, and planned fun games. Brooke was so excited to have a party with her cousins. She loved it!






It was a busy couple of days, but it was so fun! Maybe after this successful trip we should start trying vacations more often? On second thought maybe we shouldn't push our luck! We had a fun trip and we were so glad we got to be there with my mom and Jim!