Jack's 7th Birthday

We celebrated Jack's 7th Birthday and as usual, the other kids get to pick out a gift for him at the $1 store, this time we went to Target's $1 spot and scored with items that we knew he would love.



I found the cutest silicone baking cups in the shape of ice cream cones at Hobby Lobby on clearance. I thought it would be great to just reuse them for each birthday. They came out very cute, but bad idea. How in the world are you supposed to eat these? The fun part is eating the cone right? We had to peel the cone off the cupcake, it was such a mess. Next time we are going to try regular ice cream cones.





Target practice with his new Nerf Gun and Army Gear

Green Hair

I forgot to mention how green Ellie's hair had gotten with all of that swimming. She is so blonde and Gabi has light brown hair with some lighter spots and you guessed it, those soon became green highlights. I had tried a lot of things to try and remove it. First ketchup, then vinegar, Ultra Swim, baking soda and even another special swimmer's shampoo from Sally Beauty Supply and nothing worked. I finally googled for the 20th time and decided to try tomato paste and leave it on longer, like 20mins.

IT WORKED. Beautiful, golden blonde and light brown hair again.

It looked so dry and damaged, it's creased from having it pulled up to hide it while it was still green.


Gabi's is more subtle


Time for the tomato treatment

Back To School Prep

School starts in 13 days. Our summer has gone by so fast. This is Ellie's first year in school and she could not be happier. She has been so excited, even though it meant getting a few shots for the last of her vacs. She was so brave and took it like a champ.

Next, we went to the eye doctor to get some of the kids eyes checked. Gabi and Jack already had glasses and now Madeline needs them too. She picked out the cutest frames. It takes about a week to get them back and she was so excited that she made a ring countdown out of construction paper, you know the kind you make to count down the days before Christmas. Funny girl.








Lastly, we went to the dentist. 3 on one day and 3 the next. It was Levi's first visit and he did great and said I could wait out in the play area with the other kids :(





We went shopping for school supplies and washed last year's backpacks and we are packed and ready for the first day of school. I did drive here and there for special sales, but totally worth it, when I can get a pack of pencils for .09 cents. In total, the lists requested 198 pencils for all 5 kids, woah, that's a lot of writing.

Swimming @ The Club

I discovered a Racquet Ball Club down the street from our house and called about a summer membership. They offered a month to month membership with no other fees, so we decided to go for the months of June and July. What a great idea, we went several times a week to go swimming and it's such a small club that hardly anyone else was there. Great for me, so much easier to do a head count on the kids :) I have some really good swimmers now.




It's hard to believe my first baby is going to be 12 in about 2wks



On Father's Day, Jonathan's brother Mark and his family were in town and we all went and invited some dear friends The Blue's. Maddy just loves to be thrown in the water. They all swarm around "Untle Mart" as Levi calls him.





Cousin Luke's turn to throw Madeline



Cousin Anna trying to lounge in the back


Mr. Blue and his sweet dog Matti, who passed away just a few weeks after this visit


Lots of Pizza for a big crowd, YUM

Summer Freebies

This summer, we have enjoyed a lot of freebies. The kids joined the summer reading program at the library and upon completion within the first 2weeks I might add, they received several coupons. We've also been able to take advantage of special event days at different places. We've had so much fun with this.

Free ice cream at Baskin Robbins



Free hot dogs at Squeak Soda Shoppe and $1 Cotton Candy. YUM









Dress like a cow at Chick-Fil-A and you get a free meal, complete with chicken, waffle fries and a drink. About $30 value here, totally worth it :)





Free kids meals at Culver's. We sat outside and the kids had so much fun, they had loud 50's diner style music playing and they just started dancing. Very funny and spontaneous.