making a list and checking it twice!

Today I decided to take the girls and get their school suppiles while there was a good supply of them. In the past I have thought I was heading out early but always found myself having to go to three or four different stores to get them all. We did pretty well on finding everything we needed at Target and only need two items to complete the list for both our Kindergartener and 4th grader. The summer started off dragging a bit but has realy picked up steam. The girls only have four weeks left of their vacation.


Swim team is now over and not much going on on a daily basis. I have to get them signed up for their EXTRAS in the next few weeks but and trying to figure out what days and times to put them in their activities. Maci wants to do dance agian and Mackenzi really wants to ry out year round swim but is quite a busy schedule for a third grader. I think they practice three night a week and that doesn't include the meets she will compete in. Woah I'm exhausted thinking about taxiing them around when all this begins.

Mackenzi and Maci are planning a trip to see Grammy and Poppy for a few days soon but other than that we are just going day to day until school starts. We are still on the hunt for the perfect job and place to raise our girls, so that will consume most weekends until they head back to class. We wanted to take a little mini vacation down to Corpus Christi to the beach. Hopefully we won't run out of time but if we do I guess we can just go on a weekend after school starts. It's not like it will be cold anytime soon.

there's no place like home

I have decided Greg and the girls were trying to out do me on the welcome home surprise(I posted the daddy's girl t-shirts when Greg came home form his trip). Jenny and I walked out of the airport to find my car a bit covered in car window paint. I was a bit taken back at first and then loved it eventhough I was a little embarrassed at first. Even though I had drank my fair share of diet coke while I was gone I picked the LARGE Sonic cup up as soon as I buckled my seat belt. Thanks Honey, I can always use a diet coke fix.
I took these pictures before we washed the windows off. The girls had their feelings hurt a little when I wanted to get the paint off so soon. I just didn't want it to bake in the 100+ sun for too long and then never get it off. Girls I really did love it. It made me feel so special.

It always feel so good to pull in your own driveway after being gone. There really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME! When we arrived home I was surprised to see that my nice green yard was no longer grass, but more like hay. Greg said he watered it but not as much as I do and I don't blame him after getting our last water bill I decided I needed to cut back on the watering anyway.
I was relieved to walk into a clean home with everything in it's place and a beautiful vase of flowers on the bar. I was feeling fet lagged and was so glad all I needed to do when I got home was unpack my stuff and just do my laundry from the weekend.
Thanks for all you did while I was gone and spending so much fun time with the girls. Seaworld, Fiesta Texas, the lake, the park.....you way out did yourself. The girls are going to want me to go away more often and leave them home with you if you do such fun things with them all the time.

Greg,thanks for letting me have this time away to rejuvinate myself and to spend time with my friends. Thanks for your hard work and endless giving for our family. I love you HUGE like the world!

Happy 30th Birthday Alli!

Happy 30th Alli!
I just wanted to wish my little sister, Allison a very happy day. Today she is turning the big 3-0! I can't believe it. She still seems so young to me. I realize we are four years apart and always will be four years apart but, she has always seemed alot younger than me. I think it has to do with how small she has always been. She was only 4feet 9 inches when she was in high school and now she is still a little under 5 feet tall. Even though she is married and has two little girls of her own she still is referred to as the "baby" of the family.
I know this post is coming out late(my blogger has been doing wierd things and hasn't let me post anything lately), but know that you were thought of on your special day.
Thanks for being a great sister and friend. Also, thanks for being such a great aunt to the girls. Maryn will one day know she has a very special namesake in you.(Maryn Allison Gordon) Hope your day is filled with fun memories, lots of love, and tons of smiles and giggles.
Welcome to the over 30 club! Love and miss you!

bringing back memories

Well Jenny and I made it to Utah Friday morning safe and sound. As soon as we got our car and started driving it was like no time had past since either one of us had been here. Even though some things are very different we remebered street names and how to navigate ourselves around Salt Lake. We met up with Jenny's freind Allison and went to an outdoor mall, similar to LaCantera, an shopped and had lunch at Rumbi's. We went to Nordstoms big anniversary sale but didn't find much. We walked over to Temple Square and had one
of the sister missionaries take a few pictures of us. It was as so pretty, as I remembered it being. I haven't been back here since 1999 and it is so funny to see so many churches and LDS people strolling around. Of course there are many people that aren't LDS and a few of those were working the makeup counters in Nordstroms in drag. Guys in full on makeup. They had more makeup on than I have ever worn in my entire life. It was so funny because we tried to be discreet and take a picture of them but I think it was obvious when the flash went off what we were doing.
After we left Salt Lake we stopped by and really surprised Jill at her house. We felt we couldn't be this close and not just stop to say hi. I hope we didn't throw her in to panic mode when she realized we were in her driveway. I admit I would have freaked if two people I didn't know just popped in. We chatted for a few minutes, had a quick blog lesson, and took some pictures. Thanks Jill for being such a great sport about our surprise visit.
Finally we made our way to Orem and Provo. I stopped at my old apartment, College Terrace, across from UVSC (UVCC when I was there) and took a picture of me standing in from of my apartment,#18. I was having flashbacks of the 18 year old small town Texas girl, with a strong southern drawl, being so scared when my parents drove away that first semester. I remember falling in the snow/ice trying to walk to class. I rememeber taking huge spill on my way to church and busting my elbow open, I remember having to walk every where I went or ahving my roommates take me. I remeber going to Institure dances hiking th e"Y". going to Sundance, Bridal Veil Falls, and walking across BYU campus and wishing so bad that I would have been going there.
We made it to Steph's house and were so happy to reunite with her after two years. It ws great. Gracie has grown up, Jake looks totally the same jsut a little taller. Isabel was a mini Gracie. It was like seeing Gracie again and her not ever changing in two years. Caroline, whom we had never seen looks a lot like Jake and Mitch and is darling. After Mitch came home, just us girls headed out to Brick Oven for dinner. Of course, the first words out of our waiters mouth was, are you sisters? It is so funny that people say that about us. None of us reallu look alike we just all have blonde hair. Any way we got a few surprising comments while we were eating. One of the waitresses came by and said, " I have to ay you three are so beautiful." We all just giggled like we were little embarrassed kids. We stuffed ourselves and then went home and stayed up way too late chatting. It was so fun remisncing and catching up after so long.
Even though I am having so much fun I am missing Greg and my girls.
Greg thanks for letting me have this fun getaway. You will never know how much it means. Thanks for spending time with the girls and taking care of them. Mackenzi, Maci, & Maryn, know mommy loves you and misses you so much. Kiss each other and Daddy for me and I will see you all soon.

happy friday, happy valley

Well it's finally Friday and in less than thirty minutes Jenny and I will be on our way to the airport. A little sad to leave Greg and my three little girls but gald to be able to spend time with friends doing girl things. I have always said I wanted to do something like this once a year but never thought it would ever happen.
Thanks from the bottom of my heart, Greg for letting me take a break and get away. I know your shedule isn't suitable to take two days off very easily and know you are sacrificing much fo rme this weekend. Thanks for all you do and know it doesn't go unnoticed. Give the girls kisses and squeezes from me often while I'm gone. Have lots of fun daddy/daughter dates but don't spoil them too much. Know I will miss you and the girls so much. I love you BIG like the world!

Reasons today I'm happy-

*I know I'm loved
*I have a family to love
*A wonderful husband
*Three beautiful girls
*Great friends to spend time with
*Wonderful parents
*The gospel
*It's Friday
*I'm getting a much needed rejuvination break

Hope you have a great Friday. I know I will. Happy Valley here we come.

thursday thoughts

Tomorrow Jenny and I leave for Happy Valley. I am really excited to go and visit friends and to have a little break from my hectic summer routine with the kiddos. I too am a bit sad and nervous to leave as well. I haven't left them all with Greg for more than a day. I know he will do great and maybe even get rid of a few problems we have been having.
I am excited to see SLC and the Provo area since it has been about eight years since we have been to visit. Hopefully we will get a chance to go to Temple Square and maybe even go to the Temple while we are there. I have always loved the peaceful feeling surrounding Tenple Square and always said if they would let me choose where I wanted to serve a mission I would have gone and I would have chosen to be a tour guide at Temple Square. But since that's not how things work I never served a mission and I still am a bit shy and reserved. Maybe Greg and I will get the chance to serve later.

I go this book back in when Time Out for Women was here and totally forgot about it in til just the other day when I was going through books and came across it.

The Temple Our Home Away From Home by Ardeth G. Kapp

"The temple is the bridge between mortality and immortality. It is the place where we receive comfort, vision, hope, and promise. In the temple we are reminded of our identity--who we are and who we are to become--and we prepare to fulfill our forordained mission."

I love this quote about being reminded of who we are and who we are to become, and how we should prepare ourselves acoordingly. I love attening the temple to recieve the peacefulness and comfort that is there. To escape the world for a brief while and ponder the promises and the hope that lies within the walls of the temple.

tuesday twins

Mackenzi a fews weeks before her 4th birthday and my sister Allison. They looked more like sisters in this picture than aunt and niece. Allison has always looked younger than her age and believe it or not she is 25 in this picture. They looked alot alike back then but Mackenzi is about to outgrow her aunt pretty soon. Allison will be 30 next week and is a little shy of 5 feet tall, so Mackenzi will surely be taller but, still resembles Allison some.

*I am posting this now but will add and edit more twins later*

all stars bound!

The ten and under divisional swim meet was today. Mackenzi swam in four events, the medley relay, which she was the freestyle leg, butterfly, freestyle, and the freestyle relay. Depending on how she placed and how fast her times were compared to other swimmers, in the other four divisions, would decide if she went to the All Stars meet this Saturday. The All Stars meet consists of five divisions in the city which adds up to around twenty teams. The medley relay team got first and that assured her spot at All Stars. Then four events later she swam her best ever butterfly race and beat out her biggest competitor (Courtney, her own team mate) and won first place. She was shocked, we were shocked, and her coach was shocked at how well she swam. She placed sixth in her individual freestyle and their fresstyle relay ended up second. She will swim on Saturday morning, and I will not be here for it. I'm feeling a bit guilty that I will be having my girls weekend with Jenny while she is swimming her biggest races ever. I had no idea she would be doing this well when we planned our trip. I am super excited about going away for the weekend, and spending time with friends, but sad that I will not be here to cheer her on. I know she will be nervous so hopefully Daddy can ease that burden. After all, maybe it is better that I'm not here for it, because today I was probably more nervous than her. I couldn't quit shaking enought to even snap a picture of her in action. After the meet, I felt exhausted and my heart hurt from pounding so hard for over two hours straight.

Mackenzi, we are so excited for you and proud of you. Good Luck on Saturday.

Mackenzi- our all stars bound swimmer.
Mackenzi & Taylor best buds
The spectators-Grammy, Nana, Papa, Maci, Jared, Maryn, & Poppy
Some of the Woodridge Stingray swim team
Coach Dan
Coach Amber

Gentle

Today in Sacrament meeting I actually was able to sit, listen, and enjoy most of it, thanks to both sets of parents being there with us. A new couple in our ward who are expectin gtheir first child gave the talks today on applying the Atonement to our lives and forgiveness, especially forging ourselves. They told several stories which adds to talks in my opinion. One was about a woman who seemed to have it all together, she was a wife of a man in the bishporic, a mom to four kids, involved in the PTA, and was the Ward Relif Society President. She seemd to have everything in order until one day she cracked. She said she couldn't do it anymore. She asked to be released from her calling and said too much was expected of her and she couldn't handle it. And blamed herself when things weren't going perfectly. I am totally guilty of this and blaming myself for the stuff that goes wrong is what makes me unhappy.
Our babysitter Laura, sang this song called Gentle today in church and absolutely loved it. Laura has a beautiful voice and brings tears to my eyes every time she sings in church. This song, one, I had never heard before and was one I needed to hear. It talks about how we should be more gentle with ourselves.
http://www.ldsaudio.com/shop/music.aspx?type=album&id=196

a visit from grandparents

My parents and Greg's parents came into town today. Mackenzi has her last swim meet on Monday, unless she places first in any of her events, so they didn't want to miss seeing her swim. They love their Grammy and Poppy and Nana and Papa and are all smiles whenever they are around. Grammy wanted to take Mackenzi shopping for her birthday so we headed out and made a quick stop at Costco before heading on to La Cantera. Mackenzi is, by far, the one who loves shopping the most. Even thought she had a closet full of clothes she still would love to have more. She got a couple of new shirts and a new swim suit.

We went to Red Robin, one of the girls' favorite places to go especially when we have visitors.

Our best try at making Rudy's at home. We had brisket, baked beans, cream corn, and cole slaw all prepared by Greg and I. It wasn't exactly Rudy's but pretty close. It helps that we have the cream corn recipe and their famous barbque sauce. We were all stuffed after dinner so I guess that means it was pretty tasty!
Grammy and Poppy (my parents) brought Greg this Texas shaped BBQ grill/fire pit to him for graduation. They were enjoying an Alaskan cruise during gradutation so they were not able to be here then. Greg loves Texas stuff so this was the perfect gift for him. He already plans on having his office at home, and away from home, both decorated Texan. We plan on putting some landscaping stones or tiles in our backyard and then putting the fire pit on it with some chairs around it. I can't wait for our first cool spell this fall so we can try it out as a fire pit, but we will be grilling on it the first chance we get. I'm sure the girls will want to make smores on it every night.
Thanks for coming to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun.

oh happy day!

I didn't sleep much last night due to the excitement that today would bring and all the chores and to-dos I wanted to finish before Greg came home. We had accomplished the closets earlier in the week but due to some unexpected things my house turned into a BOMB! I felt I should just wait until the girls were asleep to tackle the tasks at hand so that put me starting things around 9pm. Of course I had to take a break and finish my blog I had started yesterday morning and then I was back at work.

It started raining so I decided to put off floors until this morning because my hard work would have been pointless once Nikki(our cocker spaniel) needed to go outside. I wanted to make the girls tshirts to wear today to the airport but put this off until 1 this morning. I really wished I would I would have thought about it sooner and I would have gotten them embroideried. We had to settle for our computer and an iron on transfer. They turned out pretty cute but will not be so, after they are washed. That's okay, since I really just wanted to have them for the airport.





It was fun waiting in baggage claim for him instead of just circling around, and around, and around until he came out. One of the other wives and her son came to welcome home their daddy as well, but the other guy had no one waiting for him. His wife is also a resident (military) and she was out of town doing a rotation, so her and her twin girls were not there to welcome Brandon home. It was kind of sad and almost made me cry. You could tell by the look on his face that he missed his girls as much as Greg missed us, nut smiled to see the girls(& Greg) so giddy with excitement. The guys seemed like they had a fun time together even under their grueling study circumstances. They even had talked about this on the way to the airport this morning. They enjoyed their time spent together, discussing test questions and answers, church, and even went running and swimming together everyday. They said they wished they would have been doing things together the past five years on a regular basis. We said our goodbyes to the others and headed out for lunch.



Greg has really missed chips and salsa so we (him & I) were pretty set on mexican food, but the girls were challenging our request. We had planned, earlier in the week, that we would go to Chuy's today but I became weak yesterday when Jenny suggested we go for lunch. I could tell the girls weren't sold on the idea of going to the same place(one they can live without) two days in a row. We finally convinced them and were on our way. It was just as yummy today as it was yesterday but I was feeling a bit ill when we were done eating because of how much I ate.



I am so happy that Greg is back home with us, I can hardly stand it. How blessed I feel to have such a wonderful husband and daddy for our girls. He is amazing. I'm sure everyone gets sick of hearing how great I think he is but I would shout it from a mountain top if I had one to climb. At the airport I was reminded of how special Mackenzi, Maci and Maryn think their Daddy is. I honestly don't know if they would react the same if I were the one gone on a trip. I know they would miss me but their littles faces just lit up and the squeals and giggles just fell from their mouths when he came around the corner. It was touching to watch them run towards him so excited. Thanks for your hard work for our family and for your constant love and devotion. Thanks for keeping us laughing and smiling. It is a HAPPY DAY!

hallelujah!!

I've made it, well almost. For those of you who couldn't tell by my blog Greg has been gone for the past twelve days and will be home in less than fifteen hours. He has been in Maine, at Colby College, for a review course for his board exam. He has been living in the dorms there studying nonstop (except to excercise), preparing himself for the biggest test of his life. I'm sure you are wondering why a small town in Maine. I wondered the same thing, but apparently there isn't alot to do there so you are forced to study and attend the lectures of your choice. According to Greg it was a sacrifice, well worth it, on both of our parts. He doesn't like being away from us and leaving me home to care for everything alone 24/7. I HATE being home without him here. I have told several people it isn't so much the taking care of the girls by myself all day everyday, but it's not having him come home just for a few minutes each day. I have gotten into a dinner, bath, and bedtime routine alone since we started residency. I would have loved for him to have been here to help with that but the thing I missed most was having him here with me. I missed our alone time when we sit and talk about our day and catch up on a few tv shows we recorded and sip a shake together. I have literally been about to crack the last fews days of not having him here to talk to. We have talked many times a day while he has bee gone and even bought cameras for our computers so we could see each and the girls could see their daddy but it isn't the same not having him physically in reach.

Jenny (& Doug) have saved me more than a few times the past two weeks. Our morning walks kept me from feeling so guilty about how bad I have eaten. They had us over for dinner a couple of times and of course Jenny has had the girls come and play to give me much needed breaks. I can never repay her enough for the help she gave on reorganizing my closets. She is amazing when it comes to knowing where to put things sp they are put to better use. A HUGEOMONOUS thanks to Doug for being our Dr. Daddy while our was away. I was a little upset when Maryn fell and broke her clavicle, knowing Greg wouldn't be on his way home to examine it. I am so glad we have such good friends just a few steps away anytime we (I) need them. Thanks guys for all you did for us the past two weeks. Hopefully you realize how hard it has been without Greg here and how much of a burden you have lifted off of my shoulders just by being around. Thanks again.

Greg, I am counting the minutes until you arrive at the airport. I guess the old saying of "Hurry up, and wait" has been my life the last fews days. It can't be Friday quick enough. All week I have been thinking it's a day later than it actually is. I hope you know how much I love you and appreciate all of your determination, hard work, sleepless nights, endless reading and learning, patience, kindness, understanding and love means to me. I am truly blessed to have you in my life and to share in your lifelong dream. Thanks for inviting me to come along. It has been an incredible adventure and I am so happy for us.

I love you BIG like the world!

happy 4th!

I have been thinking lately about my role as a parent and contemplating if I am teaching my children everything they need to know to survive in society. Maybe, I shouldn't use the word survive-I want them to grow up respectful, kind, righteous children and know how to make good decisions. As I have been considering my parenting, I sometimes realize I have no idea how to explain things in a way that my girls can understand. A lot of times I just end up arguing and telling them "because I said so, that's why." I feel helpless sometimes and wish there would have been parenting classes we were required to take before having children.

I love my girls so much and think they know that, but feel I am lacking in teaching them true gospel principles in our busy daily lives. I get so caught up in rushing through my day that I forget to stop and teach them. I find myself so rushed at bedtime sometimes, that I skip family prayer with them, if Greg is not here. I am so selfish with my time and so ready for my house to be quiet that I send them to bed without kneeling and praying with them. I don't do this every night but I never should do it. It has been quite a long time since we actually had an organized and planned FHE with songs, prayers, a lesson, game and a treat-until tonight- when the girls and I had dinner at the Clouses and then Taylor and Mackenzi gave a little power point lesson on prayer. It was a nice reminder, especially from two righteous little girls, of what we should be doing each morning and night. I forget how much they enjoy learning and laughing together as a family.

I never want my girls to forget the basics of the gospel. These basics are what get you through each day. I want them to remember to give thanks for all we have been blessed with and to teach them about asking for things and then getting answers. They will need to use the power of prayer many times over throughout their lives.

Now, you are probably wondering why I chose to put the picture of this dad with his son on the motorcylce as my picture. No, I don't know them. Greg and I saw this a few weeks back and were stunned and said,"what is he thinking". I really think this guy realizes that this could potentially injure his son, and he wouldn't want his child to hurt in anyway, but makes the decision of taking him for a quick spin anyway. I do this alot when teaching right from wrong, and find myself contradicting myself and doing things I know are not completely right forgetting the consequences. I forget that I have six little eyes and six little ears watching and listening to my every action, and looking to me as their example. I would never want them to hurt physically or spiritually. I have learned much today about the things I want and don't want for my precious children just by sitting here contemplating this while typing.

I hope when I'm home and out in public, people never look at me the way Greg and I looked at this guy, and think what is he/she thinking. I hope I never take my role as a mom for granted and forget to teach my girls everything they need to know, even the little things. I hope I am viewed as a good parent to those around me, especially to my girls and my Heavenly Father.

our little quarterback

Since we don't have any boys I have decided Maryn makes a pretty cute little football player. She might even be one of theses girls that ends up playing on the high school footall team but I'm hoping she won't. I couldn't decide if I should take Maryn to church or have her trying out for a peewee football league. We made it late, of course, and I decided to take her home after sacrament meeting because she was drugged up on tylenol with codeine and was having a difficult time even holding her head up. She seems better now and is sound asleep. I hope she has a better night than she had last night.

what the %@*$# !!!!

I have been trying to upload pictures for the past two hours, on three different drafts I have saved, and it isn't working!! I had this same problem last night but I finally got it to work this morning. I am so frustrated I could SCREAM! Is anyone else experiencing problems tonight? If so please HELP!

is the doctor in?

Is the doctor in?
After all of the training Greg has been through to become an orthopedic surgeon(bone doctor), why is it the first time we need him to "practice" at home, he is out of town. He has taken both Mackenzi and Maci to the hospital to make sure things are were not broken before but Maryn hasn't experienced that daddy/daughter date yet.
Tonight, after a day of organizing bedrooms, I offered to watch Doug and Jenny's kids so they could go out to dinner for a post trauma celebration. Doug was still a bit tired after working such long hours that they decided to just grab something quick and then run an errand.
While they were gone the kids ate, played and Luke and Maryn wanted to watch High School Musical. I put it on for them and they climbed into our oversized chair, with a couple of extra pillows. They looked so cute I decided I needed to take a picture so I could blog about them. I ran out to the car ( my camera was in my purse so when I'm out and about and see something to blog about I'll have it). While I was in the garage I heard an incredible thud and the most horrifying scream come from Maryn. I ran inside to find her face down on our new, not so cushioning, wood floor. She apparently fell from the chair. I'm not sure if she had climbed on top of all of the pillows and then fell or just rolled off the ottoman. I picked her up and tried to soothe her hurts but wasn't successful. Even milk, "the fix it" solution, wasn't doing it either. She seemed to be hurt really bad. She wouldn't turn her head, lift her arm, look up or anything. I knew Doug and Jenny would be back soon so I dealt with her sobs the best I could. She finally stopped after about 45 minutes and started playing but whimpered everytime she tried to use her arm.
Doug examined her and we decided to run her up to the ER to get a quick x-ray with the "c arm" machine. The first little picture confirmed my thoughts. She had broken her clavicle(collar bone). Everything else looked fine on x-ray. Doug put her in a little harness thingy to keep her from moving it too much so she could maybe get some sleep tonight.
When we left Doug called Greg to give him the diagnosis but, actually played it up to worry Greg a bit. He told Greg Maryn had broken her elbow and he called the pedi staff guy on call and they were going to take her to the OR later tonight. I think Greg was a bit taken back, especially since the staff guy isn't the greatest. You could here the concern in Greg's voice so Doug gave up the joke quick. Greg said he was a bit nervous but felt better knowing Doug would have been in helping with the surgery( if there would have been one). He was relieved to find out it was a minor fracture of her collar bone but I could tell he wished he was here, for me and to have been here for the first bone injury to one of our kids. He spends so much time taking care of others and their kids, but the first time he could have helped ours he was away. He isn't just away, just to be away. He is at board review course, so that is the best reason I know to miss the drama of the first broken bone at our house.
Thanks Doug you were a life saver and we would have felt much better knowing you would have been in operating on Maryn if it would have been something worse. Also, thanks to Jenny for staying here with the kids while we went to the hospital. What would we do without you both? We owe you big time.

super successful saturday

I have learned be careful what you mention on your blogs and/or comment on others' blogs. I nonchalantly commented on Jenny's post on motivation about having her help me getting organized. She is the Queen of organization, dejunking, and is a little OCD. I have always told her that I'm a pack rat, as are my husband, and my girls. I have always just closed off the messy rooms and closets when she is over so she had never really seen how much junk we have collected. I never thought my secret would be out and she would see me, the real me! I was a bit concerned and nervous of what she would think so I told her I was okay and I could manage the task alone. I made every excuse, from she needed to spend the day with her family, to Maryn was sleeping so we couldn't get into her room. They didn't work, as you will see in the below pictures. I was glad that she didn't make any comments on the dust, junk, clutter, amount of clothes and shoes my girls have(it is very dificult having three girls, it makes you want to buy every cute thing you see). Hopefully she doesn't blog about me and my bad habits or tell anyone how disorganized I am. I admit I was embarrassed at first but got ever it as soon as I saw Jenny didn't care she just wanted to help me. And that she did and I am so grateful. I vow to never go back to the messy, junky closests!

Mackenzi's side of the closet.
Maci's side

Mackenzi & Maci's room


Maryn's closet

Maryn's room

What a day. After Jenny came over Friday night late to help me part with some of the things in Maryn's toy box and bins she offered to come back over today to take on Mackenzi and Maci's room and closet. It was and overwhelming sight when we started bringing things out of the closet. There is no way the girls even knew about half of the things they had accumulated. Jenny even made the comment that I could homeschool them after seeing all of the workbooks and arts and crafts they have.

The kids, including Taylor and Jared, wanted to have a lemonade stand while we were working inside. We were a bit nervous to let them, but we figured it was okay since we could see them through the window. It was a nice way to have them preoccupied while we were throwing away their stuff. They were out there about two hours and each made a whopping buck twenty-five. They were thrilled over there earnings and came to tell us each time they had a new customer. Maybe I should have them do a garage sale, they would probably get more business than I ever do just because they are cute.

It was a great feeling when we had everything back in it's place and it looked so good. The kids loved being able to get to so much of their stuff without having to ask me to help. I have threatened them if they don't keep it organized that we'll have to dejunk more.

A HUGEOMONGOUS(not really a word just thought it sounded good) THANK YOU to Jen for sharing her talent of dejunking and organizing. Doing this now will make for a smoother pack up next summer. I may have to do a little more next spring. but nothing like it would have been like before today.

It was a SUPER, SUCCESSFUL SATURDAY!