Six, Seven, Eight or 6/7/08

Amber and Brinton were married on June 7, 2008 in the Boise, Id temple. It was a neat experience to have all of us in the temple together. I think it may have been the first time that we were all there. All siblings plus mom and dad.
Mr. and Mrs. Brinton Croff!



Getting all of the little ones together for a picture is nearly impossible... especially around nap time. We tried though.



The reception was held in Tim and Karen's back yard. We cleared out the last bay of their garage, put down a runner, set up some tables for gifts and the guest book and put a few pictures on the wall. Amber was pretty relaxed about the whole thing, so she was easy to please.
Guests greeted the parents and new couple under a canopy, then we had tables set up in the grass for brownie sundae enjoyment. (Amber and Brinton decided they didn't really want to serve cake and thought that a brownie sundae would be good on a warm June day.) Brinton's sisters, mom and aunts made the brownie topping table look beautiful...so many choices and pretty decorations.
The weather was great. It was overcast for nice pictures, but no rain. By the evening, it had warmed up, but there was a little breeze to keep things just right. (I wasn't loving the wind when we were tryting to get tableclothes on the tables though. Nothing that a little tape didn't fix!)

Hi, I'm Amber's cousin Chanel.
More cousins, Ciarran and Collin.
The lovely reception host's Tim and Karen.
Distinguished guests, Candice and Nan. Kitchen worker Micaela.
The new couple before the reception events begin.

The contraversial cake. Amber and Brinton didn't really want a cake. I thought every wedding reception needed a cake. So here's the result.
The guest sign-in book. Amber made it as a little scrapbook. It was really cute. It had facts,dates and pictures from their dating/engagement time. It was fun to see the comparison of their first kiss according to Brinton and first kiss according to Amber... way different dates. Also the interesting fact about the first "I love You". Brinton was the first to say it and Amber followed about a month behind. It was a really clever way to combine your guests at the reception and fun facts. How many of you ever get out your reception guest book and look at the names? I'm guessing rarely. Amber and Brinton can put theirs on the coffee table and enjoy it all the time. Great idea Amber!

Happy Honeymoon!
The car looked cute until the whipcream started melting down the windows.

Abree 3 yrs old, going on 13...or should I say 30!

Abree LOVES to act big. She's always saying things like, "Mom, I'll be the mom and you can be the kid." She also loves to boss her older siblings around, especially Treyson. I think she thinks he needs a second mom.

Abree and I hang out a lot. We're buddies. She runs errands, shops, cleans, emails and blogs with me. I have to admit, I'm not a very good, "get on the floor and play with my kid" mom. (I actually feel a little guilty as I'm typing this...but will that change my behavior?...I don't know.) So she's created her own way to "play" with me. She sets up her Barbies, babies or office, next to me and interacts, asks questions and non-stop talks to me, while I'm on the computer or going about my business. She's always telling me what to say to her babies or Barbies. Like, "Mom, tell them I'm going to the store and I'll be right back." So I'll say my line and she'll continue play. Then she'll say, "Mom say, 'The kids were good for me, while you were gone.' " And so on and so forth.

Recently, she's set up her "office" next to my computer. She'll find some sort of surface and some sort of chair and do her "work". She likes using the calculator for her computer and usually has her camera and cell phone close by. She also LOVES to draw, color or write. She shows me all the letters she knows how to write and how she spells Abree. The letters I can decode usually are; A, e, e. She hasn't gotten the b or r down yet. She also LOVES any type of little paper scrap. If I'm doing a project, she's always asking if she can have the scraps. Then she creates cute little masterpieces for me and daddy.

She's generally a sweet, content little girl and usually doesn't mind "playing" my way. Thanks for being my buddy Abree! I love you!

PS-She likes to do her own hair and sometimes doesn't allow me to have a turn. This is one of those days. :o)

Here is Abree on her "computer". I think she's typing an email to grandma.

Memorial Day Fun

On Memorial Day, Jason took the day off work and wanted to BBQ. Then we got a flyer on our front door announcing a FREE commuinity BBQ and carnival. It was put on by a Christian radio station (I think) and was held in a nearby park. It was great. There was live music, a family photo booth, a cupcake walk, children's art booth, volleyball, several big bouncy houses, ring-toss and more. For the BBQ they offered hotdogs, chips, corn and soda. We partook in all that was offered and had a nice family day.

It took several rounds, but Abree finally was a winner.

Here's the art tent where the kids could choose from 3-4 different art projects. One of the favorites was the marble art. They put a clean sheet of paper in a shoe size box, dipped some marbles in paint and rolled the marbles around in the box creating a masterpiece. Treyson has a basketball, with flames coming out of it. Taylee a pink horse on one side and twirly-flurries (I don't know what to call them) on the other side. Abree chose a pink vine of flowers and Rylee has a very large creeping vine of orange flowers on one side and again twirly-flurries on the other. You really can't tell by the picture, but this face painter was one of the best I've seen. She really did a good job and the kids loved it!

The Final Countdown

It's almost here... Amber and Brinton's wedding. I offered, or should I say I took over, the tablecloths and table decoration for the reception. (Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes. I just got excited about helping.) They are having it outside in Tim's backyard. Amber wanted it fairly casual and naturey (nice word, huh?). Here's what I came up with... grass, rocks and twigs.

New family rule = 4 new holes

So when Jason and I got married and started discussing parenting rules and such, we decided that 12 years old was when our girls could get their ears pierced. The decision came about mostly because that was our family rule growing up. As time passed, and I really started thinking about this rule, I started to regret that I had ever said anything. I really didn't care about waiting until 12. The only issue I had was responsibility for their own ear care. So then I talked to Jason and asked him if he was really set on age 12, for ear piercing. No, not really. So we came up with a new family rule: You must be atleast 9 years of age for ear piercing.

I casually mentioned this new rule to my girls one day. They were very excited. They pestered me (gently, as not to upset) every day until we finally did it late one night at Walmart.

The girls are carefully listening to ear care instructions. They are totally nervous... but way excited too.

Are we having fun yet?! I don't think Rylee is.

I did it!

Look at that face. Rylee said she was squeezing her hand so tight it really hurt.

Ahhh, that wasn't bad.
She kept saying, "Mom, why did you say it was going to hurt. It didn't hurt."

Two beautiful girls with new acessories.

Another School Program

Rylee had another school program. It was about the "Nifty Fifty". (You know, the 50 United States.) It was written by a 6th grade class in their school. They sang songs, did dances and had cute costumes and skits. Rylee participated in a dance and did a solo part in "This land is your land" song. She did a great job.