we've been having fun

Evangeline is so independent these days. She insists on picking out her clothes for the day which always includes a dress or skirt and then requests a bow for her hair. I love how feminine she is even though she has the influence of a big brother. 

She was so excited for this dress when I pulled it out of the closet for her. She said "Yay! Polka dots!" My sister and I wore this when we were little and now my girls will get to wear it.

This post will contain several bloopers because in reality it takes about 4 tries to get a nice, smiling picture out of them. They really prefer to make silly faces all the while I'm begging them to be normal for one second.

It's taken us all summer to finally get out the tent so they could camp in the backyard. This was Evangeline's first time and she did great! We originally planned on her sleeping inside but she knew Ari was sleeping out there so she insisted on sleeping in the tent as well. Maybe some day we will adventure out past our yard but for now this will do.

We made it to the state fair and were excited about the cooler weather this year. However, we didn't realize just how cold it was going to be! We were WAY under dressed and I just about froze. It happened to be extremely windy so we tried our best to enjoy the food while we chased our trash around that kept blowing away.

The animals this year were really exciting, especially to Evangeline. We got a nice close up of the fancy horses.

The kids always enjoy the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit.

Since I wasn't pregnant and nauseous this year, I got the privilege of pushing Evangeline around on the tractor. Not the easiest thing to do! Glad it counted as my workout for the day :) I just wish it would have been enough to work off the fair food.

My mom joined us this year!

Selah was content the whole time. 

The goats were eagerly waiting for food. It's funny how Evangeline has a slight fear of dogs but would go up to any other animal and even be willing to feed it.

And before we could leave we had to enjoy an elephant ear.

The kids had fun going to our local farmer's market. Notice the long pants and sleeves! Seriously people, it felt like fall and it's supposed to be summer still.

And here are my comedians...

It's been months since we've been to the zoo but we were finally able to go.

A loving choke hold...

Evangeline trying to get him off her back...

And her best effort to smile for the camera.

it's been 6 years?!

A lot has happened in the last 2,191 days since we said "I will". It's fun to look back at pictures and remember the parts of our wedding day that aren't a blur. I remember my face hurting from smiling so much...and the hot August weather that made taking pictures even more uncomfortable...and how our family was so gracious to give us such a fancy wedding.

But mostly I remember how in love we were. 

I never thought it was possible to love AJ more than I did then...

but God has grown us and everyday something new is revealed that I fall in love with even more.

He pursues God and has a fire inside of him that can't be contained. He wants to share God with others.

 He wants to serve me and will ask "What can I do for you today?"

He wants the whole world to know how much I mean to him.

I have enjoyed every bit of these six years. Not a moment goes by that I take for granted what a wonderful husband I have. AJ is perfect for me and I wouldn't change one thing about him.

5 months

Can I just say how crazy busy our life has been since my last post? So much has gone on around here I'm not even sure where to start. I'm still trying to figure out how mom's of small children have time to blog regularly! I've come to the conclusion that they must not sleep at all.

Somehow in the blink of an eye, this little nugget turned 5 months on me. We've had a few weeks of restless nights, and perhaps it had something to do with having people staying in our house for 10 days straight, but either way I'm hoping we are back on track.

Ari and Evangeline continue to love on her any chance they get. When I finally got the older two looking at the camera, Selah had to bomb the photo with that tongue. I think she is going for longest baby tongue ever.

We had gotten the exercauser out for her but she really didn't enjoy it. So we put that back and got the play mat out instead. I was surprised to find her crying on her belly after putting her down, and I thought Ari had rolled her over. But he didn't and I realized I never gave her a chance to roll over since I was usually holding her or she was in the bouncer or bumbo. Just like the other two, she will cry every time she rolls over. But she has Ari trained to help her get back over.

Her hair is growing in lighter and her eyes are as blue as can be. She is starting to have her own look instead of looking exactly like the other two. It's easy to get her to smile and laugh and she is completely spoiled with love and attention.