Easter Season to Pentecost

We were able to get our first family picture on Easter Sunday morning. Vanesa took this picture of us in front of the stork sign that Bill had sent to me. I loved that silly sign so much I asked him to pay to leave it up for a few more days. It made me smile every time I pulled into the driveway.

In case you think everyone played nice and stood still for the camera, I assure you they did not. Henry and Will were fighting until moments before the click which is why there's that great "I don't want to stand so close to my brother" gap right in the middle of the picture. My nose had been bleeding that morning so I threw the bloody tissue down into the lawn right before she snapped the picture. The baby was crying but luckily you can't really tell from the angle of the photo. 
But we're all there. 

In this next photo, Olivia and Will are both 10. Here are my Irish twins, taken the day before Olivia turned 11.

And then there's this cutie, wrapped up like a Diva and hanging out in her bouncy chair. About a month old already.

I just don't get the big bows and flowers on itty bitty baby girls heads trend. I blame Anne Geddes.

This is my favorite picture of Izzy-Belle (so far). I threw the pink blanket that was a gift from her Tios down on my bed and took this picture with my iphone, just using the natural light coming through my bedroom window. No weird props required. She's just beautiful. And look at all that hair!

My Mother's Day gift this year was a new 12 passenger van, a Nissan NV3500. Is it weird that I love my big van? We all fit in it comfortably and there has been a HUGE reduction in fighting and bloodshed during car rides since I got it. I was very proud this day that I was able to parallel park it in front of the hospital. Thanks to my Dad for teaching me how to parallel park 30 years ago. Everything was AOK at my post-partum check up and I was cleared for swimming. Yeah!

Here two brothers are enjoying popsicles and just lounging pool side as summer weather starts to set in.

And, finally, we are going to have a lawn. After months of having a big dirt pile to play in, and weeks of "dirt" bowling, our lawn is being put in this week. We won't be able to walk on it until the 4th of July, but for now I'm loving just looking out at it. So peaceful. It looks so lush and green, and seems ridiculous and indulgent to have during a drought, but oh how I've missed having a lawn where children can play.

Now I'm waiting for my patio rugs and outdoor dining table to arrive so I can start setting up the outdoor rooms. It is finally all coming together after almost 2 years. 

Slowest.project.ever.

Hope you're enjoying your summer too, and have plenty of time to relax and hang out with your family.

We plan to do a whole lot of nothing this summer...and frankly, I'm thrilled to get a rest before we start the next phase of construction and start homeschooling again in mid August. It's the calm before the storm around here.