Rare Moment

I sure love it when they love each other.

Beach Day

 The girls got it in their heads on Saturday that they wanted to pretend to be at the beach...beach towels, bathing suits and all. (Or "babing soups," as we fondly call them at our house.) And what better day to visit the beach than when it's cold and rainy and you can't play outside?

soaking up the sun...er... the light bulb

the girls have been besties all weekend. a welcome change.

cute as ever

love those freckles

Vanna has bona fide beach hair, whether she's there or not.

um...just ignore the fact that this bathing suit is a smidge too small

And what is a day at the beach without inspirational beach sounds from our white noise machines?

It's merely a day in your living room wearing a bathing suit, that's what.

(Thank goodness for authenticity.)

Gone Fishing

That's right, friends. Sometimes I hang up the mop, and I shove the vacuum into the corner, and I ignore the crumbs covering every surface of the kitchen, and I take Alexa fishing. That is, until she decides it's time to play Perfection, which I like a little bit better anyway. Either way, she is a fun little chica to hang out with, and  even though I have to put stuff off to do it, I''m never sad that I did.

gross...it's not even cooked yet!

when the fishing rods just won't cooperate

and when they do!

she's a catch and release kinda girl...

...but since I'm not, I plan on keeping her forever!

Two Peas in A Monson Pod

Check it. Julia One and Julia Two. 

And check out Julia One's fabulous new (short!) haircut. Suddenly, post-bath-time hair brushing is not the exercise in patience it used to be. Just wish we had done it months ago.

Love them these girls.

Year in Review...January Through June

Okay peeps, I am shamelessly copying this idea from a friend of mine. She did an awesome year in review post for 2012, and since I am out of original ideas, I am high-jacking hers for the moment. Plus, when I started looking at all of our 2012 pictures, I realized just HOW MUCH I failed to post about last year, on account of its general craziness, so I thought this would be a good way to get some of that missed stuff on here. The problem is, there was so much that I think I need to do this in two posts...so buckle your seat belts for January to June...those of you who skip over the text to look at the pictures are in for a real treat!

January:

Savanna rocks it in her dance class

(Can anyone spot bored Amelia in the background??)

Family trip to the zoo sans moi

so I could work on a Robert Frost paper :(

Craig starts work on a kick-trash desk for himself; 

my desk envy has carried over into 2013...

February:

Lexa turns 2 and proves herself to be the cutest 2-year-old ever

Quick trip to California

Desk envy reaches new heights

March:

A Blissful trip to Hawaii

Daddy takes friends to the zoo and earns his stripes

 Lincoln gets his hair straightened

Our biggest girl turns 7!

April:

Easter

La builds a zoo with the girls

Disney on Ice with my mom

Crunch

(Sad face)

I start taking pictures of our cute house so we can start packing

(Double sad face)

May:

My mom is a closet exerciser

Getting ready to say goodbye to best friends

Vanna turns the big 0-5

Audrina's baptism

I hate my life a little bit

We move into my mom and dad's house,

but at least there's a pool!

June:

We say goodbye to a favorite teacher

Another trip to Utah(!)

Lex hijacks the string cheese
(and the Wii remotes)

We see the house that we'll eventually buy (but don't know it yet)

Happy Father's Day to the Handsomest Daddy

The girls fold laundry for me...

...and show their cuteness in more adorable ways

July to December is on its way, 'cause there's PLENTY more where that came from!