My Girls - July 29

Love this picture of my girls - so beautiful!

Dinner with the Wilhites - July 28

We ate dinner tonight with the Wilhites, our friends who are going to be adopting the girls' biological brothers. The highlight of the evening was our hayride to pick some corn and then feed the horses. Here's a picture of all seven kiddos: Sabrina, Monique, Kristian, Wyatt, Zane, Colter and Jordan.

Cutting the Grass - July 26

Wyatt was playing outside this morning when he came running in and asked for his scissors. When I asked him why, he said, "I need to cut the grass. It's hard work and I want to help Daddy." I gave him his scissors and he went outside to start trimming the grass that he felt was too long. Colter soon joined him and I made sure to tell Danny about their hard work so that he could thank them when he got home from work. : )

Abi's Birthday - July 23

We made it back to Lubbock on Wednesday for Abi's birthday party.

Here's the birthday girl with her favorite bow from one of her presents!

The strawberry cake and ice cream were really yummy!

Somehow I managed to get a couple of pictures of our two birthday kids. It was much easier to take their picture one year ago when they weren't quite so wiggly!

Trip to Abilene - July 22-23

We had a great time on our quick overnight visit to see Dedaddy and DeJoyce in Abilene. The two highlights of the trip were...

playing on the slip 'n slide in the backyard...

and feeding the giraffes at the zoo.

Birthday Boy!

Here's our sweet birthday boy with our traditional first birthday banana cake. What a cutie!

He really wasn't sure what to do with all of the presents...

but he had no problem figuring out the cake!

Maybe not the best...

Our trip to Colorado was packed full of funny moments and some really funny pictures to go along with them. So instead of using the best pictures to give you the highlights, I decided to use the funniest pictures! Danny will have more vacation photos and stories up on his blog in a few days(www.griffisfamilyoutdoors.blogspot.com).

We started our week of camping with a two-night backpacking trip. I carried Zane in the backpack carrier (and a few clothes), so Danny had everything else in his pack, which as you can tell is pretty large!

Why did I even bother to bring toys for him?

After our backpacking trip we took a quick side trip to Colorado Springs to see Danny's parents for a night (they are moving to Denver soon) and then drove back to the mountains to camp for another three nights. Noni and Papa drove up from Lubbock and camped with us.

Smores every night - yummy!

We drove over to Great Sand Dunes National Park and spent a day playing in the sand and water. The kids had a blast, but we're still getting sand out of their hair!

We had a wonderful vacation and there are so many more stories to tell - like the bear everyone saw while they were fishing at the lake, Danny almost rolling the truck on the four-wheel drive road, the bruises up and down my leg from my first mountain bike ride and the boys sleeping in a tent by themselves for the first time!

Mountains, Trees and Water - July 10

We are headed for three of our favorite things - mountains, trees, and water! We leave for a camping/backpacking vacation in Colorado tomorrow. We will be gone a week, so our blogs will be quiet, but expect lots of pictures and stories when we return!

Zane's First Bike - July 8

Zane and I were outside today watching the kids ride their bikes when I realized that Zane was probably big enough for out little riding toy. I found it in the garage, dusted it off and put him on the seat. He immediately grabbed the handle bars and started trying to ride. This kid knows a bike when he sees one! His legs are still a little short to push it around much, but he was content sitting on his bike and watching everyone else ride around him. Such a cutie!

Picnic Time! - July 6

The kids are loving our new picnic table! It's a great place for snacks and meals, especially with the beautiful summer days we've been having lately.

Silly Monique - July 6

This picture just makes me laugh! Those long legs on that little tricycle. The curly hair sticky out from the bike helmet. Those pink sunglasses. The little pout. So silly...so Monique!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our little firecrackers!

Fresh from the Garden - July 4

Our little garden has had a rough time this year. It has been really windy and dry (even more so than usual!) and we've already lost several plants. It looks like we should get some squash, tomatoes and peppers in a few weeks, but for right now the only plant that is producing anything is Wyatt's broccoli. We haven't fixed any for a meal because the kids eat it all when they are outside! They other day I asked Wyatt if he wanted a snack and he said, "I'm not hungry, Mom. I just had a little snack of broccoli." : )

Neighborhood Bike Rides - July 2

Since Sabrina got her new bike we have taken the kids on several bike rides around the neighborhood. Our favorite one was our ride to church today. We played on the playground and ate a picnic lunch. Danny even rode from the clinic to join us for lunch (he rides his bike to work most days). The bonus for me was that the kids were nice and tired by the time we got home for naps!

Zane and Bananas - July 1

Zane's favorite food right now is bananas. He eats bananas and Cheerios for breakfast every morning. I think he would eat a banana at all of the other meals too, if I would let him! I was dutifully cutting his banana into bit-size pieces until about a week ago when he just reached out and grabbed the freshly peeled banana from Danny's hand. Since he took bites and didn't try to shove the whole thing in his mouth, he now gets a peeled, not cut, banana at breakfast. He has always wanted to be in control of his food!

A Tiny Friend - June 30

Wyatt and Colter found a tiny frog while they were playing the mud outside today. They were excited to show Daddy the tiny friend they had found, and caught, outside.

Sabrina's New Bike - June 29

Sabrina's new bike came in the mail yesterday and she got to ride it for the first time today. She loves being able to go as fast as her brothers. We had a little rain yesterday, so Danny sat outside with the kids and let them ride back and forth through the "creek" in our ditch. They were wet and muddy by the time they came inside, but what's a little extra laundry when they are smiling like that!

Just a glimpse into our morning... - June 29

Getting five kids ready for the day can be a daunting task at times! We follow pretty much the same routine everyday - eat breakfast, get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, comb hair and then play with toys. Since we do the same thing on "stay-at-home days" and "out-and-about days" the kids don't fight getting ready as much, which is nice on days like today when we have to get to church. It also makes those days when we stay in pajamas all morning even more special!

Bike Ride with Daddy - June 24

Danny took the kids on a bike ride through all of our neighborhood driveways today. Wyatt, Sabrina and Colter rode their bikes and Danny pulled Monique and Zane in the trailer. The kids had lots of fun and keep asking Danny when they are going to do it again!

Life According to Zane (@11 months) - June 22

Just some of my favorite snapshots of Zane from the past month...

playing peek-a-boo with "horsey"

sleeping essentials:"horsey", "Noni blanket" and "paci" (although this one will disappear sometime in the next few months!)

using his push toy as a climbing wall

hiding in the tee pee

finally deciding that yogurt is good enough to let me feed him with a spoon

I think a big brother or sister helped with this one!

bath time is all about splashing and splashing and more splashing

finding a sweet baby to play with on the trash can