Big Kid Girls

These three girls - I love them so much! They argue, they laugh, they tease, they love, they pretend, they read together and discuss books, and they are so much fun. 

What have my "big" kids been up to lately?

Spring soccer has been lots of fun for all the girls. It's Lenora's first season, so she has been espeically adorable to watch.

With the arrival of Spring we've been enjoying lots of time outside. The kids have been so excited about our garden and helped me till and get peas and lettuce in early. Hazel took a 5-week 4H Gardening Class and had a blast!

There have also been lots of flower crowns and mud cake creations!

 

Hazel and Eliza participated in a science fair for our homeschool co-op. Hazel has been wanting to do a science fair since Kindergarten, but none of the schools she attended hosted one. They did an amazing job selecting a topic, doing research, and creating their presentations. Eliza extracted DNA from strawberries while Hazel looked at the effect of exercise on memory. Their hard work paid off because they both one first place for their age group and Hazel had the highest overall score!

A few months ago our ward had a talent/hobby night. Eliza decided she wanted to bring her chicken Fluffy to showcase her hobby. I never in my life thought I'd take a chicken to the church building haha. But Fluffy was a hit!

Sadly, a few weeks ago the door to the chicken coop didn't get locked all the way. Haley opened up the door and killed two of the chickens. One was Fluffy. It was such a sad day in our house. Haley has killed a few chickens before, but this was Fluffy. Eliza was crushed. She still will occasionally say, "I miss Fluffy." Poor little thing. She's looking forward to getting a new chicken, but like she said, "Fluffy will always be my first chicken." 

These girls are such wonderful big sisters. They always help out with the little boys where they can. They even go out of their way to read them books and play games with them. When aunt Jamie sent plastic "hard hats" to everyone, they all dressed up and spent the day playing "builder guys" with Orson.

Another day we helped out a bit with a birthday party for Orson's little friend. I loved that the girls went, helped, and had fun without once complaining about being at a 4-year-old's party. They are such sweet, good girls! 

Lenora's developing quite a silly sense of humor. Her facial expressions always say it all:

Then there are her jokes. There are many grass-fed cattle farms we drive by everyday near our house. The kids love the rolling hills full of happily munching cows (especially when it's calving season!) One day we past a particularly full field with tons of cow pies. Lenora shouted out, "Guess what? Cow pies are on sale today!!" We were all dying laughing. 

We love all the fun, adventures, and laughter these girls bring to our home!