1011 Days/19w2d

We had a very busy weekend! My friend Cassie and her husband had a wedding to attend in VA so the whole family came up from Georgia to stay with us! They arrived Friday evening around dinner time and the kids stayed with us all Saturday while they went to the wedding. I expected it to be a madhouse, but it was actually a lot easier and calmer than I expected. The oldest three (Hayden -6, Arianna- 5, and Vincent- 3) played together wonderfully with very little fighting or problems and the babies (Lucy- 18 months, and Luca- 16 months) kind of just wandered around happily and occasionally played with the bigger kids.

Jon was home for the first part of the day and the babies loved him! Lucy played "I got your nose" while Luca chewed on his work phone.

I promise he's not mad here. I was more concerned with getting the babies to look at the camera and smile that I didn't think to tell him that I was taking the picture.


Before nap.


After nap!


Random playroom happenings.


Pizza for dinner!


Bath time for the littles!




"Winding down" (by dancing wildly) after their baths.


Winding down for real with one last cartoon before bed.


Everyone is in bed and mama is tired! Zzzzzzz.

Cassie and Jarrod came back for the kids this morning and they're headed back to GA so wish them safe travels! We can't wait to see them all again :)

1005 Days/18w3d

***Some of you may have noticed that our blog was offline for a couple of days. There is a reason for this! We've "moved" again and you can now find us at www.bushfamilyfive.com Make sure you bookmark the new URL because the old one will no longer work. When you change URLs, the blog takes a couple of days to transition which is why the blog was inaccessible for a short period. I had several entries scheduled to post during the time that the blog was in transition (the girls' princess mini session, 1000 day of marriage for Jon and I, and Ari's Star of the Week entry, and Father's Day) so make sure you check back a page so that you don't miss any of them!

Tonight's entry is from earlier this month. Jon found a gorgeous park out in Manassas called the Great Meadow Foundation and wanted to take us all up there for a picnic so we went out there on a Thursday when he had a day off. It was absolutely gorgeous out there and so peaceful. We had a nice lunch and then the girls had fun running around and playing ball with dad :)

View from the hill we had lunch on.

I really think she's going to be my athlete.

1004 Days/18w2d

Our Father's Day was pretty low key. Jon just got back from a week long trip so for the most part we all just wanted to relax and spend time together. Ari asked me about a month ago (actually, I think it was on Mother's Day, haha) if I would help her make Jon breakfast on Father's Day and that's exactly what she wanted to do this morning.

Ari cracked the eggs and Lucy stirred!

Ari presents daddy with the card that she picked out and recorded a message in.




Church was wonderful and we celebrated our pastor's 7 year anniversary with the church!


After church, we had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. Lucy spilled her water all over my lap and then stole my drink.




Daddy's littlest one at 18 weeks


Father's Day cards for our fathers and grandfathers!

I'm so glad that Jon was able to be home so that we could celebrate him today! I don't know what I did to deserve such a loving, patient, and hard working husband and father for my girls, but I am so grateful for that blessing.

I am also grateful for my own father who has caught me time and time again when I stumble and provides me with sound advice and a loving voice of reason when I need one most. I don't know where I would be without him. I love you, dad. Thank you for everything you've done for me and for my family.

Finally, I am grateful for a father-in-law who I believe is the reason that my husband is the man he is today. It's rare to meet such a kind, inspirational, and selfless man and I am amazed to have found all three qualities in my father-in-law. Thank you for being such an example to my husband and a wonderful grandpa to our girls.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!

Going Back: 968/13w1d-972/13w5d Days

This entry is a little bit late, but I've been really excited to post about it and better late than never!The second to last week of school, Arianna was chosen to be Star of the Week in her class! Star of the Week gets to bring in one toy a day for show and tell, bring home the special class bear, and have a special treat brought in on Friday to share with the class.

We started off the weekend with Honey Bear, the class bear! Honey Bear enjoyed a special Kabob themed lunch and some oatmeal for breakfast.

Posing for recital pictures with Ari

And princess pictures with our favorite photographer, DeAnna!

Honey Bear went back to school on Monday and she got to tell her class all about their weekend. On Tuesday Ari decided to take Piggy Pig, her Scentsy pig, as her first show and tell toy. Piggy was originally part of my Scentsy starter kit (and her Scentsy-given name was Penny) and was supposed to be used for shows and displays. Arianna asked me if she could play with it one day and I told her that she could as long as she didn't tear it or get it dirty because I needed it for work. As I was putting her to bed that night, I spotted Piggy next to her with a giant AB written in pen on her chest. Arianna had officially claimed Piggy as hers and she sleeps in bed with Ari every night (and she smells like chocolate!).Wednesday, she brought in Aubry, her American Girl doll. Aubry was her special "big" Christmas gift last year and she was named after one of Ari's favorite classmates. On Ari's birthday, she got to go to the American Girl store and buy Aubry a new outfit.

Ari and Aubry

Wednesday afternoon was also her first class field trip. They went to Locust Shade Park to feed the ducks at the pond and take a little nature walk. Jon was home that day so he was able to go with her. When they got home, I helped Ari make a poster to take to class on Thursday to show everyone some of the most important people and things in her life.

Family, friends, and dance!

Friday was her last day as Star of the Week and she requested that I bring cupcakes. I had ordered them on Wednesday while she was at school so she had no idea which ones I had picked until I brought them in. My little princess was THRILLED with my selection!

Perfect for a princess!

Jon wasn't able to make it on Friday, but he emailed her teacher a picture from earlier in the week for her to show the class (which I didn't know about, but was so touched that he did so).

Ari proudly shows off her dad and her bass

Enjoying her cupcake after handing them out to everyone in the class

So that was Arianna's special week! She waited all year for this and had so much fun throughout the week!