Our Fun-Filled 4th of July Celebration

The 4th of July has been one of my favorite holidays for years. It never used to be that way, but my husband and his family converted me! Now I love it, and we are passing on all of our favorite 4th of July traditions to our kids!

This year, the 4th of July was almost perfect. We spent the day with family and friends, from start to finish. We kicked it off with the town parade, spent the afternoon and evening at a pool party/picnic with friends, watched fireworks with friends and family, then headed back to a friend's house to continue the fun! 

The only thing missing was Dylan. Having older teenagers is tough, but we eventually learned to compromise. Some holidays and events are non-negotiable, but we do understand that some things are more fun with friends. He just wanted to go to the parade and the fireworks with his best friends. We missed him, but talked to him at the end of the day! But other than that little downer, we had a great day!

The End of the 2020-2021 Pandemic School Year

We are one week into Summer Break, and the last day of the 2020-2021 school year is behind us! It was a year unlike any other, but we are thankful that our kids stayed in school in person for the majority of the school year. It was, however, a year full of wearing masks to school, social distancing, and very few school events.

This year, Dylan was in 10th grade, Lexie was in 8th grade, Lily was in 4th grade, and Liam was in 2nd grade. It was Lexie's last year in middle school, and Lily's last year in the elementary school. Next year will be so different for all of them! Dylan and Lexie will be in high school together, Lily is moving up to the 5th/6th grade building, and Liam will be all by himself at the elementary school. Although we're glad the year is over, the end of the year is always bittersweet, because our kids are growing up so fast!

Despite the circumstances, it was a fairly good year for our kids. They had great teachers, and they thrived. We are very hopeful that the upcoming school year will be much different - normal perhaps. It's not time to thank about that just yet...we have almost 3 months of Summer fun ahead of us!

A Blessed Birthday and Easter Weekend

Easter Weekend was a busy one! It started off with my birthday on Good Friday, was filled with our favorite Easter traditions, and ended with a beautiful Easter Sunday. I know I'm in the minority, but Easter is one of my favorite holidays!

We packed a LOT into 3 days! I had a mini birthday celebration, we dyed Easter Eggs, we had two backyard egg hunts, we had a mini Saturday evening Easter dinner with two friends, and we celebrated Easter with my parents and my sister's family. Other than not being able to go to church in person, the weekend was perfect!

I planned on posting the day after Easter, but apparently when I turned another year older, my body decided to break! I pulled a muscle in my lower back for the first time ever, and I literally could not move without feeling excruciating pain for two days, and I ended up in bed for hours. Thankfully, it went away quickly, and to celebrate, I got my first vaccine, and felt yucky for about 24 hours. But, hey, let's get back to my birthday and Easter!

Happy 14th Birthday, Alexandria Elizabeth!

On February 22nd, our sweet Lexie celebrated her 14th Birthday! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. (All of our kids are growing up too fast!) We shut down just a few weeks after her 13th birthday, and never got to have a party, and she had another pandemic birthday this year. We tried to make her day as "normal" and as fun as possible!

Her day was filled with our usual birthday traditions, a trip to Starbucks, lots of presents, dinner at a restaurant, and a mini party with my parents. She also got to skip school, too, which is a favorite tradition! It *almost* felt like an ordinary birthday!

We try to make birthdays extra special for our kids. Social distancing definitely got in the way of some of our traditions, but we made the most of it. Lexie was smiling all day, and said she had a great birthday! Here's how we celebrated her special day...

Lexie's a Teenager! (13th Birthday Interview & Photoshoot}

She was born on February 22, 2007 at 4:16 PM. She entered the world with just a few quick pushes, and when everyone in the room screamed, "It's a GIRL!" the tears streamed down my cheeks. She was exactly the baby I had been praying for to complete our little family. 

13 years went by far too quickly, and our baby girl filled our lives with so much love. With each passing year, I anticipated her to pull away from us more and more, as many kids naturally do, but her love for her family is fierce. She is still as close to us as ever, and our love for her is immeasurable.

Lexie is a rare gem. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is incredibly mature, responsible, and smart, and is one of the kindest, most compassionate human beings I've ever met. She is truly an amazing person, and I have no doubt she's going to do great things. At 4:16 PM on February 22, 2020, Lexie officially became a teenager, and the next stage of her childhood began!

The 10 Valuable Lessons I Learned From Easter in Quarantine

Easter Sunday was definitely a lot different this year! Although we missed hugging our family, getting back to the basics in quarantine actually turned out to be a positive experience. I love Easter, but I wasn't expecting much this year. Surprisingly, though, it turned out to be one of my favorite Easters, and it will certainly be a memorable one!

I think the biggest difference this year was TIME. We had time to enjoy our family traditions, time to enjoy the holiday, and time to focus on the important things. Despite not spending the morning at church, I feel like this Easter was the most meaningful Easter we've ever had as a family.

Easter activities might have been canceled, but Easter was still very much here! Easter is about celebrating the fact that He is Risen, and that can be done anywhere. When we took away our usual Easter hustle and chaos, we were able to focus on what we were truly celebrating, and spend time together as a family!

A Week In The Life of a Big Family {Week 1}

We are one week into 2020, and life is just as busy as ever! I honestly don't think it will ever NOT be busy. When you have a big family, there's literally never a dull moment!

Remember when I used to do weekly recap posts? They slowed down last year as I adjusted to life with five kids, but I plan to bring them back this year, and hopefully, stick with it! Time goes by so quickly, and I just want to remember all the little things that made my days with my kids so special! (Plus a few followers asked if I could share more of my family, so that's my plan!)

It's hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since Christmas, and that everybody is already back to work and school. The holiday break is my favorite time of the year, and I was sorry to see it go. The first few days of the new year were a bit rough, but we're back on track this week, and the year is off to a good start. 

When Life Hands You The Unexpected, Count Your Blessings!

November was a BUSY month for our family! Dylan started PA Cyber School, so there was a big adjustment period for him and for me. All of his work is done online, so he's home with me full time. We also celebrated his 15th birthday! (That post is coming!) We're currently on the hunt for a new private speech therapist for Liam, we got a kitten, and, well, we have five kids, including a baby. There is NO extra time for anything!

We absolute love the holiday season! My family was so excited for Thanksgiving this year, but it didn't go exactly as planned. Actually, far from it. Instead of celebrating Thanksgiving with our families, we ended up staying home as the flu swept through our family.

Needless to say, it was a stressful two weeks. I just kept reminding myself to count my blessings, and focus on everything I was thankful for. Despite the illness, we made the most of it, and enjoyed our time together!

Happy 6th Birthday, Liam!

On Sunday, our sweet boy celebrated his 6th Birthday! It's easy to forget just how old Liam is, because he's so tiny, and has a speech delay. But my boy, who was the baby of the family for 5 1/2 years, is now 6 years old and headed to first grade! It's so hard to believe!

We have to alter our usual birthday traditions a bit for Liam. He has celiac disease, which means we can't do the usual Happy Birthday Donut Breakfast, and we don't go out to eat since there isn't a good restaurant that he likes that meets his diet restrictions. Our plan for his big day was to hang out at home, invite some of his favorite people over, eat his favorite dinner, and play outside.

Last year, we spent Liam's birthday driving 12 hours to the beach. We'll definitely always remember that one, but sometimes celebrating simply can be just as good. Liam had a GREAT birthday, and was so excited about it!

Happy 8th Birthday, Lily!

On Saturday, August 3rd, Lily celebrated her 8th Birthday! It's so hard to believe my baby girl is 8 years old. I swear, I just had her, but she grew up far too quickly. I just want her to stay little, sweet, and innocent for as long as possible!

Lily's Birthday was a busy one, and she had to share her special day with a family event. My family reunion is always the first Saturday in August, so every few years, Lily's birthday is the same day as the reunion. She didn't seem to mind one bit. She celebrated her birthday with some of the people she loves most, and had the loudest happy birthday song! She said her birthday was so much fun!

One of our birthday traditions is to have a mini photoshoot, and answer questions in a yearly birthday interview. I love seeing how their answers change from year to year, and I love watching them grow! Motherhood truly is bittersweet - you want to watch your children grow, but you also want them to stay little. I honestly love my kids' birthdays so much more than my own, so we make birthdays a BIG deal around here!

Here's how we celebrated Lily's 8th Birthday...

I'm BACK!!! / Easter 2019 / Baby's First Easter

Hello, friends! I'm (hopefully) back for good! I had no idea adjusting to life with five kids was going to be so difficult and time-consuming. Adjusting to life with 1, 2, 3, and 4 kids (even with a surprise Down syndrome diagnosis) was a breeze, but 5 is the number that did us in! Liam is approximately 10 kids in 1, and Coen has acid reflux and is such a mama's boy that my husband lovingly refers to him as my little parasite. My hands are never free, but I think I'm getting the hang of things, and I'm kicking off my return to blogging with a quick recap of Easter 2019!

This year, we kept Easter simple. We had no idea that Coen had acid reflux yet, so he was really fussy. We decided to spend most of Easter at home, focusing on family activities. Although it didn't feel quite the same, we had a nice holiday!

This year, we took the focus off of the Easter Bunny. We haven't visited the Easter Bunny in years, and this year we didn't do any egg hunts, either. We briefly mentioned the Easter Bunny bringing baskets, but that was it. Instead, we dyed Easter Eggs together. We had a small family dinner. We talked about the reason we were celebrating. We baked and decorated cookies. We sat down to watch The Ten Commandments together. Perhaps next year we'll actually make it to church, but this year, I decided to let go of the guilt, realize that we can't possibly do it all, and focus on WHY we were celebrating in the first place! And you know what? Once the pressure was off, it was GOOD!

Happy 12th Birthday, Lexie!

On Friday, February 22nd, Lexie celebrated her 12th Birthday! I started this blog when Lexie was just 18 months old. Back then it was just Lexie Loo & Dylan Too! The blog has grown quite a bit since then, and a few of my regular readers have been around since the very beginning. The years went by so quickly, and now we're just one short year away from having another teenager! 

Lexie had a great birthday this year, and was very relieved that I didn't go into labor on her big day! We allow our kids to have one "cheat day" to miss school each year, and Lexie chose to skip on her birthday. Grant worked from home for a half a day, so the day was all about her, and it was extra special!

Here is Lexie's yearly photoshoot, yearly interview (which she filled out on her own), and how we celebrated her big day!

Christmas Bucket List for Big Families

Only FOURTEEN days until Christmas! December flies by faster with each passing year. We have a Christmas Bucket List, and we're checking off as many things as we possibly can, but I still feel like we're rapidly running out of time! 

Although we would love to accomplish everything and go to so many more events than we already do, there simply isn't enough time or money for a family this big. Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant with baby #5, and still struggling with morning sickness, but this year, I'm all about simplifying things. This year, we narrowed it down to our most favorite traditions of all!

Christmas Tree Decorating Tradition

Happy December! Only THREE weeks until Christmas! Where has time gone?!? Our house is mostly decked, our elf is back, we visited Santa, we're already checking items off of our Christmas Bucket List, and shopping has commenced. This year, I'm determined to ENJOY the season, rather than be stressed the entire month!

We kicked off the Christmas season on Black Friday this year, by setting up our tree. Most of our crew was at sleepovers, so we didn't get to decorate it until a few days later. It was definitely nice to enjoy the lights from the Christmas Tree so early this year!

Our first Christmas Tradition each year is to have a Family Christmas Tree Decorating Night. Although I spent the entire weekend following Thanksgiving decorating our house, we all gathered on November 26th for one of our favorite traditions. We started to celebrate Christmas together by putting up our Christmas Tree!

THE GIFT OF TOGETHERNESS & 6 MEANINGFUL HOLIDAY TRADITIONS TO START WITH YOUR FAMILY

This post is sponsored by RMHC, Inc ® but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

During the holiday season, my family tries to spend as much time together as possible! We have so many beloved holiday traditions, and we look forward to them every year. Fortunately, we’ve never had to spend the holidays apart, but that isn’t the case for some families.

This holiday season, you can give families with sick children a wonderful gift: The gift of togetherness. Ronald McDonald House Charities provides a place for families to stay close to the hospitals where their children are receiving medical care, through the Ronald McDonald House and Ronald McDonald Family Room programs. A donation to RMHC gives these families the gift of comfort, joy, and togetherness!

The benefits of family togetherness are endless! Spending quality time together as a family strengthens family bonds, teaches children the importance of family time, and creates lasting memories. The holidays are the PERFECT time for families to spend lots of time together while experiencing meaningful holiday traditions!

Dylan's 14th Birthday & Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving was extra special, because it was also Dylan's 14th Birthday! Our Christmas baby decided he wanted to be a Thanksgiving baby instead, so every few years, Dylan's birthday falls on Thanksgiving. When that happens, we try to make his birthday the main focus, so our Thanksgiving was very casual!

On the day before Thanksgiving, my 24/7 morning sickness decided to go back to being severe. With that nasty comeback, it took all my energy to focus on preparing for Thanksgiving and Dylan's birthday, so sadly, my photos are lacking this year. I tried to capture Dylan's special day, but didn't do so well with Thanksgiving memories. Dylan ended up having a great birthday, though, and that's all that matters!

Here's how we celebrated our firstborn's 14th Birthday...

Liam's 5th Birthday & A Road Trip to Myrtle Beach

On August 18th, our sweet Liam turned 5 year old! It just so happened to be the start of our family vacation, too, so we celebrated Liam's 5th Birthday with an 11 hour road trip to Myrtle Beach. It may not have been our usual birthday celebration, but we filled his day with our favorite birthday traditions!

Even though we spent 11 hours in the car, Liam didn't seem to mind one bit. He's a perfect traveler, and always does great on road trips. He didn't complain once, and the reward was spending the rest of his day in Myrtle Beach!

It's so hard to believe our beautiful boy is already 5 years old! I swear, he was just born. Time is a thief! The arrival of Liam's 5th Birthday was bittersweet, but it was definitely a memorable one...

Virginia Beach: The Final Recap

It's hard to believe the final Virginia Beach recap I'm posting took place almost a year ago to date. I didn't intend for that to happen, but life got in the way of blogging about vacation. I wanted to finish it before this year's vacation, and I hope to be more timely with that recap!

Speaking of this year's vacation, as this post goes live, we will be preparing for our trip to the beach! We're leaving very early Saturday morning, which also happens to be Liam's 5th Birthday. Spending 12+ hours in the car isn't exactly the best way to spend a birthday, but he will be spending the evening of his birthday on the beach! (Hopefully that will make up for it.) We're all looking forward to spending a fun, relaxing week together at the beach!

For now, let's go back to almost exactly one year ago today...it was day seven of our Virginia Beach vacation, and it was Liam's 4th Birthday...

Lily's 7th Birthday

Lily celebrated her 7th Birthday on Friday! I remember the day she was born so vividly. It doesn't seem all that long ago, so it's hard to believe my baby girl is now 7 years old!

Lily had a great birthday, and we spent the entire day celebrating! She kicked it off with a room filled with balloons, and it ended with a tent full of kids. Every moment was special, and I have no doubt she's going to remember her 7th birthday fondly!

Easter Basket Fillers for Toddlers, Kids, Tweens & Teens

With Easter just days away, I, like many other parents, am scrambling to fill those Easter Baskets! We accumulate plenty of junk between four kids, so we try to make sure that almost every item in their baskets is useful or meaningful. And with a toddler/preschooler, a 6 year old, a tween and a teen, we have a lot of ideas to come up with!