Girl's Camp! Girl's Camp!

The girls just got back from Girl's Camp! They stayed at a leader's home the first two days of camp and did service projects for hours and hours each day. One good thing came from all of the service, they are almost done with their Honor Bee for Personal Progress!

The last day of camp they went to Galveston and stayed in a beach house and went on a sunset cruise for an hour. They said they enjoyed the beach the most and wished camp could have been at the beach the entire time!

We are glad they are home, we missed them! The house was so quiet with only two children...I realized how much color and volume these three older girls add to our home! I love them and all the enthusiasm they radiate!

End of the School Year Photos

Victoria just finished her Freshman year!



Tiffany finished Preschool.

Caitlin and Courtney just finished 7th grade.

Brianne graduated Elementary school and is now moving onto Intermediate school.

And...They are Identical Twins Again!

Congratulations to Courtney on getting her braces off 11 months early! Her teeth moved extremely fast, and even the Orthodontist was surprised!

The braces were removed one day before school was out for the summer. She said people kept calling her Caitlin because they didn't know she had gotten them off. When their friends saw them together they would say,"Okay smile, so I know which is which." When they both smiled their friends all said,"OH NO! Courtney got her braces off! How are we going to tell them apart now?" Well, if their friends think it's difficult telling them apart...they should try being their MOTHER! I have to look really hard now. (I know Caitlin and Courtney, you are probably reading this thinking "Mother of the year!") Thank goodness God blessed these two young ladies with much patience.



One last pic of Courtney and her braces!


Identical once AGAIN! Let the FUN begin teasing and tricking people! :)

The Butterflies & A Life Lesson

It seems we are always finding caterpillars/butterflies in our gardens. Tiffany found these little guys on her plant. She watched them daily, (more like hourly) grow into bigger and bigger caterpillars.

One day they crawled off the plant and across the sidewalk looking for a place to make their cocoon. A few times they almost were stepped on! Tiffany kept finding them crawling away and she would them place them back on the plant. We finally figured out what she was doing and explained to her, that no matter how sad it made her, she just had to let them go to move on into a new phase in life, where they can become something so beautiful and they can FLY! She was quite sad, but knew they were going off to become butterflies and hoped she would see them again.

I likened it to how I am going to feel in a few months when I send my last daughter off to school! It was a learning moment for all of us!

Tori's Photography

Victoria's Photo creations:


Weather vane in my parent's backyard.



Blue Bell ice cream factory.

Bird bath in my parent's backyard.

A close up shot of the water in the bird bath. The odd thing is, when you look at the water it looks fresh, but when you zoom in...yuck. Poor birds.

Highway 290 in Texas.

A rail crossing in Texas.

Texas Blue Bonnets, the state flower.

Tori Coaches Cougar Cub Volleyball

A few weeks ago the high school girls were given the opportunity to coach youth in a volleyball camp. Victoria enjoyed being a coach to all of these little kids! There team took 4th place in the tournament! Nice job Tori!

Grandpa Carpenter's 69th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Mother's Day

I always enjoy Mother's Day...getting all the love and attention. Who wouldn't enjoy that! Thanks ladies and Ron for making it such a special day!

TISD Fine Arts Festival

Victoria and Brianne each had art pieces in the festival this year. Seeing that Victoria is in the Art Club at the high school, she worked at a booth selling jewelry the club had made, sold face painting and she also dressed up as a clown and handed out helium balloons to the children.



They have art stations set up for the kids. Here Brianne and Tiffany made coin purses and necklaces.


Tori's monochromatic oil painting.

Brianne's watercolor of a lighthouse.

Tiffany Graduates from Preschool

Tiffany really enjoy preschool this year with her teacher's Mrs. Strain and Ms. Charleen. Tiffany enjoyed meeting new people and did so well being away from me. Let's hope the Kindergarten transition goes just as smooth. (Please, oh please, just let me have one child that does not cry when they go to Kindergarten!)

The last day of school, they had a Luau. Here are some pics of the big day!


These two pictures are photos of her teachers. Top: Ms. Charleen. Bottom: Mrs. Strain.



Doing one last hula dance at their party!

Tiffany in the navy blue shirt.

I always take a first and last day of school photo. It is fun to compare the pics! Here are Tiffany's last day of school pictures.

Courtney's Photography

Here are a few of Courtney's photos. I really think she has a talent and a good eye to be able to photograph a subject it in a way that makes you see the object in a totally different light. She can see beauty in things that most people just walk right past and don't ever take the time to notice.