A typical night

I am trying to blog about things in our everyday life, so when I am older...and don't remember, I can look back and see a little glimpse of these sweet kids.
On any given night in the Barnum household you will find....

 The bathing of sweet little babies.

 Little babies who are supposed to be sleeping, but are playing instead...

 Snack time for the older kids

 Reading time before bed...

And brushing the teeth of every child in the house.

The month of August

The month of August according to my phone.

 Camden likes to think he is still a baby and walk around in a baby toy.

 Dog pile on dad!!! How many kids can you fit on your lap?!

 Camden broke his leg this month. He was on the trampoline with the girls and came down wrong on his leg. He will be in the cast for 6 weeks.

 The kids all decided to play in the guest room shower.

 At the park and this little girl loves the swings.

 Geoff was in the backyard mowing and found a family of little bunny rabbits. The girls ran right out there and picked them up. Crazy kids.

Addie at her first day of Kindergarten.  Getting ready to go to class.

First day of School

The school year came WAY to fast this year. I was not ready. I don't know if it was because of the move or what, but wow...it came fast. Back in January I had applied for a few different charter schools for the girls to go to. One of them was a fine arts school where they get to do dance, theater, art, and music all throughout the school week. Well, as may came and we found out if they got in, the answer was no. They didn't get into any of them. Which was fine, because with the house that we bought they could walk to school. We were all ready for them to walk, when we got a phone call about 1 week before school started. Macie had gotten into the fine arts school. We had to let know the next day if we were going to take it. It was kind of a tough decision. Yes, the fine arts school was going to be PERFECT for her, but the thought of her walking to school everyday and being in the same school as Addie made this a hard decision. The fine arts school was going to be a 15 minute drive both ways. So about 30-40 minutes in the car 2 times a day.....Well, after thinking and praying we decided to do it. Addie will get in next year, so they will be together then.
So, Macie started school one day before Addie and is in the 2nd grade.

 Addie started Kindergarten the next day. Can't believe that I have 2 kids in school ALL day. Crazy!

A Broken Bone

 

On Monday the kids were all out jumping on the trampoline. It was nothing out of the ordinary. I was out watching them and when all seemed to be going well, I headed inside really fast with Brynlee to grab something. I had been inside for a whole 2 minutes when Macie comes in and says: "mom, Camden is crying. He got hurt." So, I set Brynlee down and went out to grab him and bring him in. He wasn't crying any more than usual or acting any different then he normally would...until we got inside. I set him down to find a binkie and he didn't follow me. He just sat by the door and cried and cried. Then I gave him his binkie and he still just cried and cried. (Usually the binkie is a cure all for him and stops the crying immediately). So I picked him up and held him and started to check him out. The girls had said he was grabbing his leg so I began there. He would let me straighten and bend both of them with no increased crying. There didn't look to be any swelling or bruising. The only indicator that something was wrong was that he wouldn't stand on his right leg at all...and he kept crying. It was close to 5 by this time so I called Geoff to see what time he thought he would be home. He was home about 25 minutes later. Camden at this point was just whimpering and whining nonstop. Geoff looked at it and thought the same thing that I did. So, we decided to wait and see how he acted throughout the night and into the morning. Well, he woke up 3-4 times that night just crying and screaming. It was at this point that I knew that there was something deffinately wrong. On Tuesday morning, he still wouldn't stand on his leg at all but had stopped crying and wimpering almost completely. I called and got him into the Dr. that morning and even when she looked at it she said that it didn't seem like there was a break in it, that maybe he had just sprained it. She said we could get x-rays if we wanted though. I told her yes, we wanted the x-rays, so she ordered them. We then headed to the radiology place and got the x-rays done. They called us back about 1 hour later saying that yes, indeed it was broken and that we had an appointment with the orthopedic office that afternoon. I called to Geoff to let him know that I had a babysitter coming and that indeed it was broken. He decided to take the afternoon off and come with us to get the cast. I am so glad that he was there as it had already been a really long day and night for me.

We got the Orthopedic Office and got in a room and finally got to find out where the break was and how bad it was. He ended up fracturing his Tibia right below the knee. Luckily it wasn't part of his growth plate and it wasn't displaced, so he won't be needing any surgery and it won't effect his growing in the future. He gets to have a full leg cast for the next 6 weeks. It is going to be a LOONNGG six weeks. Poor guy really doesn't like his cast and keeps trying to pull it off. He is already learning how to army crawl around and get what he wants when it is in view. He is a trooper. I am more sad at the fact that I now have to carry two kids everywhere. I was finally to a point where he was walking and wanted to walk everywhere so I only had one baby to hold all of the time. I am sure to have big muscles when this all over with! ha!

Ice Cream Party

The girls came to me a couple of weeks ago and were wondering if we could have an ice cream party. I said sure, but you two have to do all of the planning. So, we took the next couple of days making lists of who they would invite and what type of ice cream and toppings they wanted to have. Then we got onto evite and they chose and made the invitations and I sent them out. We spent the week before the party decorating and making signs. They went shopping with me for the stuff and everything. They loved every minute of that party and so did I. It was so fun to see them take over and plan and do it all and to see their excitement over something so simple and easy. We will definitely be doing more parties if they ask.

The month of July

The month of July according to my phone.

 Our old neighborhood had a swimming pool. Here is Brynlee enjoying the water.

 Diaper changing time. The twins at 19m and 8m.

 Geoff decided to shave his head. We now call him Bad A.

 Every night about 6:30 it is snack time. Here is everyone enjoying their popsicles.

 We bought a house and moved in July. Here is the new backyard, where we set up the racquetball net and enjoyed playing some games.

Swimming time. Playing in the pool on this hot summer day.

Addie's 5th Birthday

This year we celebrated Addie's birthday one day early. We were in the middle of moving from the rental to the new home and moving day had been pushed back to Addie's birthday. So, we asked her what she wanted to do and thankfully she chose to celebrate it early. Grandma and Grandpa Bradley were in town along with uncle TyTy and Morgan, and aunt Nana. It was definitely a fun birthday. I was so thankful my family was in town, they took the girls out to do some fun things for her birthday so I could stay home and finish all of the last minute packing and cleaning before the big move. It made her day special and she loved every minute of it.

 For her presents we once again did a little clue treasure hunt. This is one of the girls favorite things about their birthdays. The next few pics are of the girls running around finding presents.

 One in grandma's car.

 Running from the kitchen to find the next gift. Crazy kid!!

 Opening presents. Here are the beloved goggles!!

 Opening up a gumball machine from aunt Nana

.Checking out all of the new presents. She got a new squinky set, a razor scooter, a playdoh set, goggles, and a gumball machine.

Getting ready to blow out the candles. 

We sure love you Addie. You are crazy, and fun, and funny and the best helper ever. You really are such a joy and we are so grateful for you. Happy 5th Birthday!!

Beach Fun

We went to the beach for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun. There wasn't a ton of water though due to the drought. The beach did have an awesome splash pad that you could stop and rinse off at when you were done. Genius idea! It was nice to be able to just hang out and have fun as a family.

Volleyball

 Macie decided she wanted to try volleyball this summer. She did it and loved it! She learned a lot and by the end she could serve the ball over the net. She was so happy and proud of herself. It will probably be something chooses to do every summer.

And this is what everyone else did during her games....dad or mom is chasing Camden, Addie is playing a game, and Brynlee is napping.

The month of June

The month of June according to my phone.

 Going for a walk and Addie grabs a stroller, a teddy bear, some sunglasses, and a play phone. Oh my.

 Macie's last day of 1st grade. They had a play day outside with bounce houses and races, so we went to check it out.

 Camden fell down really good and hit his head. Here is the goose egg.

 The kids were throwing a ball in the living room. It hit the picture, the picture fell, and this is the result.

 Camden shooting some hoops.

 This never happens. He must be one tired dude.

 Having a water gun fight with the kids.

 The girls had a dance camp for a week. They came home and while I was making lunch I looked up to find this. So sweet.

 We went out for ice cream because the girls had free tickets from the summer reading program.

 The twins. What a sweet relationship they are going to have.

Playing in the toy room. Camden wanted to push Bryn in the stroller.