Where to begin?

Where do I begin to catch up on the last month? It's been a fast, busy, fun ride! Of course most of you likely know our most exciting news...Olsen Baby Six is on the way (yes, the old-fashioned way as we call it around here). Yes, we were most certainly surprised by this news even though yes, we DO know how that happens. :) And for those who have or have not had the courage to ask (because you know you want to), YES WE ARE DONE. Hard to hear myself say those words but this "old" mama needs some sleep someday! I told Buck we will probably never have an empty house...with our oldest and youngest being 10.5 years apart...but that's fine with us! And we are beyond thrilled to learn we are having another precious baby boy. This little guy has tipped the scales toward testosterone in our house but I LOVE raising boys and am so thankful for how God has built our family exactly the way it was supposed to be.




Thumbs up and smiles for this sweet boy!!

We have wrapped up football season...Max's first in tackle football. For being one of the biggest kids on his team, he's a gentle spirit and not sure he loves the tackling thing. Bless his heart. He sure looks like a tough guy!



Get him with his cleats and helmet on and I kid you not, my 10-year-old is pretty much looking me straight in the eye! I have high hopes that he will make it to 11 before he passes me up in height! His feet are already well beyond my puny size 7's. Love this sweet guy.

And Charlie had a great first season of flag football! The artist of our family (drawing, drumming, writing song lyrics and stories are among his many talents!) he surprised me by wanting to play football. He is a speedy guy and loved grabbing flags and "Tebow-ing" when his team had a big play. He also started Cub Scouts this year which has been a great addition for him!




Seriously...could you resist buying popcorn from this kid??

Well...that's all I have time for as Miss Mia is telling me she's ready to get up from her morning nap. It's been a busy Monday morning already and we're looking forward to a quieter week without football practices! Updates on the other monkeys coming soon. We'll enjoy the downtime before basketball season. Have a great week, friends!

Laura Joy

This and that!

Let's see...school is in full swing as are football (both flag and tackle), soccer, dance, piano, drums, and Sunday school. But here are just a few bits and pieces from life these days.




Max got braces! The silver (pun intended) lining to getting them at age 10 is that by the time most of his friends are getting them, he should be done...one can hope...




This little Miss got her hair relaxed (by a professional this time) and we could NOT be happier with the results. There have been no more tears from de-tangling every single day, she can put her own hair up in ponytails and my oh my...can you see her confidence oozing out. Not that she was lacking before. :) But as much as I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to do it, I am SO glad we did.



Our tiny dancer!




Buck and his friend Joel took the "big boys" to the lake for Labor Day weekend. They had an awesome "man weekend" and are thinking it will be an annual event. A huge thank you as always to GM & GD (my grandparents) for being such generous hosts!







Someone is awfully close to walking! She's a wild one...but we are loving every crazy minute with our 9-month-old Mia. She seems to change daily. Poor thing has 4 (!) teeth coming in at once, stands, squats and stands herself back up, says "Dada" and "uh-oh", waves bye-bye and gives Mama the sweetest kisses. :) Yep, we're in love!

Oh and last but not least, I can't wait for fall TV to start. Actually just "The Good Wife". In the meantime I've been watching every single "Friends" rerun. If you haven't done that recently, you definitely should. I read a quote that said "there is nothing that a good laugh and a nap can't cure." Not entirely true, but it certainly can't hurt. Love to you all!

Laura Joy

Back to school!!

Here we go...


After a WONDERFUL summer, we headed back to school last Thursday. Here is a serious picture of my first grader, second grader and fourth grader!


And a goofy one!



And a cute one!! Love these monkeys. Miss Mia was hanging out in the stroller and was NOT in the mood for a photo shoot. :) We are excited to be back in a routine and ready for a fun year at school!

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Work adventure!

I am always up for a new adventure. I got a call this spring from one of my preceptors in midwifery school saying her practice was desperate for some help on the weekends. One of the best times for me to work is weekends because Buck is home, while I get to hang out with my monkeys all week. So from now until the end of the year I will be traveling a couple of hours to fill in on the weekends. I'm so excited to tiptoe back into the midwifery world, deliver some babies and work with one of my favorite midwives on the planet. The fact that it is a temporary gig is appealing, so it's not forever (because goodness knows with 5 little ones I can't commit to a darn thing!), and the experience is well worth it. My first weekend is the second weekend in August and I can't wait. A new adventure!

Has it been a month?

A month since I blogged last?? That means we are a month closer to school starting. Oh me oh my...that breaks my heart! We have had such an amazing summer. With the crazy high temperatures, we have honestly spent the last FOUR nights at the pool. What else is there to do? Tate is a total water baby and Mia splash, splash, splashes. Max, Charlie and Zoe are all diving fools...with Charlie knocking my socks off by doing FLIPS off the diving board??!! That's what happens when you buy a trampoline. The trampoline has felt a little lonely lately because of the sweltering temps but believe me, it is still by far one of the best purchases we've made!

We also had a ball at Family Camp in Okoboji. One of the best experiences we've had as a family and we are already signed up to return next year! Woo hoo!!

Someone turned 8 years old:

My goodness how we love our Charlie-man. Every year on his birthday, I think about how he flew into our world after being at the hospital for a grand total of 40 minutes. He was the SWEETEST baby, the most adorable toddler and now is the most tender-hearted, fun, joyful soul with a heart of gold. We are so proud of our sweet boy and love the young man God is creating him to be. We can't wait to see what God has in store for him in the year to come!

We got some amazing family photos taken by a high school friend of Buck's. Here is a glimpse of my favorite. I look at this and am overwhelmed with gratitude for these 5 blessings that God chose for me and Buck. Love each of them more than words. 

I'll try to do a little better job of blogging more frequently than once a month, but make no promises! :) Oh, and my BFF from high school started a new blog about her sweet family. Check out her chocolate chip cookie recipe! Love you, SSS!

Happy happy summer, friends.

Photo dump!

Where to even begin?? I looked back at my pictures and can hardly believe how fast summer is going. We've been busy, busy but love every minute of it. School got out in mid-May and we've been trying to fill days with a good mix of fun and relaxing. Here comes the photo dump...




Someone turned 6 months old and we had our final post placement visit with Super Social Worker Cheryl. We love her to pieces and are so thankful for her. Mia loves her too!






































(Mia was ready to be home. This is such a rare sight from our sweet baby...broke our hearts.)


First trip to the Lake!! It was perfect. Mia loved her first boat ride and the kids got on the water--tubing, wake boarding, swimming, kayaking and of course...fishing!! Buck & the kids caught enough for an amazing fish fry. Yum!!! We wrapped up the weekend celebrating our anniversary with pizza in bed. :)













Swimming lessons! I love our teachers and the kids always amaze me with their hard work. Tate did great for his first year of lessons!









While Zoe went to Living History Farms camp, the boys & I enjoyed a day with friends around the farms. So fun!









A little spa time! Buck spoiled the boys at Sports Clips. :) Z & I had some hair time while I took out twists and got her beautiful afro back. Pretty girl!!

Phew....more to come!! Happy summer, friends.

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I Heart Pinterest

I do love Pinterest. It has given me some great recipe and gift ideas and it puts things I would otherwise be saying "where did I see that before?" all in one easy-peasy place. But...I do think it has raised that ever-raising super-mom mothering bar and that frustrates me just a little. But you have to be willing to let some of that go and just embrace the helpfulness that is Pinterest. I made another yummy Pinterest find last night and it was a hit once again. I'll post it here soon.


But one funny thing...I found this link and I thought oh boy, this will be so helpful! "10 Habits of a Well-Run Home". Well, who couldn't use that, right? Well, I clicked right on over and started reading through the list and almost started laughing. I already do at least 8 of those things. Ha!! I don't have a link circulating on Pinterest, I don't have people exclaiming, "my goodness, she has a well-run home." But I am sane awake, my children are fed and clothed, and things work relatively well for us considering we have a house full of monkeys house of 5 children 9 and under. :) I hope you are enjoying Pinterest as much as I am. Happy Thursday friends. School's out TOMORROW!! We cannot wait.