Family Pics!

I had been feeling pretty guilty about not having a family picture (or any nice pictures) with our little Sophie in them! So, I had our neighbor Nicole do a photo shoot for us and the pictures turned out beautifully! (Despite the fact that I felt like I was herding cats... the girls were all over the place!) We had a fun time down at the Falls and the girls can't wait to go back to explore some more!

While I am waiting for my pictures to upload, I guess I can write a few nice things about each of the girlies :). Lets start with Maylie: She is growing so tall and strong, she is taller than most kids her age (shocker coming from a mom who was the shortest until she was 15!) She is super creative and likes to read. She is also on the Infinity Dance Team this year and is getting a lot of really great training, she is a beautiful dancer! She also just played on a Volleyball team and absolutely loved it, she scored 15 points in a row once with her serve... way to go May... I have no doubt that we will be spending lots of times on the bleachers watching Maylie rock at different sports! She is such a sweet sister and helper and friend to me! Love you May!

Next, Brianna: Brianna is also growing strong and tall! She is such a great helper to me and loves to take care of Sophie and I can always count on her to pick out my outfit if "I am actually going to wear a real outfit"(not sporty:). She is reading and is a great helper to her teacher. She is also on an Infinity Dance Team, I love watching her come home and work on her dance everyday! No worries Dad, she likes to play sports too. She can't wait to be on a volleyball team and gets to play basketball this winter. Brianna also has a beautiful voice and Maylie is constantly asking her to "please be quiet." because she sings all the time (sound familiar Shanna?:) Love my Briez!

Onto Ashlie: Ashlie is just a little peanut. She is perfectly petite! She is such a good obedient child and she is such a great helper for me! She always helps me make the beds and tidy up the house! She likes Activa Vanilla Yogurt, lunch meat, apples, and chocolate milk, her bunny Tessa, her Laker Jammies, the kind of Jamba Juice "that Papa likes," play dough, making bead necklaces, and playing with her friends and cousins. She is taking a ballet/jazz class and she is a good dancer! I will miss her when she goes to kindergarten next year! She is such a fun kid! Love you Ashie! (and yes, I left out the l on purpose:)

Lastly, but not least, Sophie: The sun rises and sets with this little girl! I guess I can't call her a baby anymore, since she is over 13 months! She seriously melts every heart in this house and usually everyone she meets! She has been walking off and on since a year and is pretty consistant with it now. She has 4 teeth and yes, we finally chopped off her beautiful mullet with my kitchen shears when it got into a dred knot :) :( sad day at the Arfmann house!) She says "Mom, Dad, hi, kind of each sisters name, squeezes her hands went she wants something, and shakes her head for yes and no, and says eeeeeeeeeeee! She pretty much gets whatever she wants around here! She loooooooves Jamba Juice, and luckily we've got a pretty good hook up there ;). Despite the fact that she is a good eater and is very healthy, she is only 16 lbs. Looks like she is taking after Ashlie! She sleeps thru the night most nights and if she happens to wake up, she goes back to bed easily after she gets a little "momma's milk" :). I don't even mind getting up with her because she has such a sweet spirit! I just love every minute with Sophie!

Ryan: Ryan has been busy with both of our stores getting new managers at the same time! I don't know how he does it all and still manages to spend time with our family. But, he somehow does a great job at both! I feel so blessed to have him for a husband and daddy to our kids! He really is amazing with not only our own kids, but all children seem to love Ryan! It's no wonder they won't let him out of primary... he gets to teach Maylie's class this year, the kids just love him! He had a fun summer of boating and actually landed a few back flips! We also enjoyed playing tennis this summer! I love you Ry!

As for me: I have been enjoying being a mom. I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with my kids! I enjoy spending my time cleaning, cooking, running, playing tennis, playing volleyball, being taxi driver, and reading. I take care of the majority of our Jamba books and I actually really enjoy doing it, except for when I make a mistake... not fun:( I also love doing the yard work and decorating our home! I get to be a primary chorister for our ward, it has been so much fun! Our program was last week and it was truly humbling to see all of the kids bearing testimony thru song. The coolest thing happened a few weeks ago in Sacrament meeting; one of our program songs was "Praise To The Man," and the congregation was singing it, every primary child was singing it as well, it was truly shocking to the parents, they weren't expecting that. There was such an amazing spirit in our meeting that day!

Well, I guess we can just pass this off for our Christmas letter... haha! Love to all! Jules