All About Our Girls: 2016

Makenna - 11 Years Old

Nicknames: Nenny, Kenna, Nenny Jo
Hair: She has straight long blonde hair. She wears it in an adorable side braid which is my favorite hair style on her :)
Favorite Foods: Anything Mom makes. She will eat anything and is an adventurous eater :)
Favorite Shows/Movies: Fixer Upper, Tomorrowland, KC Undercover, Cupcake Wars

Anna Maria Island - 2015

Playing "Oceans" during offering at church - Spring 2015

Turn It Up - She was a TIU Junior Leader in 5th Grade (which means she helped lead little kids in worship on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings at church)

Last day of elementary school

Favorite Drink: Caramel Steamer and Sprite

Favorite Stuffed Animal: Duckie

Favorite Hobbies: Guitar, Reading, Drawing, Soccer, Spending time with Charlee and her family

School: 6th grade at Oak Ridge. Favorite subjects are Math and Writing. Ms. McSperrin and Mrs. Lillie are her favorite teachers.

Makenna and Charlee - Makenna was the one kid in our family that said she didn't want a dog. She was smart enough to realize all the responsibility that would go along with it. Surprisingly, these two are the best of buddies and love each other very much.

Makenna and Charlee - Quality snuggle time after school

Makenna & Lynlee

She got her ears pierced - July 2015

Favorite Books: Kingdom Keepers, Land of Stories

Latest Accomplishments: Asked to lead worship at "Big Church", Singing/playing guitar to "Compass" for 5th grade talent show, straight A's her first semester in middle school

Likes: Taylor Swift, Music, Disneyworld, Guitar, Sleeping In, Going to the beach,

Dislikes: Being lactose intolerant, Friend Drama, Conflict in the world, Fighting with siblings, When the twins get in her room/mess up her stuff

Friends: Sophie Good, Brooklyn Rosene, Eliana Francis, Paige Guthrie

Fears: Heart Attacks, Death within family, Fire in our house, Failing School

Makenna's Best Friends from elementary school - Sophie Good & Eliana Francis

First Day of 6th Grade

Taylor Swift Concert - 10/15

Carving Pumpkins - 2015

Activities: She plays soccer for AYSO, is on a Blaze Team for church youth group and plays guitar for Sunday morning worship team. She also takes swimming lessons at Linn-Mar Aquatic Center and tennis lessons in the summer. She also enjoyed being a junior counselor at Church Day Camp this past summer.

Health: We've recently discovered she is lactose intolerant. Good news is we discovered why she was getting all of her stomach aches, bad news is she can't eat a lot of her favorite foods :( She had the stomach flu this fall with the rest of the family. She still battles with sun sensitive skin and burns very easily even with sunscreen on. She is my worrier in the family.

What She Wants To Be When She Grows Up: She wants to do something with her music and be a Mom!

Leading Worship at church - Fall 2015

Leading Worship at church - Winter 2015

Native American House - 5th Grade

11th Birthday

Maya - 6 Years Old

Nicknames: Gracie, Yaya, Gracie Pacie, MyMy
Hair: Long dark brown hair
Favorite Foods: Hamburgers, Pizza, French Fries, Chicken Nuggets, Pancakes, Donuts, Chicken Fried Rice. She is my sugar and junk food addict of the group. She always wants a treat or wants to eat unhealthy. She is not a picky eater, she will eat pretty much anything I put in front of her, she just doesn't care to eat a large quantity of anything. She is almost always the last person sitting at the dinner table.

Our affectionate, snuggly little Maya

Trip to Pumpkin Patch - 2015

Maya's 6th Birthday Party - Teddy Bear Tea Party

Kindergarten Music Program - Barnyard Moosical. She had to wear a pink tutu to make sure everyone knew she was a girl cow :)

Dance Recital 2015 - Amigas Cheetahs

Favorite Drink: Pink Lemonade, Orange Juice, Apple Juice

Favorite Stuffed Animal: Teddy and Unicorns

Favorite Hobbies: Arts and Crafts, Knitting, Ballet, Playing with her sisters

School: She is in 1st grade in Mrs. Seery's class. Her favorite subject in school is math and recess. She is excelling in all subjects at school. She reads at least 2 grade levels ahead.

Maya & her sisters - Recital 2015

Anna Maria Island - 2015

Maya & Charlee - Summer 2015. Maya wasn't so sure what to think of Charlee at first, but now they are sweet little buddies :)

Maya & Lynlee. Maya is an amazing big sister to the twins!

Favorite Books: Princess Posey, Critter Club, Daisy Dawson, Nutcracker book
Latest Accomplishments: She was a mouse in the Nutcracker in November 2015 and she will be singing a solo in her upcoming 1st grade music program in February.
Likes: Unicorns, Teddy Bears, Hugs and Kisses from Mom and Dad (she's very affectionate), Disneyworld, playing Lil Woodzeez and Legos, doing anything artsy, girly/sparkly stuff
Dislikes: Being too hot, Being woken up in the morning, when the twins mess up her Legos
Friends: Gena Heitzman, Grace Lyn, Caitlyn Orosz

Maya's white rose from church for giving her heart to Jesus!!!
January 2015

Daddy Date

Maya's Birthday Celebration in Cedar Falls

One of her unicorns

Being silly with her sister :)

Fears: Spiders, Bumble Bees, Getting Hurt
Favorite Shows/Movies: Inside Out
Activities: She plays soccer for AYSO, dances Ballet and Jazz for Dancer's Edge and she wants more than anything to play the violin :) She has been begging us for over a year... I think mom and dad are going to give in and let her try it this summer. She also takes swimming lessons at the Linn-Mar Aquatic Center and takes tennis lessons in the summer.

End of the Year Kindergarten Family Picnic

First Day of 1st Grade

She lost her 1st tooth!!!

On our way to the Taylor Swift concert - 10/15

Health: Lately Maya tends to be the healthiest of the bunch. She somehow avoided the stomach flu this past fall when we all got it twice... but then she got a milder version of it a few weeks later when no one else was sick. She has some unique groves in the nailbed of both of her thumb nails that we keep an eye on. If we all get a week-long cold, Maya will typically get it for 1-2 days and be done :)

What She Wants To Be When She Grows Up: Ballerina

Maya was Anna for Halloween 2015

Carving Pumpkins - 2015

Mouse in the Nutcracker - 2015

Maryn - 9 Years Old

Anna Maria Island - 2015

Nicknames: MarBear, Killer (thanks Uncle Ron!)
Hair: Long dark brown hair with curls underneath. I love her hair in double french braids (how she wears her hair for soccer)!
Favorite Foods: Chicken noodle soup, Chicken Legs, Cauliflower, Cantaloupe, Sushi
Activities: Maryn plays soccer for FC United, she dances Jazz/Ballet/Tap for Dancer's Edge, she takes swimming lessons at the Linn-Mar Aquatic Center and takes tennis lessons in the summer. She tried the piano for a few months, but wasn't committed to practicing so we decided to wait on that for awhile. She also tried voice lessons over the summer and would like to try that again.

Maryn was Chi Chi Chihuahua in the 2nd Grade Music Program

Dance Recital 2015 - Ballet

Dance Recital 2015 - Jazz

Health: Maryn had strep throat and the stomach flu this past fall. She still gets an occasional ear infection, but it's usually only 1-2 times per year.
What She Wants To Be When She Grows Up: Entrepreneur - She wants to own her own businesses. And she wants to own 11 dogs.
Favorite Shows: Tomorrowland, Liv and Maddy, Kids Baking Competition

Maryn and all of her beloved stuffed animals

Favorite Drink: Caramel Steamers, Sierra Mist
Favorite Stuffed Animal: Puppy
Favorite Hobbies: Soccer, Dance (Ballet, Jazz & Tap), Reading, Spending time with Charlee, Playing with her sisters

Maryn and her sisters - Recital 2015

Her dreams came true - She got a dog! Charlee joined our family on July 12, 2015.

Maryn & Charlee

School: Maryn is in 3rd grade in Mrs. Lam's class. Her favorite subject in school is Writing. She is currently doing a Poetry Unit with the LEO program at Linn-Mar.
Favorite Books: Land of Stories, Cupcake Diaries
Latest Accomplishments: Playing for FC United soccer club, Singing a solo in the 2nd grade school music program, Highest math score on standardized tests in the entire 2nd grade