Madeline is 6! How did that happen?

this sweet little angel went to bed a 5 year old. 

 and woke up a whopping 6!!!

 the day was full of fun, special meals, shopping with grandma, and on the weekend had a fabulous pink and red tea party.  

 the girls started with a hair bow craft, moved on to self-makeovers, ate delicious rolls and lemonade and cake, and finished up with a raucous pinata!  

Madeline,
you are simply the sweetest 6 year old in town.  you are always so happy and willing to help me and your dad.  you love your sisters and brother, and are always up for a good time.  you are a great friend, and teammate.  you love to play: soccer, basketball, swim, run, rollerblade, dance, gymnastics.  bring it on!  you love it all!  your teachers at school and in primary go out of their way to tell us what a great student you are, and that you are an example of citizenship to your classmates.  we could not be more proud of the girl you are!
i love you very much.  and as much as i would love you to stay my little baby forever, it is so much fun watching you grow up!
happy birthday Maddie!
love,
Mom

soccer time!

spring soccer started once again for the Earls.  Anna is playing tennis instead, but Maddie and Ave are both #9, so Anna put on last year's jersey and joined them for opening day!

it's Avery's first season and she was ready to go!  she proudly named her team, Orange Crush, and crush she did with 3 goals!  not bad for a rookie!

 ORANGE CRUSH

 Colin is an enthusiastic fan.  he is dying to be big enough to play!  he has the funniest habbit of shouting the name of whatever sport he's playing.  so, if he's running the football it's, "FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL"  swinging the golf club, "GO:F GOLF."  dribbling the soccer ball, "SOCCER, SOCCER."

 Madeline is on the Snowflakes this year.  she was a little disappointed not to have any goals her first game since she was such a high scorer last year.  but we explained that defense is just as important as offense and that her big kicks were just as useful when they helped stop a goal as when they score one.  

 Jason put the kids in charge of the photos today, and they caught a glimpse of the Dads on the sidelines. 

we look forward to a fun season! 

happy Valentine's day

this year the girls wanted to photo Valentines as seen on Pinterest.  so we snapped these photos them, and then popped lollipops in their hands to treat their fiends.  

the surprise is: it's not a surprise!

so, we have never found out the gender of our babies.  but this has always been my choice, while Jason would have preferred to find out.  at some point in our negotiations for #5 i may or may not have suggested i would agree to find out this time if i could just have one more baby.   and though Jason laughed this off at the time, assuring me this was not a bargaining chip, he still through it down once baby #5 was a reality.  although i really prefer not knowing, i figured i got my way 4 times, so i gave him his way just this once! 

after a lengthy hour+ long ultrasound (designed for woman over 35, yikes) we finally discovered that our sweet new baby will be our 4th daughter!  Colin did not attend the ultrasound, but he was not surprised to discover he would be having another sister.  "brother" is not in his vocabulary!  

the girls were actually excited (Maddie was a little mad to lose the betting pool) but they could not muster up any enthusiasm for this photo after such a long time in the ultrasound room.  

we are thrilled to welcome another beautiful daughter to our family this summer.  we know she will be as sweet and lovely as her sisters (and brother).