After arriving home from the most fun four days in Disney, it seemed as if the remainder of the summer flew by for the Prentiss family. There were playdates, family cookouts, continued spectacular Saturday's, day outings to places of each child's choosing, the kids ran around like crazy monkeys in the backyard every single night, swam all the time, and now the mothers were getting ready for the two final parties of the summer and the loads of shopping they were in for.

Clarke's birthday was one of the parties, a day she had planned down to every last detail, and the end of summer party was the other. Clarke was going for a sophisticated, yet still fun, party as she's only turning 14. She really wanted a pool party because that's one of the things she and her two best friends love to do most when they hang out together, but she also wanted some of the Prentiss staples because they're too fun not to, according to her. Clarke didn't want to seem like a little kid, but she and her friends truly did enjoy a lot of the games she plays with her little siblings and at the end of the day, it's her party.

Emily took the time to try and explain things to Clarke in many different ways as she could see her daughter was struggling with choosing activities she knew she was supposed to like, and the ones she actually likes. It's not Clarke's fault she has so many younger siblings and there's nothing wrong with enjoying activities that society may deem as too young for her age—who cares, it's not their birthday, it's Clarkes. More importantly than that, Emily knew Clarke's best friends also enjoyed themselves each time they came over to spend time with her daughter so if this was what her baby wanted, this was what they'd do.

It wasn't inappropriate to play a freeze tag game with water guns at the age of 14, Clarke was an intelligent young girl and was incredibly gifted. If she was dead set on playing with baby dolls the entire day, Emily and JJ would be concerned however, jumping in a bouncy house and enjoying outdoor games was just part of being a child. She also knew Claire and Hannah's parents absolutely loved the fact their girls were running around outside instead of spending an exorbitant amount of time on their phones and laptops doing gosh knows what, something the mothers were grateful none of their children wanted to do yet.

Besides planning the last two parties, they were also moving four children to different rooms and shopping for all of them. The mothers were doing far more shopping for five as Brooks and Brynley weren't going to school yet seeing as they were only two and Hudson and Emerson just got a brand-new wardrobe—they did need more than the littlest twins though to keep up with the new styles. Back to school shopping wasn't as stressful as it sounds because the mothers take turns sitting the kids down with a laptop or iPad to show them what's new and to pick some of their favorites before even heading to the mall, that way a lot of the shopping was completed beforehand.

And then they separated the shopping into days. This year they were taking the three big kids first as they were shocking far more decisive, followed by Hudson and Emerson, Lily and Oakley, then Brooks and Brynley last because their clothes can be purchased online. The shopping will continue afterwards however because of the four room swaps, and due to the two little ones not getting a new room, Emily and JJ wanted to do something special for them as well so they will get a surprise too. Lily and Oakley are also going to get a double spectacular day with grandma and grandpa while furniture is being moved and such and then a special day with mommies to take them out so they can pick something out for their rooms too.

"You fink you weally know how to do it? Be'tause mommy pro'bawee know it bettah," Hudson assured, patting Morgan's arm.

Clarke and Allen covered their mouths so they wouldn't burst out laughing at what the little boy said, he was so darn cute. Hudson seemed to hear the tiniest slip that came from Allen's lips and looked up at him then continued his thought, not even missing a beat. "And gwampa know it too! I not weally fink you know it, Umple Dewik, wight Cwalke?" he asked his sister.

"Oh absolutely, little dude. Uncle Derek definitely needs to be supervised when painting. I think you should be the boss, it's your room now," Clarke responded.

Hudson was moving into her old room and today they were painting over the lavender color with an arctic blue color and white—Emily and JJ showed the twins many different options for their rooms and even though they wanted different colors and themes, they wanted the same paint design. The color three-quarters of the way up, then white the rest of the way on all three walls besides the one the bed is against and on that wall, they each wanted the same pattern of wallpaper. It was a simple, clean pattern that didn't pull your attention, but it added a splash to the room.

"Yeah!" Hudson exclaimed.

Morgan made sure Hudson wasn't looking at him then made a face at Clarke, she really had to throw him under the bus like that didn't she. Out of all his little princesses, Clarke always did him dirty and there's nothing he could do about it because he just loves her so freakin' much and nobody would ever believe him anyways. For some reason, everybody always takes Clarke's side, and they tell him to suck it up.

"Mommy!" he screamed when Emily walked in with the paintbrushes. "Umple Dewik not uppose' to paint awone be'tause he no know it. Cwalke sayed I'm the boss be'tause it my woom! But gwampa can do it and me too!" he continued, throwing himself into her arms.

"Woah, buddy," Emily said as she caught him. She briefly laughed at Morgan then winked at Clarke while rubbing Hudson's back and situating him on her hip. "I think if you make sure to keep an eye on Uncle Morgan, we can give him a paint brush to help us, what do you say?"

"Umm…" Hudson said, clearly giving it some thought. "Otay. But you hafta be weally caweful," Hudson said after his long, thoughtful pause.

"I'll be super careful, I promise," Morgan said, holding his pinky out to Hudson. The little boy giggled and used his other hand to help wrap his pinky around his uncle's, then took one of the paint brushes from his mom and handed it to him. "No makin' a mess!"

"Wets do it!" Hudson cheered.

"Let's do it!" Oliver and Clarke repeated, knowing it would make their little brother happy.

Once Allen opened the paint, Morgan scooped Hudson up, held him upside down and said, "Wait a minute!"

"What are you doin'?" Hudson giggled, squirming around in his uncles' arms.

"We can't have a Prentiss paint day without a handprint on the wall, it's a tradition you silly little monkey! But you gotta do it upside-down!" he said, lowering Hudson closer to the paint.

Hudson looked at his siblings who nodded and Oliver kneeled next to him, twisting his body so Hudson was somewhat right-side up to him. "Uncle Derek's right, Hudson. We all have a handprint on our wall. Mommy says it's okay, promise."

"It's totally cool, little dude," Clarke added.

Morgan flipped Hudson up and the boy burst out laughing then faced his mother who ran her fingers through his adorable haircut that matched his brothers and smiled at him. "You can put your hand in the paint, then on the wall. It's okay, baby. Don't worry, I have a towel and wipes right here so we can clean your hand off then start painting, okay?" Emily assured.

"Otay, mommy!"

Once Emily gave him the all clear, Hudson was very excited to be flipped back down then lowered into the paint and put his handprint on the wall. Morgan always made it fun for the little kids in some type of way, whether he put them on his shoulders, pretended he was the paint monster, danced around to their favorite songs and sang into the paint brushes or held them upside down, it was his job as an uncle to make things fun.

Today, JJ and River took Emerson to decide what decorations she wanted for her room along with a bedspread and sheets with Amelia and Oakley there to help her. Brooks and Brynley were with Gerald and Elizabeth, and Sandy was taking Lily over for a playdate with Lyla. The sassy little bug loved to help however, Emily and JJ knew their opinionated peanut could sway her big sister and this was Emersons room, not Lilys—to avoid this, she was going to play with her bestie where she'd have much more fun.

Clarke and Oliver went with Hudson two days ago to pick out his room décor and today it was the little girls turn to choose everything she wanted for her new room—the mothers thought it was best to make a separate day out of it for the twins because it would help put Hudson and Emerson get in the headspace that this was solely for them and they didn't need to pick everything together.

The twin bond was something unreal and so special. Hudson and Emerson could communicate without speaking and while they did have their own made-up language, most of the time if someone asked them something and expected an answer together, they had a silent conversation. Due to this, the twins had a harder time detaching when it came to interests of their own—even at their birthday party, it was clear as day when they kept running over to one another and staying on the truck or mermaid side for 15-20 minutes; it wasn't because that's where they'd rather be, it was because they felt like they should be interested in each other's favorite things.

These big boy and girl rooms would be their first real form of self-identity. Emily could honestly say she was surprised by the fact Hudson only asked about Emerson three times while they were shopping a few days ago, which was so adorable, she did believe it was progress though. The mothers weren't trying to separate them, in fact, if the separate rooms were too difficult Emily was prepared to knock the wall down and rebuild it when they were ready to try again. They had decided to give it a try as the twins hadn't even been given the opportunity before, who knew, they could thrive. Emily and JJ did want them upstairs though, they are only five years old and being two floors away isn't okay even with River right there.

When Emily heard three squeal screams, she came out of her thoughts and saw three noses with arctic blue paint on them and smiled. "Umple Dewik!" Hudson squealed.

"Grandpa!" Oliver screamed with a smile.

"Mom! This is seriously who you chose as your best friend?" Clarke asked, pointing at her uncle with a scowl and a blue dot on her nose. "There are like, so many other people on the planet!"

"Hey!" Morgan chimed in, feigning offense.

Emily could not take her adorable daughter seriously and bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "I agree, there are so many other people," Emily responded with a laugh. "But you know what, baby? None of them are as sweet, kind, protective…" Emily said, winking at Clarke who understood what her mom was doing. She dipped her paint brush into the bucket as Emily lifted Hudson into her arms as a distraction, then handed it to Oliver right when her mom said, "…and gullible as this somewhat strong man right here."

Allen patted Morgan's shoulders keeping the man in place and Oliver reached up poking him with the paintbrush in the nose getting their uncle back just as he processed what Emily was saying. "Hehe we getted you!" Hudson giggled, tipping his head back as he laughed.

"Gullible, really?" Morgan teased. "Paint wars are on!"

"Woah, wook at this one!" Emerson said, pointing to a comforter with pastel rainbows all over it. The mothers preplanned the twins rooms the best they could so when shopping Emily or JJ would be able to help redirect Hudson or Emerson when their ever-racing minds became distracted—so far though, Emerson was doing very well.

Hudson was like Oliver in the sense that he wanted to celebrate his obsession with trucks and add his new love for trains, the same way Oliver had model planes hanging from his ceiling. The mothers appreciated this because the wall color was a solid color and down the line if their boys grew out of trucks/trains/planes, it was easy to change. The same could be said for the girls and the many themes they've already gone through already, not just with décor but with bedspreads and sheets. However, Oakley and Lily did enjoy designs on the walls which made changing the rooms a bit harder—Emerson wanted a solid color like Hudson though.

"Rainbows are really pretty, Emerson," Amelia said with a smile.

"I like it lots too," Oakley added.

"It's super cute, baby. Should we put this one in the cart and look at other ones, then pick from your top three?" JJ suggested. She and Emily knew this strategy worked best with all their children and smiled when receiving a nod from Emerson in response. "Okay, let's keep looking princess pea."

"You so silly, momma," Emerson giggled.

JJ lifted Emerson up and gently tossed the little girl over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and tickled her, saying over and over, "No, you're so silly."

When breathless giggles could be heard isles away, JJ placed Emerson in the shopping cart with the bedspread and continued pushing them down the comforter section until they stopped again seeing another the little one liked. Picking out a big girl's room was a very important task, and Emerson was taking it very seriously—JJ could tell she thoroughly enjoyed having her big sisters by her side to help her make the best decision.

After looking through the section multiple times and sticking to her top three the entire time, Emerson went with… "I fink wainbows I wike the bestist be'tause, I dunno," she responded with a shrug to JJ's question.

"You don't have to know, baby. I think rainbows are the perfect choice," JJ said, scooping Emerson out of the cart and kissing her temple.

"You fink Huddy will wike it too?" Emerson asked, suddenly feeling a bit unsure. Little twin syndrome. It was more than what they had been through, even though Hudson and Emerson didn't truly understand the first five years of their lives—the mothers knew this about Emerson because Brynley exhibited a lot of the same little twin syndrome traits.

"I think Hudson will love it, sweetie," JJ assured.

"He sure will," River added when Emerson looked over at her afterwards. The twins surprisingly took to JJ and Emily being their mommies very quickly and seeing River as another grown-up in the house, but there were still certain times they sought after River's approval as well, like right now.

"Let's pick decorations now!" Oakley announced.

"Yeah, it's so much fun! There's so much stuff to match rainbows. Is Emerson gonna have a name thing too, momma?" Amelia asked.

Part of the room remodels were swapping out the H and E for first and middle names to be hung horizontally over the twin's beds. The kids' rooms were the same in regard to size however, the layouts were all different—besides Hudson and Emersons big boy and girl's rooms. Oakley and Lily also had a similar layout but because their beds were entirely different, their rooms looked extremely unique.

Hudson and Emerson were going to have the same bed as the big kids, a full xl trundle with guardrails like Oakley's that's perfect for sleepovers. Emily and JJ agreed on the size due to the fact they could grow into the bed, have sibling sleepovers, and they would be great until the kids went off to college. Hudson and Emerson's beds were going up against the wall on one side and above them would be their names—their first name would be all uppercase and the middle name would be in smaller cursive and underneath.

"She is," JJ answered with a nod. "Right, baby? Emerson Kate is being printed in sherbert pink, just like the pretty paint color you picked out for your room."

"Yeah, it gonna be so pwetty! But not my wast name on the wall, momma. Just Emewson and Kate," she said, then continued. "Not Pwemtims," she said, still having a hard time mastering the last name.

JJ peppered kisses to Emerson's temple to keep herself from laughing at the little one's mispronunciation and then smiled. "Are you sure? Now that you mention it, I think Prentiss should be printed too. What do you girls think?" JJ asked Amelia and Oakley.

"No way, momma!" Oakley said, convinced her mom was serious.

"I think it's a good idea," Amelia answered with a giggle.

River watched on with a smile and couldn't help but feel so appreciative of this family she was also brought into. They didn't have to accept her as well, but they did. And not just that, they accepted her with open arms. She had messages each day on her phone from, who she considered to be her family now, asking how she was doing, what she was up to today, if she wanted to spend time with them, meet for coffee, etc.

After River successfully went out on her own the first few times, Garcia, Gerald, Sandy, Allen, Elizabeth, Tara, Reid, Morgan and Hayley asked if she wanted to do certain things. Go shopping, go out to lunch, come over for a girl's day, go out for coffee, go to the bookstore and more—it was so nice of them and what made things so surreal to River was the fact that nothing was forced. They all wanted to do these things with her, it wasn't out of pity or necessity, most of the time it was just because…especially Garcia.

River was taken from her thoughts when she heard Emerson say… "I fink I don't want that pwease, momma." Emerson snuggled bubbles closer then rested her head against JJ's shoulder.

"I'm just kidding, baby. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have teased you," JJ apologized. "Come on cutie, let's go pick out decorations, what do you say?"

"Yeah. But do I…umm, does it just hafta be wainbows?"

"Of course not. Do you think we should maybe find you some mermaids too?" JJ asked with a smile as she began to tickle the little one in her arms.

"Mhm," Emerson nodded, then giggled and squirmed when the tickle monster got her.

"I think bubbles would really like to have mermaids too," Amelia added. "Maybe you could find her a little pearl pillow so she can be extra comfy at night just like you."

"Woah, that sounds like a super cool idea Ems," River said with a gasp. "What do you think?"

"Yeah! Weally cool!"

"Who wants some—oh my good heavens, what happened in here?" Sandy asked, looking around the room at her paint covered family and holding a tray of lemonade.

"Hi gwamma!" Hudson waved with a huge smile on his face sitting atop Morgan's shoulders. "We paintin'!"

"I can see that, honey. I thought you were painting the walls though, not each other," she responded with a slight laugh.

"I gettin' all the way up here, gramma! Umple Derik helpin' me be'tause I small and can't weach up here awone."

"Ahh, well that makes sense. What about all the paint on your face?"

"Umm, Umple Derik not know how to do it and he getted it all on me," Hudson answered with a shrug as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"And what about you two?" Sandy asked Oliver and Clarke.

"Grandpa!" They said and pointed at the same time.

"Umple Derik start it be'tause umm, he, umm, he sayed it paint wars and then gwampa not know how to do it anymore." Hudson paused as Sandy processed the information then continued. "Hey umm, gwamma is one of those maybe for me pwease?" he asked, pointing to the lemonade.

That caused everyone in the room to laugh and Morgan helped him off his shoulders then the little boy ran up to his grandmother who set the tray down and handed him the sippy cup of lemonade. "I think you're the only little worker bee in this room who deserves a lemonade, Hudson," Sandy said, taking one of the huggies wipes and cleaning his face a bit so he wouldn't get paint in his eyes.

"Can I please have some too, grandma?" Oliver asked.

"Of course, honey," Sandy said with a wink, then handed him the other cup with a lid on her tray.

She trusted Oliver with a glass, however, knew the mothers only allowed tumblers and sippy's upstairs to avoid spills on the carpets. That being said, it was a moot point as everyone had paint all over them. Granted, the room was covered in plastic as they knew letting the kids help them paint was a messy process, and they had to take precautions, but this was one of the messiest painting days they had ever had.

"Fank you, gwamma," Hudson said, placing his little hand on Sandy's shoulder as he drank his lemonade and twirled around. The adults smiled because they knew his hand would leave a blue mark on her shirt, something he didn't realize when using his manners, she didn't mind though because he was just too darn cute.

Emily wrapped her arms around Clarke while the boys drank their lemonade and showed her the text messages JJ had sent her so far from what Emerson had picked out with the help from her big sisters. "What do you think, baby? Up for round two in a few days with these crazy ones?"

"Mom seriously? You know how I feel about pink…"