The Greats!

I cannot tell you how much I love these pictures and how much I love these people!  Our kids refer to them as "Grandpa & Grandma Great" and to me they are just that....GREAT.  I am so blessed to have both my dad's parents still alive and loving their new grandbabies.  Someday I will get a chance to tell little Emma all about her Great Grandparents and how wonderful they were.  My mom's parents have both passed but I find that the kids ask questions often and love to hear me talk about them.  I think it is important to understand where they come from.  I have great memories of visiting both sets of Grandparents in Oregon each year, playing in the rain in their backyard, swimming in the pool, making a trip to the beach, playing with cousins...the list goes on.  I have a great extended family and feel lucky to have such wonderful grandparents to look to as an example of how to live!  Another priceless picture...thanks mom!   

Cousin Love!

Emma met 6 day old cousin Mays yesterday!  He is adorable and so tiny compared to Emma.  I am sure these two will be best friends and will surely get into plenty of trouble together.  We love having cousins so close in age!

More Blessing...

In the craziness of Emma's blessing day we only took a few blessing pictures...so, while on babysitting duty my mom decided to take a few more.  I love Emma's dress and love that my mom took pictures in great grandma's old fashioned buggy.  I also love that Aunt Aleena made the headband with old fashioned buttons that once belonged to my Grandma.  To me these pictures are absolutely priceless!

Saturday's...

While at my parent's house for dinner tonight my sister's and I talked about the good old days as kids when we lived at the ball park.  I remember taking whatever change I could find or was given by my parents and purchasing the big Laffy Taffy's at the snack shack at the Orem City baseball fields.  We lived on fast food and loved it.  We were frequenters at any place that could provide a quick and cheap meal on our way to watch my brother's games.  I don't remember ever hating it.  I learned to keep score and loved watching their games.  Now I am my mom.  Years have passed and suddenly I am finding myself running my older kids to lessons and practices and stopping to get them dinner on the way.  I love it.  Saturday's at our house are especially busy.  With double headers for Nick and soccer games for Kylee, we are pretty much gone all day.  I have become a pro at packing whatever is necessary to keep the little ones warm, fed, hydrated, and protected from whatever weather mother nature throws at us.  There are days that I finally make it to the games sweating as I haul everyone and everything but at the end of the day it is worth it.  It feels good to be a "soccer mom".  My parents hardly every missed a game.  They always sacrificed to be on the sidelines cheering us on and I want the same for my kids.  Pretty soon all my kids will be grown and involved in their own things and I am loving the fact that I am the well prepared mom there to apply sunscreen and feed them in between games!  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Clear Creek Picture Overload!

What I learned at Clear Creek:

* 4th grade girls have a lot of energy

* When there are 70 girl together they are loud

* Skits and cheers involved a lot of thought, giggling, and screaming

* Kylee is a leader...she mothers, bosses, and controls even away from home (in a good way)

* 25 year old bunk beds are incredibly uncomfortable and loud

* School lunches smell good but taste not so good

* Girls don't like to be dirty, muddy, or cold 

* A short hike is miserable when you are in 4th grade and wear sparkly flats instead of tennis shoes

* 4th grade teachers deserve to go straight to heaven...seriously

* I love the girls Kylee hangs out with and their moms

* Kylee really does like me - she told me so in front of all of her friends

What a fun 36 hours with my Kylee.  I loved every single exhausting minute of my trip to Clear Creek. It was fun to see Kylee in her element and be able to create a memory with my not so little girl.  She impressed me so much.  She was sweet and sensitive but took charge and showed true leadership ability.  I laughed a lot and enjoyed getting to know some of her friends, the 4th grade teachers, and many other parents.  I am hoping to return in 2 years with Nick! 

Nick has been begging to mow the lawn for years and today was the day!  We finally got a new lawn mower that is easier to use so we let nick at it and he successfully mowed the front lawn all by himself.  It is amazing how life changes when you have kids that are older and a little more independent.  We now have a built in babysitter and lawn mower...what's next!???  Drivers!