We are very excited that our sea of estrogen will get a wave of testosterone in February! We are having a baby boy and are thrilled!
My grandmother Morris and my sister Sarah celebrated their birthdays this month. This year they both reached milestone years. Sarah was so excited to turn 12 so she could be in Young Women’s and get one year closer to being a teenager. Sarah started middle school and is growing up so quickly. We love Sarah!
We celebrated Sarah’s birthday with the famous chocolate mint cake and a trip to Jamba Juice.
My grandmother is not excited to be 80, but I think it’s a great milestone and something to celebrate! She is coming into her own at age 80! This year she got her ears pierced, practiced driving again, and went on a trip to London. And she has got to be the most beautiful 80-year-old woman living. She is an inspiration to me!
We celebrated Grandma’s birthday at a big bash at the Copper Mill.
Time Out for Women…the name says it all. You can imagine the estrogen surge as over 2000 women gather to be motivated, inspired, and laugh and cry hard over the course of two days. It is sheer womanly bliss. This year I attended with people who truly inspire me, Kellie Romer, Christie Weaver, Angie Ostler, my mother, and two of my sisters, Catherine, and Emily. Some of the speakers and musicians this year included Jim Ferrell who wrote The Peacegiver, and The Holy Secret, Kenneth Cope, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Merrilee Boyack, Amanda Dickson, Sharon Larsen, and Jenny Oaks Baker. Amanda Dickson was one of my favorites. I was laughing so hard I thought I would die…the throw your head back and grab your stomach kind of laughing…not pretty in the least, with my mouth hanging open, etc…but the best medicine! I was inspired to include more uplifting music and service in my family life to feel more joy and peace. I am so thankful for my joyful life!
Over Labor Day weekend we went and visited some of our favorite friends, the Bennetts, in Rexburg. Mike and Tara live in North Carolina but were visiting their parents, so we went and stayed a few nights with Mike and Tara at Mike’s parents’ home. They treat us like royalty, so we told them we might be moving in.
Here are the highlights from the weekend: Pat made his famous ribs, Denise made her famous chocolate cheesecake, Tara, Denise, Iris and I went to a chick flick, and we played at the park and ate snowcones.
Ava, Lauren, and Bella. Lauren and Bella were born only one day apart so they are kindred sisters.
Preschool and dancing. She has gone to preschool before but the dancing is a first. She is loving both. Thank you to creative preschool teachers who help my children with craft projects, because I am so bad at that! And thank you to dance teachers who can wrangle over 10 small children in a room with a big mirror while they have tap shoes on. It looks like impossible to me!
Ava loves that she found a friend at preschool that had such a similar name as hers, Avery.
Ava on the first day of dance. She asked if she would be just like the ballerina on her bag.
Ava looks like she is in pain but look how high she got her leg!
On August 17th we celebrated Steve’s mom’s bday. She is one crazy lady who can always make us laugh. We call her the mother of all nations. One of my dearest memories of her is when she rocked me to sleep in the rocking chair. I also have the best chats with Norma. Everyone needs a Norma in their life. She just keeps life good. We love you Normski!
The grandkids huddle around for a picture.
Lauren loves to sit on Grandma’s lap and read stories.
Ava looks a lot like Norma did when she was young. Ava said she loves singing and playing with grandma Norma. Ava and Norma adore each other.
I have not done these little blog world games yet, but I saw this one on my cousin Angie’s blog and thought it sounded fun.
Here’s how it works:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.
Ava has been working on earning money for a bike for about six months. Steve and I were definitely playing it by ear on this first money earning experience, so she ended up earning eight dollars by doing different chores and setting goals with these reading lessons we are working on. Yesterday she turned in her hard earned cash for a set of wheels! Once she set her eyes on this princess bike there was no going back. She said she loved the tassles and of course the backpack and the waterbottle that came in the backpack. She practiced riding yesterday when we got home. She had a few minor spills but said “I won’t give up, I’ll keep trying.”
Love at first sight.
Steve let her ride it to the check-out counter and then to the car. It was pretty hilarious.
Here’s Lauren dreaming of the day she can turn in her trike for a big set of wheels like Ava’s.
There’s nothing like the Cache County Fair to make you want to get out the cowgirl boots and let out a “Yee Haw!” For the past two summers my siblings, Cat, Sarah, and this year Jake, have entered lambs into the fair. The whole process of raising the lambs and showing them at the fair is fascinating to me. You should see the judge pick the top lamb in the class. I guess it’s all about the back…how straight it is and how much back fat there is. My sister Catherine’s lamb won a first-prize ribbon this year. That means $11 for Cat and a blue ribbon! Ava and Lauren also had the time of their lives riding the big rides with Ellie and their von cousins, eating pizza and cotton candy, all the while sweating in the blazing hot sun. It was such a great day at the fair!
The month of July flew by in a flash. We were on cloud nine pretending Ruth and her family lived in Cache Valley because they ended up staying two months rather than one. It was the best two months ever! Here are some photos of our activities.
Swimming Lessons at the Aquatic Center
Lauren’s famous words were “I’ll do it myself.” Which meant she wanted to swim and dunk her head no matter how deep it was. This little girl has no fear.
Lily and Ava like playing Tree Chopper and dunking their heads.
Meg didn’t like dunking her head until after when she could tell us for a couple of days that she had done it. She is such a cutie!
Our four little fish.
Treehouse Museum
Girl Slumber Party
While Steve was at a conference for work, we had a major girl slumber party with Ellie Watkins, Lily, Lauren, Ava & myself. We had pizza and brownies and watched Peter Pan. It was great fun.
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