catching up

Family, friends, fellow bloggers, newcomers, oldcomers, and anyone else that doesn't fit into one of these categories..... HOW ARE  YOU?!

I feel like I haven't posted for-ever.

We have been busy busy busy since about mid-March. Emma was in the spelling bee, Kylie has lost like a mouthful of teeth, Ian is almost done with this semester, I bought a motorcycle, (yep, you heard me!) and I am about 50% of the way finished with my Masters thesis. Wheww, see just saying it is a mouthful.

Most of the things in this post could be their own posts but to quickly bring ya'll up to speed I will just make it one really long one. ;)

There are a few things I will save for their own posts later this week because they are their own categories (DIY kitchen hutch, French Macarons, and Whole30) so make sure to check back for those too!

Emma's spelling bee was awesome. This is the second year that she has made it to the school bee. She has always been a really amazing speller (really, better then Ian and I  - FOR SURE). This year she made it to round 5 with only a few kids left. I can't remember the word that she missed but she practiced every night. I am so proud of her!

 

Kylie lost her first took around Christmas. It.took.forever. Emma had lost a bunch of teeth between 5-6 so I was a little worried when Kylie turned 7 and nothing had happened. But the dentist said it was totally normal and he could tell that they would be loose soon enough. Sure thing – one fell out, then two and three, then four and five. The tooth fairy learned really fast to keep some cash and change on hand :). How she eats anything at this point I will never know.

 

Mid-April Nanny and Pappy made the trip from AZ to UT. It was an amazing couple of days. It was terrible weather so we spent a lot of time in doors, but they were able to be here when Emma had her test to move from yellow belt to orange belt and she PASSED! This is a really huge accomplishment. She has really had to focus (not Emma’s strong suit). She has to practice daily. We were all so proud! We took them to Tony Caputos market downtown and drove around the temple. We made so much food! We were in a constant state of eating. It was great though. When you are a kid, your relationship with your grandparents is so different then when you are an adult. The things I want to know from them now are worlds away from when I was a kid. I used to want to know if they would color or if we were going to go the market. This trip was about generations of discovery. I had the chance to talk to Nanny about work, kids, life, marriage, family – anything and everything. One of my favorite talks was about childbirth. My experiences were not ideal – emergency c-sections, unplanned pregnancy – but my children’s fathers got to be part of it and so did I. I can remember the songs playing in the ER when the girls were born. I can remember the fear, the angst, the love, the tears. Nanny wasn’t able to enjoy these things. It was a conversation I will never forget and a feeling I will always remember when I look at my girls. Pappy is and has always been the sweetest man I know. He loves with his whole heart – all of it. He really wants to hear about what you are doing, the weather, sports, cars, the kid’s activities. He just really enjoys life. It.is.refreshing. Their visit made me miss our families SO MUCH. Life is so short, never take for granted how little time you have with those that you love. Ian and I are lucky to see our brothers, sisters, moms, dads and others once a year – we look forward to living closer to family soon. Nanny and Pappy played life with the girls. Have you played this new version? There are “action cards” and you take an action (obviously). The below photos are Nanny dancing, being a ballerina, playing guitar and Pappy disco dancing with Ky. AMAZING! Thank you Nanny and Pappy for making the trip and for all of the memories.

Most recently, Ian took the girls and I on a surprise trip! He is the ultimate planner. We all loaded into the car on a Saturday and drove for about 5 hours north. I assumed about ½ way there that we were going to Boise, which is one of my favorite weekend get-a-ways. We got off on an exist I wasn’t familiar with, Ian said he had to go to the bathroom. Next thing I know we are at the Boise airport. I was like we drove 5 hours to get on a plane?!! But we walked in and guess who was there? JULIA! (Ian’s mom). He flew her in for the weekend so that we could spend some time together. It was AMAZING. We walked around, shopped, ate amazing meals, did wine tastings, had coffee from my newest favey place, went to see Volbeat play, and had a chance to see Boise’s art museum (a MUST if you stop in). It was great! I have always had a connection with Julia so every time we are together is a blast. It is a relationship of awesomeness because I look up to her as a mother and I confide in her as a best friend. I’m a very lucky lady to have such an amazing family to be part of.

So many other things have been going on but for now I will leave you with these gems :) All of this love from our families reminds me daily of how lucky we are to have each other and our beautiful children. More to come soon – now get out there and create some memories.