The Cake.

Well, I celebrated another birthday this weekend.  The girls made a very special cake for me.  They had conspired all week with Grandma Terrell and made SEVERAL last minute game changing decisions until they settled on the perfect cake.  Below is a picture of the cake, lit candles and all.

After I had made my wish, and the girls helped me blow the candles out, we decided to take a close up picture of "The Cake".  

Take note that nearly half of the cake is missing.  We owe the dietary thanks to our newest family member, Chili the Chiweenie.  The girls had a sleepover the night before my birthday to celebrate their dear friend Hannah's birthday.  They hid the cake in the dining room and turned out the lights so I would not go in and take a look.   Kevin and I were watching a movie that evening, and we let Cooper and Chili into the house.  Cooper was laying on the floor beside me when suddenly she perked up and walked into the foyer.  I did not notice.  However, Kevin noticed the action and saw Cooper cock her head toward the dining room with an "I cannot believe you are doing that, you are in such big trouble" look.  I am not really certain that dogs can give those kinds of looks, but it was enough to make Kevin jump up and run in the dining room.

Sure enough Chili was in the middle of the table plowing through one side of the cake.  Of course the other half was untouched.  Being that it was chocolate and looked delicious in every way, we cleaned up the carnage and decided to keep the rest of the cake.  After all, the girls had worked so hard on it.  I thought certainly that the girls would be devastated when they found out.  In fact, they were not sad at all.  They found the whole thing quite hilarious!

The cake was indeed delicious.  I certainly think we made the right decision.  Kendall going straight in for seconds.  No plate, just a spoon!  

Sidney enjoying every last piece.  Most assuredly she asked me right after this picture if she could lick her plate.  Yes, we know how to party in the Strong household.

It was yet again a most awesome birthday!  On a side note, I am not totally sure that I believe the rumor that chocolate is dangerous for dogs.  This was my second "dog stealing my chocolate" incident.  The first incident occurred when I was about 10 years old.  I had an Easter basket FULL of chocolate in my bedroom.  Yes, in my bedroom.  It was hidden under my bed so that my sister would not steal any of my candy.  Unfortunately my childhood dog, Snuffles, found the basket first and ate every last piece of chocolate.  She did not get sick either.  I am sure it is true...somewhere...but my personal experience would suggest something different.  Needless to say, it was me who was stealing chocolate from my sister after that!

The Capitol Classic

Kendall participated in her first fun run.  It was one mile from the Depot to the State Capitol.  Kevin dropped us off at the start.  He and Sidney went to the farmer's market to pass the time until the race began.

The race was VERY well organized.  The boys lined up in front, oldest to youngest.  The girls lined up second, oldest to youngest.  They had the music blasting and water to keep everyone hydrated.   

They had a "mock" life flight helicopter from St. Alphonsus.  The college cheerleaders were also there to get everyone amped up.

Just before the race, they walked the boys group down to the official start.

Once the boys were off, they walked the ladies down to the start. 

Kendall met up with two of her friends.  Leave it to Kendall to identify a few of her friends in the crowd.

The cheerleaders led the runners in one last hoo-rah before the race began!

And, the runners were off!  Kendall was pretty excited that she got to high five some of the motorcycle cops that were lined up along the course.

I noticed a little bit of extra pep in her step as she got closer to the finish line.  The cheers of the crowd made her light on her feet, and she crossed the finish line strong. 

After the race, they had a great kids fair with lots of food and good times.

 

All of the finishers received a medal. 

Sidney was Kendall's biggest fan and trained for the race with her.  Next year Sidney will be old enough to race if she wants to.  The two sisters posed for a picture in front of the capitol.  It was a gorgeous day! 

Many of the racers gathered on the capitol steps for a post race picture.  In Kevin's words, "Kendall is the one in orange."  It was a great event.  Kendall already has plans to do it again next year.

So proud of this girl!

 

Women, girls...females of all ages, shapes, and sizes.  We are INCREDIBLY hard on each other!  I suppose I might be jumping on my soap box, but I really hope that I can make a small impact on this reality.  I try to talk very openly to my girls and educate them on their bodies.  I want them to understand and be comfortable with their body parts and what each one of them are designed to do.  We talk about how different foods helps our bodies.  We also talk about how other foods are not neccessarily healthy for us, but they are good for the soul (think chocolate)!  We try to stay active and strong. 

I have talked to them about encouraging others and commenting only when we have nice things to say.  We talk about how there are times when we wish we were taller, shorter, blond haired, curly haired, straight haired, etc, but that ultimately we are healthy and should learn to be happy with what God has decided to give us.  We joke that if we all looked alike it would be very creepy.

However, society is constantly telling them something else.  Society is constantly telling all of us something else.  A few weeks back Kendall told me about one of her classmates that was sad at school, because she thought she was fat.  Seriously, these are first graders!  We talked at length about how she could encourage her friend and how sad it was that such a young girl was concerned about that.

Then about a week later, the girls and I were getting ready to go to the swimming pool.  Kendall and Sidney were in the laundry room getting their swimsuits on.  I heard Kendall say to Sid, "Man Sid, we are getting fat".  I opened the door and asked her to repeat what she said.  She repeated herself then told me, "I am just kidding."  I told her that I was not mad at her but those kind of remarks are very hurtful whether joking or not.  The three of us sat down and talked for a few minutes about how women of all ages put so many pressures on each other.    I love a good gossip magazine, but one month they are bashing a star for being too fat.  The next month, the magazine bashes that star for losing weight and now they are too skinny.  Seriously? 

It was a great conversation.  We talked about how off handed comments can stay with people for years.  At one point, Kendall asked me if I ever struggled with liking myself.  I was very honest and told her that as a young girl, I made the mistake of listening to society and have always been very hard on myself.  I also told her that no one taught me any differently.  As an adult, I have worked very hard to "unlearn" those self deprecating thoughts.

Then, my sweet Sidney piped in to share a story of her own.  She told us that she was at the pool a few days earlier and there was a woman that had her t-shirt on over her swim suit.  It was a very hot day, and she innocently asked this woman why she was keeping her t-shirt on.  The woman told her, "Because I am fat."  Sidney replied to the woman, "No.  You are not fat.  You are beautiful."  The story nearly made my eyes water.  What a sweet girl!  I truly hope that I will raise confident young women that will continue to encourage others.

Hole in one and the fire shooting tiki god.

Kevin has started working on his Masters Degree for Education Administration.  As a result of this change, the girls and I have been keeping ourselves pretty busy lately.  We went miniature golfing and bumper boating a few weeks ago.  Kendall scored a hole in one while golfing.  So did I (but who is bragging?). 

Sidney made it about 2/3 of the way through, then she decided to walk the rest of the course. 

At the end of the course, the most unexpected thing happened.  In hindsight, it really should not have been unexpected.  The last hole has a tiki god that you try to putt your ball into.  Kendall managed to get the ball right down the middle.  The next thing we knew, the statue's eyes turned red and smoke and fire came out of his head.  Sidney went running!  She literally screamed and hid behind a bush.  Kendall then tried to hit my ball in.  The next time she was a bit off center and the tiki god spit water on her.  A little creepy, really, but lots of fun.  Here is a representation of what the tiki god looked like.

 

Next up, we did the bumper boats.  Sid and I got into the first boat, then we got right back out.  She did not think I would follow the rules and was concerned that we would sink.  Boy, where does she get that idea???  The second time around she had a little more faith in me, and we ended up soaked (but not from sinking). 

 

Kendall was a natural, she had a great time trying to spray everybody.

Did the early bird catch the worm?

The garden is in!  I did a number of vegetables in pots this year.  Last year I had put my tomatoes and herbs in pots.  This year I added bell peppers to the mix. 

Rebecca had given me a bunch of pea and sugar snap pea starts.  I planted them in the spot that I usually put my annual flowers (not pictured).  We got a cute little trellis for the plants to climb.  I have never tried peas, but I am excited to see how they do.

The garden looks a little bit empty.  I have to keep reminding myself at how overcrowded the garden became last year.  I am trying eggplant this year.  We grew it in the church garden last year.  I was amazed how easy it was and how well it did.

Our yard has a TON of worms, huge worms - everywhere!  As we were digging the soil for the plants, the girls were gathering up a few worms to play with.

Kendall was acting a bit silly and pretended to eat one of her worms.

The girls put a few worms and some soil in a plastic cup.  They watched them closely for the evening.  The next morning Sidney woke up and ran outside to check on the worms.  She came back in and exclaimed that one of the worms were gone, "The early bird must have come and taken Kendall's worm!"  Upon further investigation, the worm had just dug itself down into the dirt.

Popcorn, Sunflower Seeds and Popsicles (of course)!

These are just a few of the snacks that the girls and I enjoyed during the state baseball tournament last weekend.  It was a very exciting weekend.  My brother-in-law was not really expecting that his team would make it to the state tournament this year.  They are a pretty young team, and the competition had been fierce.  To top it off, his team was having a VERY hard time working together.  The dynamic started to change about a month ago and districts went well.  He made the trip to Boise last week for the state tournament.  I was on a work trip but made it home just in time to watch the semi-final game on Friday night.  My sister usually takes this opportunity to have a mini-vacation to come and support the team, but also to hang out with her big sis (me, of course)!  This year she was not able to get the time off work.  Kevin, I and the girls met up with Jason's parents and our nephew Dylan to watch the game.  It was a real nail biter.  The game was nearly 3 hours long and ended with a final score of 16-10 with Lakeland Hawks making the championship game.  Wow!

The first thing Kevin said to me as we left the game (at 10 pm) was, "I bet your sister comes down."  Sure enough, I picked her and Hallie up at the airport the next morning.  Her boss insisted that she fly down.  The game was scheduled for 4 pm on Saturday.  It was down to the top two teams! 

 

Jason met with the officials and the opposing coach.  Let the games begin!

Here is the fan lineup...

Kevin - Athletic Director responsible for obtaining the practice field's 

Stephanie - Super supportive coaches wife

Dylan - Up and coming star pitcher

Rob and Carol - Proud parents of the head coach

Sidney, Kendall and Hallie - Cheerleaders, hairdressers and major snack eaters!

They played tough.  They played with their heart.  They took a VERY respectable second in the entire state!  I know the players were disappointed.  It is tough to play in a game like that and not win.  It is still a huge accomplishment, but to them going out on a win would have tasted so much sweeter.  They should be very proud of how far they came this year.  They rocked that tournament!  And the bonus, I got to spend 24 hours with my sister!  

Having a Bit of Fun.

Random happenings...

 

There is a new outdoor mall in town.  This mall is like no other.  They seem to always have something fun going on.  My mother-in-law dragged us to it a few weeks ago.  I am so glad she did!  They had face painting (which we missed by 5 minutes), balloon animals, an outdoor concert, a water "light" show and a petting zoo.  Sidney adored the petting zoo.  In fact, she went into it all by herself and played with the animals for quite some time.  

Kendall held this cute little duck.  After that, it was hard to pull her away to do anything else.

 

We have had a few rain showers this spring.  Sidney's favorite activity?  Dancing in the rain! 

Hannah came over for Easter with the most beautiful, bouncy curls.  Rebecca said that she had used sponge rollers.  The girls and I gave it a shot.  Kendall had a rare moment of shyness and would not let me take her picture.  Here is Sidney with a head full of rollers.  I should have taken an after shot, but did not.  The curlers worked great though!

Kendall and I just goofing around, posing like rock stars.  Cannot take yourself too seriously, right?  Photo courtesy of Sidney (and she did not even cut off our heads).