Honoring a Hero.

One of our shipmates from VXE-6, Ronny, made a beautiful shadow box with Kevin's medals and ribbons as a gift to our family. 

The Hummingbirds Have Arrived.

I have been faithfully refreshing the hummingbird food and waiting with bated breath for them to return.  FINALLY they came back.  The girls find it fascinating that such a little flying creature can bring such great joy.  It is awesome to watch them fly in for a bit of nectar!

Avery had Kendall, Sid and Paige over for a Descendant's 3 premier party.  I decided to crash the party as well.  Good times!

Sidney is still hard at work making and selling her bandanas.  Alfred looks pretty dapper in his navy blue bandana!

This game is pure silliness.  Why...would...you?

I took Avery and the girls to CATS the Musical.  It was absolutely awesome.  I was not sure how well the girls would like it.  I do not think they were sure either.  In the end, they could not stop talking about it.  I would count that as a win.

I love my job.  We had a meeting in San Diego earlier this month.  The guy on the left, Jaime, always finds the coolest places to eat.  Here we are at Trailer Park After Dark.  It literally felt as if I had stepped back in time to high school.  

I managed to sneak away one of the evenings to do yoga by the roof top pool.  It was a beautiful 70 degree evening with the sun setting.  I was definitely in my happy place!

It is an HONOR to be their Mother.

The girls asked me to jump into some of their school pictures this year.  No brainer, of course!  It was a lot of fun spending time with each of them.

Sid the Kid: 5th Grade

Sidney has grown in spirit so much this summer.  It is good to see her letting herself shine!

The Middle School Years: 7th Grade

This girl is truly something.  She has a larger than life personality and I love every ounce of her.  These pictures capture her spirit. 

Though I may not like this yellow shirt, I LOVE the young lady wearing it.  It says "I'm not shy" on the front, and "I just don't like you" on the back.  I followed the philosophy of 'pick your battles' on this one.  If this is the worst thing I have to worry about, I am doing pretty good!

How did she do that?

4H, Funnel Cakes and Fair.

The girls have finished their first year of 4H.  It was a ton of work and a ton of reward.  They experienced their first fair.  The girls met with the other club members to decorate their booth the week of the fair.  Sidney was in charge of making the banner.  Kendall was in charge of putting the historian book together.  All of the girls did a fantastic job.

The girls dressed up and participated in 4H judges interviews.  They prepared and did an outstanding job.  Sidney even won the junior division overall record book award.

Three of the 'City Stitchers' decided to participate in the fashion revue.  It was such an awesome confidence building event.  The lady that ran the event was amazing and helped all of the girls feel at ease during their practice.  The day of the show, they rocked it!

The girls earned a blue ribbon for their fashion narrative and runway style.

We spent a long full day at the fair.  When it was time for dinner, Sidney chose a steak quesadilla from Basilios.  Her first words were 'it is huge'.  She managed to put it all away and looked like she was sleep eating.

We rode the sky ride, which is a gondola that goes over the fairgrounds end to end.  I loved watching all the activity down below.  It was also great for scoping out our next food stop.

Grandma Karen is absolutely afraid of heights, but somehow Grandma Terrell talked her into riding.  The girls and I were shocked to see them as we were on our way back.  

We managed to devour a funnel cake in about 30 seconds flat.  I was embarrassed when Bill stopped by with his family to say hello.  I was sure he had witnessed the funnel cake massacre!

Surrounded By Family.

I cannot even begin to tell you how such a horrible, life changing year can become one of such great healing.  Anyone who knows our family or reads this blog understands that the past few years of our lives have been incredibly challenging, and yet incredibly special at the same time.  My faith has been challenged like no other.  My strength has been challenged like no other.  As I reflect on our lives, I see that God has done miraculous things through all of this.  I know that may sound strange given all that we have been through, but it is true.  

When Kevin got sick, we were told 12 months.  We received a gift of four years.  Kevin was able to live a fulfilling life right up until the end.  We had an opportunity to make memories and live life as if there was no tomorrow.  Even in his death, there were miracles.  He did not suffer.  We did not suffer watching him suffer.  When it was time for him to go, he did so very quickly.  God has continued to perform miracles in our lives.  I will not go into great detail, but I know that he is in control.  I am a worrier.  My friend joked and said she would rather call it an "extreme planner".  I have learned that life is fragile.  I have also learned that I should not worry so much.  If I let go for a minute, wonderful things can and will happen.  

One of those wonderful miracles was to have my parents move down here.  This is truly something that no one human could have made happen.  Many people gave up many things.  The path was clearly paved.  Their house sold day one, full price cash offer.  My dad got a job the first day he went looking.  A dream job for him.  They are building a house, three miles from me, three tenths of a mile from Terrell.  The house has also been a miracle.  Let me tell you that story some day.  My mother in law, Terrell, is a huge part of our lives.  She moved here 7 years ago and has been the primary care giver for our daughters.  Our granny nanny.  She loves her job.  We love her in that job.  Now she will have backup.  I am free to keep doing the job that I love.  My daughters will be surrounded by people they love and that love them.  You are probably thinking that I am seeing the world through rose colored glasses.  I am not.  Life is hard.  It will continue to have its challenges.  However, I do understand what is important in life.  It is the every day little things.  

Here is the countdown we put on our whiteboard the week before my parents arrived.  I was putting check marks.  Sidney erased them and found something even better.

 My parents, Dylan and Jason caravan-ed to Boise.  Two Uhauls, two vehicles, two dogs and a travel trailer.

 What took two days to load in North Idaho only took two hours to unload into a storage unit. 

The dogs have been getting along great.  They have been playing hard and sleeping even harder.

My dad has been keeping me busy on the course.

My mom even tried her hand at mini golf.

Sidney took them on a hike the first week they were here.  She raced up the hill and mocked them incessantly.