Diver!

So this guy decided that this year he would join the dive team. He loves it so much and had his first meet last week!
He was a little nervous with so many watching, but he did really great and got 8th place overall. We were so proud and tired because we had to be there at 7 am on a Saturday!
Here he is at practice doing his back dive. He can now do a back flip and loves it!
Getting ready to go. Oh by the way his most favorite part is the new trunks he gets to wear. All the boys have them they are like biker shorts and he wants to wear them every time he swims now:) Love you buddy~

Splash park

We got to meet up with our cousins today at the splash park before it got tooooo hot! It was a great time and uncle Aaron was awesome and got in the water too!
Playing with buckets and water guns and enjoying being kids!
Fill up those buckets and go dump them on uncle Aaron!
We took a break to play with Mya's baby and get out some treasures from the bag!!!!! We always have a bag of something.
We picked up some doughnuts on the way and the girls got pink sprinkle -their favorite!!!!!
Love a sweet face like that she was in paradise! What a perfect morning for the start of a new week!

Breakfast with beauty!

Last week we went to a great surprise Breakfast with Beauty and the Beast! Mya and Whitney's all time movie is with Belle so it was perfect!
We invited one of our friends too and cousins so it was a great time. Mrs. Potts and chip wanted a last pic.
The performers were with a musical theater group and sang and the girls were in awe the whole time. Mya loved Belle and kept saying she was so pretty!
Cogsworth and Lumiere were so sweet too. They were so great playing the part and talked to the kids a lot. We got front row seats and the girls went up and danced on stage when they were done singing.
Breakfast was ok but the show was the best part. It was all free due to a sponsor and we had the best time! In a couple weeks we will have to go back to see princess week!
Syd and Shayne loved it too!

Mya was of course staring the whole time and couldn't stop talking about it all day!

Cub scout camp

So this year was Jaxson's first time to go to scout camp and he had a blast!!!! He said he wants to go everyday of the summer! He go to do lots of boy stuff and had lots of fun too. Water balloon fights and water fights were one of the things that made it not so hot.
He loved the archery and had never done this before so he was really proud. By the 3rd day he said he hit the target and was so happy!
Dinner time and he is still smiling. I got to go the first day with him and what a VERY hot time it was. We walked and walked a lot and tried to get sprayed with water as much as possible but it was at a campground with lots of dirt and not much shade!
The opening with a space theme. RObots and space ships and sprays with the hose made it really fun.
So happy to be there and wear a space suit! The boys were really good and made it fun for me too!
All dressed up in their uniforms and hats! They had to wear them all day for 3 days and they were gone till 11 every night so mom had to get washin every morning to try to start fresh every day. What great memories and we can't wait till next year!

Happiness~ in my bank account

A 92-year-old man is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, neatly shaven and with his hair fashionably combed, even though he is legally blind. He moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'

'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.

Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.

Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is
arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I have already decided to love it.

'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice;
I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the
parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in your bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank.
I am still depositing.

'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Girls week!

So we have been all girls all week! Jaxson and Dad went on the boys trip to Missouri and are having the best time fishing and bonding:) While they are gone girls will be girls playing dress up and having sleep overs!
More dress up, actually this is a daily occurrence finding a ensemble that is usually for winter still. We haven't mastered summer outfits yet so we throw a little of this and that in the mix. Mya's masterpiece of the day!
Another sweet outfit but much more appropriate! We spent time at the water slash park with friends, west gate with cousins, pool days at our own house with friends, and lots of lunch and dinner dates, oh and also summer movies has started and we went to that too!
It has been a full week of "gil time " as Mya would say. We have had our ups and downs of course and I am really ready for my sweet husband to come back. I don't know what I would do without a partner to help and be there to discipline, feed, bathe, drive places, talk to, and help with bedtime. I sure wouldn't be the best mom by myself all the time I have prayed for patience everyday. I sure love these girls and the special week we were able to share but I will be so happy to see my sweet boys and hear about all of the cool stuff they did and saw! Updates to come!

Summer is here

Well school is out and summer is in full swing! We had a great water/out of school party at our house on Thursday which was a lot of fun with ALOT of people but the more the merrier at this house I think:) We had a celebratory ice cream date and a later than normal bedtime with no homework or schedule to worry about the next day. Friday the kids had a play date with some of our great friends and mommy got off work early to hang out and help Aunt Molly get ready for camp. The kids enjoyed the beautiful outdoors and spending time with their cousins. Saturday we had a little time organizing and purging of toys and clothes. The kids weren't very happy about this but they obliged and then we were off for some family time with lunch and shopping and Daddy's final softball game which they lost but it was still really sad considering they were undefeated:( We had a great day at church today with early stake conference and now the house is calm and still while everyone is resting. I am so grateful for my ordinary days to spend with my sweet children and husband. I am grateful for the glimpses of pure joy that I see throughout the day as my son gets so excited with helping his dad get fishing poles ready for their big Missouri trip tomorrow, or my sweet 2 year old who tried to make cookies by herself and poured almost the whole bottle of vanilla in the bowl ( good thing I noticed before everything else went in) and then asking for a "yick" to taste of the sweetness of cookie dough. I am joyful to see a little 5 year old sound asleep on the couch with a faint smile on her face as she dreams of something great.
Today is just another day but makes a difference in my life because I don't know when my last ordinary day will be and I will miss this all too soon when these kids are grown and gone and I will have a quiet sad heart! Have a great normal day everyone!