Lucy's first soccer experience

Let me tell you about Lucy's first experience with soccer. It started off iffy but by the 2nd to last practice she was all about it.

She was all excited about playing. We even went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got her the soccer package which included a ball, shin guards, cleats, and socks. She was all set! We even found her some silky pink soccer shorts from Goodwill. Everything was awesome...and then came time to take her to her first practice. Trey was working so I took her and Ruby with me. It was a cold and drizzly day but they still went on with practice. Lucy just hugged my hip the whole time, would barely touch the ball or look at her coach. Poor thing gets so anxious around new people and situations. It was frustrating as a mom because I know she could do all the stuff they were practicing, she was just choosing not to participate. So after that day I talked to her about it and she said she would do better next week.

The next week rolled around and it was more of the same. And the week after that too. Ugh. Trey even tried the next week and he came home and said "That was the most frustrating thing ever!" We asked her if she even wanted to go the week after and she was unsure. Then Trey had the idea of asking our friend to come pick her up and take her. She liked that idea. So Melissa came over and picked Lucy up and an hour later brought her back. I asked Melissa how it went and she started raving, "Lucy is a natural! She was running for the ball and she even scored a goal!!" Whaaaaat?? That little stinker was totally holding out on us. For some reason when Trey or I were there, she got all shy. She's been like that for a lot of things though. It works so much better if we just drop her off and say "Have fun!" So I talked to her after and she was all smiles and said she LOVED soccer. Ha ha ha! I knew she would, she just had to give it a chance. I'm so glad she did! Although I'm quite bummed that I wasn't even there to see her first goal!

The next week, which was the last week, she wanted us to drop her off and leave. So we pretended like we did but then hung back in the car and in the shade so she couldn't really see us. Trey got a bunch of pics of her playing, it made me so happy to watch her try!

 

Some action shots...

Here is her cute little team, the Blue Dolphins. Her coach was so great.

I'm so glad we ended on a high note. Hopefully next year she'll be able to pick up where she left off with no fear.

Lucy is 5!!

We sure love this girl to pieces. I still can't believe she is 5!!!

We were lucky to have Hilary and Dennen pass through on Lucy's birthday and join in on the celebration. She had a friend party a few days later so we didn't do anything crazy. The day was fun though, we went to Little Caesars and got a pizza and went to this awesome park by our house called Preston's Hope Playground. We ate our pizza at the park and then played for hours. Then Hilary and Dennen showed up and we went out to dinner at one of Lucy's favorite restaurants, Old Carolina. They have amazing bbq there. After we made a stop at Giant Eagle for some donuts, also one of Lucy's favorite things, and brought them home to make a donut cake so she could blow her five candles out. Easiest cake ever and everyone was happy!

She got a new bike! She loves how fast she can go on it. Hilary and Dennen were so cute, they brought her a bunch of fun little presents to open (including that wild headband she's sporting) and that awesome tye dye birthday balloon. Those Fraziers are kind of the best. How spesh was it that Lucy's godparents were there on her birthday. :)

I think she was happy with her day.

And then a few days later came the Hamster party. Yup, no type error there, she requested a Hamster party with all of her friends from preschool and neighbors. We had it at her favorite park, Horseshoe Park. It wasn't anything fancy (I just didn't have the energy, it was the busiest week ever!!) but the kids seemed like they were having a good time. I love how easy to please kids are.

This girl was pretty excited about the Ham Ham cakes.

 Being sung to...

 And we have success! Blew out all the candles her first try. Woohoo!!



Then she opened her presents.

The kids played and the adults chatted. It turned out to be a perfect day. The kids also made their own hamsters out of pom poms and I painted the kids faces like hamsters or whatever they wanted. Lucy thought it was "the best party ever!" Yay! I'm glad she loved it. And it was a fun surprise to have Amber Wood and her kids out visiting so they could come to the party too. It's so fun seeing old friends!
Then later after we cleaned up and went home, our neighbors had a grand idea to go to Chagrin Falls for the evening. We ate dinner and then caravanned up. They took us on the scenic route, which was gorgeous!! It's been raining a lot here so everything is so so green. It was just beautiful.
We went down by the falls and snapped some pics of the kids. The girls just love their BFF Caleb.

We walked along the river and visited the scene of the crime where my mom fell in the river. So sad but so funny. It wouldn't be so funny if she got hurt but luckily she had some guardian angels looking out for her and she was fine, just a little embarrassed. :)
We found the fun park and let the kids play and just chatted and enjoyed the evening. It was perfect.

This girl was crazypants. It was such a fun time. Aaaand we have the coolest neighbors. We love those Hodges.

Grandma Darley

My amazing grandma aka Grandma Darley aka Grandma Great passed away on May 20, 2014. About 6 months before we found out she developed multiple myeloma (cancer of your plasma cells). Her health slowly started declining. My mom would give me weekly updates over the phone as to how Grandma was doing in her final months of life. My mom and her sisters took such great care of Grandma. She was able to stay in her home and my aunt Brenda, who lived next door, came down every morning to check on her and help her. During the last few months they decided to hire a hospice because things were getting worse and Brenda couldn't be there all the time. It sounds like they took such great care of her as well.
What a special lady my grandma is! Here is her obituary that was printed in the Herald Journal.

She was such a warm and caring person. She was always there to greet me with a big hug and a kiss on my cheek, which always left a mark from her lipstick. She loved everyone! She loved being outside and walking. Grandma loved to walk everywhere. She always had so much energy and was so full of life. And so young at heart. She was always up for an adventure and always had a smile on her face. I will always remember this little sticky note she had posted on her bathroom mirror for years and years that read "I intend to be happy". She chose to be happy, and she really was.
She was always so stylish and loved to go shopping! I like to think I inherited my love for shopping from her. My mom tells me it skipped a generation because she doesn't enjoy it very much.:) She loved going to St. George every winter. I loved going down there to visit her and go hiking and shopping with her.
I really love that she was such a big Jazz fan. If there was a Jazz game on, she was watching it. My parents and Aunt Nan and Uncle Scott would take her to Jazz games sometimes and she would get into it. One time the Jazz Bear came over to her, picked her up, and carried her over to an empty chair right next to Larry Miller's son on the front row! Best day of her life! How cute is that!
Grandma loved flowers. She also loved birds. I always think of her as I sit with my girls and watch the birds gather at our bird feeder in the backyard. She always loved gardening and felt happy out in her yard digging in the dirt. I feel the same way.

Grandma loved her mountains. Her and Archie lived in the same house their whole life together!! That is amazing! Trey and I haven't even been married 8 years yet and we've lived in 5 different places already. I have so many sweet memories of family gatherings, Easter egg hunts, Thanksgivings, Christmases, Memorial Days, and Labor Day festivities in that sweet pink little house on the corner.

 

 

 

 

It's strange to say she was my last living grandparent. I no longer have a grandma's house to go visit when I go to Cache Valley and that makes me sad. I always looked forward to our visits. She always made every person who walked through her front door feel special and loved. No judgements whatsoever. She loved when I brought Trey over to meet her for the first time. His hair was long and curly then and she was in love with it! She just gushed and gushed over it and Trey thought it was great. He said she immediately made him feel welcome and accepted, even if he wasn't the most clean cut boy in the world.

One of my favorite things grandma would always say is "We are so blessed." She would say that multiple times at gatherings as she would stop and look at all her kids and grandkids and great-grandkids, her greatest blessings and treasures.

I could go on and go about all this woman's wonderful qualities. What a inspiring example of charity. She loved people and she loved life. You could tell that she knew the Savior by the way she lived her life. And I know the reunion of her and Grandpa Archie was so sweet and special. When I envision that joyous reunion it's hard not to be happy for her that she is free from her old body and earthly cares and reunited with her sweetheart.
I love you Grandma. I miss you. Wellsville will never quite be the same without you. I rejoice in the fact that I know I get to see you and be with you again and you'll be waiting for me with open arms to give me a great big hug and a kiss.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Goodbye Preschool!

Lucy just finished her 2nd year of preschool! Next stop, Kindergarten! Ahhhh!! I'm totally freaking out about this, hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be more okay with sending her away to ALL DAY Kindergarten! That's a pretty big jump for us folks. I bet Lucy will do great and I'll be the one having a hard time.
Anyway...back to the day. Lucy did great at the Jeopardy game they played and got all her answers right! Smart cookie right there.
Here are a few pics I snapped on my regular camera. Everything else is on my phone, as per usual.

 Of course we had to get a few silly poses in.

 Ruby wanted in.

 Here is her little class of 6 and Miss Jen, her teacher. She had such a great year and was always so excited to go. She loves learning and playing with friends. :)

Good job Lucy girl! We're proud of you.

Ruby is 2!!

Me: "Ruby, how old are you?"
Ruby: "I twoooooo!" (in the most excited voice possible)

Oh my goodness, I could just eat this girl up. She is just too cute for her own good. She turned two on May 22! Can you believe it?! Yeah, me neither!! My baby is not so much of a baby anymore. I love this age so much. She is too funny with all the little things she says these days. Her favorite things to say lately are "I did it!!!", "Need help!", "Watch!" (and then she'll do something funny), "(insert food item here) too?" (when Lucy is eating something Ruby wants). She'll also say "I happy!" several times a day, so sweet. Today when I was getting her out of her car seat for church she wiggled her legs and said "I excited!" Trey also does this thing with her where he says "Guess what...chicken butt!" So now she's learned, he'll say "Guess what?" and she'll say "Chicken pie" or "Chicken tie (meaning thigh)" or basically "chicken" and then anything she feels like saying. Then it turns into a game with everyone.

She was so cute on her birthday. I hung up a bunch of decorations, balloons, streamers, and happy birthday signs the night before so when she woke up it would be a surprise. She was so happy! She kept saying "My birthday!" and jump up and down excitedly. :)

Here is a list of her current favorites:

Food: yogurt n berries (only blueberries for Rubes)

Color: purple

Movie: Curious George

TV show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood

Song: "Top of the World (Hey!)" by Imagine Dragons and "Happy" by Pharrell Williams

Book: Milo's Special Words and anything by Sandra Boynton

Place: This girl loves going to ALDI, it's kind of funny. Also loves the library, to visit the fishies.

Things to do: riding her strider bike (she's rocking it!), playing pretend with Lucy, dancing, singing in the karaoke machine, painting, playing with playdoh, playing outside in the yard, helping mom with anything, finding "pollies" (potato bugs), say hi to the neighborhood dogs and cats, painting toenails, and the list goes on.

This girl can count to 10 and recognizes all the numbers, although 6 and 9 confuse her sometimes. She recognizes quite a few of her letters. She loves to give kisses and hugs to me throughout the day. It melts me every time. She loves to play and be silly. She gets so excited about everything, it makes me smile. She loves to wrestle with Lucy and puts up with a lot. She almost always has a cute little smile on her face. She is definitely more mischievous than Lucy ever was. It's really hard to say no to her with those big blue eyes of hers, and she knows it. Little stinker! I'm still sticking with my puppy analogy with her because it is pretty spot on. She is such a little puppy (and Lucy is definitely our cat).

She brings us so much joy everyday. I'm so thankful I get to be her mama. I seriously don't know how we got so lucky so have 2 such special little girls in our family. Being their mom is an honor, even though sometimes they drive me bonkers. :) The happy moments always melt away all of the bad ones.

Here are a few of my favorites of Ruby over the past year...

Trying out her birthday scooter from Gma Robbie and Gpa Chuck

This girl always has the most glorious and voluminous bed head!

 Using sissy's camera

 She always has that special little sparkle in her eye

 Love this girl in some piggies. Posing by our thankful tree this past year.

Crazy dress up time with Lucy aka "fashion show"

 And of course some sister wrestling matches are a must.

 Rompers are my favorite on this girl.

 

 This is the oldest one, not too soon after we moved to Cleveland. Her hair has grown a lot!

Happy 2nd birthday Miss Ruby!!!