Montana - First trip

My parents came up during the first week of our two week trip to Montana, so the second week we had a few things we wanted to do with the girls. The most exciting thing for the girls was going fishing and their horse camp!! We totally struck out when we were fishing. We had a few nibbles, but no real bites. It was such a bummer. But, it was fun and beautiful, so we couldn't complain too much. 

This year, the girls were SO excited about horse camp. They had a blast, and it couldn't make me happier. It is pricey, but so worth it. I like that we have found our Montana activity. Horses are so expensive, and the girls would love to take lessons year round, so I like having the excuse that we save horse riding for when we go to Montana. Saves me money, the girls look forward to it every year, and it is exciting because it is "new"! Win win! I love it so much. Seeing them in their gear, prepping the horses and riding is the most adorable thing. We love love love it!

Nana & Pops come to Montana

Oh my heaven, we had the best time with my parents in Montana!! They came up for just a few days, but they were filled to the max. They spent a couple days in Jackson Hole, then we met in the middle in Yellowstone. It was a long day, but we had so much fun. My dad loves Yellowstone, and he was a great tour guide. The girls couldn't be better travelers. The drive up to Montana is really long, but they do great...it's me who struggles the most with the drive! So, I was worried about taking them on another longer drive, but they were great! It was such a fun day!

The next day, my dad went golfing and the girls went out to lunch, shopping, and then took the girls to the pool. Later that night, we went to dinner with an old friend of my parents. It was a super fancy restaurant which wasn't the greatest for the girls, but it was good to go and spend the evening with their friends. 

The next day, while Anton worked, we went to the Museum of the Rockies. It is such a great museum, we love going there. After the museum, we met up with Anton for lunch & then went our seperate ways for a couple hours so my parents could go to an Art Gallery and such. During that time, Claire climbed in her bed and fell asleep. She NEVER takes naps...fun filled days were wearing her out! Later that evening we me up and took my parents to our favorite chicken place and then went back to our place and played games. Game night with them always provides a lot of laughs!  

It was a blast to have them, and it sounds silly, but I was really sad when they left because it was so fun. I know we probably won't get them to come up again next year, but hopefully they will make it up again in a few years! 

End of school

It is always sad to say goodbye to another great year at the school. My girls have had nothing but wonderful experiences at school, and I hope every year is as happy as the last. Their teachers were perfect for them, and Lilly in particular was sad to say goodbye. Both girls did really well this year in school, and improved in almost all subjects.. Unfortunately for Lilly, she takes after her Mom. She struggled in Math, but toward the end of the year she had improved quite a bit more, but is going to need some extra help. It breaks my heart because she takes it so hard that she isn't the "best" at something, so in some aspects it is a good lesson for her to learn. We will get a handle on it, so hopefully next year will be better.

End of year activities are always so much fun! I think I was at the school every day that last week helping with something. I love volunteering at the school & being involved with whats going on. I was offered a job to work in the front office, and decided a few weeks ago that it would be really fun, so I said yes! I am really looking forward to it! When I took the job, everyone was SO sweet and wanted to welcome me to the "family". I was so worried about getting depressed with my girls being in school, and me being home alone all day...so this is going to be great. I will only work 2 1/2 days a week, and it is the same hours of the girls. Wish me luck!

Lilly won this award for reading the most Beehive Books in the class. I was so proud of her!!

Lilly's class had a book report day, and it was so cute. I went in a few days before and helped the kids put their boards together, so it was fun to see it all set up. Lilly chose to do her report on one of The Never Girls books that she loves. Sometimes I am reminded of how little she still is, and it warms my heart. I love her more than anything!

Claire had something every day the last month of school. They went through the alphabet, so each day had a different theme. This day was something about wearing a funny outfit...and this is what she chose. I love this girl!

Field day is the best!! The kids love the games, and the PTA goes all out with snow cones, music, games & they have the fire dept come and spray all the kids with the hose. It was Claire's first time participating in Field Day, and she had a blast. One of the other moms said to me that she wanted to cry it was so fun...that made me laugh. But it is true, I love how the school tries to make the best experiences for the kids. It is a great school!

Afterward we had to do our traditional snow cone run after school!

Phone Pictures from May

Anton's parents were so sweet, and came into town for Lilly's baptism. We took them out to dinner, and had such a great time. The girls were in heaven!

On the day of our family picture, Lilly woke up like this. Great. Pink eye in both eyes and sick as a dog. Luckily, I just got the proofs back, and the pictures turned out great! I felt terrible for her though!

My years of being a life guard and not wearing enough sunscreen has now paid off. I went in to have a little bump looked at, and the dermatologist was certain it was nothing but asked me if I wanted to have a biopsy done on it. I am glad I chose to have it biopsied because it came back as cancer. They had to remove a lot of tissue and skin. I was surprised how much they took out. The bummer is now that I have had one skin cancer, I will most likely get more, so I have to go to the doctor every six months to have them check for them. Anton was out of town, so my mom kind of stepped in because I couldn't move my arm much for fear of opening up the incision. She brought dinner, chocolate cake and my cute Dad brought flowers. I have a good scar, but thankfully it is fading quickly!

I had to take this picture because it was one of those "What am I going to do when you start school" moments. I can't handle her cuteness!

One of my very favorite things to do is walk the dogs up to the school and pick up the girls. The puppies are always SO excited to see the girls, and it is so fun to chat with them about their day on our walk home. Life is so sweet!

Our favorite girl got engaged!! We love this couple so much, and are SO excited for them! They came and showed us her ring the night it happened. Claire is a little bummed that Chandler is taken now :) 

We are so excited & the girls are looking forward to being flower girls!

Baby Charlotte is our favorite! We were so excited to babysit her for a few minutes!

Lilly's baptism

My heart is full of love and gratitude for these two. Lilly's baptism was such a special day. Even she felt it, and became emotional. She looked so beautiful and just radiated happiness! We were missing so many people, and even though we were small in numbers, it was really sweet. Both of her Grandma's gave the perfect talks, Anton did a great job with the baptism, and my Dad gave her the sweetest blessing. Afterward he told me he was trying so hard to hold it together, and not get too emotional. It was hard to not get a little misty eyed during & afterward. 

We will never forget this special day!! 

Lilly turns 8!

Lilly is 8! Oh man, this was a milestone birthday - and one I hope she will never forget. She cried and cried when I put her to bed because she didn't want her birthday to end. It was such a perfect day!

That morning we woke up, had breakfast and opened some presents. She was super excited about her radio, and has used it non stop since! She didn't have a lot of presents to open because she chose to get her ears pierced, so that was one of her gifts from us. She got to take donuts to school - they had pink & orange sprinkles - her favorite! And, I checked her out of school and took her to lunch, she chose bagels. It was short day at school, so as soon as she got out of school, we took her to go get her ears pierced. She was super nervous, and thought it hurt a little bit, but afterward she was all smiles! After that, we went and picked Anton up from the airport and let her choose where she wanted to go for dinner. We told her she could go anywhere she wanted and she chose Del Taco! Such a funny girl! Right after dinner, we headed to Jungle Book. As soon as we got home, we were all stuffed from popcorn so we didn't even have any cake. But, we did have to light the candles and sing to her...because you have to do that on your actual birthday! It was such a fun day, and I am so thrilled she had such a happy day. 

My Lilly is truly one of the sweetest little girls. I am so proud of the person she is growing up to be. She has some quirks that make us laugh, but truly, she is the sweetest, happiest and most fun little girl. We constantly talk about how lucky we are to have healthy and sweet little girls. We are certainly blessed! She is one of my greatest blessings. I love you Lilly Bug!!

Soccer & Skating

Claire really really really wanted to try out soccer, so I signed her up through the rec center, and no surprise....she absolutely loved it. She smiled about 80% of the game, the other 20% she was seriously focused. One thing we thought was funny about Claire when she played is, she never ever placed offense, but was always on defense. As soon as the other team would start heading to our goal, she would rush up and play goalie. I am pretty sure we were the worst team in the whole league, but hey, that didn't stop the kids from having a blast. There was only one day where the weather didn't cooperate, which is saying something for it being spring soccer. She really wanted me to sign her up for summer soccer, but with all the other activities going on in the summer, I think we will wait until fall. I am glad she loved it so much!!

The day of Claire's first soccer game, was Lilly's ice skating competition. It was her second one she's participated in, she wasn't as nervous this time around. She is turning into such a beautiful skater. We still only have her going twice a week, but that may change. She graduated from all the lessons, and now we are trying to figure out what the next step will be. Every once in a while I ask her if she still loves it, and if she wants to still skate...and she always answers with a big yes and a "I will never quit skating". I hope that's the truth! I love watching her and seeing how much she improves. Her coach texted me after the competition and told me that she got emotional watching Lilly because of how much she has improved and how beautiful she is getting on the ice. It made me feel so good. 

She came in 2nd place, and was as happy as could be. She had some friends and family come to support her, and was so excited that they came! It was a fun day!