Summer so far

I have been horrible about documenting our summer, and equally as horrible about taking pictures. It has been such a fun, busy summer...the best kind in my opinion!

We have been to "The Farm" several times. I love packing a lunch and taking the girls over there. They love it, it is free, and its so fun to get out and do something with them.

Lilly finished her second round of swim lessons on Friday. She adored them....she loved swimming, she loved the teachers, she was so happy. Claire was a little trooper too. I hardly let her out of her stroller because she would head right to the water. So, given she had to stay in her stroller every morning, she was such a trooper. And, as you can see in the picture above, she actually let me do her hair. She eventually figured out her mullet was missing, and yanked out her piggies. What can you do...she loves her mullet. We were joking with my parents that her name should really be Ricky Bobby. Fitting if you ask me. 

 We celebrated Anton's birthday! He probably isn't thrilled that the world knows how old he is now, but I couldn't help but show the cake. See, Lilly has figured out how to climb up onto the counter. BUT, she can't get down. So, I was getting out of the shower after making Antons awesomely ghetto looking cake to hear Lilly yelling "Mom! Can you get me down!". I knew right then she had done something to the cake, or she had eaten the cake. She was decorating it with "seeds". Lilly loves to work in the yard with Anton, so she thought she would "give daddy some seeds". Silly bug!

Some of my favorite things about the girls right now:

* Claire is a Jabber Mouth. Talks and talk and talks. And, is actually starting to say things now. I am proud to say that her first phrase was: "That's MINE!". Yelling it, of course.

*Lilly says something every day that cracks me up. Still, my favorite is while we were listening to the Sleeping Beauty song in the car she said, "Oh, when Dylan hears this, he is going to want to come out and dance with me". Dylan is her "Handsome Prince" in case you were wondering!

*Lilly is so affectionate and loving right now. She is always giving loves, or kisses or telling me how much she loves me. I, of course, love it.

*Claire is SO BUSY. I honestly can't believe it. She is like a cyclone. Either she is sleeping, or she is destroying something in the house. Exhausting, I tell you.
*"Hey Claire, are you a cute girl?"..."YEAH!!". 

*"Oh, that's just my mom. I love her. And, I love Dylan. And Daddy. And, Claire. Oh wait, not Claire." That was Lilly talking to herself in bed one night when she heard me walk by. So funny!

Dirt Face and Sassy Pants

I love this picture. It is so right on for how my girls are:

Lilly being miss Sassy Pants.

Claire, aka: Dirt Face, eating her one of many helpings of dirt.

Squirts!! 

Lonesome Dove

I loved the characters (Especially Gus)...I loved that it was a western...I loved that I always caught myself thinking about it... I simply loved the story. Such a great book. I am sad that it's over. 

Visit #3

Lilly took a spill while twirling on our hardwood floor last night, and split her chin open. Darn! She was an extremely brave girl while getting stitched up. And, afterward Daddy went to the store and bought her a "very special" Ariel doll (that's what she calls it) and a box of special princess bandaids, so in her mind, it was a great experience! Squirt!

Seriously though....She is three, and she has been to the InstaCare 3 times. Yikes! Look like we have an accident prone kid on our hands!

Fathers Day

Lilly was SO excited about giving Anton presents for Father's Day, but she kept singing"Happy Birthday to you Daddy"!
*Lilly sang to her Daddy in Sacrament Meeting for the first time.
*Gave him a new book with his girls hands traced in the front of it along with their signatures (or scribbles!).
*A new book light so he can read until the early morning without keeping me awake (score!).
*A smoking kit for the grill.
*Spaghetti dinner - one of the Antons favorite meals.
*Cupcakes from Lilly.

We love you Anton. You are a darling father...our girls absolutely adore you.
Happy (late) Fathers Day!

Swim Lessons

We are in the second week of Lilly's swim lessons. She loves them! She is such a happy girl in the water. She was doing so well, so they moved her into a different class to push her a little harder, but the change in the teacher really threw her. She cried every second she was with the new teacher. Today, they asked me if I would like her to go back to her old teacher, but keep her on her level...I was thrilled. The moment she got with her "old" teacher, she was back to her happy self. Funny thing is, the first teacher is more strict than the second. She must just feel more confident with her first teacher. I am really happy so far with how much she is learning!

We get to see lots of her cousins who are coming and going from swim lessons to swim team. And, her cousin Jack is in her class with her. She loves it! I am so glad swim has been a good experience, and not a scary one for her.  

Gratitude

While Lilly has been gone, I have been able to catch up on my reading. I feel like I never get to read anymore during the day. Every afternoon while Claire is sleeping I have been able to go outside and read...I love it. I am still reading Lonesome Dove (looks like Anton might win that bet!), but I also have been reading the latest issue of the Ensign. A lot of the articles were focused on the family, and the importance of family. As I read the articles I, of course, found many things that I want to strive to be better at. While at the same time, I had such a huge feeling of gratitude come to me. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have my own little family. For the opportunity I have to bear children and raise them. Gratitude for my marriage. We fall short of many things, but the one thing we seem to be pretty good at within our little family is love and respect. I was able to attend a sealing in the temple this morning. I couldn't help but think back on the day Anton and I were married. I remember details of our dinner, but I remember almost every detail of our ceremony. I feel so lucky to have found him. He is so respectful of me, is so good to me, and such a darling father. He is a good man, and an honest man. I see how often he is in service of others, and it amazes me. His parents taught him well. Not a week goes by, no joke, without him doing something for someone else. In fact, he has plans this Saturday to help someone out. And, he does it quietly. No one ever knows. He is so humble about it, and yet so willing. I adore that about him. He is not perfect, but neither am I. I feel comfort in knowing we are in this together...that we can learn and grow together. We have plenty of that ahead of us, and I am glad I get to take the journey with him. How can I talk about gratitude without mentioning my girls?! For the gift of being a mother?! My love for them is unmeasurable. And, it will be everlasting. My gratitude and my love of the concept of eternal families grows each day. The only word I can describe on how I feel about my little family at the moment: Gratitude.