Fall Soccer

Little Clairey loves soccer. I don't know if it is her "thing" yet, but so far it seems to be her favorite. Soccer at this age is so funny because I think every other parent is yelling at some point to tell their kid to "focus!!". Claire didn't really focus and isn't very aggressive, but she had a great time. It was so fun to watch her and see how much fun she was having! It was a fun season, and we will see if she wants to do spring soccer. Proud of my little Claire Bear! 

October continued

Like I said earlier, we have had quite a few Friday's off. So, this last time we met up with Anna and her kids at Wheeler farm. It was decorated so darling, and the kiddos had such a great time together. Grateful for their friendships and hope they last a lifetime! We saw a family there that had older kids - jr. high and high school age - and we laughed that we will still be making our kids go on outings with us even when they are "old"! I hope that is the case!

Conference morning I made a Quiche. I had never made one before, and had been craving it for a while so I figured conference was the perfect time to make one. Of course no one in my family wanted it, but I made it anyway! It turned out delicious!! The girls were great during conference this year. Their cute primary teacher dropped off conference packets that had coloring pages and what not, and that kept them busy and occupied. I am glad she did that, because I didn't get around to printing anything in time. I love how low key conference morning is.

My mom made these darling skirts last year for the girls, so I was so glad when they put them on and they still fit! Little cuties.

I have to get to work about 15 to 20 minutes before school starts. The girls always come with me, and they color and write me notes for my desk before school starts. Lilly is constantly writing me sweet notes, and leaves them on my keyboard for me to find. This one in particular was my favorite...

October

Since Lilly turned 8 in April, she was old enough to go to the General Women's Conference. I thought it would be fun for her to join me, my mom and my sisters for the conference. Her cousin Ellie came too! We met up for dinner beforehand where my parents treated us to a nice dinner (Lilly loved going to a fancy restraunt!), and then we went to my ward and watch the conference. It was the best women's conference I can remember. I loved it, and I loved being there with Lilly! I know it wasn't the most exciting for her, but I know she loved the "girls night" we had. Hopefully she will look forward to it & that it turns into a special tradition. I am so blessed to be her Mom. She is such a sweet little person.

Claire got to go out on a date with Anton that night. He let her choose where they went to dinner, and she chose Sweet Tomatoes (no surprise there!) and then they went shopping. Anton said that she was so cute and just talked and talked. I am sure Claire loved the one on one time with her Daddy. We have the cutest little girls...so grateful & so blessed!

Claire has the most angelic little face when she sleeps. I sneak into her room often and take pictures of her. Such a mom thing! I also love her face when she just wakes up - makes me smile every time!

The girls do NOT like to get in trouble with Anton. It doesn't happen too often, so when Anton gets mad, it doesn't go over very well. Much to their dislike, this note made us laugh so hard! 

Every once in a while I find things that remind me that I still have a really little person in the house. I opened up Claire's sock drawer, and saw this new drawing in there. She also signed Lilly's wall just the other day. And last week she put stickers on her window. It's ok by me because I know someday I will really miss finding things like that! 

Catch up

We had Nicole & Jeremy in town for Labor Day, and went to the zoo with the kids. We ran into his brother and his family there too! It was fun for the kids to hang out with each other, and the zoo is always a hit with the kids! I can't believe how old the kids are looking. When I pull up pictures from the past few years, I can't believe how quickly they are growing up. Each stage brings a new and fun adventure, but I just wish time would slow down a little bit! 

We also had Elizabeth & Jurgen in town the following weekend! I didn't get any pictures of the girls with them, and I should have. They are the sweetest people, and are truly like our girls "Montana Grandma & Grandpa". We went to the State Fair on Saturday, and that is always an adventure! The creepy men at the games gave Lilly the creeps so bad, she was trying to not cry!! The hit of the day were the piglets. They were the cutest little things I have ever seen! The girls couldn't get enough! It was such a fun weekend!

One thing I was nervous about when I took my job was if I was going to have enough time to still volunteer in the girls classes. Thankfully, it is working out. The kids in Lilly's class had been learning about supermarkets, so one day her class walked to the store which is just down the street from the school. They got to see how a grocery store runs, and what goes on behind the scenes. It was really interesting actually! Afterward, the kids each got a balloon and a treat. It was a fun little outing, and I am so glad I got to go!

Claire has fallen in love with my bright red lipgloss. It is funny because she doesn't seem like the type that would love lipstick, but she does! And, with her coloring it looks so pretty on her. Cute little thing.

We had a couple of Friday's off in September, so we took advantage and went on some outings and did some cooking! The girls wanted to do caramel apples, which was the perfect fall treat.We did them "gourmet", and they turned out SO good! It was so much fun!!

Flower Girls

The girls babysitter, and Robert & Rene's daughter got married a few weeks ago and had asked the girls to be flower girls at her ring ceremony. I thought it was so sweet of Haylie and Chandler to have the girls be apart of their special day! Haylie was a stunning bride - no surprise there - and the girls looked so beautiful in their dresses. It was a fun night, and one I am sure the girls will never forget!

I am reminded at times like these, how grateful we are for the many people in our lives that are so good to us, and whom we love so dearly. We have been so blessed by friends who are like family, and for the family members who are some of our very best friends. We are lucky people to be surrounded by so many good people!

Mt. Olympus

The weekend of Labor Day, the Leonards came into town and Anton had in mind he wanted to do a larger hike with them. He wanted to go all the way to the saddle of Mt. Olympus! Unfortunately we weren't able to get Jeremy to come - he was on babysitting duty - which turned out to be a good move because we were up there longer than Anton anticipated. It was a tough hike, but beautiful. I didn't have much for breakfast, so I ran out of steam quick - but once I had my goldfish pretzels, we were good to go! The view once we got to the top was so unbelievably beautiful. It was rewarding to see it, and I was so glad I pushed through and did the hike. We laughed - at the expense of others of course - and talked and had a great time with each other. The hardest part for me was going down. My legs were tired, but my feet were in so much pain. I can't do long distance in those shoes again, because there isn't enough cushion. If it weren't for my feet, it would have been perfect! I was sore for a few days, but recovered faster than I thought. It was a great morning, and I am so glad we did it!

School!

I can't believe that another school year has started! I had mixed emotions about them starting. In one way, I felt like they (and me!) were ready to go back, but another way I was so sad about them being another year older in school. Claire was starting first grade, and that's a big life event! She was so excited, so it was hard to be too sad. Lilly was really nervous, but she always is nervous to start and then does amazing after a few days. The night before school started, they had back to school night. It was a great way for them to meet their teachers and see their classrooms. 

The morning of school!! I forgot their signs. Oh well. As you can tell by Claire's smile, she was pretty jazzed!

I really really like our principal. He really tries to make school a great experience for the kids. This year, they had the kids line up in front of their doors, then when the bell rang, they walked the kids around to the front of the school where they had a "red carpet" rolled out and the mascot to welcome them. The kids thought that was pretty cool...as did the parents! 

Perks of working in the office....I have my littles come in and say hi to me! Lilly was out at recess, and wanted to come in and say hi to me. It made my day! I am so so so grateful for my new job. I absolutely love it. It has been a change, and I am still trying to get into a good flow at home, but I wouldn't have it any other way! I am grateful I have Monday's off, because that allows me to get my house and everything else organized for the coming week. If I do that, then my week flows much better! I work with great people, and I am so happy to be where my girls are!