This Girl's Got Style!

Emmie is slowly but surely entering the wonderful world of dress-up. And it makes me smile every time I see her in her favorite accessories.

These goggles have been on Emmie constantly for about a week now. She wears them everyday. She wears them to the store, she wore them to our ward primary activity, she wears them everywhere, literally! And I laugh everywhere we go.

I'm wondering if here love of goggles will fade as the kids swimming lessons end and she isn't reminded of them every day. Only time will tell......

Ups and Downs of the Last Day of School

Yesterday was Ainsley's last day of school. When we picked her up and she told us about her not so good day it broke my heart. First she was teased by a girl about her big teeth. Which she does have, but there's no reason to point that out. Later in the day the kids got to play games with their class that they had brought from home. But no one wanted to play with her long enough to learn the rules and she was frustrated and got her feelings hurt again. And then during lunch a boy told her she had bad breath. She was tearing up as we drove and I was so sad for her. She's had an amazing year at school, with a few little issues here and there but nothing major. And to have it all end on a bad note just made me sad. She said that the good part of her day was when a couple of her friends noticed she was sad and tried to cheer her up and played with her. I'm so grateful for those friends! Who were there when I couldn't be.

Luckily my little Ainsley is an optimist. And soon was back to her happy, upbeat self. I pray that she always keeps that optimism.
And then to make the day even better, John and the kids were able to get the fire pit we've been wanting to make finally put in the back yard. They had fun doing it. It also would have been fun to roast marshmallows and make s'mores and have our first fire. But mother nature did not allow that. So we had popcorn instead, and now I'll have to go buy more chocolate since my self control only lasts so long and I ate A LOT of the chocolate today. Curse you mother nature!!!!

(And yes we realilze that the pit is close to the house, but it is also close to a hose. And this way it is more accessible and aesthetically pleasing. And on top of that we're not planning on any bonires. Just fyi.)

Flash Back/Random Ramblings......

For some reason this one one lonely picture of Ainsley as a toddler was left in my picture file on my computer when the rest were removed after being burned to CD. In this particular picture she is looking adorable in her dress from Steph's wedding. It could have even been taken that day. I honestly can't remember.

When I first looked at it, I couldn't help but be reminded that I currently have a mini Ainsley running around my house. And then I started thinking back to when Ains was two. It seems forever ago. John was still in law school. We lived in 3 places that year. Our apartment in Holladay, John's parents, and finally into our apartment in Boise. It was a crazy year. I was pregnant with Owen, and everything just seemed so unsure. John was interviewing for jobs that year. He flew to Arizona and California. Resumes seemed to be going all over the country. At the time I was a mom with time on my hands. No offence to stay at home mom's with only one kid, but my biggest problem at the time seemed to be boredom. Sometimes I miss the slower pace where my schedule revolved around one child.

And yet somehow I didn't enjoy her at the time as much as I should have. I think that 99% of mom's would say the same thing about their first child though. My guess is that's it's due to the fact that you have no idea what you're doing or what to expect. Then #2 comes a long and you relax a little, but are usually thrown a whole new bundle of trials. And then by the time #3 comes along, you realize that there is no normal, and it's best to have no expectations, so things go a little more smoothly.

I always say hindsight is 20/20 (because I like to think I coined the phrase). But really when I look back I wish I would have slowed down and enjoyed the journey a little more instead of always worrying about what was coming. And yet I find myself doing that today. Often looking forward to the next thing.

So my goal for the day (notice I didn't say month because that would be crazy talk) is to slow down and enjoy. Because it won't be much longer before I'm looking back at my little Emmie wondering where the days went.

That's a lot of thought because of one picture 'eh?

First Swim of the Summer

There's just something magical about the first swim of the summer. Even if it wasn't that warm outside and within days it will be cold again. But for the kids, it was a great day!
Notice Owen's hands clasped together in diving position. He went from being unwilling to even jump off the side of the pool into someones arms last year, to jumping off the diving board without giving it a second thought this year. But what is hilarious about this is that last year my mom bribed him with a bag of Skittles if he would jump off the side of the pool. And this year when he did, he was sure to remind my mom that she owed him his bag of Skittles!
Little Emmie is not yet a huge fan of the water. She spent all of her time on the first step of the pool. I wouldn't mind if she was a little nervous of the water all summer, because I have this incredible fear of a child drowning. So in my mind a cautious child is better than an adventurous child. Plus, I can already tell that safety will be an issue for her because she insists on wearing goggles when she is near the water.