Emy's Show and Teach

 Every year the 1st graders are given the assignment to show and teach their peers something they love. Emy randomly chose balloon animals but it became a really fun thing. As soon as she decided I ordered a kit with an instructional video and we got to work figuring it out. We decided to do swords and it ended up being so fun. After Emy demonstrated and we helped everyone do their own we headed to the gym to do some sword fighting.

Hallie's 7th Grade Awards Ceremony

 It's so fun to see the kids that you pour your life into succeed at things. I think this is just one of the ways we get to see it. Hallie's 7th grade year has been super hard and for her to still be recognize for great grades speak volumes of the person she is becoming. We love you and are so proud of you Hallie!

The "Island" Project

 Since we bought the lot that our house sits on this island has been an eye sore. I guess I decided I was tired of looking at it and started by cleaning it out and turned into a full blown makeover. It started by ripping out the tattered garden fabric, trimming trees, and pulling out all the rocks to clean out all the years of leaves that have been decomposing. 

We also leveled the stone and then replaced all the rocks.

Along the way we found that there was a sprinkler system that had never been used since it was put in with the original development 20 years ago. At this point in the project the HOA saw what we were doing and offered to pay for anything that we needed to finish the project into a beautiful space that adds to the community. Matt was so patient and helpful. He did all the tinkering and fixed the broken sprinkler heads for me...and Liam was there every step of the way.

We kept the edging and just straightened it out and made it the shape we wanted.

Then we planted the front plants with various colors and textures

Then with new fabric down it was time for some bushes to fill the space. 

Last but not least the mulch that mad everything pop.

We added some solar lights and called it a day. It looks so awesome and now matches the beautiful homes surrounding it. It was a fun project...I like little projects that make a big impact.

Emy's First Grade Play

 This is our cute seal. She was so excited to show us what she and her class had been working on.

One of the local artists volunteers her time to help the kids come up with and execute the back drops. I was able to go help the class paint and it was so fun. They did a great job coming up with their story line and the backdrop.

Emy and her friends with their backdrop

Emy's teacher-Mrs Thurston

Its been so great having my dad every couple weeks as he travels for work and stays with us. It worked out that he was here to see Emy's play.

These milestones are bittersweet but I'm so happy I get to be a long for the ride even when it makes me sad that all the kids are getting older.

STEM Olympiad

 Gracie qualified to attend the STEM competition for the school district at the Weber school district. She was super excited and we couldn't wait to go watch her. 

She did a great job and represented her school well.

Hallie asked to be checked out so she could come watch Gracie as well. I thought it was sweet and so we did it.

It was freezing so we stayed bundled up as we wondered from one building to the next. Its always worth it to see your kids do something they love.

YW Fundraiser

 The young women do a fundraiser every year for girls camp. This year they did a carnival theme. I didn't do great taking pictures other than the aftermath of the girls getting their faces painted. We bought a set of tickets for each child and they were able to wander around tot he different attractions. Liam enjoyed everything but the face painting.  A great time was had by everyone.

Happy #7 Emy

 Emy counted down the days to her birthday and was thrilled with how it worked out. Matt took her for donuts before school. She also chose donuts to take to her class....birthday are donut heavy for sure. 

She was super excited to start getting book sets just like her older sisters and is becoming quite the little reader.

We're so happy to have this spunky girl in our family. I can't wait to see what she does in life.