Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day weekend we went out to the farm to celebrate Grandma June's birthday and for Mikell and Kylie's babies blessings. On Saturday we went to Charles house for Grandma's surprise birthday party. It was a bit chaotic and crazy but fun to visit with the Barlow side of the family. Since it was crazy full at Bob and Alison house Kefford and I stayed the night at Jeremy's house. It was nice and quiet and I really enjoyed visiting with the two of them. On Sunday we went to church and witnessed baby Jason and baby Amelia being blessed by their Dads. They did a really great job and helped bring an awesome spirit to the meetings.

After church we were able to stay for lunch and visit some more with family. I snapped this picture of Ryker and Bailey loving on their cousins Caleb and Evelyn. These big boys are so cute with their little cousins and I love how Asher is always hanging around with them when he is around, they have a sweet bond with him.

Kefford always likes seeing his little nieces and nephews and I took a couple of pictures of him playing trains with Asher and Xander.

We got home that night and the next day we spent a lot of time at our community pool. When we were house hunting I told Kefford that either the house we bought had to have a pool or the community needed to have one. As fun as it would be to have our own backyard pool I am glad that we ended up with the community one, it is nice to have someone else in charge of the up keep. 

At some point in the day Kefford told me one of his High School buddies had invited us over for a barbecue and swimming in his backyard pool. Kefford, Kenedy and I opted out of swimming but Kenedy regretted not bringing her swim stuff when she saw their cool pool. The kids had a ton of fun jumping off the rock into the pool.

Rylee set up the doughnut float under the jumping rock so that she could jump into it. She barely missed it the first time but then had success the second time!

We had such a fun weekend and it was really hard to get up the next morning with the school mindset. I am glad that we were able to spend so much time with family and friends!

4th Grade Rendezvous with Rylee

I found these funny filters on snapchat so I sent the one on the left to my Mom and the fish one to Kefford. I am sure they loved them and will treasure the images always!

Friday was the 4th grade rendezvous for Rylee. I did not have a ton going on and so I decided I would volunteer to help out with this trip. Rylee didn't even have to ask me to come I just volunteered all on my own, that's how awesome of a parent I am! Of course as soon as I sent that email telling Mrs Larson I would help out I regretted it. I do not remember going on Rykers Rendezvous but Kenedy's was freezing cold and Avynleas was freezing cold plus rain. Not an enjoyable time at all. I waited a couple of days and then emailed her teacher letting her know that I would only be there half the time. I thought that was an acceptable amount of time to spend with Rylee on this field trip and it was acceptable to her teacher because she replied with a no problem attitude.

The parent volunteers met the kids at MMS which is where Rendezvous is always held and Chaparral had trading post first. IT was madness and chaotic but at the same time really organized. After the kids got the items they wanted we headed over to the Idaho State Police area where the kids got to explore different police cars through the ages.

We then headed over to the gun drills where I got pictures of Rylee learning how to march with guns the way soldiers did during WW1 and most likely many other wars.

We then headed over to the cannon reenactment where the men told us about their uniforms and then explained the workings of a cannon. It was actually really cool to watch and especially cool when they lit the cannon and it went BOOM. 

I had fun hanging out with Rylee that morning and am really glad I was able to go and spend some time with her. It was a really beautiful day and that was a nice change from previous years. I left after I walked our group over to eat lunch and then I went to do Admin for Dance Connection for a while. 

Avynlea's Pops Concert

Avynlea's final concert of the year was the Pop's concert. This year the sixth grade choir were doing a Disney medley and they were encouraged to dress up in Disney inspired outfits. Avynlea was planning on wearing her Belle village dress but when another girl got the Belle solo and was going to curtsy to Avy at a point in the song Avynlea felt it would be too weird to have Belle curtsying to herself so she wore Rylee's red riding hood dress instead. She looked so cute and the music was so fun to listen to. My favorite part was when they sang It's a small world and the first row got down off the risers and skipped in a circle around the piano. Avynlea never told me that she got to be a part of that, it was a fun surprise. I did not take any pictures while they were singing but was able to get some off the MMS Facebook page the next day.

Alison came and Rylee and Ryker came along, Rylee to watch and Ryker to help out in the sound booth.

This was my favorite concert to go to this year because not only did they sing Disney but the boys choir did Newsies, my absolute favorite, and the girls choir did Phantom, another favorite. It was hard not to sing along and I will admit to doing it a little bit. 

Avynlea was amazing and the cutest kid up there, and that is not just my opinion, everyone that was there thought so, I could tell!

Life Celebration

Kenedy tried out for her last year of cheer and she made the Varsity sideline and competition team again! We are excited for her and look forward to cheering her on her last year of high school cheer. She and Tori were also selected to be the Varsity teams social officers which mean they plan all of the social events for the team such as team bondings. I think they will do a great job and will make this year a lot of fun for their team!

This next part is really difficult to write about and I have been putting it off because I have not known how to approach it...

Towards the beginning of the month Kenedy had open gym in preparation for tryouts. She went a little late and about half an hour after she left she called me and I could tell by the tremor in her voice that something was wrong. I immediately thought she had injured herself and was hoping it wasn't anything really bad but what she told me next was shocking and really unbelievably so sad. She said that the cheerleaders were just told that one of their teammates had killed himself right after school. At this point she was crying and I told her that she should just come home, I was sick to my stomach and really sick at heart for this boy and his family. Kenedy spent some time at the school talking with her teammates and I think it was good for her and them to talk this out. 

When she came home to seemed to be doing ok but I could see she was in shock. She left on choir tour that night for three days which I think provided a good distraction for her.

The next monday she returned to school and then called me at about 1 asking if I would call her out of school. She said she had a headache and was feeling really anxious, I figured things were starting to hit her and said that I would. She came home and told us that after the cheer banquet Clay had written thank you cards to all the cheerleaders but for some reason she didn't get hers until that day. I imagine it was a difficult slap in the face to be handed this card at this point.  It was a really sweet card telling her how much fun he had with her that year and that he looks forward to cheering with her again their senior year. She was having a difficult time but she has awesome friends, Wilson came over that night with a sonic drink for her and they talked and hung out for a couple of hours, as well as pretty amazing and loving Young Women leaders who have been calling and texting her.

A couple of weeks later his family had a life celebration for Clay at the park. The theme was red, white and blue because Clay was born on the fourth of July and all of the cheerleaders got stars and stripes hair bows. It was a potluck and I was afraid that they would not have enough food but the food tables were filled to overflowing and everyone got more then enough to eat with a ton of food left over. They had a video montage with pictures of Clay and anyone who wanted to were encouraged to come up and share stories about Clay. Kenedy got up with Audrey and she shared a story about when they were in sixth grade that Clay told his friends that he was going to try to stop swearing and if any of them heard him say a swear word that they had permission to hit him. Well not too much longer later he said a swear word and Kenedy's friend Lauryn slapped him across the face with out hesitation. Kenedy said the smack was so loud and left a handprint on Clay's face the rest of the day. She said it was really funny and he did ask for it. 

After first asking permission from his Mom Kenedy and Audrey had me take a picture of them with Clays picture. I hope this day was therapeutic for all of the family and friends that were there, it was a beautiful day and a lot of fun memories were shared. 

Cousins

Mikell asked me to watch Brooke and Jenna for her while she took the other kids to the Dr. We had fun playing at the park and jumping on the trampoline. When Mikell got back she stuck around and we visited until my kids got home from school. Avy and Rylee got to hold their new little cousin Jason and they were pretty excited about that! Holding new babies is always a treat!

As they were leaving Avynlea had James climb on her back and he had a fun time being flipped over. My kids LOVE their cousins and they are so lucky to have such close relationships with them. 

Sewing Projects

Rylee made a blanket for Kylie's baby

Avynlea made some really cute stuffed animals for Kylie's baby. A seahorse rattle and an elephant with plastic in the ears.

For a young woman project Avynlea is working on sewing some modest clothes. The first one she did was a maxi dress that she made for Easter. We found a tutorial online and after drafting our own pattern she cut the pieces out and sewed them together. She did such a good job and the dress looks so cute on her.

My friend asked me if I could adjust the hem on a bridesmaid dress her niece had to wear. the wedding was the next day and she had just gotten the dress the night before and it was three inches too long. I was hesitant about doing it but said I would. I cut off three inches and sewed a new hem in the lining and the chiffon overskirt. Their was massive amounts of chiffon but I was pretty proud of my self for being able to do it. 

Love

Some of my sisters signed up to run the Tinkerbell half marathon again this year. I really wish I could participate with them but it is just not feasible for me and so I missed out on another family event which makes me sad. The morning of their race I got a message from Heather letting me know she loves and misses me, also that she wished I were there. I sent her one back and then I got one from Ashleigh. Honestly it really helped to take some of the hurt away, just to know that I am being thought of was huge. I love my sisters!

One of our dance Moms posted a message on Facebook and I had to screenshot it. We have had Hayden in our dance class for the past 3 years and it is especially hard knowing she will not be a part of our Thursdays because she is going on to 1st grade. This girl has been so fun and so sweet to have and I love her a lot and am going to miss seeing her. 

Lot's of snapchat pictures of Avynlea were found on my phone. She has definitely taken up the habits of her older sister and looks so beautiful in these pictures.

In her parenting class Kenedy got to wear the pregnancy belly for a period. She said it was awkward and heavy but not very realistic because the weight gain in pregnancy is gradual where as this was all at once. She sure looks cute though!

Dance Recital

Thursday night was our end of year dance recital for Elevated Dance. It is bittersweet to see this dance year end, ready for a break but it is always sad to say goodbye to these sweet girls. This year has been an incredibly fun year and I have loved getting to work with this group of girls. They have really made our Thursday class so fun and they did so good at recital! I was so proud of them and all of their hard work really paid off! They did the best I have ever seen them do and it was a great night! 

Addie, Abby, Josie, Lynden and Kambrie

Chloe, Hayden, Hayden Rose, Quinn and Ainsley

Lynden gave me a flower she brought in with her, not sure where she got it from but it was a sweet gesture.

Josie's Mom owns a cookie company and she brought cookies for all of the girls in our class and a box of cookies each for Kim and I. They were the prettiest cookies I have ever seen and I had a hard time wanting to eat them, until I took a bite of one and realized they are as delicious as they are pretty! I am always so amazed at the talents of some people!

Mothers Day

On Mother's Day I woke up to the sounds of cooking in the kitchen. Ryker got up earlier then anyone else and on his own decided to cook me breakfast. He made me pancakes and scrambled eggs, it was a lot of food and I was only able to eat half of it. Ryker asked me if I wanted to eat breakfast in bed but I opted to eat it in the kitchen. Breakfast in bed is fun if there is a movie to watch, or people to hang out with but on a Sunday morning when we don't watch TV it isn't my thing. Plus all of the kids were sleeping and nobody was around to hang

 out with so it was better in the kitchen. 

After church Kefford had the kids help him prepare dinner and get it on the table. He got a frozen chicken and rice dinner which was not too bad. It was just nice to not have to cook and do the meal planning for a day. I got really sweet notes and cards from my kids and Kenedy gave me some awesome smelling bath bombs she made.

I love these kids of mine and am so grateful to have them with me forever. 

Ryker told me he was making me something at school and wasn't able to get it finished in time so he brought it home on Monday. It was a wooden pen that he had made in his engineering class. It is really cool and I love the thought and time he put into it.

The Verona Ward gave all of the mother's king size Symphony bars which made me really happy. You can never go wrong with chocolate!

I also got a food processor which I was thrilled to get. I have been wanting one for a long time and it works like a dream! Kenedy used my food processor to make a yummy peanut butter and chocolate treat for me, I love peanut butter and chocolate!