Best Little Friends

Our good friend Annie came to visit a couple of weeks ago. We get to see her about once a year so it was nice to catch up again. The kids all played really good together...especially Allie and her little girl Brianna. They are just a few months apart and were cracking us up. They are both so girly and so alike. They had so much fun we got them together again the next day out at Annie's dad's and had a blast. It was the most fun I've had in a while. Nothing beats a day in the country with 4-wheelers, creeks, raspberries and a llama. Oh wait, that's right, Allie didn't want anything to do with the llama until we were leaving. That's ok though because she LOVED the 4-wheeler (that's my girl)!Two peas in a pod.
My kind of girl's day. I would tell you how long it's been since I rode a 4-wheeler but I'm too embarrassed to say.

This is our girls 2 years ago. Aren't they cute little binkie babies??? They were little buddies even back then. They seriously were the cutest things to watch prance through the house with their purses and different outfits everytime they walked by....so funny. Thanks for the fun time Annie...hopefully we'll see you again sooner than later!

Mommie's Little Helper

Last week I tried to be a happy homemaker and sew a crib skirt for Gracie to match the colors in the girls room now that they are moved in together. Keep in mind that I DO NOT SEW. I would like to, but it's a talent I haven't quite figured out yet. This project was especially fun because no matter how hard I tried to do it while she was sleeping, I kept ending up with a little helper. She was in heaven. She kept rolling in the material and was fascinated with the spool of ribbon...not the ribbon, just the spool. She is so funny and already the best little helper!

Our little Triathlete

For a few weeks Tyler had been bugging me about letting him do the youth triathlon here in town. He kept seeing the flyers at the gym. I haven't ever put my kids in swimming lessons yet, so I kept putting him off. It has always bothered me a little bit that my parents never pushed us to try a little harder at the things we were doing, or encourage us to try things that might be hard for us. I think I suffer a lot from it now because I just recently have started pushing myself physically. I realized that I was doing something far worse by discouraging him completely. So I talked to Eli and we decided, why not. So this Saturday we suited him up and away he went. I was so nervous about the swim. It was 75 yards across a pond, and since we are in Idaho the water is never warm. The most he has swam is the length of a pool. He has never had to swim with a life jacket on, and he has never swam in the cold. Well, he did all three and he ROCKED. He did so awesome. As soon as he was out of the water he ran to his bike, threw on his shirt and tore off down the road. It was awesome to watch. He started off the run on a dead sprint but we could tell he was getting pretty tired. He would sprint and then walk until someone started coming up behind him, then he would sprint again. He doesn't believe in jogging, he thinks it slows him down. I think he might change his mind next time we run. He was a trooper though and finished running with a big smile on his face. I got choked up...I was so proud of him. He did something so hard and challenging and never thought twice about it. He hardly broke a sweat! It was such a great day and he became such an example to me. If he can do hard things...so can I. He really is amazing to me, and Saturday he became so much more.
He's off! (second from the left)

He smiled the whole time, and kept looking to see if we were watching. He even stopped to wave during the run :)

Still going strong (but starting to feel it)

The last few yards.....and still smiling. I love this little man so much!

He even got a medal!