Tia started school!

I can't believe our Tia is a 2nd grader. It seems like I was just taking her to Kindergarten. She had a great "first day" and is having a good week so far. Except for how HOT it is in the school. Poor kiddos, they are just baking in their classrooms. I love the beautiful weather, but it'll be nice when the temperatures drop just a bit. She was so cute, she came out the other day and said, "Mom, I was even sweating behind my knees!" She has a wonderful teacher and a great group of kids in her class. I think it's going to be a good year. She just loves school so much. It warms my heart to see her so excited and happy each day. She gets to be a "2nd grade buddy" to a student in Kindergarten and she is really looking forward to that. Plus, they get to go around to each classroom and get the garbage every afternoon, and get "seconds" at lunch. They get one less recess, but other than that, she is looking forward to all the new aspects of being a 2nd grader. Before I end, I will share my giggle for the day from her.................we were talking about what goes on at recess, who plays with who, who plays what, etc. and I said to her, "Maybe you should try kickball." To which she replied to me, just as serious as ever, "Mom, I have no interest in flying balls coming at me!" She is so funny. What a gift!

My Birthday

We celebrated on Sunday, just in case Daddy got called out of town on Monday. Mom and Dad treated us to a yummy dinner at Bruno's. Then we came back to the house for cake and presents. Tia, Rosie and Daddy had all gone shopping for me. So sweet - I would've loved to have been a mouse in the corner. :-)) We had a wonderful time and when it came time to make my wish and blow out the candles, I had nothing more to wish for. I remember making my wish last year and it of course, involved Rosie. But this year, all of my wishes have come true. I am one happy Mama. Life is good and I am grateful. On my actual birthday, we ended up swimming with our friends, which was a real last-minute thing, but it was absolutely wonderful. It was so relaxing and just plain fun. The kids had a ball and Tamra and I were able to get some good chat time in, which I always enjoy. It was a real treat. That evening, Darcy and I snuck away for a birthday drink and an appetizer. That was awesome, too. We could've sat on that patio all night, but we were thankful for the time that we did get to catch up and have some fun. Throughout the day, I received phone calls, texts, cards, flowers and gifts from all of my beautiful friends. I am surrounded by so many amazing women in my life. I just couldn't be more blessed.

Rosie's Baptized!

Oh, what a sweet and special day. Absolutely beautiful in so many ways! Tia got her all dressed and ready, which was so precious. I thought they were playing in Rosie's room while I was getting ready, but when I went in to check on them, Tia had her almost completely dressed and

ready. It touched my heart so much. We were a bit nervous about how Rosie would do throughout the whole service, but she actually did really well. She started out in a big, white towel, then after the actual baptism, we changed her into the outfit. It was the same outfit that Tia wore for her baptism. I had gotten it in China. Tia wants it to stay in the family forever and have her kids and Rosie's kids all baptized in it. I love that idea! She loved the water and wanted to get back in. I think the cutest part though, was when we were all at the altar, the priest had asked that we all raise our hands for a blessing. We were facing the congregation, so when Rosie saw that they all had their hands raised up, she put hers up, too. It was so cute. Afterwards, we came back here for a dinner celebration. It was a lot of fun. She held up until almost 8:30 and then just couldn't take another minute of the party. She asked for her "BaBa" and we put her into bed. God bless her sweet little soul. It was such a special day and we are so grateful for all who shared it with us. Thank you to all of you. Our hearts are so peaceful, FULL and happy.

More fun pics!

I have a few fun miscellaneous pictures that I wanted to share. They kind-of take my breath away. I'm sure it's just a "Mom thing". The next post will be her baptism, so stay tuned for those............................I'm fully expecting to cry. Happy tears, of course! :-))

Fun at the Fair!!

We had a great time at the fair this year. As we walked around with Rosie in the stroller, I still could not believe we have her. I remember last year thinking, "I wonder if we'll have her for the fair next year?" And we did. Yippee!! She had a slow start, but really enjoyed it the longer we were there. Tia did her regular rides and we did our annual trip down the "fun slide" together. I love that thing! I would go 10 times in a row. We had our corn dogs, ice cream, elephant ears and lemonade, and enjoyed every bit of all of it. We also looked at the animals and 4-H displays. It's such a fun atmosphere. At one point, we took our blanket out and sat on the grass by the water and listened to music. We ran into our friends and got a funny picture of him with Rosie - they were both doing the "fishy face". It's a classic! It was a wonderful night and it felt so good to be there with BOTH of our girls. We are just so happy......................!

Another Lovely Shower

My sweet friend Tamra had a beautiful shower for Rosie last week. She used the colors and "theme" from our blog and it was so pretty. There was a "diaper cake" for the centerpiece that was absolutely precious. The headband and tutu around the diapers were for Rosie to keep. You will see that we did a photo shoot with them a few days later. The edible cake was coconut and absolutely delicious. She served yummy Mexican food for dinner since she knew it was my favorite, and also had tasty pink drinks -- one was a wine spritzer and one was a sherbet punch. We played games and opened gifts and had a wonderful time. She had an assortment of tiny bottles of nail polish for each of us to take home -- all in a variety of pinks and reds. They were so cute! The whole night was so special. I'm still smiling when I think of it. Thank you to Tamra and all of my special friends for being there. I am so touched and grateful. I couldn't be more blessed! Enjoy the pictures!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

We had a wonderful birthday with Daddy. Hard to believe he's 46 -- we think he looks great! :-))
Tia helped me make his cake the night before, and then we decorated it the day of his birthday. She was in charge of that part, as you'll see in the pictures. We also decorated the house a bit and she did an awesome elk poster for him. I'll post the picture of it. It was so sweet because she worked for a very long time on it and was so excited about giving it to him. We took him to lunch during the day and that evening, we had a fun dinner with cake and presents. Grama and Papa joined us. It was a really good time. Tia, Rosie and I made him a stepping stone for the yard and it was each of the girl's footprints. It's precious. I will post a picture of it, too. He also got a gift card, clothes from Grama and Papa and a special antler decoration. I wrote him a poem for his card. Overall, we think he loved everything and had a very special day. He is so incredibly special to us and we all just love him to pieces. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful Daddy, husband and son-in-law. (That's from Mom and Dad). :-))
Here's to another great year!!

PS - Rosie is not in a lot of the pictures because she was off doing her own thing. Which actually means, unloading the cupboards and re-arranging my Tupperware drawer. She is so busy!!