Friends

I just wanted to share a couple pictures of Rori with one of her friends from church.  Her friend played in the piano recital that Acadia was performing in, and before the recital began, these girls were happily playing together in the back of the room. :) 

Rori is so social!  She always wants to play with friends.  She has MANY friends and is not shy about making new ones.  :)

Spoiled Girl!!!

While out enjoying a post recital lunch, Sami gifted Acadia with a totally awesome birthday present!

CARMEX!!!  Just kidding.  Well, she did give Cadi Carmex, since Cadi kept using all of hers and I'm sure she just wanted to keep her own Carmex safe... but that wasn't the "totally awesome" present.

This was:

A CASSETTE TAPE!!!  Just kidding.  It *looks* like a cassette tape (I doubt Cadi even knows what a cassette tape is! lol), but it is really...

AN iPHONE!!! (With a cool, orange, cassette tape cover.)  See, totally spoiled.  Sami had gotten a new one, so she gave Cadi her old one.  It does not have cellular service, and won't for now, but she can use it for music, games, and apps.  Including apps that allow her to send and receive texts for free.  And access the internet, e-mails, and FB for free.  Do you see where the spoiled part comes in?  ;)

Well, Sami had checked with us first, and we were intending to get Cadi an iPod later this year, anyway, so this was perfect.

Thanks, Sami!  :)

I'm a mother of a teenager!!!

This year, Acadia turned 13 years old.  Key word:  OLD.  Which is how I feel.

We had a party for her, hoping the weather would cooperate so we could BBQ and enjoy the firepit, but it didn't, so we changed our plans to Plan B and ordered pizza and played games.  It was all good, we had a ton of fun!  Like when we wanted to play Twister, but couldn't find the game, only this towel, so we improvised... "left earlobe on yellow!" lol

Sami gave Cadi mustaches, and the party quickly turned into a Mustache Party!

Isn't this cake awesome?!?  My amazingly talented friend made it for us.  Thank you, Alia at Peace*Love*Dessert!

I failed to blog then, because we were so busy at the time, but I want to just say how much I love Acadia!  I am so grateful that she is in our family.  She is such a good girl and has been growing into a wonderful young woman.  We love her quirkiness, thoughtfulness, and testimony as it is evident in all she does.

Happy Birthday, Cadi!

Belated. ;)

Memorial Day, a.k.a. Sami's Birthday

Sami's birthday frequently falls on Memorial Day weekend, and some years, like this one, it falls on Memorial Day, itself.  Fun!

This year, we went laser tagging.  We had never gone before we were excited and really looking forward to it.  IT WAS A BLAST!!!

After the laser tagging, we headed over to *Uncle Scott's house.  We had a lot of fun playing games, exploring his property, visiting emus, and of course, BBQing (it *was* Memorial Day, after all *wink*).

Upstairs, there was ping pong, pool, and foosball to play together.  Spencer was so patient with Rori! lol

Outside, we visited the emus.  Acadia was obsessed with them!  She insisted on going into their enclosure.  She wanted to hug one.  She was adamant, even though most of us thought it was a STUPID idea.  Andy went in with her, though, and when it came down to it, she totally was scared.  She still claims she wasn't, but every time one came close to her, she hid behind Andy.  lol

So, instead, we hugged all of these emus...

While Acadia was having her adventure with emus, Rori was having an adventure with Debbie and Scott.  They went off roading!  They traveled all over.  I think I heard they went to New York City, even!  Rori was having so much fun!

On Scott's property, there is a river, so we took the little walk and explored it a bit.  It was beautiful. :)

Finally, before we headed home, we helped with some chores that Scott needed done.  Everyone pitched in.  Even Rori helped!  We cleaned the drive and entry area, the kids liked using the pressure washer.  lol

It was a beautiful and very fun day!  We were so glad to have an extra reason to celebrate and such a great group to celebrate with!

*Scott was Mary Jane's brother.  Since then, Scott has passed away.  It was sudden and completely unexpected.  He was a very loving and important part of their family and I know his loss has been deeply felt.  He is missed very much.  Thank you for being a part of our lives, Scott!

Change can be good.

I've felt a change lately.  It started earlier this year and has continued, and in some ways, grown.  I think it's a good change.  And I'm glad.  But there have been some side effects.  Like, less blogging.

It has been a spiritual change, mostly.  I have felt a strong spiritual growth as I've been studying the Book of Mormon more deeply and fully than ever before.  (I LOVE my calling for this very reason!)  And as a result, I've been feeling a change in my thoughts and actions throughout the rest of my day, too.  I *humbly* think that it's a more selfless way of thinking.  I haven't been thinking about *me*, or what I can get, or what people will think of me.  I've been thinking more of others, what might help them, what will make people feel thought of, special, not alone, etc.  It's a good thing.  But doesn't really make for good blogging.  The things I've been thinking (and trying to act upon) are not things I feel comfortable blogging.  It's not something I want to share.  That's not what it's about.

But there have still been other things in daily life that are good to blog, and I've neglected them. Partly because I've been busy.  Partly because when I'm not busy, I'm tired and then I feel lazy. lol

Today is my birthday though, and I'm making a conscious decision not to be busy.  And that means I have time to be productive in areas I've neglected.  Like blogging.

I'd like to promise that I'll be better in the near future.  I'm not sure yet.  I love blogging.  I love sharing our lives with family and friends who care and aren't here to share these things with us in person.  And I love sharing my testimony, whether it's spoken or just in how we/I live our lives.  So, I will try to be better.

And in the meantime, I will try to catch up.  :)