7th birthday

I don't even know how it's possible, but our little girl turned 7.  SEVEN!!  I still can't wrap my head around it.  Next year she will have the opportunity to get baptized! We weren't planning on doing a birthday party because we were going to do a special excursion on our cruise (swimming with dolphins), but since that was cancelled, we decided to make birthday plans.  We talked about everything from a glow in the dark dance party to a Trolls World Tour movie party, but ultimately, Brooke decided that she wanted a princess party again (with bikes).  That made things easy since I already had the pretty flowers as decor and leftover tiaras from last year's party.  I just ordered some pink plasticware, a princess watercolor book and paints, and a kit to make wooden star wands.  

Due to the virus (as all my posts are alluding to), it was only going to be a family party with Grandma, Papa, and the Peacocks, but Brooke REALLY wanted the Hawkins there as well.  I figure we associate with them almost daily anyway, but I checked with family first to make sure everyone was comfortable with their attendance. We decided to do family only for dinner, and then do the activities and cookie cake all together. 

Then came the fun part of setting up...

Brooke folded each napkin so precisely and I love that she seemed to enjoy the process just as much as I did.

The morning of her party was busy because it was the soccer season finale, but we had time in between to shower up and get in princess mode.  Can you tell that she was feeling it?

We made a pretty great team, if I do say so myself :)

I didn't take any pictures of the food, but we served pizza, watermelon, carrots and dip, and an italian chopped salad. I guess I did take a picture of the pink lemonade because it looked so darn festive. 

We talked about using the chalkboard to make a sign for the party, and before I knew it, Brooke announced that she was done.  The control freak in me wanted to make the sign myself, but when I saw her work, I was quite impressed.  The chalkboard was still hanging horizontally in the chalk room, so I was surprised that she was able to make her bubble letters sideways. 

She was VERY proud of herself, and I made a big deal about it to show her that I was equally proud. 

She was so excited for her royal party, and although it was pretty low-key, she kept telling me how great everything was. That certainly makes you happy as a parent, right?

A royal curtsy...

A quick family picture rocking our shades of pink.  I couldn't convince Colby to wear his button down pink plaid shirt, and I just wasn't wanting to fight that battle.  He still looks cute, but definitely not in line with our pink theme.  (And my hair is definitely needing some attention, but since all salons closed for two months, I couldn't get a cut or color done.)

Although we planned to do the activities, bike riding, and cookie cake outside, it was just too hot!  We decided that we would nix the bike riding and keep everything indoors. 

I only took one picture of the royal guests :)  Ellie and Carter came as well, but weren't dressed up. 

We enjoyed cookie cake together...

Then it was on to activities...

While they painted, we played different Disney princess songs from a playlist Brooke and I created, and everyone had to quickly guess what princess it belonged to.  It basically turned into the kids singing the different theme songs, but it was super fun for a princess party.  While the paint dried, the girls disappeared upstairs to play Barbies, while Colby and Carter went outside to do flips on the trampoline.  The adults (and Ellie) relaxed in the living room together.  

Eventually, the kids came down wanting to open presents, and Brooke was spoiled as usual.  The Peacocks gave her a cute white bicycle basket and a few lego-style bracelets, Grandma and Papa gave her a butterfly garden (a few days early-pictures to come), the Griffiths gave her two new tulle skirts, Nay Nay and Papa gave her some "big girl" platform sandals, Colby gave her pastel dot stampers and a small mermaid Barbie, and the Hawkins gave her an entomologist Barbie and a Ken doll.

She was very gracious and made sure to thank everyone.

Oh, and Kevin and I gave Brooke a huge dollhouse on Friday night. Her big gift was the bike we bought for her in May, but I came across this used dollhouse for $45 and I couldn't resist.  She plays with her Barbies every single day and I knew how much she would love it.  I thought about waiting until Christmas, but she has the whole summer to play, so I knew the best time was now.  

She was so shocked, didn't say anything, then said, "If we were allowed to scream in the house, I definitely would have been screaming."  Hahaha, I loved surprising her in that way.  She also couldn't get over the fact that the house was as tall as her.  A fact that was repeated to everyone that found out about her special gift. 

We took it to her room that night, moved her bookcase to a new spot, and settled the dollhouse into its new location.  I didn't love moving her bookcase, but it's definitely in the best spot for playing.  Pictures to come later when I get everything organized how we  (or I) want it :)

And that was her party in a nutshell!  It didn't feel stressful, which was good since we had soccer that morning and were leaving for a trip the next day. The family ended up staying until nearly 10 o'clock, so I was a little beat by the time I finished packing and crawled into bed, but it was really a great day with family and friends. 

soccer season finale

We had our first soccer practice of the season back on March 7th, and then the corona virus took over and everything was in a stand still.  Schools closed down, our church meetings were cancelled world wide, and stay at home orders went into effect. It was only supposed to last two weeks, but when they extended it another two weeks, the soccer director, Jeremy Reese, reached out to the coaches and asked them to connect with their players each week via video chat and work through the devotionals and give them drills to work on. I thought the whole thing seemed silly. I mean, everyone was in the same boat and they would understand why our season was put on hold, but Jeremy sent out a few emails reminding us that the whole reason they do this league is to connect with the players and teach them about Christ.  I admire their mission, but again, it seemed a little silly to try to move forward with a "season" amid the pandemic.

My co-coach Lyndsey also thought it was silly, but I wanted to follow through with what he was asking us to do, so I reached out to our team to coordinate a Zoom meeting.  Only two parents responded, but we did the call anyway and only one other family logged into the call.  I made the executive decision that I would just record myself giving the devotional and send it out for them to watch at their convenience.  Lyndsey did the same with soccer drills.  The videos only had two views, and one of them was mine, so I kind of lost motivation to continue with everything.

 Jeremy put together "soccer survival kits" for each player with a ball, cones, and some fun candy, so Lyndsey and I delivered them to our players. I still checked in with the team and tried to find out how the families were doing, etc, but that was it. 

None of us really thought that we would get back out there on the field, but as we approached June and businesses were opening up, certain sports were given the clearance to start and Jeremy organized a "Soccer Season Finale", if you will :)  Basically, one last practice with the team and free snow cones from Kona Ice. 

I reached out to our team and it seemed like most of the families felt comfortable attending. Most of Brooke's team responded that they would be there as well.  I was disappointed that they never actually played a game, but one last practice was better than nothing.

Lyndsey didn't feel comfortable attending since she's 16 weeks pregnant, so I was on my own for coaching.  We kept things simple and tried to have fun together as a team.  I don't think I will coach again, even though I know this season didn't really count, but I had fun being out there on the field with my little dude.

I managed to snag one quick picture of his sweet skills, but it's hard to take pictures and coach at the same time.  That's one of my main reasons for not wanting to coach again.  I didn't realize how much I would miss being able to just focus on my kid rather than getting everyone to follow the drills and stay engaged.

Aiden, Clark, Kacey, and Colby :)

After our team picture, we all hurried over to the Kona Ice truck to cool down.  It was super hot that day, so the snow cone was a refreshing treat. During Brooke's practice, Colby even went back for a second one :)

The biggest bummer for me this season was Brooke not having the chance to learn from her coach, Shane Owens.  He was amazing with her the last two seasons and I felt confident that she was going to progress a lot during this season.  He encouraged us to move her to a competitive league and is doing the same with his son in the Fall.  I don't know that we're ready for that, but he said that she would do really well playing on a team of all girls with a female coach.

She certainly had the competitive spirit with Lucy, haha. We know them from church, but these girls can talk smack out there on the field.  Lucy is a bruiser and although Brooke is normally not as assertive, she puts it all out there with Lucy.  I guess she has a little bit more competitive nature in her than we originally thought.

We ended the day with MORE snow cones and headed home to get ready for Brookie's birthday party.  It was the shortest season ever without a simple game played, but at least we kept those connections with soccer friends and hopefully we'll see them out there again soon!

lake day with friends

Ever since Lynn Creek Park opened back up, we have been wanting to have a lake day.  We normally do these in the Spring before it gets blazing hot, but we will take what we can get!!  The day was beautiful and I absolutely loved watching the kids play together and having time to sit down and chat with my friends.  I don't think I've ever just sat on the beach blanket and relaxed at the beach, but it was pretty amazing, haha.  

I don't often start off the post about my friends, but today I am because I need them in my life!  Every woman needs friends who understand her and genuinely care about her and her family.  These girls are that for me.  There are definitely others, but there's something about longtime friends that know your history and have been with you through thick and thin. 

Joanna is also one of those people for me, but we took the first picture before she arrived an hour or so later. Doesn't that look pretty relaxing??  Moms just sitting and chatting on the beach :)

Oh, and here's the kids doing their thing...

Thanks for being wonderful, friends!  Let's do this again soon.

back at hawaiian falls

We were thrilled when Hawaiian Falls opened after a cancelled Memorial Day opening!! So much is unknown right now, and restrictions seem to change weekly, but thankfully some water parks were finally deemed "safe".  The lifeguards all wore masks, and they sanitized the handles of the mats from this slide between each user, but overall, it felt like a normal day in the park.  (They didn't sanitize the handles of any of the tubes, so I'm not sure how they figured those were any different, but I still felt like it was safe.)

The best part was that the kids both carried their own mats up the stairs.  Last year, Colby would only go to the top with me, but it was nice that he had a bit more courage this year. He finds a lot of comfort in Brooke's presence, and I'm so grateful for that.

We ran into the Hawkins family while there, and the kids (Brooke, Marlie, and Colby) surprised me and wanted to ride the Cliffhanger together.  About 5 stairs up they yelled for help and I ended up carrying the triple tube to the top for them, but nobody chickened out and they said it was SO fun!

We stayed there a few hours, then Kevin left to go shop for new work shoes.  Our plan was to go out for a boat ride that afternoon, but we ended up having such a blast at Hawaiian Falls that we didn't leave until after 5.  We invited the Hawkins family to join us on the boat, and they were excited to come.  We both drove through Chick-fil-a for dinner, then dealt with a mess of traffic at the marina before finally enjoying a beautiful evening together.

Times are different, but days like this allow mw to take a break from the current issues facing our world. 

end of first grade

What started as a two week break from school, turned into 11 weeks of at-home learning. The teachers and faculty at Daulton did a great job making the best of the situation, but it was sad to end the year without the normal end-of-year celebrations. Brooke loved her teacher so much, so when it was time to do a drive-through supply pick-up, we made sure to go when Mrs. Farwell would be there.  

Brooke was really excited and chose to dress up for the occasion. As we approached the school, I let her climb to the front seat so she could chat with her teacher.  

Mrs. Farwell was so sweet to Brooke, told her how happy she was to see her, then said she wished she could climb into the car and give her a big hug.  Brooke immediately responded with, "I love you, Miss Farwell." I totally lost it.  I was so choked up I couldn't even speak, and Mrs, Phan (the Principal) saw me and said, "We feel the same way, Mom." I  think I tried to say thank you, but I had to just drive away because I couldn't pull myself together.  Brooke tried comforting me that it was okay, but I was just so emotional.  I wish I would have eloquently expressed to her teacher and principal how much we appreciated all they did to make the most of the situation, but I wasn't expecting my reaction. 

We went right home and went through her bag of school supplies, journals, a few reading books, and art work. She loved showing me everything she had worked on and it felt ALMOST official that my girl was done with first grade!  They still sent out a plan for the next week, but it was more like a review of what they had been learning the last few weeks.  I had Brooke do some of the work, but started letting her skip a few of the assignments since she seemed to have a good grasp of the skills she needed to know.

The next week, the PTA arranged for this fun sign to be placed in front of the school to celebrate Dalton's dragons. I wanted Brooke to wear the same outfit she wore on the first day of First Grade, and although she wasn't excited about it, she was easily bribed with Red Vines, haha.

She made the outfit her own with the pink bow and hair tie bracelet.  I love this little girl so much and I'm proud of her and what she stands for.  Brooke is kind, smart, creative, courageous, and has an innate desire to do what's right. 

I love a good comparison picture, but it always surprised me to see the growth and change that happens in ONE school year!