Tulip Festival

I was so excited to go back to the Tulip Festival...when i wasn't running through the rain in it. It was a perfect spring day and all of the flowers were absolutely beautiful. I went with my friend Erin and her daughter Ruby. We had such a good time, walking around, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful surroundings. 

Needless to say we left with a very tired and hungry Olivia. 

Penny 8 Months

This baby is such an angel. She is such a joy in our life and in our home. Penny is so happy, and always has strangers smiling. She has the brightest eyes, always so wide and alert. Her eyelashes are so dark and long, and eyes are so bright, blue and happy. She has the sweetest little dimples too. She is a tall skinny baby. She still only rolls to one side from back to front and still gets stuck on her tummy. She has been sitting up on her own for a few weeks now, she started sitting up pretty well right before I went to Austin. She has shown no interest in crawling, but she also hates being on her tummy. But when she is on her tummy she holds her body up really well with her hands. 

She is also a great eater. She will eat just about anything pureed. She's also started eating bits of bread, and the baby Puffs. She really hates it if we eat without feeding her anything. And once we do start feeding her she doesn't want us to stop until she is done! She is still taking 3 naps a day and sleeps so great at night, typically 7 pm - 7 am. She has started to laugh and giggle a lot more, and it makes us all so happy. She loves little kids. She loves interacting with them and laughing with them. In the picture below, she has started pursing her lips and blowing in and out, she thinks it's so funny. She will occasionally make little whistling sounds. 

I have especially loved seeing the interaction between these two girls. Livy is the perfect big sister. She will laugh with Penny, she will help feed her, get her toys, and sing to her to try and make her happy. They already have such a sweet relationship, and I can't wait to see it grow. 

Bridal Shower

My cousin Chase Murphy is getting married in a few weeks, and I had the opportunity to host it. My mom was a huge help. She brought most of the food, and it all turned out so good. I loved it, and most importantly the bride loved it!

Tulip Festival Half Marathon

I made a goal this year to run 3 half marathons and hopefully improve my race time each time. The first one was the Thanksgiving Point Half Marathon on April 26th. My bestie Brittany was going to be in town for her siblings' graduation and she said she wanted to run with  me! I was so excited to have a buddy, especially a super fast running buddy. It was a convenient race, because the start and finish were in the same place, so we were able to drive ourselves there at 6:30 am, walk right up and start without having to be transported by a bus. But on the downside...it was an absolute down pour. The rain just kept coming and coming. Luckily I invested in a nice rain jacket from Nike, so it made the race a lot more comfortable. And a huge thanks to Ryan for letting me wear his hat, that was the biggest lifesaver of all so I didn't have the cold rain pounding on my forehead. 

But my goodness was it a tough course. It was beautiful, running through the gardens with all of the tulips and flowers, and all along the beautiful green golf course. But with that, besides the rain, we were running on stone pavers, then cement, then gravel, then uphill on brick, downhill on wood chips, and up and down the narrow path on the golf course. It was such a doozy. There is no way I could have done as well as I did without Brittany. She was so good to keep encouraging me, and talking me through the worst of it. 

I felt really good, but hit a wall at mile 8, and suddenly got nauseous and had to decrease our pace a little. With that I lost a lot of pride as some people started to pass us. But I just had to remind myself, that I had just had a baby 8 months ago, and this was a still a huge accomplishment, even if it wasn't my fastest half marathon I'd ever completed. 

We came rolling in at 1:57, just under 2 hours, my goal for the race. Eventually I'm hoping to get in the 1:40's (even if it's 1:49:59), but I think it's healthy to always have a goal to work toward. My PR for a half marathon is 1:55, so I'm hoping with my next one that I can beat that!

It was a very tough race, but I was so grateful at the end to say that I didn't quit, that I pushed myself, and I hope I can always be that example to my cute supportive daughters. Ryan was a trooper and brought them out to cheer me on, but luckily they didn't have to get too far from the car before we found them. Here's to more races this summer!! I can do hard things!!

Happy Easter

We had a fantastic Easter this year. We went to the Jackson's Saturday morning for the Easter bunnies first stop. We had a yummy brunch with sausage casserole and pudding rolls. Then Livy went down stairs and found lots of goodies and treats that Easter Bunny had hid for her. 

The next morning the Easter Bunny visited our house! He left a little trail of jelly beans from Livy's door to a pile of goodies on the couch for her. Including the movie Jungle Book! It's been a new favorite ever since she saw it at Grammy Sue's house. Then we heard the doorbell ring, and it was a breakfast in a basket! Cinnamon rolls, milk, chocolate milk, orange juice, strawberries and cereal. Then we looked out the back window and the Easter bunny must've made his final stop, the trampoline and our newly laid grass had Easter eggs with jelly beans all over!

We then colored some eggs. We did some stripped eggs, polka dot, and stickered eggs. Then a Sunshine Bear, and two Olivia eggs and one for Penny. Livy had a great time and wanted to do more and more. 

We then got all dolled up for church. I was excited to get to make two matching dresses this year! I loves these sweet faces. Livy chose the fabric, so they're kind of bold, but still fun. 

We were able to video chat with the Ryan Farnsworth family, the Grow's and the Cavanaughs. Then we went to the Farnsworth's for a fabulous Easter feast. Penny was so cute. She sat in the corner with the toys and happily entertained herself for what seemed like an hour. She was just so happy and so content. I love these two girls of ours. I feel so lucky to be able to be a mom and help them learn and grow. We are so lucky to have the gospel in our lives and to know of the plan of salvation and the atonement. Feeling blessed. 

Our best attempt at taking a picture with these cute little Farnsworth bunny cousins. I love the death grip Livy has on Penny in the first one. And Penny was clapping her feet back and forth, back and forth while we kept trying to get another. Love these girls and all of their pink. 

Happy Birthday to Me

We were able to celebrate grandpa's 93rd birthday! It was nice to be there together with a few family members, and we were especially grateful for Livy to be there to help him blow out the candles. Boy does she love birthdays. We have been so fortunate to spend so much time with grandpa this last year. He is such an incredible, kind and gracious man. I am so lucky to be part of his family. 

I also had the best birthday week ever. We started out with a birthday dinner at the Jackson's Sunday night with the traditionally awesome chocolate cake. We went to Macaroni Grill with the Farnsworth's on Monday night, and left with a grand exit of both girls crying and screaming, it was our family at our finest. On Tuesday I went to lunch with Sue and my little family at Malawi's. That night my mom came out to our house to watch the girls and help put them to bed while Ryan and went to see a movie (Captain America 2). It was really good, and was so nice to have a night out with just the two of us. 

On Wednesday, my actual birthday, I went to lunch with two of my new favorite people, Erin Poulsen and Taylor Allred. They are my neighbors, and are both so kind, and so fun to be around. They both make me want to be a better person and mother. 

That afternoon our sod came for our yard! It was a day early, so we were thrown off guard a little, so we hurried and rounded up some ward members and neighbors. We went to scouts, and when we got home about 30 people showed up to help, it was incredible. We felt so blessed and so lucky to live in such a great area. I unfortunately, already had plans with my friends, it was my monthly Bunco night. So I selfishly left and went to Bunco. I felt guilty leaving a yard full of work, but I also was looking forward to this night with my friends, on my birthday, so I went! 

Ryan also got me an amazing Garmin running watch. I told him all I really wanted for my birthday was sod, and I was so grateful to get that, but was so thrilled about my new watch too! I have such a great husband, family and friends. It was such a great week. 

First Dance Recital

Putting Livy in dance this January was probably one of the best things we have done for this girl. She has loved her dance class. She loved her teacher Ms. Erika, and we were so excited to find out that she is building a house, with her studio in the basement, just down the street from us! I am excited for the next few years with her. The last class, Livy had played hard all morning, and we went right to dance class, and as soon as she got home, she crashed on the couch. This never ever happens. I loved her sleeping there in her cute little tutu.

A few weeks ago we got to get Livy all dressed up in her costume, did her her hair and make up for the class pictures. She was so excited to get all dolled up again for her actual recital. She loved looking at herself in the mirror, winking at herself, and dancing around so she could look at her reflection in the fireplace. I took way too many pictures, and couldn't decide which ones to put on here, so I just did a lot. She was just so cute and happy. 

The dance recital was such a huge proud parenting moment. It was so cute, and so hilarious all at once. The girls were on stage waiting for the music to come on, so Livy started waving, and saying "hi mom!", then she gave me a big and confident double thumbs up. She looked like she was having so much fun, and was so confident. 

We had so much fun watching our girls' first dance recital. I hope our kids can always find something that makes them so happy and shine like Livy did in this recital.