Letting Go

Life is never going to be the same...Banana started Kindergarten and I'm not so sure how well I'm coping! It has been an adjustment for all of us, most of all for sweet little Em. She doesn't know what to do without her sister. I think there are moments where she loves the one on one time she gets with me and Running Man, but most of the time I think she's just lonely. Her and banana are the best of friends!
Banana is LOVING everything about school. She has an amazing teacher and has informed us she already has a boyfriend. She doesn't know his name though so I can't be too worried. :)

The first order of business in our prep for school was to get her ears pierced. She started asking us the first of the summer if she could do it, so we told her as soon as she was ready she could pierce them. It took until the week before school started for her to build up her courage. She was a trooper! Not a single tear. She loves having her big girl earrings and can't wait until she can start putting others in!

The morning school started we made a special breakfast of watermelon pancakes. They were super easy and really fun to make (and eat)!

Our traditional first day of school pic. I'm still blown away at how grown up she looks.

Waiting patiently for the teacher to come out and get them. I may or may not have been bawling at this point.

Waiting not so patiently for the teacher. :) Two seconds after I took this pic she had disappeared into the building. It was weird for me to hear a bunch of moms cheering in relief as their kids left. I can't imagine myself ever getting to the point where I am happy about one of my children leaving. I'm sure I'll probably eat my words someday, but as for now I miss her every second that she's gone.

What better way to celebrate her first day than with free lunch at IKEA?! Apparently everyone else in the city had the same idea because that place was insane!

I think we are finally getting into a routine and adjusting to our new schedule. Now we can focus on getting this baby boy here and keeping me from falling apart. :) This pregnancy is giving me a run for my money. I think we can almost start an official countdown!

What Really Matters

I've been in a funk lately. The stresses of this particular pregnancy combined with starting a new business and trying to get it off the ground have taken its toll. When I do have free time all I want to do is cuddle up with my girls and my hard-working hubby and just breathe. So if I have been lax in answering phone calls, emails or texts I really am sorry! The summer is flying by and I can hardly believe that my Banana starts Kindergarten next week. Next week! When did she turn into this not-so-little girl anymore.

Sometimes I look at her and just want to freeze time. Life comes at you so fast that I find it hard to figure out just where the time went.
I am grateful for times like this past weekend where we were able to escape "real" life for a bit and enjoy some time together as a family. We headed to Price for a family reunion and to see our California family. I don't think the girls stopped playing for one second.

The cousins played so well together and we are super sad that we only get to see them a few times a year. My girls are smitten with The Boy, and Em and The Girl are two peas in a pod. Their temperaments and personalities are so similar that all I loved hearing them interact with each other.

Every year for..well my whole life, we have gathered at my Grandma's N.'s house on the 24th of July for their annual parade and park festivities. This year the parade had a family theme and we found out last minute that my Grandma REALLY wanted to do something for it. (We were hosting her family reunion this year so it worked out perfectly). So my amazing mother threw this float together in two days and made my Grandma's dream come true. She told us she couldn't sleep the two nights before the parade because she felt like it was Christmas!
If you look in the background you can see my uncle pushing my sweet, sweet Grandma.
(We found out the night before that it was on my nephew's bucket list to be in a parade this summer so we were happy they could come join this side of the family and be in the parade)!


The weekend was finished out perfectly with fireworks and quality family time. Moments like these need to come around more often!

UP!

They recently built this awesome house by Running Man's office. UP is one of our favorite movies and if the price tag were a little (ok, a lot) lower we might consider buying it. ;)

The Great Outdoors

Since our dating days, Bridal Veil Falls has been a favorite spot of ours. We have been waiting for years to take the girls there and finally did! They LOVED it. I wish I could have captured some video of Em running around yelling "Best Day EVER!" And of Hannah splashing around in the water and telling us it was the most perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and we could have spent all day there. I love living in a place where things like this are only minutes or a short drive away from us. Here are some pics of our fabulous day!

Ignore my awkward posing! Neither Running Man or I could back up anymore so I thought crouching down would solve the problem...eh, not so much. :)

We {heart} Iowa

Summertime is in full swing at our house, and with that came a birthday celebration, pre-school graduation and our LONG awaited trip to Iowa!! Running Man was asked to be a groomsmen in one of our closest friends wedding. So we have been planning and (not so) patiently waiting for this trip for a year now.

The weekend before our trip was miss Em's 3rd birthday. We kept it very casual and are so grateful to all of those who came for the party, and at different times throughout the week to celebrate with her!
Em hates any kind of attention so this is the result if you ever try smiling/complimenting her.
This not so little girl had her pre-school graduation. I could lie and say I handled it perfectly well...but we all know that's never the case with me. :) She is SO ready for Kindergarten. I am still having a hard time believing she is this old.
Right after graduation we hit the road. The first place on our list to visit when we got to Iowa was our favorite candy store. We usually let them get a few of the little penny candies and a chocolate. Well...I made the mistake of using the restroom, came back out and found that their dad had bought them these monsters. Holy mess! The girls were in heaven and are still enjoying the suckers today.

We could hardly wait to see the Mississippi!! The flood waters just recently receded so we were able to see all kinds of fish and foul. We loved it, but it was H.O.T. We got to D-Port just in time for the sweltering heat and humidity to kick in. Me and my preggo feet didn't fare so well.
Enjoying the sky bridge at Palmer. It felt weird to be back there as alumni. Running Man felt sorry for all of the frazzled students scrambling around.
Rocket Park! The absolute best park we have ever been to. Every city needs one just like this.
Running Man all dressed up for the wedding. The girls danced their little hearts out at the reception.

A spot by Palmer where Banana's teeny tiny handprints are in the cement.Rainbow Bridge. We were so disappointed because it seemed to be stuck on purple the whole time we were there. Normally there's a rainbow of colors that works its way down the bridge...

Our final stop was the always delicious Machine Shed. I crave their french onion soup pretty much every day, and it did not disappoint.Our closest friends Nate and Liz were gracious enough to let us crash at their apartment for a week. We had so much fun and are so grateful to them. I hope they survived our chaos and we miss them so, so much!They have the cutest little puppy Penelope (who the girls call Penelopuppy). I'm pretty sure she didn't know what to do with herself with two crazy kids trying to love on her 24/7. Both of the girls sobbed when they said good-bye to her.

One last picture to show everyone why I had such a hard time moving away from Iowa last year, and why I still miss it every day. These amazing women threw me a surprise baby shower while we were there. They are so sweet, and so much fun to be around. I didn't want the night to end!
Thank you to everyone who made our trip so fabulous!! We can't wait to see you again!

Miss Em

Happy Birthday to this sometimes sweet



sometimes sassy


and always adorable little girl!


We love her so much. She is a constant ball of energy, keeps me on my toes, is her sister's best friend and makes every day so much fun!

There are times when the things that are happening in our lives seem too overwhelming to face. Or when crawling under the covers and hiding away feels like the best option.
This past year there have been so many moments where I have felt like this.
Then I realize how blessed I am to have these people in my life...

and suddenly I feel like I can take on anything.