Derek and Amy Visit: Part 1

 We have been so excited for Derek, Amy, Charlotte, Juliette, and Emily to come visit us in Washington. We have had a chain countdown for about a month and the day finally came when they arrived and the adventures and the fun began.

They arrived on Saturday and we showed them around and took them to the park. We fed the ducks, played on the playground, and walked around the dock.

Cute cousins reunited again!

 These three were pretty much inseparable the entire trip.

Sunday we went to church and after dinner we decided to go to Tahoma National Cemetery to see all the flags for Memorial Day. 

Paige was so excited for her cousins to come. She was kept very busy and she loved having someone to play with.

 Nate told them to make their silliest faces and this is what he got....

 At the cemetery. Charlotte had all sorts of questions and it was amazing to go and see and reflect on the sacrifices that all those men and women made for our country's freedoms.

 Charlotte was so excited to see her name. This picture shows that open-mouthed amazement.

 Both of Nate's grandpas and both of mine served in the military. I am so grateful for their service and their example of loving your country. It was incredible to see all the flags. It was sad to me to see those that had a killed in action flag next to their headstone. I even saw one that was my age and he was a husband and father. It makes me extremely grateful for the freedoms that I have.

 We had a Memorial Day bbq and I even made some red, white, and blue cupcakes.

Tuesday we went first went to Flaming Geyser and did a short hike there.

 Nate's amazing photography skills at work.

 Then we headed over to Saltwater State Park. The girls got to put their feet in the Puget Sound, collected sea shells, looked at all sorts of little crabs and creatures hiding under rocks, and did lots of exploring.

 Derek and Nate did all the lifting of rocks to see the crabs as the girls watched from a safe distance.

 Under a couple of rocks we saw some small sucker type fish and this one even had eggs. We didn't even see the eggs at first because we were so focused on finding the fish. It was really neat to see the eggs. You can kind of see the fish in the water if you look closely.

Tuesday after breakfast we went on a little walk on the Soos Creek Trail.

 Then we headed to Auburn because I had a doctor's appointment. While I was there they stopped at a thrift store and then we all went to the mall so the girls could ride on a carousel. Then after dinner all the girls got to go in the hot tub.

To be continued for the rest of our awesome week.............

Mother's Day and My Sweet Girl

 I had a great Mother's Day! It was a relaxing morning with a free pedicure from the most amazing little girl. We had a wonderful dinner after church. It was nice and relaxing and fun to be with family.

I am so grateful for Paige. She is the best little girl ever! She is so much fun and is so silly. She loves to help me and she is my little sidekick. I am one lucky momma and I love her so much!

She helped me make rolls the other day and she had LOVED playing in the flour. She would draw and swirl the flour around and then sprinkle the flour all over her legs.

 Some messes are just so much fun!

 When we were celebrating Mother's Day, Paige wanted to be a part of the fun too since according to her she is a mommy too. She is a mommy to her two baby dolls that she loves. 

Here she is being a doctor and making her baby feel better. She loves watching Doc McStuffins and now she will have one of stuffed animal puppies "scratch" you so that she can fix you up.

 She will be a great big sister one day.

In the past month or two Paige has changed to where she doesn't take naps anymore so her falling asleep in the car or on our laps happens more than it ever did when she took naps. I love seeing her sleeping. She looks like a little angel. I love my little girl so much!

Supermom Activity Days

 I love, LOVE my calling. I am the an activity day leader in our ward which means I do two activities a month with the girls that are ages 8-11. It is so much fun to do and I love doing all the activities with the girls. We have a great group of girls who are very active and outgoing. We usually do activities based on the Faith in God requirements but for this past month we have been working on our mother/daughter activity. We decided that we wanted to do a supermom theme and for both activities in April I recorded the girls doing different skits. We made a list of things that their moms do that make them supermoms and I brought a whole bunch of props. For each skit one girl was the supermom and the other one or two were the kids. They had a lot of fun and were very silly. I edited it all and complied them all together. After the skits in the video each girl got to say to their moms why they were supermoms and happy mother's day. The video was simple but a lot of fun to do.

I did this cute invitation for the special night.

We had the main event and I have to thank Anna for helping me decorate. We went in the morning and we set up tables, chairs, and all sorts of decorations. For the tables I used red and blue tablecloths with yellow streamers twisted down the center with kisses and little superhero logo cutouts. I hung up the backdrop I made that was also used for the filming of the video. We hung up streamers and balloons and I put superhero logos and such all over the room. I loved seeing the girls reactions when they walked into the transformed room for the first time.

The first activity was an M&M game that the other leader came up with.

 The girls and moms seeing the finished video for the first time. It was so much fun seeing their reactions. The girls were slightly embarrassed but were also super excited when it was their part. I also burned a video for each of the girls to take home which they loved. One mom even told me the following Sunday that her daughter had already watched it six times. I am glad they liked it. It took a lot of time but it was well worth it.

 Then each girl got a paper that said "My Mom" and each mom got a paper that said "My Girl". They all got crayons and got to write what they like or appreciate about the other person. It was to build self-esteem but also a chance for the girls to color and be crafty which they love to do.

 Then we had dinner. Thanks Margaret for helping with all the prep work! We had quite the spread but it was very good. The other leader made some chicken salad sandwiches and I made cheeseburger soup, a green salad, some fruit cones, and some dessert. There was plenty of food but it was all delicious and was nice to sit and visit.

The sign on the table says "Who needs Superheroes when you have Mom!"

 I did most of the baking the day before and it all turned out great.

Some of the girls had a hard time getting the fruit out of the chocolate-covered cones.

 The night ended with the girl's gifts to their moms. It was such a fun night. I loved planning and preparing for it and it all turned out so good!