Our Summer So Far

     Our summer so far has been super busy but super fun! Almost all of our weekends are already planned for us and I'll admit sometimes I want roll my eyes and think I just want a calm weekend but honestly I'm so happy our weekends are filled with our family and friends. 

     On this particular day Bella decided to dress herself and she said she was a missionary! How cute is she? And how could I ask her to change when she said she was a missionary? 

     My girlies and I. These girls are so fun! 

     The day before Bellas 6th birthday. It was our last time hugging her as a 5 year old. I love this little lady and I honestly can't believe she's 6. 

     After Bellas birthday party Doug and I were incredibly tired but Doug's dad side of the family was having a get together and most of them hadn't even met Charlie yet so we obviously had to go. Doug and I really didn't want to go after her party but we knew we'd regret it if we didn't and I'll tell you what I'm so glad we went and I knew we would be too. Dougs family is so fun! I loved being around everyone again. 

     It's summer time and I've been really trying to make sure we're not just sitting around watching tv all day so we added some much needed structure. Bella has "homework time" after lunch every day and I'm loving the quiet time. It truly has made the day go by smoother. 

     Speaking of smooth Blanca and I did the sawtooth relay together this year. A team of 6 running 61 miles. It was so fun and so hard. Blanca killed it! 

     The view was killer. Honestly I wish that I had this view every time I ran. 

     I feel like I did great during the first 5 miles. I enjoyed the view. My legs and hips didn't hurt. I really felt great! My second leg 4 hours later was 4.7 miles and I thought I'd do okay. It wasn't too far but I did terrible! Right before I ran I felt so hungry but I was afraid to eat so close to my run. I started and My lungs were on fire. I felt sooo dehydrated and just tired. I had never felt like that during a run before. I truly couldn't wish to be done and I was so glad when I was. I was grateful my team was super nice about it and told me I did great because I finished. Plus Lori gave me her Gatorade which is pretty much like donating blood during a race like that right?

     It really was such a fun experience. My team was so nice and supportive! I feel lucky that I had them especially my sister for my first sawtooth relay.

 

     My hard work has been paying off because this little lady has been noticing and been begging me to run with me so I finally took her. She ran 1 1/2 miles with me and did great! 

     Charlie has also been loving her babies. I was never really into baby dolls and neither was Bella but Charlie had loved them forever! I love watching her play with them it's so cute! 

     She has even been almost sweet to her sister. Bella can now randomly touch her without Charlie freaking out. The other night I let Bella watch one episode of her favorite show before bed and Charlie went and sat on her lap. I couldn't believe my eyes! 

     The best place to go if you have a toddler (ahh I can't believe I said toddler😩) is jabbers. Charlie was in heaven! She kept looking at me like "can I really touch everything?" 

     This is only a fraction of our summer and it truly has been so fun! I hope the rest of our summer can be just as fun!

Isaiah's Graduation and The Pool!

     This handsome graduated from kindergarten and he was as cute as can be! Everytind he herd us cheer for him you could see how proud of himself he was. Good job Isaiah! 

  

     We went to ihop after to help celebrate his special day and I snapped this sweet moment. 

     Blanca invited us over to swim in their new pool and Bella couldn't get in soon enough! This girl is a fish. Then we put Charlie in since it's not very deep. We were watching her smile and walk (she loves water too) and then she slipped and went under. I hurried and bend over the side to pull her out and I slipped inside the pool and held her above the water for Blanca to grab. She wasn't under long at all and she was totally fine but she did not want to get back in for a while. After we all calmed down Blanca and I couldn't stop laughing because I was completely drenched in my jeans and blouse. But hey it was hot outside so at least it felt good:)

     Charlie didn't want anything to do with the pool for a while even with me holding her but slowly she found her way back to it and wanting to get back in. 

     I knew I couldn't let her leave the pool with a bad experience so I'm so happy she went back in and had fun! 

     It was such a fun day with the cousins! Even if I unexpectedly went swimming in my clothes:) 

Bella Graduated!

     I'm so glad Bella only graduated from know Kindergarten I don't think I could handle anything else. I can't believe how fast this school year flew by. Bella has learned and grown so much this year and I'm so proud of my little cutie. 

     Bella getting her "diploma." She was so funny! 

     My mom and Bella. She sure loves her Grammy:)

     My sister and Olivia. Proud aunt and cousin! Bella loved having them there. I kept hearing "that's my cousin Olivia!"

     A rare family picture. We're almost all looking. 

     These two love each other!

      Bella and Ms.Demond. She is seriously such an amazing teacher! I am so happy we were lucky enough to have her for our first year of school. Honestly dropping off your baby for the first time with pretty much a stranger feels so wrong. She helped ease all my worries the first few weeks of school. She was so approachable and available to me when I had questions and Bella absolutely loves her! She would come home every day and tell me how nice she was, what she learned and how much she loved her. 

     My favorite is when Bella came home for a few weeks and tell me about a little boy who kept saying mean things to her. I asked her if she told Ms.Demond and she said no. So I told her to talk to her about it and see if she would help her. I was afraid she might ignore her or push the problem aside. She 100% fixed the problem the next day. I was so proud of Bella and so grateful for her teacher. We will definitely miss her. 

     Bella loved taking pictures with her friends. I think they were all so cute but u know we missed a few like her best friend lillia. But all these girls are just as cute! 

     My sweet Bellsie girl I love you so much. You are so funny and full of life! I can't believe how fast these 5 almost 6 years have gone by. You have surpassed all my expectation of you. You are sweet, smart, thoughtful, hard working, and so full of love for your family. You are also so stylish and amazingly beautiful inside and out. I am lucky to be your mother. I'm lucky to be able to watch you grow. Keep growing, and keep shining! 

First Camping Trip of The Season.

   

     We had such a fun weekend! We went camping and we crossed our fingers that the camp trailer would be okay. Doug has been working so hard on it the last 2 months and he put a lot of work into it. We both have a lot more to do with it but our goal was to make it livable for this trip at least and I'm so happy we did! I'm 100% hooked to camp trailer camping. Not only did we sleep in a bed but we slept worry free of my babies freezing at night.

     The girls had so much fun playing outside and exploring. This was Charlie every nap and bedtime. Seriously no fussing. Just out like a light. 

     Bella also relearned how to ride her bike. She learned a few months ago but she was a little rusty so Doug retaught her and 5 min later she was zooming past us. She rode her bike up and down the campsite 80% of the time we were there. It was so fun watching her. She's so proud of herself.

     The girls enjoying a nice snack. Did I mentione Charlie refuses to be fed? Because she does. She rather starve than be fed. I rather let her make a HUGE MESS than let her starve. 

     

     Also I turned 25 while we were there. It was probably the best birthday i have ever had. It started with the most thoughtful gift ever from Doug... 

     A new set of scriptures. Seriously beautiful and so thoughtful. He also gave me a CTR ring. Also beautiful! 

     Then Doug and I went on a nice long four wheeling ride with his grandparents and aunt and uncle. 

     The view was breathtaking. Doug was so worried about my birthday not being special but seriously does it get better than this? 

 

     Debbie even surprised me with cake and ice cream! So nice and thoughtful.  

     Since there's 25 candles I clearly needed a little help from Bella. 

     I was sad the weekend went by so fast. Charlie definitely wore Doug and I out everyday from chasing her and she was always super filthy so I am happy to be home but at the same time I can't wait to go again. 

I Ran 13.1 Miles.

     The day finally came. I was actually very excited for the tutu run and to put my training to the test. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep the night before but lucky for me I slept like a baby.    

     A before picture of Blanca and I. It was a chilly morning but luckily it didn't rain. 

        I felt great the first 6 miles. Even when I started getting a little tired around mile 7 I  was able to keep going. Unfortunately at mile 11 I hit a terrible wall. I just wanted to stop and walk but luckily my sister helped push me and helped not give up. I had to keep saying outloud "you got this."

 "Keep going."

"you can do it."

     Even though I felt a little bit like a crazy person it really did help me keep going. We finished in 2 hours and 35 minutes! I cried happy tears when we got to the end because I couldn't believe I was able to finish such a hard goal! I thought of the example I was making for my family. Especially Bella. I was so grateful for my sister for always being a good example, always encouraging me and for running with me. I was also super grateful to Doug for always helping me get my runs in even when our schedules were crazy busy. Seriously my family is awesome! Even my parents to came to support us! 

     I already can't wait for my next one;) okay maybe I can wait a little bit.