Guess what...

Today is my Birthday.
You do know that I LOVE my Birthday, don't you?
I love all Birthday's really. Even yours.
But I really.really.really. love mine.

I love it so much that my family has dubbed July as "Birthday Month". My brother and sister both called me July 1st to wish me a Happy Birthday month. Bless them. The ladies made sure to make my day special.


I woke up to them singing "Happy Birthday Dear Hayley" (what happened to them calling me mom??)...and presenting me with this little beauty. I've had my eye on it for months, and am so happy that it is gracing my kitchen with it's loveliness. And I feel so very "country" when I water the flowers now. Love it.



Adyson told me she was so excited to give it to me that she couldn't sleep last night. (She is just like me.) I love to give gifts just as much as getting them...or almost as much, at least.

My mom took us out to lunch to celebrate. I love that mom of mine, she is pretty much always making sure my Birthday ends up being everything I hope it is. Thank you Ma! What would I do without you? Really.




Lunch with the ladies usually consists of silly faces. Enjoy.




Travis, who made my culinary wishes come true by hooking me up with a much dreamed about herb garden, had a treatment today, so we had a pretty laid back night, and will resume celebrating tomorrow. Lunch with friends, and dinner with my family. Sounds like a dreamy and perfect day to me! I don't mind celebrating my day 2 days in a row. Not at all. Thanks for all the fun cards, calls, and gifts! Love you all.

Reasons to Smile

Here are just a few things making me smile today:

This Wedding Video. Trust me, it will make you happy if you watch.


These are in my oven right now. Yummo.

This picture of Sienna. (You must be smiling at this, right). She is unfairly cute.
This wax seal pendant found here. You need one, it will make you smile.

My sister will be back from a dreaded stay in Texas in just 4 weeks.
This makes me smile lots.

And good music. Love this song and my friend Erin put this on her blog. It made me smile, and feel warm and gooey inside. (Just like the brownies I am currently baking).
What has made you smile today?

Bugs shows and Swimming lessons

The Bug Show:
Our little Adyson has a weird little obsession with bugs.

Yes, you read correctly, bugs.

Daily, she and her friends are outside picking up ants, catching grasshoppers, and the occasional ladybug. She gets so excited each and every time she finds something and runs in to show me (and I fake my excitement, while cringing of course), and then I usher her (quickly) out the door.

If she gets a surprise at the store, it is bug related. She has the bug water capsules, the bugs that slide down glass, and has her eye on a "real" bug house.

Now I hope I've painted you an accurate picture of her love of bugs. We are trying to support this love, because frankly, it's a nice change from princesses, make-up, and dress-ups.

She was sooo very excited when the patio was finished because she had big plans for a "bug show". She talked about this show for a few days, and we weren't exactly sure what she had in mind, and figured she would forget it.

We should have known better...

One afternoon she told us she was ready, and made us come outside in the 119 degree weather.

This is what we found.

Bugs, stuffed animals, and even a few ants, all lined up in a perfect row.

And she had to have music, and goggles. Duh, both are much needed for a bug show!

"Sit down" she said. So we sat. And then the show began.

Her sweet little voice boomed with "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the bug show!"

She would take each animal and have us touch it, while telling us simple facts about them. Her favorite part, I'm sure, was having us look at the live ants she collected a few days before. (Um, they weren't moving....), but we looked, and oohed and awed. And clapped. All while sticking, and sweating, and maybe even melting.

This for her, was a dream come true. She was the complete center of attention showing us something she just adores. And while it was sofreakinhot, I had to be thankful for her sharing her love with us. Now someone tell me how we get her to continue sharing everything with us as she gets older.....

Swimming Lessons:

The ladies just finished swimming lessons for the first time this year.

Sienna, did it Sienna's way. She was comfortable in the water, enjoyed every second, and had no fear. She is uber comfortable in the water and will jump right in and go under. Her teacher said she did everything she asked without and problems, and we are so proud! Go Enna bug!

Adyson did it Aydson's way. She went without any problems, but it was very obvious from the first day that she is not comfortable in the water. I don't blame her considering she has no depth perception, but I just knew it was going to be a lot of work. While the other kids were going right under, she was barely dipping her mouth in. Lessons are 9 days, and on day 8 she finally figured out that it isn't as scary as she thought! She all the sudden understood how to breath, how to hold her breath, and how to be a bit more comfortable in the water. We were so proud watching her, but mostly, she was proud. She couldn't wait to show us her "moves", and it was so fun watching them! The best part is that today she told me that now she wants to be baptized because she's not scared to go under water....glad she is already bracing herself for something that is 3 years away! We are pretty proud of her too, Go Ads!

Relay for Life

Friday night our little fam went to the Relay For Life at USU. We've been invited to attend for the last few years, and either because we've been busy, or ahem, just ignoring and pretending cancer isn't a part of our lives, we have yet to attend.

This year we sucked it up and realized that yes, we are part of the club.

I wasn't expecting it to be quite as emotional, and empowering as it was. The field was covered in tents, people were everywhere wearing their team shirts, and their purple survivor shirts. Care givers were there with their loved ones showing support. And so many people were there just to show they cared.

Amazing.

After a lovely speech given by a girl about her battle with cancer (she couldn't have been older than 30), the cancer survivors, all donning their purple t's, gathered at one end of the track, and the caregivers gathered at the other, and they met in the middle.

This was beautiful, sad, fabulous, a bit of awful, and beyond memorable all rolled into one.

Beautiful to see so many survivors. Every age, many sizes, and I'm sure, many types of cancer. It just gave me hope.

Sad to see so many there. Don't get me wrong, I know it's great to see so many survivors together, but it's also so sad to see just how many people have been affected by it. Just.so.sad.

Fabulous to see so many people surrounding the track, tears in their eyes, clapping and cheering for those who have battled though it. As we walked the track together, I couldn't help but feel the love of those cheering. It's very obvious that these are people who have gone through, or are currently going through what we are dealing with. People who really understand the highs and the lows. Amazing (Yes, I said it again, but I have no other words.)

And Awful to see so many children there. I can't imagine. Awful to see so many people who are still fighting, and obviously not feeling 100%. It just made me ache for so many people there.

And Memorable. Travis seemed to tower over the people he was walking with (not to mention he was the only one in blue because he hadn't changed his shirt yet) and I could see him coming down the track from the start. My heart was chuck full of love for him right then. I will never forget watching him walk with so many who have beaten the disease he has. I felt (and still feel) so very proud of him.

Here's a few pics of the night.

Trav and the ladies finishing the survivor/care giver walk. They do take mighty fine care of him if you ask me. :) Do you spot Adyson and I? Trav and Sienna are behind us a bit. Notice all the people clapping on the sidelines.

And don't you think he just looks SEXY in purple?

I'm just sayin'

We joked that his shirt should say survivoring, instead of survivor.

And here's the whole fam.

Wanna come see...

My new backyard haven?

You were all expecting something much more exciting, weren't you? Oh well, now that you are here let me show off my hubby's hard work.

Step outside my door onto my deck. Before we added the magical play land, we had a play house, kid's picnic table, and an older table that was rusted with some old chairs that the bee's made plenty of hives in. Now we have a new table to eat on with plenty of room for guests (wanna come?)....

Come down the stairs onto my new patio (poured by my amazing brother).

Don't forget to look at my pretty flower baskets my sil with a green thumb planted for me. Beautiful, yes?

Here is my new flower bed right off the side of the patio. I think it's lovely, and weed free for now. This makes me happy.

And here is our little arbor. You can imagine it made the princesses day, and they have already had many fun times with their friends here. I personally love this new addition!


The magical play land is just next to the patio. It's nice to be able to sit on the deck, and be far enough away that we aren't completely surrounded by the toys, but close enough that we can really keep our eyes on the ladies, and their many neighborhood friends.

Let's go way back to the edge of the yard, so you can see the bigger picture.

You like? We do!

Thanks to Travis, the many family members who helped, and the neighbors too!

Mason

This Friday is the Relay for Life. Click here to donate on my dear friend's sons behalf and to read his story. If you ask me there is no better place to spend your money! ;)

Fourth Of July Weekend

This last week has been nothing short of perfection. Travis was able to take a few days off work, and we were able to spoil our girls (and ourselves) totally rotten.

I'm just broken hearted that it's over, and as I write this Monday is creeping up on me. Boo.

Wednesday Cody, my pops, and Travis were finally able to pour our patio. That in itself pretty much made our week! We were beyond thrilled that the dirt/rock hole is gone and replaced by a useful space (pics to come when it is %100 complete). Thanks Cody and Dad for all your hard work!

And being the good wife that I am, while they were pouring cement in the intense heat, I was off enjoying some delicious food and even more delicious company! The ladies, Grandma and I met with our long time friends The Ottes for some much needed catch up time. Brittney (the beauty with the dark hair) and I have been friends since we were in diapers, and it is always a joy to get to see her since she is a bit of a traitor who moved much to far away. Sigh. Her girls are darling, and it was such a nice little outing. And don't worry, I made it up to the boys by bringing home Sonic Route 44's....

Thursday our little family decided to head to Bear Lake for some sun and relaxation. As you know, we were waiting for results from the scan on Thursday, and this was so much better than the usual wait! Usually I am sitting by the phone biting my nails, and instead we were enjoying our day and not really even thinking about it! I cannot tell you how much fun it was to just spend the day basking in the sun and watching the ladies beach comb. Sea shells make them happy, and they spent most of the day searching for them, and chasing seagulls. Travis and I were just sitting in our chairs enjoying the view. They are quite cute little things. And you can't go to Bear Lake without a stop at Lebeau's, right?For fries, and fry sauce! (jealous Jody?)

Friday we had promised to take the ladies to the Dinosaur park. I know, you must be surprised by this choice of activity, it's not the most girly...but the girls had been to the one at Thanksgiving point a few years ago, and loved it and have been begging to go back. We chose the one up Ogden Canyon, and had a great time. It is really different, but we had a great time, and it was a perfect morning. After eating lunch at the Sonora Grill (YUMMO) we headed to the Brigham pool to see the Kidman clan and celebrate Tiff's B-day. Happy Birthday Tiff! We Love you!The ladies and Tiff

After a few hours of relaxing time we were off to the park to watch the fireworks. This is one of my favorite nights. It is full of family, friends, and fun. Each year we go to the same park, and sit with some of our favorite people. The kids run till they are extremely tired, we snack, and chat, and laugh, and then the fireworks start and the kids snuggle in, and it is pure heaven.

This picture kills me!

Saturday night we weren't quite ready for the Holiday to end, so we had a little BBQ and lit up the sky with some awesome fireworks of our own. Cody and Travis put on quite the show, with Cody's dancing skillz and a finale that put Fireworks West to shame! It ended up being pretty fun because some of our neighbors had some pretty great (and I'm fairly certain not legal) fireworks of their own, and we had them coming from a bunch of different angels. It was a great way to wrap up the weekend!

Sienna had a few treats...can you tell?

I feel so very blessed that we were able to spend so much time together this last week, and so thankful for my little family. It is so much fun to take the ladies places and see things through their eyes! Goodness having kids is fun!

I hope that your 4th was packed full of fun as well!

Results

I am happy to report that things are still looking stable...Wahoo!
There is a very small amount of growth in the rib, but nothing to be concerened about.

We are pleased and ready to celebrate our 4th now. I hope your weekend is full of fun!

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My unfairly talented friend Ashley (who took the beautiful pics on my header), is having a giveaway on her blog! She is amazing and just SO good! Head over there and sign up for your chance to win...

http://ashleymaephoto.com/blog/