Lydia is 6!

Our unstoppable Lydia turns 6 today! She's an amazing, spunky, bright, determined little soul and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

She is loving kindergarten this year. Her angel of a teacher is Mrs. Willson, who also lives in our neighborhood. She is learning more every day and is always looking for adventure. Lydia is so adventurous and social- we sometimes have to track her down as she plays from house to house in the neighborhood, which is FULL of fun playmates! She loves to ride her bike and even rode a big girl bike to school today with Jenna! She's taking 6 by the horns!

Instead of a big party, she got to take two friends to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point yesterday. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun!

 Eliza, Ava, Emmi (Lydia's long-lost twin in every way) and Lydia posed with the cow for a sec.

 Lydia had a turn all to herself, since the biggest horse already had a ride the first time. She waited patiently to get what she wanted. This is how she does things.

 The wagon ride, with Bob and Barney pulling the wagon. They girls each had a pink bandana.

 We went to the ice cream parlor where everyone enjoyed the tall stools & bubble gum ice cream!

We also made a quick stop in the candy store & then went out back to enjoy a treat. The girls did a few musical numbers in the courtyard for good measure.


What a fun adventure it is to know Lydia! We sure love you, Lyds!!

Jenna's birthday #10

Double digits saw Jenna celebrating over and over this year. Here's a peek...

Cousin party at Gma & Gpa Lloyd's

10 candles makes quite a bonfire! (Friend party- Sabrina in the background)

Jenna is all about turquoise these days, right down to the cake.

We made these fun party favors in little fruit cocktail cans. Thanks, Pinterest.

Eliza was amazed by this rainbow that joined the party.

 The girls decorated flip flops, played lots of games during the party. So many girls, so much fun!! 

And don't forget the #10 pancakes for breakfast on the big day!

Aubrey's birthday

With the London Olympics in full-swing this summer. Aubrey decided she wanted an Olympics birthday party. It was so fun!

 There are so many girls her age in the ward & neighborhood. It was hard to have to cut off the guest list somewhere. I hope we didn't leave anyone out!

We started with the Parade of Nations. Each girl decorated her own little flag (an index card) and Aubrey led them on a parade around the yard.

By the end, everyone had a flag, gold medal, and their own torch full of little treats.

 The big torch, from whence all other torches come... Olympic cauldronish

Eliza carried the big torch

 We also had a party with the Gibsons and Grandma Barb & Papa Gary. Aub got a cookbook and tablecloth and later she and Grandma planned, prepared and served a meal for our family. Well done!

Random summer fun

We had so much fun when the Smith girls came to stay for the week. Rag rollers were a big hit!

Caitlyn was a big help & a good sport, even modeling a new apron for me.

Playing in the yard with Daddy.

 

Fun night at a Bee's game. We had awesome seat!

 The gentleman in the hat & suit was hilarious. He came late. Left to buy the hat, and chatted it up with our kids, showing all of us pics of his kids on his Blackberry. He was also packing. We're thinking he was in town for a big FBI bust... Just preserving the memory.

Aubrey had to be convinced to come to the game, but ended up having a ball! And getting a ball from an outfielder. Her flirting gets her too many things in life...

 I finally put up a few decorations. We sorted everything by color, then Jenna told me where to put things. It looks much better!

Growing pains

When we first moved to Saratoga Springs, our stake (group of church congregations) was divided & we became part of a new stake. The area is growing rapidly and there are lots and lots of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here. That was almost exactly 6 months ago.

Tonight we went to a special meeting where the wards (congregations) in our neighborhood were divided and boundaries realigned to create a new ward. In the less-than-one mile between our house and the girls' school, there are three large wards! Unbelievable!

We are still not used to the size of our ward and how actively everyone participates. You have to arrive at least 20 minutes early to have any chance to sit in a soft seat in the chapel instead of a folding chair in the overflow! The girls' Primary classes each had a minimum of 10 kids- and that was generally only half of the age group. I think a few of the age groups had 3 classes! That is a LOT of kids!

With the boundary change, we gained some great families and we say good bye to some! Luckily, they are all in the same place, but we will miss seeing them at church and activities. While it is sad to change things, I am excited to have a (slightly) smaller ward & Primary. The kids don't know each other well because there are so many kids to meet! The smaller numbers make you pull together to accomplish what needs to be done.

It makes me think back to a few years ago when our beloved Parkwood Ward in Kearns was created when our old stake made two wards out of what had been three. We made great new friends and kept working together to meet our common goals. Dear friends came and went, and we were better for having known them!

One amazing thing about the Church is that it is so much the same no matter where you are in the world. The faces and languages may change, but the Gospel is the same. We are all children of God, working to grow closer to our Heavenly Father and trying to make it through this life in one piece.  We sing the same songs, learn the same lessons, read the same scriptures, follow the same prophet. What a blessing it is in my life!

Here's to new friends and the ones that we will never forget!

So long, farewell

I took the girls to have lunch with some of their friends who would be off track the week we moved. The girls had been on D track most of our time there, so these were the kids they knew best.

And of course, Lydia and her bf Tyler Gage. She always calls him both names!