A Hiking we will go...

As a little celebration for school being over, we took Bria on her first overnight backpacking trip. We did the Ramona Falls hike which is about 3 miles in and 3 miles out. Perfect amount for a young, first timer.
Reese got to stay at Aunt Heather's while we were away.
The Buell boys joined us and all the kids had a great time. All of them had moments of exhaustion and wanting to be done, but overall they enjoyed themselves quite a bit.

 Brian and I were both so proud of Bria. She had such a good attitude and loved leading us.

 She carried her pack the whole way. We didn't put much in it, but we felt it was important that she carry it the whole way. Surprisingly she never complained about the pack.

Mt. Hood behind her

I think setting up camp and playing was her favorite part. Her and the boys built a perfect bed for her little baby and then they went and explored all around.

 Once we got all set up we went to the falls and all the kids loved it.

 It's hard to grasp the enormity of the falls in a picture. They are massive and breathtaking.
The kids were dying to get a fire going so we started one up and waited for some nice coals for marshmallow roasting.

 Once we had smores and some treats, the kiddos went to bed. Bria slept awesome, both her and I got a little cold so I taught her to put her head in the sleeping bag to stay warm.
Morning came and we ate and headed out.

 The way back went pretty good, but about an hour into it Bria was done. Brian and I blame ourselves, we didn't fill her up with the right food and I think her body was craving nutrients.

 Even still, she did awesome and we are so proud of her. She passed out in the car and slept the whole way home. Yep, we tired her out real nice.

And while we were camping, Reese was having fun with Aunt Heather:

Let the fun begin

Swimming at the Buell's neighborhood pool! Got all my girls :)

Ring around the rosie

Although summer has only just begun, the weather made us have summer fun before school was even out, so grateful. 

Oh sweet Reese's pieces

 Kayla sent me a link to this website that gave ideas for summer fun on the cheap, I went with the hoola hoop sheet idea because my girls love playing outside and having little "homes." I used sheets we already had so the only thing I had to buy was hoola hoops and twine, both from the dollar store, woop woop!

Bria decorated hers with butterflies

Perfect little oasis getaway

Bria also enjoys makeovers on her little subjects: Reese and Penny

Penny patiently sat there while Bria painted her nails

This face...so cute

Scooter ride to the cul-de-sac

 Bria came down with some weird virus thing, she had a high fever and threw up twice. It lasted about 3 days but it was just super weird and I felt horrible for her. She was very nauseous and in a lot of pain but nothing I did seemed to help, I hate feeling helpless when my kids are in pain.

She requested to sit outside and watch Reese and Penny play in the sprinklers, such a trooper

Bria also had her field day at school before her last day and it was a lot of fun. Reese got to come along and although I had to carry her the last half hour because she was exhausted...she still enjoyed herself.

Laneah and Bria, besties :)

We are fortunate to have friends who invite us to go swimming at their neighborhood pools or their own, we appreciate it so much. All of them we have already visited and plan to continue all summer long, we love pools with friends!

Enjoying a snack with Penny after a dip in the pool 

Relaxing after a rough day in the sprinklers

Clearly we are already having a blast :)

And so, she is done with kindergarten

Bria had an incredible kindergarten year! She made friends, had fun, learned how to read and love it, and found out recess is her favorite part of school :) She can be very sensitive like her mama, so I would secretly stress about how she would handle bullies. I also wanted to make sure she didn't turn into a bully, dear God that would've killed me! When she came home with the kindness award (nominated by her teacher), I felt reassured she was a nice one. Also, when I would volunteer I saw her comfort her friend Leah multiple times and it felt so good. Love my caring girl.

Some days she would come home and say that some girls didn't let her play with them at recess or she played alone...and inside I would cry. But on the outside I would casually ask if she was ok with it, and most the time she was. I love her confidence and want to encourage that. I want her to be true to herself even when others are pressuring her to be someone else. 

Anyway, it was a great year and I'm so proud of my girl. I also learned a lot. This was obviously my first year with a school age child and wow, there seems to be a lot to learn. I jumped right in and at my first PTC meeting became the secretary. I volunteered in Bria's class every Wednesday (thanks to Brian, Heather, and Amanda for jumping in to watch Reese for me!) and got to read with the kids and and I enjoyed that so much. I also liked getting to know all the kids so when Bria talked about certain people I knew exactly who she was talking about. I got to know her wonderful teacher whom we love. And her principal...well I've already dedicated a post to him and his awesomeness. I found out he lip synced to Taylor Swift at one of the pep assemblies! Afternoon kindergarten missed all those :(

I'm staying involved while trying to stay out of drama :) I love the PTC and everyone is so sweet, but after every meeting there seems to be emails that come out about people's hurt feelings or something...it totally goes over my head. I'm fine with that, I take notes at each meeting, keep up to date on school stuff, and apparently miss the subtle drama going on. Honestly though, the drama is incredibly mild compared to other places I've heard about and overall everyone remembers why we care so much: the kids!

Both Bria and I are looking forward to another year there and can't believe she will be in 1st grade!

 Can't believe how much she has grown!

These two cuties will graduate together!

 And now that school is out...yay for summer 2015!!!!

5K

The Annual Dick Inukai 5K (DI5K) run was in May and it went off great. Dick Inukai was Randi's father in law and he passed away a few years ago. His family puts on the 5K in his honor and all the money goes to the Boys and Girls Club. It's a great cause and we love being a part of it. 

My biggest fan

I ran my fastest pace and felt incredible. My average was 7:24 min/mile and I was damn proud!

 I loved seeing my girls screaming and cheering for me when I crossed the finish line, definitely my favorite part.

 This year they also had a fitness guy who set up little obstacles for the kids and he was awesome. The girls had a blast and Randi even talked about having him come for Presleigh's birthday party! We ran the girls tired and then hopped in the car to head down to Albany for Lance and Kayla's BBQ...

She was tired but no way would she let go of her balloon 

The BBQ was fantastic, of course. Anytime we are with family and close friends it's sure to be a fabulous time. Plus, we got to love on this munchkin:

Cousin time is the best. I love love love seeing my kids with their cousins, pure joy.

Jax man with his girls!

Swinging

Enjoying Jax taking a snooze on her lap before she becomes a mom of 2. Can't wait to see Jenny and Kyle with a little girl and Jax as a big brother!

Just be there

I often sit back and ponder motherhood, as I assume all mothers do.
I have known my whole life that I wanted to me a mother. Other things I'm not always sure about...my career? Well when I was 5 I wanted to be a teacher, when I was 10 I wanted to be a secretary, when I was 15 I wanted to work on my tan, when I was 20 I wanted to cheerlead, and then I landed in accounting and liked it.
But one thing was for certain, I wanted to be a wife and mother. God blessed me with both and I am eternally grateful. I found my best friend and we have 2 incredible girls together. I don't take that for granted, I feel honored and blessed beyond belief.

Motherhood (parenthood in general) has it's challenges. For awhile I felt guilty for being overwhelmed and stressed and impatient. But I'm coming into my own and realizing that is ok. It's more than ok, it's par for the course. I always work toward having more patience and taking it one day at a time, but I allow myself some room to make mistakes, I'm only human after all.
With Bria starting school I began to stress about teaching her everything under the sun and making sure she was involved in all sports at all times. If I didn't, I felt guilty.
However, her principal read something at the last PTC meeting that struck a chord with me and really hit home. The article talked about how the little things mean the most to kids and make the most successful people. Wiping a snotty nose, reading to them before bed, brushing their teeth, comforting them when they are sad...those are the things that count. I felt a small weight lift off my shoulders. I will always try to teach my girls and give them every opportunity I can, but it's more than ok to sometimes just be there. When I'm feeling rundown or tired or unmotivated, it's ok to sit with my girls and just be. No need to be supermom, just be there.
It's a good feeling. Letting some of that guilt go is very freeing. I know I won't ever be able to get rid of the standard "mom guilt" but dammit, I'm not going to let it consume me.
And you shouldn't either. No judgment here, let's allow moms to mom in their way and support them.