happy nine years

Trav really wanted to go to a BYU football game, his first since Grandma passed away (he got his BYU football enthusiasm from her). I tried to surprise him by buying some tickets at work, but the price ended up being too high for our budget. Then some coworkers of mine surprised me with free tickets - on our anniversary! And then I remembered some free birthday meal coupons I'd gotten in the mail, and THEN Nicole and Jeff offered to watch the girls for us overnight. Suddenly we had the makings of an awesome (and incredibly affordable) anniversary weekend. It included:

Tucanos for dinner, running to the stadium in the rain, a BYU football game, and a night of uninterrupted sleep! Loved it all, and especially love this hubs of mine.

 

more california goodbyes

We tried to enjoy every moment we could with our friends before moving. I'm so grateful for the wonderful friendships that not only I made, but the girls also. They grew so much over the past two years in California, and a large part of that learning came from their relationships with friends. I'm so grateful for the amazing families we were able grow close with.

We also were lucky enough to find a great preschool teacher for Kapria (short as her preschool stint was) and an amazing babysitter. Marissa was so great about playing with the girls and making my work time fun for them.

Love these favorite people of ours!

parties and goodbyes.

We had a busy month in August. The first week started out with lots of parties. Here we are at Aaron's birthday at a splash park. So much fun!

Later that evening we attended a farewell party that our good friends the Lillenbergs threw for us. We loved seeing all our friends together, but it was sad to be saying goodbye.  Two years went by so quickly! I think I'm a four year person. I need four years in a place to be okay to maaaaybe leave. Maybe.

 

 

last day of gymnastics

Kapria and Mila loved their gymnastics classes in California. We went in one last time for an open gym day. Kapria was able to say goodbye to one of her coaches. Mila's coach was out of town and wouldn't be back before we moved, so we were sad that we didn't get to say an official goodbye.

We packed a lot of fun in an hour. The girls love jumping on the trampoline and jumping in the foam pit.

One day when Trav was in class with Mila, she started doing flips into the foam pit. It's good to have him there, because he encourages them to do things that I'm too scared to have them try. And of course both girls had to practice their flips on the last day.
 

Kapria:

Mila:

sunny summer days

Shawn came up to celebrate Mila's birthday with us, and of course we couldn't let him leave without heading to the beach and the pool.Love you, little bro!

 

mila's birthday!

 

Mila loves donuts more than cake, so that's what she chose as her special treat for the party. We also served some of her other favorite snacks, including fruit and goldfish. She wanted a mermaid theme, so we decorated as an undersea theme with green (her favorite color) and turquoise.

We made little mermaids out of clothespins. I glued the hair on ahead of time, and cut out the foam fins. Then the kids were able to choose the color they wanted to paint their mermaid. Some of the boys cut their mermaid's hair to make a merboy. They turned out so cute!

Mila is our sweet, caring, thoughtful girl. She is always aware of what others need. If she sees you are upset, she'll run up to give you a tight hug. If she and Kapria are having a hard time sharing, she will usually be the one to say, "It's okay, you can play with it, Kap." 

She loves to pretend play, especially with Kapria, though doesn't like being told who to be or what to dress up as. She wants to choose for herself. She'd rather put together her own clothing ensemble rather than wear dress up clothes. 

Mila loves snuggling with us and reading stories together. She also loves play doh and can spend an entire afternoon playing with play doh and creating things. She loves going to the park, but hates being too far away from us. Her favorite thing at the park is the swings. 

She loves talking about nicknames and having us list all of hers. "I'm your Mila Bean," she'll say. 

She asks us to sing the same songs at bedtime every night: Come Thou Fount, Tarzan song, the Nephi song. She loves to laugh and will get the giggles right before bedtime.

There are so many wonderful things about Mila. She is one of our favorite people!

We love you, Mila Grace! 

We're so grateful you are a part of our family.