Swimming Lessons - Continued

I'm not sure who is having more fun with this round of swimming lessons - the kids or me. It's so fun to watch each of them do their own thing.

 

 

Kendall is quite the little alpha overachiever. Shocker! She really does a great job at listening to the instructor and following the directions. I can see the focus on her face when they are doing more challenging tasks.

 

 

Carter is definitely in a more advanced class. I wanted to challenge him, and while the other kids in his class are better swimmers, his hustle is definitely there. I will definitely have him repeat this same class next session.

 

 

 

Zero fun being had!  ;)

 

This Creature

 

She was standing at the window, watching the boys outside playing basketball. My little divine creature.

Tie Quilts

For Christmas, my cousin, Sydney, made several people tie quilts. I have seen them here and there, but never really held one until this Christmas. I knew instantly that I had to make some of these! It's no secret that my sewing skills are basically zero. Well, that's not entirely true.....I can sew up a stuffed animal and fix a button. But beyond that, I'm done. I call my mom. ;) The fact that these blankets require ZERO sewing was obviously the best part.  So, I had Sydney meet me at the store to pick out fabric and then show me how to make this thing. I had so many ideas in my head of the 87 blankets I wanted to do, but the first aisle I turned down happened to be sports, and it was game over right then. We all know what I made:

 

 

These things are seriously EASY as pie. Mine was the first, so it took me a little longer because I went slow, and happened to be binge-watching Making a Murderer (don't even get me started on that show......that's another blog post all on its own). I made all the measurements as Syd instructed and then started the task of tying all the little pieces together. I LOVED the final result and knew I had to make one for my kids.

 

I took my kids to the store to pick out their own designs. I walked around and around with them, knowing exactly what Carter was going to pick.

 

I figured Kendall would have gone with something girly, and for 18 seconds, she had decided on Boise State (that's my girl), but her final selection was Paw Patrol. I can't say that I'm shocked, though I really wish they had different colors as this one is just obnoxiously primary color based. But she loves it and that's all that matters.

 

I can't wait to get back to the store to pick out some more combinations - I'm hooked on these!

2016: Project Happiness

I know a lot of people who set out to find that one word to define the upcoming year. I can usually find two or three for any given year, but I have really centered on one for 2016:  PEACE.

 

The last few years (though if we are being honest here, it's been far more than that) have come with a significant amount of turmoil, for a variety of reasons. It seems like everything has really culminated in the last year and a half, bringing me to an appreciable crossroads.

 

I did a lot of walking in 2015, figuratively. I walked away from something I was trying to do for the sake of my kids. It no longer served me, mentally, to stay in that situation. There was no more positive benefit to reap from the relationship. I also walked away from a different relationship because it no longer served me, emotionally. I learned you can want something to the moon and back, it can make perfect sense, it can bring forth feelings you never knew you had, but you simply can't MAKE it happen. And that moment when you realize that you deserve all of that with someone who is going to stand there and make it happen WITH you.....that moment is when you realize you have the freedom to stand up and walk away. Unchain yourself from the weight. Shed every tear until there isn't a drop left. Remove the burden of blame. And rise up.

 

So PEACE is 2016. The past is gone. I'm not looking back because I'm not going that way.

 

I make a choice each morning when I wake up. I choose positivity. On purpose. I spend some quiet moments seeking out a motivational thought for the day, and that sets the tone for my day. I refuse to partake in negativity. I simply won't allow it in my life anymore.

 

Swimming Lessons!

Last night was Kendall's very first swimming lessons. I enrolled both kids at the same time and pretty much parked myself right in the middle so I could watch both.

 

I was pretty nervous to see how Kendall would do with this - her wild child tendencies had me a little concerned. ;) But she did so well. I was so proud of her. She sat right down, listened to everything her instructor told her to do, and wasn't afraid of any of it. I could tell by the smile plastered on her face the entire time that she was having a blast. Woo hoo, Kendall!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a quick little video of part of her lesson.

 

Carter's 1st BSU Basketball Game

I had the absolute best date to the BSU basketball game tonight. ;)

 

 

 

Let the Adventures Begin!

Well, it's officially 2016 and we are up in the mountains again today. We put together a family sledding day and it was so much fun! We arrived at just the right time because a ton of people rolled in after we had already established the best spot. What a great day!

And a little fun video of one of the trains trying to make it down the mountain. We didn't have the best of luck with these. I think every single one broke off somehow, and Kendall flew out of one which resulted in me bailing to catch her.