Happy Father's Day

Here is my shout out to THE DADS in my life:

MY DAD

This picture was taken in December 2005 after my Grandma's funeral. My uncle snapped this pic when we weren't looking and this is one of my favorites. The picture at the top is Dad and I riding when I was 14 or 15.

I am grateful that my dad taught me how to work hard to reach my dreams. That is what he has always done. One of my best memories of growing up is the summer when I was 14 and my dad and I worked together to brake a horse. He didn't know much about horses but had always wanted them so he did tons of research and just went for it. He bought me a pair of red ropers and we shoveled manure together, trained a colt and talked a lot. The next summer, we decided to try our hand at training me to be a barrel racer. One day we were out riding with our old neighbor Pete. I was riding Pete's spirited horse, Sunny. Sunny got spooked and starting bucking hard. I was holding on for dear life and I can still hear my dad yelling, "Ride 'em, Darla, ride 'em. " After seven or eight bucks, I was on the ground and Pete was off chasing Sunny back home. My dad was so proud of me for hanging on and that is what he has taught me: to follow my dreams, work hard and ride it out when it gets hard!!! Oh, and my goofiness comes from him, too. (And in case you are wondering, I tucked my red ropers away after that summer and I never did become a barrel racer, but I had fun trying.)

MY FATHER-IN-LAW

This picture was taken at Disneyland in January 2008. I love how Tim's dad is a kid at heart and there is no one more fun to be with at an amusement park than D-man. As a kid, he was actually at Disneyland on the day it opened, which I think is the coolest thing!!! The day after Tim and I got engaged we went to Sea World with his whole family. We were sitting in the stands waiting for a show to start and no one could find Dad. I will never forget looking down a seeing him walking to his seat eating the biggest cotton candy I have ever seen. He was oblivious to the fact that everyone was looking for him and was just enjoying himself and his cotton candy. I still crack up when I think about that scene. I couldn't ask for a better father-in-law and a better example to my husband on how to be a loving father.

THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN

I didn't blog about Mother's Day but I will say that I spent most of the day thinking of how lucky I am to be a parent with Tim. As a dad he is the perfect balance of making sure the kids are "towing the line" and learning discipline but also showing them tons of love. He loves to be with them, especially one-on-one. Tim believes in being involved and I never feel alone in my parenting duties. He is always there to swoop in and take over when I am at the brink. I am so grateful for the way he makes up for all of my deficiencies as a parent. It sounds cliche, I know, but he really is my best friend and there is no one I would rather be on this parenting journey with.

10 Things That Happened to Me This Week...

1. I got to dig through my green trash barrel full of leaves and grass (and other things that stink) after I had the bright idea to have Hog get in the barrel and jump up and down so we could fit more leaves. (Don't let your kid do this while wearing flip flops.)
2. After I prepared my famous gourmet meal of sloppy joes (made with Manwich) that included no buns I got to hear Cupcake declare..."That was deeeeeeeeelicious."
3. I ran eight miles without stopping and loved every minute of it. I now know what a runner's high means.
4. I unlocked a new song after belting out a few High School Musical tunes on Wii Sing-It.
5. I grocery shopped by myself.
6. I got to sit at a swim meet for three hours and watch my daughter be her outgoing, social self and swim her heart out for some much loved ribbons.
7. I woke up this morning with the great feeling that I already prepared my Primary lesson.
8. I attempted to mow the lawn, but found out that all those body pump classes have not given me enough strength to pull the cord and actually get the lawn mower started.
9. I scored bigtime with some smokin' deals at Goodwill.
10. I watched my husband working and felt really grateful he gets to make money doing something he loves and enjoys.

Albert's First Book Club

Albert hosted her very first book club!! She wanted a way to stay in touch with her friends over the summer. We talked about it and came up with the idea of starting a book club. The week before school got out she passed out invitations to all the girls at school and to some friends from the neighborhood. Albert decided the book would be Nancy Drew: The Secret of the Old Clock, which I think was the perfect book. (Thanks to my friend, Robin, for the recommendation.)

For some reason, I never read Nancy Drew growing up, but I loved reading this book as much as Albert did!!

On the night of the book club Albert wore her best Nancy Drew outfit complete with a headband. For dessert she served rice krispie treats, cupcake pops (which she helped me make using directions from Bakerella and we also served at Cupcake's birthday), chocolate, Skittles and chocolate covered pretzels. Several of the guests brought treats to share as well.

I wasn't sure how the book discussion was going to go, but I decided to write down questions, which we put in a bowl and the girls took turns pulling out questions, reading them and giving their answer. I thought it was going to be hard to get them to discuss their thoughts on the book, but it was the complete opposite. I was blown away with the insights a group of nine year olds came up with. They were amazing and they spent a lot more time discussing the book than I expected.

We also played several games along the theme of the book which included a version of "Don't Eat Pete" which Albert changed to "Don't Eat Nancy." Before the party, Albert wrote down the names of several characters from the book on note cards. Each girl taped a card with a character's name on their back and they had to ask questions of the other girls to figure out who their character was. They played this several times. At the end they played "Thief in the Night" (which was really "Murder in the Dark" but I didn't want to call it that.)

Book club was an excellent opportunity for Albert to practice her planning and hostess skills. She did a great job and we both felt like the evening was a great success. I cannot even express how grateful I am that my daughter has good friends with good parents at both school and in the neighborhood. My only regret is that I forgot to take a group picture of them!!! The good news is, they voted on a new book to read...

I'll get a picture next time.

A Cupcake Birthday

Cupcake turned TWO a few days ago and we celebrated with lots of presents and of course, CUPCAKES! She was more than a little excited about having a birthday and she is still talking about all the presents she opened.

Here she is modeling the adorable apron Aunt Christin made for her. (Thanks, C!)

Next she opened the tutu that Albert made for her and added it to her birthday attire ensemble.

Blow out the candles on those cupcakes!!!!

Cupcake enjoyed chocolate cupcakes, vanilla ice cream and homemade cupcake pops made by me and Albert. The ice cream was her favorite. Yummy!!!

Here are some of my favorite pics of her from the past year.

July 2008 at the Ranch

Labor Day 2008 at the Ranch

October 2008

Halloween 2008

Christmas Morning 2008

January 2009 at Kids Rockstars Race

Valentine's Day 2009 at our cousins' V-day party

March 2009 with "Kitty"

May 2009 feeding a horse on the farm field trip

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY, CUPCAKE!!!!