I'm officially a soccer mom!

I'm a little behind with this post, but I can't move on until it is shared. Little L just finished with her first soccer season, and what the treat it was for all who witnessed.

She played on a team with 7 other adorable little girls, ages 4-6. Liv was one of the youngest on the team (we actually had to fib her birthdate in order for her to play...don't judge!) They had one practice before the season began at the end of April. One practice, that was it. Then they were basically thrown onto the soccer field and told to run, chase the ball, and kick it into the goal. No, not that goal...the other one. It was PURE entertainment for eight weeks. While Liv seemed to have a great deal of natural athletic ability (according to her coach), she was in la-la land most of the time, aimlessly running around the field, playing with puppies on the sidelines, huffing and puffing like "okay, when is it my turn to sit out?", and best of all, growling. Yes, she spent a good part of her time on the field growling and baring her teeth at the other team. Now, I have no idea where she learned this...her Dad and I definitely did not teach her this nor did we encourage it. The girls on the other team just looked at her like, "Jeez, who is this kid?" while the parents just laughed hysterically. At the end of one of the games, her coach said loudly, "Well, Livia definitely gets the spirit award!"

We later asked her why she was doing this (and encouraged her to please, stop) and she said, "I'm a tiger!" Oh, now this all made sense...tiger's are her favorite animal of the moment. The soccer field just must have brought out her alter ego...

So, below are some of the pics of the first game, including her favorite part, half-time snacks! Sadly, I missed this game due to a trip with my sisters in California. Daddy took her to the game and got her ready (even put her hair up in a ponytail with a bow matching her uniform). I woke up in California on the morning of the game to a new text message from my mom...she was at the game and had sent me a picture. When I saw my baby girl on the field in her uniform, with her hair all done by Daddy, I just BURST into tears...how could I be missing this? Well, I didn't make that mistake again! What a fun season it was...now time to gear up for Fall!

April showers bring May flowers...March snowfalls bring...leaky roofs

Being a homeowner is a great blessing. Being a homeowner of a 30+ year old home however sometimes brings about great distress. All winter long, our sturdy little old home gave us no trouble. And then we had to have just ONE more snowstorm in the midst of beautiful spring weather...and now my house appears to be falling apart. Leaky roof = wet walls, wet carpet = people coming into my home ripping up my carpet, cutting holes in my walls = insurance claims, insurance deductibles = one giant mess. We made it through the entire winter...why must this happen now??

At least I have one great story to come of all this. It has to do with my sweet daughter and teaching her a lesson...or so we thought. After a series of holes, leaks, ruined carpet, insurance adjusters and disaster clean-up bids, I thought we were on our way to getting this mess taken care of. And then yesterday, on a completely different wall on a completely different area of the house, I noticed another soft looking, baseball sized spot on the wall. I gently pressed my finger on it to see if it was wet...Yes, it was soft and surely wet on the inside. Great. My husband came home, I showed this new impending disturbance to him, and we left the room to make another round of phone calls.

Well, we came back to look at the wall and noticed a perfect little four-year-old finger sized hole right through the wet spot. Jaron angrily called Liv into the room and asked her if she had done this, and in tears she admitted that yes, she had, and was then sent to her room for time out. A few minutes later, Jaron went into Liv's room to talk to her about what she had done. He found her behind the rocking chair in her room with a notepad and some markers. He asked her what she was doing and she looked at him in tears and handed him the paper she had been drawing on. She had drawn a picture of our family with water leaking down on us from the top of the page. Underneath our family she had written in her four-year-old handwriting..."I sori." Jaron scooped her up in his arms and brought her and the notepad into me to read. We gave her huge hugs and told her how much we loved it and how proud of her we were.

Yes, we were surprised that she could actually sound out the word "sorry" and write it down on paper at age 4, but we were even more surprised and proud about her huge heart and ability to understand what she had done. We thought we were teaching her a lesson, but it was Livia who taught us a lesson! We hardly ever have to get mad at her...she rarely gets into trouble and when she does, she immediately feels bad about it (as you can see)! I love her so much...Here are some fun pictures that help tell the story:

Leake-a-palooza...part 2

Really, you're missing out on ALOT of fun...

 
 

Awwww....

I know, I know...it's been a loooong time since my last post. Really, I just needed a break from the computer. Anyway, I have finally been sorting through the pics on my camera, and I came across this adorable pic of my little brother Jace and L completely crashed out on the couch together. He was in town visiting about a month ago and was such a good uncle while he was here! Love you Jacer!!

 

Priceless moments

Again, a few shots of little L enjoying her slice of Fairview heaven! She's relaxing in GP's (Great Papa's) old carriages and playing on the same tire swing I used when I was her age...I never could imagine the day that I would see my own daughter enjoying the same place that I loved so much as a child! Truly amazing...


 
 
 
 

Daddy/Daughter Days

I was going through the pictures on my husband's camera the other day and came across the most adorable pictures....When I was in Las Vegas a few weeks back for the photoshoot, Jaron took L to do some fun activities to keep her busy! He took her to the zoo and even took her golfing with him...too cute. I knew that he had done this, but didn't know there was evidence! I'm so happy that he took these pictures...

Craaaazy on you!

All I can say is, WOW. That was the BEST concert I have been to yet. If you missed it, I really feel sorry for you. :) An amazing night of my favorite music with my hubby, my friends (Jason and Katie), and my Mama! It started out with a little Cheap Trick (I waaaant you to want me, I neeeeed you to need me), followed by a great set by Heart (Let me go craaaazy, craaazy on yoooou), and then ended with my all time fave....Journey (Dooon't stop, beliiiieven, hold on to that feeeelin). The new lead singer of Journey is a Filipino guy named Arnel Pineda that the band found on You Tube. And let me tell you, he sounds EXACTLY like Steve Perry. I mean EXACTLY. The whole concert was amazing. My honey love bought me a Heart tank top (since I already had a Journey t-shirt) and I managed to rock out with them both on at the same time. And I must warn you about the pics below: I was in total rocker mode, and when that happens, I like to stick out my tongue like I truly am a bada** rockstar. Really, in 90% of the pictures from that night, my tongue is out. So, I apologize in advance for the repetition. :)


 
 
 
 

It's Heeeerrre!

I know you are probably sick of hearing about this, but you must understand its meaning to me in full appreciation. I have wanted this week to pass as quickly as possible to get to today...and I could not sleep last night because I was so excited. I am worse than a child at Christmas. But this is the music that LIVES in me. My absolute two favorite bands that exist in this world. Coming together. To Salt Lake City. And the day is finally here. You better believe I will be rockin' it out tonight.

I'm going to be an auntie!

Here are a few of the shots I took of my beautiful sister and her beautiful belly. She is six months pregnant with my nephew...thanks sis for giving me the honor of shooting you while your pregnant!

 
 
 
 

One more...

I can't forget her signature "Spider Man" pose...she wants to be Spider Man when she grows up. Nope, not a princess, not a ballerina...but Spider Man. I'm so proud.

 

And the gold medal goes to...

L had her tumbling "graduation" from the Little Gym last weekend! She has been tumbling since she was 1 1/2 years old and has absolutely loved it! It has been so fun to watch her skills improve, but even better, to see her self-esteem SOAR! All of her grandparents were able to be there to see her graduate, and she was so proud...she kept looking over her shoulder at us with a little smile to make sure we were watching. Such a little show-off... :)


 
 
 
 

Let me introduce...Princess Aurora and Cinderella

So, L and her best friend A love to play "Princesses" every time they get together. They are princesses when they eat lunch, they are princesses when they play Barbies, they are princesses when they watch movies, and they are even princesses when they hunt for snails in the backyard. Here they are in all their princess glory:

 
 

She's a lady...

Here is L with the adorable Nguyen brothers, J & A. Look how terrified the boys look to be in a woman's arms:

 

I knew there was something strange about those cartoons...

While watching a "Veggie Tales" cartoon this morning, L and I had a conversation that went like this:

L: Mom, are those vegetables?
Me: Yes
L: Mom, why are the vegetables talking?
Me: I'm not sure...
L: Mom, they don't have arms.
Pause....
L: This is crazy...

 

Boobadears!

L got to meet her soul sister over the weekend...and soul sister's they are! Just look at them...two little peas in a pod. I have never seen more precious, angelic, lovely ladies in all my life.