Its been awhile...

And in that long while lots has been happening around here.  Here is our list of things that have been filling our days:
1.  Softball:  alas, another year is finally over and we I for one am very happy to have the end.  It was a tough year.  Im sure some of you who followed us know that we went undefeated in our Region and took state this year so you are saying to yourself, "Mandy is off her rocker if she thinks that means it was a tough year, oh poor girl." But I am here to tell you that I was standing in the dugout begging people for some sort of relaxant so that I could get through the games.  I was a giant ball of stress and I feel bad about that because I know I didnt have as much fun as I could have.  I just wanted these gals to win so badly and I was constantly feeling the fear that something was going to go wrong.  I think maybe last year (making it to the championship game and getting beat) had me in some sort of post traumatic stress disorder and it was just stupid how hard I took every run and every setback.  Needless to say I was so happy when they won it, but so relieved as well.  Cauley was nothing short of totally amazing and I will be so happy to watch her next year tear it up at SLCC.  She is my hero.

This is her hugging my daddy after the win, sucky pic but I stole it from the internet so thats what I get for stealing.

2.  13.1:  My brother, in all his kind and generous ways, called me up in early April and told me that he had an early birthday present for me...he was giving me his half marathon to run.  Nice present hu?  He is a giver.  But I took it as a chalange and started running.  I ran 3 miles the first week and thought for sure that people had to be drunk when they registered for this race, but week by week as my miles increased my attitude did too and soon enough I was huddled with thousands of people about to start my race.  As I ran for my 2 hours and 12 minutes, I kept thinking, I can do this...but why?  Im I really having fun right now?  Couldnt I be home in my jamies watching a Spongebob episode?  I mean I am happy to say that I did it, but I am also happy its over.  I think maybe when my kids are a little bigger and I have a little more time to train it will be better.  (there are no pictures, just imagine a hunched over achey body with a beet for a head because I turn an awesome shade of reddish purple while running)
3.  Our yard:  We have grass! Our yard went from a weedy mess to an awesome haven of happiness for me and the gals.  Maybe not so much for Ronnie because he gets to mow the sucker, but we gals sure like it.  A great guy named Bryce Wilcox did the work, if you want his number we would be so happy to pass it out because he was awesome.  I have been too busy/lazy to take shots of just the yard, I will get at it and post them.  You can see glimpses of it at the bottom of this post.
4.  School Ended:  Addi graduated from her first year of Preschool and was super cute in doing so.  I just wish I could find that camera that I took the pictures with so that I could post them.  They are somewhere in our mini van (yep, thats right.  Ron got me an mini van and I will never be the same again.  I adore my mini.) Anyway, its somewhere and I have faith that someday I will find it.  Someday.
*note...after much searching (why the H do they put so many freaking cubbies in those things?  I found it!

This is her during her performance, I dont have great ones from after because again, I suck at being a good and organized mommy and my camera immediatly ran out of power.  Nice.

5.  Ellie is a big girl:  My baby turned one! I know everyone says this about their own kids, but she is truly awesome.  She is so amazing in so many ways (ways that we never really experienced with Addi, my oldest who was stuck to me like tar paper for the first year of her life.)  I never knew how awesome it was to have a baby that was happy with whoever loved her.  Who was instantly funny, (you should see her dance to any Ke$sha or Katy Perry song) and who was brillent and beautiful (dispite the ever noticable lack of hair) and who has added so much to our family.  I even love her when she throws crazy fits and throws her head back in absolute anger, she is simply awesome and I could not be happier to have her be my baby for as long as she will be. 

Shaking her party makers before the shin-dig

Here was the set up.  Damn wind.  It was to be a cool luau setting, it ended up just a cool day.



Here we are roasting our smores that followed the dogs that were roasted on our new fire pit.  It was awesome.



Look at her cute lips prepared to blow out the flame, oh who was I kidding, the flame lasted .2 seconds before the wind blew it out.  That why first birthdays are awesome because the b-day gal couldnt care less if the candel was not really lit.

The damage.

She makes me so happy

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