Celebrate Good Times!

During the month of June my dad stayed in Kansas City for a cancer treatment he was receiving. Luckily he was able to stay in the Hope Lodge, a home for cancer patients. He was supposed to be here for 30 days, but because my dad is superman, he was able to go home 2 weeks early! I know he didn't feel like superman, but I was so impressed with how well he handled his treatments and how strong he is! While visiting him at the Hope Lodge I noticed that most evenings an activity and dinner were provided so I called the director and asked if I could organize a dinner to be brought in. It turned out perfect because even though my dad got to go home early, he still had to come back for a check-up and he was able to attend the dinner. I had so many wonderful friends from my ward who volunteered to help bring meals. The director had told me to plan on feeding 30 people, but we had over 55!! I was definitely getting nervous. Luckily, we had enough food and everyone was so appreciative and grateful. It was such an amazing opportunity. Not going to lie though, it was very stressful hoping everyone would bring their food to me in time, trying to get there in work traffic, etc, but it was so worth it seeing everyone's faces and how grateful they were. I'm glad that my girls were there to be a part of it and I cant wait to do it again.

I love having my birthday so close to Brandt's. We pretty much celebrate all week. For my birthday we went out eat at Costa Vida and then Brandt took me shopping. I kind of hate shopping because I always go with high hopes of finding all these amazing outfits and come home with either clothes for the girls or just feeling depressed because nothing ever fits right. For Brandt's birthday I got a really good deal on tickets to a Royal's game. Since it was his birthday we splurged and got a corn dog, drink, and both girls snow cones. Peyton had been looking forward to that snow cone all week. She hadn't even had it in her hands for more than a minutes when, of course, she dropped it all over the ground and started screaming/crying. Everyone was looking at her and us, so I did the only thing I could and put her snow cone back into the cup since it was still intact. I was not about to waste that $5 snow cone! It was such a fun evening! On our way to our car I noticed that we had a sticker on our pop cup that said "One Refill" so I made Brandt run all the way back in. It was so hot and that was an expensive pop so I wanted to get our money's worth!

Penelope is now 6 months old. Time goes by so much faster with each kid I have. I don't know why but it has been a lot harder on me with Penelope getting bigger. I do not want her to grow up! She is the sweetest baby ever. She loves people. She is definitely a momma's girl, but she will let anyone hold her. I rarely get to hold her at church because people are always stealing her from me. She is always smiling and when she laughs, she grunts! People are always commenting on her sparkly eyes. She is always so content. She is SO curious about everything and loves to look around at everyone and everything. She is mobile and rolls and scoots everywhere. I just cannot get enough of her!!

For the 4th this year we took the girls to see Despicable Me 2....it was awesome!! We snuck in some candy and then bought some popcorn there. The girls had so much fun and loved it. Peyton was laughing throughout the entire movie. It was just such a good atmosphere. At the end of the movie the minions are all dancing to YMCA and everyone in the theater started clapping and doing the motions. Even Penelope enjoyed herself! That evening we went to a friend's house for a BBQ. They have an indoor swimming pool so all the kids were able to swim while the adults visited. It was a blast! They also have a pond in their backyard and Brandt was able to take the girls fishing. After everyone had finished eating we lit off a bunch of fireworks. Peyton loved them and Paisley was terrified. I had to take her back up to the house because she said they were "too loud". It was the perfect day.

This is just a random picture I took while babysitting for a friend. Peyton, Makayla, & Paisley out for a late night swim.