Some "firsts"

We have certainly had a year of "firsts" so far in 2014.  We took a cruise, had a Disney party (which will now be an annual thing..the Disney party, not the cruise), went to San Francisco with the family and more!  So much has happened in the last five months and there is still so much more of the year to go.  In May we had a few more "firsts."

1.  Maggie got braces!  She has a horrendous overbite and so she was the first of our children to be fitted with a special device that controls how she can bite. It was annoying at first but she is getting used to it with little to no complaining.

2.  We had our first "rock in the ear" procedure.  Lydia was doing her homework and she was playing with a tiny little rock.  Before I knew it, she had shoved it in her ear and it was too deep for me to get to.  So, we marched over to urgent care and hoped they could get it out.  Before the doctor came, Lydia said, "Mom, we should have a prayer so that they can get it out."  She then promptly folded her arms and started praying.  Her little prayer was answered as the doctor was able to remove the rock with some water pressure.

3.  Charlotte got her first official Ward Calling.  She was asked by our Bishop to be the Ward Chorister.  She is so nervous and excited.  I am excited that she gets to pick the music for sacrament meeting and that she gets to lead me as the organist.  It will be a mother-daughter team!

4.  Jillian attended her first stake dance.  With lots of encouragement, the girls went over to their friend's house to do make up and hair.  Casey and I were at a Prom that night where we were working but our friend texted us this picture.  We were amazed at how grown up they both looked!  Jillian had a great time and even danced with a boy.

5.  Charlotte got her Patriarchal blessing. She is the first of our girls to get her blessing and we had such an amazing experience.  We are so proud to be able to parent this noble spirit!

6.  I went to work with Casey!  That's right, now that my kids are all in school, I have started going in every morning with him and working until 2:30.  It has been so much fun and we get a lot done as a team.  It has also given us a chance to go to lunch a lot, talk a lot and goof around a lot!  

Yeah, really productive work we are doing!

I am not even sure what I am doing here, I just know that we laughed hysterically at it.

The other bi-product of me coming in to work is that I got tired of looking at his old second hand desk and cluttered office.  It was time for a woman's touch.  So, we redecorated!  Oh yes...his office is so much more inviting now!  We should have done it sooner!

A little reminder of those he loves the most!  I love seeing these beautiful faces in his office very day. I think he does too!

7.  Our first wet inflatable unit.  We have been resisting buying a wet unit for years because of the clean up and the relatively short summer we have here.  But, after getting request after request for one, we finally bought a slip and slide for our business.  In this picture, Allison is the first one to try out the slide. Let's hope we rent it out enough to pay for it!

So, there you go...a months of "firsts" for our family.  I don't want to forget these important family moments and so I felt the need to blog about them!  Here's to a great summer!