Dancing with Daffodils

 Life is good; interesting sometimes but good. Last weekend we had the Wiest kids overnight so their parents could go to a concert and then the temple the next morning. Emma was a wonderful hostess and set up all their beds for me and basically entertained them the whole time they were here. I just fed them dinner and tucked them in and that was about it. Then the next morning Emma and I drove them up to the zoo. The Wiests always go the Saturday before Petra's birthday so we met them there and Emma and I had fun with them; I especially loved the new bird house. It has been years since we have been to the zoo so it was good to go back and we only got to see half of it before we had to go. Lily had stayed home to help out at the dance open house and then she was hosting a birthday party with all her dance friends so I had to get home to be a responsible parent, even though I really did nothing for the party. Lily prepped all the food and set up the basement and had games and the mov...

 Sunday was my birthday and it was a nice day. We went to church (Josh went to two different wards and that is going to take some getting used to) and it was a nice meeting. Not many people were there and none of my good friends so no one knew it was my birthday and that was okay. It did make me feel oddly anti-social though so we left right after church and had a quiet day at home. The kids all made me super sweet cards and I talked to my sisters and my parents. Josh got home and grilled some steak and made mashed potatoes and it was delicious. My kids got me a cute little bear figurine since I couldn't find a cute one in Tennessee and I like souvenirs and Josh got me a new wallet. I'm also going to spend a day at the temple sometime and he'll figure out the kid stuff so I can be gone all day.  My sisters all chipped in and got me some nice yard games that will be fun to have. I got some nice text messages and cards and overall it was a nice day. I felt especially grateful...

 I used to love the month of August but now that it is the month that school starts again, it is hard not to be a little sad when we turn the calendar to August. The last two weeks have been nice but I definitely feel like summer is slipping through my fingers.  Lily has been doing summer dance so she is gone every afternoon and she still has one more week. She did get into studio company, which is a big deal and I am very proud of her. The girls in studio company came last Saturday morning at 7:30 am and went into her room and woke her up with a big surprise and welcome to studio company. Then they took her to IHOP for breakfast. It was really sweet and I'm excited for her. I'm nervous about the cost and the commitment but we'll make it work. Dance has been so good for Lily and it brings her so much joy. She's learned to work through tough things and communicate with adults better and make friends, as well as be disciplined and work hard and challenge her mind and body...

    Wednesday morning we all went out for pancakes, which are a thing in Pigeon Forge, but we were all pretty disappointed. Josh's pancakes are much better and it was expensive for breakfast. We did some shopping afterwards and Josh's family went back to the house and then we did too. We played some games and sat out on the deck a lot. That night Josh made pizza for dinner and it was good. We also watched the Back to the Future trilogy in the movie theater in the basement (one a night for a few nights in a row) and that was fun because Lily and Curtis had never seen it.                                                                                    Thursday we decided we wanted more mountain time and Josh really wanted to see a bear so we went up this road in the...