At Full Capacity: August 2016

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Young until I die.

Ryan and I got to skip out on a little bike ride Monday...thanks to my mom for watching Rory.

The mountains are beautiful this time of year!

And I know that these warm days are dwindling fast...so we need to take advantage of them while we've got them!

We ride right along the river all the way up the canyon, and there's a bike path that runs right beside it.

So anyway, there's this bridge right beside the path that people jump off from into the river, it's quite the hot spot and widely known in this area.

It wasn't until this year, however, that I finally jumped off it. How I hadn't in all these years is beyond me!

The first time I jumped off it with Ryan, I joked (kind of) and said "One day, I'm going to do that topless."

I've seen photos before of women who would hike to the summit of grand mountains and snap a picture of themselves from behind looking out into a beautiful view, arms raised, completely topless. It just seemed so freeing...and a bit naughty, all at the same time.

So this last Monday, on our way home we stopped by the bridge for what could be out last jump before the weather gets too cold. And what do you know, no one was there jumping (which is kinda rare when days are hot). I decided to take advantage of it.

Maybe, it's because I'm pushing 40 years old and I have this super strong desire to always remain young at heart no matter what! Maybe I craved that adrenaline rush by doing something completely crazy and out of my comfort zone. Maybe I needed to do something rebellious in a town where everyone is the same.

I want to be more spontaneous and get out of ruts that drag me down...live the way I want to live...with no regrets. I want to be a strong woman, proud of who I am, proud of my body and never ashamed of it.

And with that...I did it.

I cannot even tell you how good this felt. It was freeing, and a little naughty, and exhilarating, and scary all at the same time. I felt alive!

I feel as though I'm opening a new chapter of my life, this year as been a lot changing and growing. I'm learning to be comfortable with myself without guilt or without fear of what others may think of me. And sometimes that is really hard to do in a very homogenous area and culture.

No more.
I'm pretty darn proud of myself. Topless and all.

And just for kicks...here's Ryan doing a flip off the bridge, complete with tongue out.

He's pretty awesome.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Back to School Feast 2016

Last night we had our 2nd annual Back to School Feast!

This is a time where we celebrate each of the girls and their brand new school year!

We decided to dine alfresco with personal pizzas on the grill.

I gifted each of them with a new hair bow at their place setting.

We love this meal, yet I confess, this is our first time doing it this year! Why haven't we been doing this every week?! We'll never know! I mean, we pretty much make pizza every week, but it bumps it to a whole new level when it's grilled...seriously.

We talked about goals for the new year (this was the only serious part of our conversation), then the girls giggled about analyzing dreams they've had, shows they've watched, and things that happened at school that day...all while listening to Disney music on Pandora (Haley's choice).

I must say...it was a pretty nice evening.

After dinner the girls got to open and see our new star for this year.

They also opened the newquote that will hang in our hallway.

I have referred to this quote numerous times over the years with my children. It's always comforting to know that when we screw up or had a super hard day, we can always start fresh tomorrow.

You just can't go wrong with a "Anne of Green Gables" quote...there are so many!

I love these girls, so much!

Here's to a new school year, lets make it a good one!!

Friday, August 19, 2016

And so it begins.

Ready or not, here we are...another school year already!

Summers just fly by these days.

Haley started middle school!

Crazy.

Morgan is 5th and Piper in 1st.

And Rory is in Preschool 2 days a week.

They all love their classes and teachers..so far.

And that makes me very happy!

Happy 2016-2017 school year!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Haley's Animal Party!

If you know Haley, then you know that she is obsessed with animals...all animals. So it makes sense that she requested an animal themed party.

We started the party with masks, like Morgan's party, except since we were dealing with older girls I had them do most of the cutting and designing. I had some templates cut out and a picture of some finished masks for them to use as inspiration, but other than that, they were on their own. And they came up with some creative ideas!

Up next, the main hit of the party.

I had a Utah based animal rescue facility come out and share and teach us about some animals. Weeks before the party they sent us a list of different animals to choose from and Haley picked out the four she wanted most.

A red fox.

A Ring tail.

A skunk.

And two baby chinchillas.

The girls played the Peanut Game (I have no idea if this game has a real name, but that's what we called it) while lunch was prepared.

The food table...after the girls went through. Forgot to take one before the feeding frenzy began.

Drinks outside.

For the party favors I spray painted little animals and lids white, glued the animals on top and then filled the jars with salt water taffy. I think it turned out pretty cute...thank you Pinterest!

And that was that!

Happy Birthday to Haley!

Monday, August 8, 2016

Morgan's Superhero Party

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind!

With two girls having birthdays a week apart and the fact that this year I agreed to throwing each of them their own friend birthday party, I have been a frantic lady these past two weeks!

It had been a while since the last friend party for Haley or Morgan and they have been begging to have a party...I just may want to throw the parties on alternating years in the future! Planning two within a week was a bit much.

But really, in the end, in was all worth it!

First up, Morgan's Superhero Party!!

The Justice League is kinda her jam right now...it's pretty awesome!

As her friends arrived they created their own superhero or butterfly masks.

(I forgot about my reflection in the mirror...whoops.)

We then spent a good chunk of time playing several "Minute-to-Win-it" games. Seriously, google it or look them up on Pinterest...there are so many to chose from!

I think these were a huge hit...they move fast and can be such corny games that everyone stays interested. And then each winner got to chose from the prize bucket and then everyone else got to pick a prize. We also did a pinata outside, which is always a hit!!