Honor Ride 2016

Brandon did it again!  He raced for over 73 miles in the Sacramento Honor Ride for the second time a couple of weekends ago!  We're thinking it will become a yearly tradition at this point :).

 

He trained, sacrificed time (and sleep a lot of times!), and completed the longest leg of this race.  I am so proud Brandon of all the work that you have put into this!  You.  Are.  Awesome.

 

 

I know it may not have been your best time, but I hope you are just as proud of yourself as the girls, friends and family are of you!

 

 

Who knew that in your lifetime you would wear spandex and actually like it :).

Great job!  One proud wife over here :)

 



Brandon's 33rd Birthday

 

 We've had quite the week here in the Pierce home!  It's been a bit of a rough season for us, but we were so glad to get to celebrate Brandon's birthday in the midst of the craziness going on! 

 

No celebration of ours goes without cake!  Brandon loves Nutella, so I made him a chocolate Nutella cake and didn't skimp on any of the chocolaty goodness :).

 

 

Before Brandon's birthday the girls and I went shopping for some gifts.  I asked them what they wanted to get for daddy and since they love smelling candles at different stores with him they wanted to get him a good smelling candle (which I thought was appropriate :) ).  So, while Aubrey was in school one morning, Lucy and I picked out a candle at Bath and Body Works.  That evening Brandon happened to be home for dinner and she stated while at the table, "Daddy, we got you a candle!" Brandon tried to play it off and said, "Oh you got me a candle for my cake?!" For some reason I didn't catch his drift and I told Lucy we didn't get him a candle for his birthday.  She looked at me and said, "Yes we did Mommy, at Bath and Body Works! (and with her hands and arms raised) Surprise!" Well, our secret was out :).

 

The day was spent having some of Brandon's favorite bran muffins, relaxing, playing with the girls, and enjoying the sunshine.

The evening of his birthday we celebrated by having the family over for cake.  It was small, but good.  Brandon's grandmother who just had knee surgery even got to come for a little bit!

 

We had a couple of other little celebrations throughout the week as well to celebrate this very special guy in our lives.  We love you so much Brandon!  Happy birthday!!



Lucy's 1st Gymnastics Lesson

Our littlest tumbler in our home got to start gymnastics this week!  She's been an active girl (like her sister) and with the school year coming to an end, we thought we needed a little something to keep this little one busy during these next couple of months.

 

Lucy was shy and hesitant at first, but she got the hang of things pretty quickly.

 

 

 

She loved dressing in her sister's hand-me-down ballerina dress :).

 

 

She'll get her form soon enough, but she did great for her first day!

 

I mean, look at that concentration (with her tongue curled and all)!

 

We're thinking this class is going to be really good for her.  This is the first thing that she's done without her sister by her side and I think it caught her off guard a little bit.  For the most part Lucy is very independent and kind of does her own thing, but listening and following directions are part of growing up and we think this will push her just a little bit to be her own person and know how to be without her sister as her little side kick :).

 

Our lesson ended with a pretty big tantrum (that definitely had to be taken outside!) with Lucy not quite wanting to be done with her lesson.  In the end I don't think she knew what she was crying about for half an hour!

 

We're excited for you little Lucy!  We can't wait to see you learn and grow through this experience!



 

 

 

 



Celebrating Mother's Day 2016

 

This Mother's Day we got to celebrate our moms by making them a special dinner last night.  They deserve so much more for what they do for us, but this was our way of saying thank you to some very special ladies in our lives!

 

 

Our little table scape included my favorite flowers :).

 

Almost no celebration is complete with cake or some type of dessert at our house! 

 

 

I went with a lemon strawberry cake for our moms who love lemon :).

 

 

Nana, we love you so much!!

How could any picture session not include Lucy making a crazy face?! :)

 Baba, we love you so much!

My respect and love has grown for my mom even more after having kids!  I just love her to pieces!

 

 And now to the girls who call me mommy :).  I love my life with these two and it's so hard to express into words what they truly mean to me.  They have made me a mom, but they have made me understand love and sacrifice even more than I could have imagined.

 

This morning I got some gifts (and wrapped in a Christmas bag no less!) from Aubrey.  I homemade coloring book, a card, and this little bracelet that I wore proudly today :).

 

 

I love these two with all my heart!  I love how moment they can make me laugh and then the next moment they can drive me crazy.  I love the times we get to cuddle on the couch and read and also the times we run and play to get the wiggles out.  I love baking with them, crafting with them, talking with them, singing and laughing with them.  They bring me so much joy my heart just can't contain it sometimes.  Brandon, thanks for encouraging me and empowering me every single day.  I love you and the girls so very much!

 

 

We went out to a lovely brunch today after church at it was perfect :).

 

 

Thank you Lord for this incredible blessing of getting to be a mom!  My heart is full today and always.  May I always take in each moment as right now they seem so fleeting, and enjoy every single day I have with my little family.  I love the moms who surround me and encourage me, lift me up in those hard times, and give me wisdom when I need it.  I am blessed beyond measure and I don't want to take any day for granted!

 

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Preschool Springfest 2016

 

On Thursday we got to go to the preschool's annual springfest to celebrate the year coming to a close.  This years theme was Safari.  It started to rain right before the event and a lot of the tables and games had to be moved indoors, but that didn't stop any of the kids from having fun!

 

Daddy had to work this evening, so Baba and Dido came to help me out with the girls as I had to work the bounce house for a little bit. 

 

Gracie is one of Aubrey's closest friends and she's going to be missed dearly as they both go to separate schools next year :(.  Oh, growing pains...

 

For now, Aubrey is enjoying the time together with her!

 

 

We enjoyed cotton candy,

 

 

 

train rides,

 

 

and silliness all around!

 

It's going to be bittersweet seeing this year come to an end.  These kids have grown pretty close and we'll miss how comfortable and familiar everything feels.  New chapters in life can be hard.

 

We're enjoying these last few weeks of preschool before we can say we have a kindergartner!!