2nd annual lemonade stand

After the success of the previous years lemonade stand, we couldn't pass up the chance to do it again.  This year we had a little bit better idea of what to expect, and we cousins to jump into the action with!We decided to try out an Ohio 4th of July parade for the first time, that morning.  Sadly, it just didn't hold a candle to the way parades are done in Idaho, and it sorely reduced our prep time for our stand.  

 Of course, that didn't bother the kids.  Once they started having a few people come, they were loving life.  Our biggest problem was that they would get so excited when they saw someone driving up that they would swarm them like killer bees.

 The kids were super excited to offer free cookies and lemonade to veterans and service men and women.  They were pretty bummed that the one veteran that did stop insisted on paying.  It is hard when you know that the number one reason people stop is to help a bunch of little kids out, but the little kids really wanted to do the same for him.  I can think of worse problems than people being so kind though!

 It was hot, and the kids stamina was pretty short.  We called it quits after about 2 hours, although the kids would have been happy if we had called it an hour sooner.  It was one of those things where trying to teach your kids hard work, is the hard work!

Everyone had a good time, learned a lot, and had plenty of cookies.  We felt pretty good about how everything turned out!  3rd annual stand, here we come!

king's island 2015

We look forward to King's island every year.  This year however, it was extra special.  We got to enjoy it with family!  Mike, Saundra, Carter and Kamry came along for the rides!  

Of course with another year, there was progress on the "you are this high" stick.  This meant that Aimee was finally tall enough to go a few not-quite-as-little rides.  I love rides, so it was a bummer in that since I was pregnant I couldn't take her on any of them.  Lucky for her, even with extra littles, there were enough adults that we could divide and conquer.  Saundra also loves rides, and Aimee was thrilled to have her aunt as a riding buddy!

My riding buddies for the day were May and Kamry.  I took them multiple times on carousel since it was one of only two rides that I was allowed to go on in my "delicate condition."  It worked out well for the little girls, and it freed the dads up to take the boys on as many rides as they could get on.

By the end of the day they kids had made it on every ride that their height would allow.  Mike and Saundra even managed to get in a few adult rides.  Everyone "earned" a stuffed animal playing a game (much to my dismay).  And of course we enjoyed some fun treats!

There was sunburns, sweat, and a whole lot of smiles!  A very successful year for the entire Williams family!

tri-athlon

We put another triathlon in the books!  The previous year was exciting because it was my first ever tri.  This year was exciting because I was doing it 22 week pregnant.  It was good motivation during the first half of the pregnancy to have something to work toward, and to keep me motivated to stay fit when going to the gym was not at all appealing.  One of the biggest hurdles in doing this was just finding something I could wear.  It sounds silly, but it was true.  The swim suit I had got for this purpose I had already grown out of.  Luckily, my friend lent me her triathlon suit.  It was awesome, and even held my tummy in a bit for the run.  As for footwear, I normally dislike wearing athletic shoes, and pregnancy makes it even worse.  I ended us attaching some elastic to the back of my favorite flip flops and doing the bike and the run in them.  It was perfect!  I had a personal best time!  Chad was disappointed with his time, even though he did well and was awesome!

The kids think we are kinda cool for doing our "race" and they wanted to do one too.  I had found a few in the area, but they were so expensive!  So....one Saturday morning we held our own kid triathlon!  We went to the HOA pool before it opened for the kids to do their swim without bugging others. They did their bike and run around the neighborhood and even had an after race snack when they finished.  They had a blast!  It will definitely have to be a tradition!

These non-racers were not big fans of spectating.  But they were cute doing it!

We feel good that we are having so much fun trying to have an active, healthy lifestyle as a family!

cleaning the church

I love taking my kids to help clean the church on Saturday mornings.  One of the most important things I hope to teach them, it that when there is an opportunity to serve, you take it.  Cleaning the church is perfect for this.  There is something they can all do, even little May.  They have gotten very good at emptying garbages, dusting chalkboards and railings, and holding doors for vacuums.  They have a great time seeing ward members, and getting a little play time in too.

And just to make sure it was a positive experience, we usually top off the morning with a Bill's doughnut!

mothers day

For me, Mother's Day is a time of reflection.  As I look at my life, and people in it, I often wonder why I have been so blessed.  My blessings far outweigh my worthiness for them.  The only thing that I can figure is that I need the sweet spirits the Lord has sent me, to drag me into heaven.  I need their examples.  I need to learn to from my struggles in teaching them.  And along the way, I get to feel the joy of it all with my sweetheart by side!  

This year when Chad made his traditional Mother's Day cake, he let the kids put the finishing touches on it!  It was a masterpiece! It was also a blast sharing this day with another mother who I love!

And of course, I wouldn't even get to enjoy this time in my life without the mothers that shaped me into the mom I am, and try to be.  Truly, I have it all!

soccer season

Last Spring we decided it was time to give our kiddos a chance to play some organized sports.  Since our next door neighbor is a soccer guru, it was the obvious choice.  She even hooked us up with all of the shin guards, balls and shorts all three kids would need.  With Mike having such a flexible schedule, he volunteered to be the coach for the boys team, and Chad was the assistant coach (when he could be there).  Porter, Pratt and Carter all got to be on the same team.  Aimee was in the age division above them.

It started out so cute!  Mike had done his homework on coaching soccer for little kids.  He also is one of the most patient people I know, so he was perfect.  He had them all running drills and smiling.  It was adorable!  

All three of the kids had practice on the same night, and games on Saturdays.  Being nice and pregnant, plus wrestling my almost almost two year old, plus which ever kid(s) that were waiting for their game or practice, it was a long season!  Chad often had to work, and I was mostly on my own.  I was so ready to be done by the end!

We learned several lessons from our first soccer season.  1.  Watching 3-5 year olds play soccer on a mini field is hilarious! 2.  Making sure everyone gets a turn being the goalie is essential to maintaining peace in the team.  3. Having two kids share the same pair of soccer cleats only works when they don't have games at the same time.  4. Porter is fast and has the best victory dance I've ever seen.  5.  Just because it is your first time playing soccer (Aimee) doesn't mean you can't be one of the best players on the team!

Next year I think the boys want to try out baseball.  Aimee wants to give soccer another go.  I am prepping myself to make it happen with an almost three year old and an infant.  Bring it on!

a las vegas

When Chad suggested that I go with him to the orthopedic conference his residency was sending him to, I said no way!  There was no way I was going to spend the days in a hotel while Chad was in conference, spend the money to get there to do it, and leave my babies back in Ohio for that kind of time!  Chad had the rebuttal to my every argument.  My brother lived in Vegas and I could hang out with them, especially since I hadn't seen them for three years.  We had the sky miles to pay for my ticket.  He was covered by the residency, and would even have a daily food allowance we could use (they give them ample money for three meals a day, and cover the alcohol most of them drink as well).  And my brother and sister in law know everything we do and could take care of our babies.  I still said no.  I felt guilty!  How could I?  Then he reminded me that we have never gone anywhere, just the two of us, since our honeymoon 9 1/2 years ago, and that even though we would go stay with family, it would be a fun get away.  He nailed me!

So we were off!  Flying with no kids was so...easy!  I even brought a book for myself!  Chad was able to rent a car for us to drive courtesy of his residency, in place of him staying in a hotel.  It was so much fun to see my brother, his sweet wife and his kiddos, one of which I had never met!  

Mostly we just visited and caught up on each others lives.  Two days in, my brother Jake traveled down to hang out with us as well!  It was his birthday that week so we got to celebrate with him!

 

Chad and I took an afternoon after he was done to do a little sight seeing.  We started by having our first In N' Out Burgers.  It really is great! 

We walked the strip and found that it mostly consists of stores for spending money.  Shopping, especially at tourist prices, isn't really our thing.  We did manage to find the M&M's store and see a free 15 minute 3D show.

We also met up that night with my family to see the Knights of the Round Table at the Excalibur hotel.  We did a lousy job taking pictures, but we had a ton of fun eating Cornish Game Hen with our hands while cheering "ha-zah!" for our Irish knight.  He didn't win the tournament, but he took a close second!  I spent that night knowing my kids would have loved that show, and wishing they could have been there.

Late Friday night, some of my awesome friends from our medical school, Village Green days arrived to visit.  They had traveled all the way from Salt Lake with babies to come and visit me while I was semi-close. The following day we roamed the strip with them again and caught up on how each others lives.  We walked all the way from the Hard Rock Hotel to the Venetian to explore the hotel Chad's conference had been in all week

While we were there I found the perfect job for my sister and sister-in-law.  They are both voice major graduates.  They could both move to Vegas and be street performers in that hotel!  Neither one thought it was a very good idea, but I think I may have planted a seed. 

That day Chad headed back to Ohio while I stayed one more night with my friends and caught church and a quick visit with my Uncles family who had come to Hotel King (my brothers house) for Spring break.
By that time I wasn't just itching to get home, but craving it!  I missed my little family like crazy!  It had been so much to see family and friends, but my morning sickness kicked in a day or two into the trip, and I really struggled to adjust to the three hour time difference.  It was a fun trip, and I was grateful I got to go, but so grateful to come home.