Pickle and Pepper turn 7!

Well, last I posted, I had just had my sweet baby Eliza.

It is now hmmm...only 6 months later.

Not too shabby I think. :)

I am finally feeling like I am settling into my new normal and am excited to get back into documenting our family on this blog.  I truly love pictures and blogging so this is quite fun and rejuvenating to get back to it a little.

I will try to catch up a little going forward, but tonight I just want to blog about Abby and Claire getting one year older and partying like it's 1999! :)

Before I go into the PAR-TAY, here is our traditional birthday breakfast.

The girls picked cinnamon rolls, eggs, sausage, and fruit.

The rest of us showered them with gifts from the heart.

Next, they headed off to school and celebrated more with lots of love from their friends and classmates.

Once school was out it was party time!

This year they got a "friend" party.  We do these every other year, but as luck would have it - these two have only had 2 (counting this one) in their whole lives! So this year, I thought I better make it good.

And I think we blew it out of the park fun!  (a little too much actually - I was WORN OUT by the end!)  

We invited a whole slew of girls and had a mini-carnival in the backyard; complete with face-painting, a bounce house, games, and even a dunk tank!

Ok, before I go on...let me officially introduce my little Liza Lou to this blog (I have more pics of her that I will post later in my catch-up stages).

She is definitely the cutest baby on the planet in my totally unbiased opinion. :)

She loved the party and was definitely a hit attraction for all.  

I mean seriously?!  Right?!

Oh how we are smitten with her. :)

Ok back to the festivities...

Then came the presents.  Oh how Abby and Claire LOVED their gifts!

These two girls are super girly and have a total obsession with the Ty Beanie Boos.

Well clearly their friends know them well because every gift was a total hit...and they got a whole bunch of new Beanie Boos!! :)

I didn't get any pictures of the cake and ice cream but they all sure loved that too. :)  We sent their guests home with some bags of cotton candy and our girls went to bed feeling like the rockstars they are.

I have to admit this party took it out of me, but I was so glad to have these pictures to look back on and see how much fun everyone actually had.  Sometimes I tend to miss all the glowing moments when I am trying to keep everything running smoothly.  I was spent by the end, but then looking back over these pictures just filled me right back up again!

Oh how much I wanted them to feel special on their big day, and they did.  Mission accomplished!

Do you see why I love pictures so much??  They remind me of just exactly how much fun I am having in this crazy adventure called life. :)

And even if the whole party had been a total flop, those darling pictures of Liza made it all worth it. ;)

Isn't she gorgeous?! :)

More to come...

Our Soccer Star

Our boy loves sports.  

He comes from a long line of sports fans on both sides.

(That's me when I played soccer as a kid.  I also play volleyball, basketball, and did track throughout Junior High and High School.)

This is his Grandpa Lighten carry his cricket bat - which he LOVED!

Over the years we have spent lots of family time enjoying sports.  

Especially these two.

Our favorite teams are the Denver Broncos, Rockies, BYU, Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake Soccer, and England's Arsenal soccer team.

We follow and enjoy them all.  

My personal favorite teams however, are the ones my kids play their own sports on. :)

One sport which has continued throughout our family for our boy has been soccer.

He has played since he was small.  And still loves it today.

Many aspects of his soccer experience have changed over the years.

Different teammates, coaches, uniform colors, and even positions.

Currently he plays for the Utah Surf Soccer Club.  He largely plays goalie, but also loves striker.  It boils down to tasting the glory for this guy.  He either wants to be the one blocking the goal or scoring it. :)

Which is one aspect that has remained the same through the passage of time. 

We have spent many, many hours sitting on the sidelines cheering him on while our girls play with any friends that show up to the game.

This is Emma.  She has been Eliza's BFF all year so far.

As you can see, they adore each other.  And I adore being able to just fully enjoy each game while my little pumpkin is lovingly being cared for! :)

This cute girl right here is Jake's school teacher, Mrs. Lyons.  She is without a doubt the BEST teacher on the planet.  I mean, you have to be to leave work to come to one of your student's soccer games across town.  Then to have to go back, finish your work, and then drive 30 minutes home!

Makes for a late night for her but also a super strong bond for him.

She is truly, truly amazing!

Another piece that has remained the same is this sweet friendship.

Jake and Luke have played soccer together since they were small.  

Last year, they were put on different teams and it just lit an absolute fire in Jake to work his tail off to earn a spot this year playing with his best bud.

It worked and now they are back together for another year of a sport they both love so much!

Oh how we love sports and our little soccer star!