school...off and running

It's so hard for Levi and I to believe, but Ezri had her 1st day of school yesterday! She woke up with a little cold, but was not going to let a runny nose stop her from her 1st morning at Jack and Jill's House! Ezri picked out her outfit (a pink skirt, with a shirt that said "sweet sunshine" so appropriate), she told me how to fix her hair, and in spite of being groggy couldn't get the smile off her face! When Eden and I dropped her off she hung her coat and backpack up in her cubby, found her name and placed it on the board for attendance, then was off to play! She is a kid that loves to learn and thrives when a part of any social setting! You could see that she felt like a big girl, I love her confidence!

Eden and I had a great time together at home...I think that's what kept the tears from coming when I dropped Ezri off! It was great to have three hours of one-on-one time with Eden! She is becoming such a little comedian and had me laughing with silly faces she was making at me!

At 11:30 we went and picked up Sister! It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen...all the kids were lined up on the porch of the preschool, backpacks on ready to be picked up by moms and dads! Ezri kept saying "Preschool is so much fun, Mama!" I'm so thrilled she enjoyed it so much...she's counting the days until Tuesday, when she goes again!

Preschool and Parades

Yesterday Ezri had her Preschool orientation, which was a big deal! She's so excited to be going to school and it was so neat for her to get to see what we've been building up for the last 6 months. She's attending Jack and Jill House and her teacher is our good friend Melissa Gillaspy. Mrs. Gillaspy has worked so hard to get the preschool ready and it's neat to see how God has blessed her as she's taken on this new adventure! Ezri was able to meet a few of her classmates, all of who we already knew, hee hee! She found her cubby, put her birthday marker on the class calender, had snack on the parachute, and played in the sand box! Wow, she's growing up so quickly!

Last night, while Levi was at football practice, the girls and I venture out to follow the EHS marching band as they get ready for the Rodeo parade! Ezri loves instruments and Eden can't help but bust a move when she hears music, so it was a really exciting to get to follow a real band! Ezri pretended to play the violin, and Eden yelled and waved her arms as we walked all over town...who knows...maybe we have two musicians on our hands!

Friends

Ezri loves nothing more than playing with her friends! I'm so thankful that she has such a special group of beautiful girls to grow up with! Here are a few of them playing at the park during our small group potluck Sunday!

strike a pose

Following in Ellensburg tradition, we took the girls to the Rodeo Kick-off Breakfast and Junior Rodeo Parade this Saturday! Ezri loves to join in any kind of festivity (kind of like her Momma)! She was thrilled to dress up with Sissy like cowgirls and ride in the wagon through town. We pulled together the best of what we had to make their "western attire."

They were both pretty in pink as they rode in the wagon; Ezri waving with an almost perfect princess wave, and Eden was in awe of the ponies walking next to us!

After parading down Pearl Street, we walked through the Farmers Market with family and friends. Ezri had her face painted and she chose a pink cat. You could tell she was pretty proud of her sparking face. With all the ladies: Nana, Auntie Anna, Auntie Cheryl, Sarah, Leah, and the rest of the gang encouraging her we had a short modeling show. Ezri soaked in the attention as everyone yelled directions: "put your hand on your hips, bend you legs, smile and turn your face." As you can tell from the pic's, we have a Rodeo princess in training!

Eden

Sunday we had Eden dedicated at the church. The more and more I reflected on the concept of dedication, I've come to realize what a momentous event it is in the lives of our children. It's a physical way for us as parents of acknowledging how we must hand our children over to the Lord, because they truly are His. It's real moment of faith and also inspiration as you look out at the congregation watching your sweet baby, and to know that not only is her life in the Lords hands, but forever more will she have a church body encouraging her, praying for her, and showing her the love of Christ!

Becoming a Momma has been the greatest gift in my life, I don't think I truly grasped the love God has for me until I discovered the life changing love I have for my girls! Looking into their sweet faces, I see the love I have for Levi and I see the amazing handiwork of our Creator. They are masterpieces that He has entrusted into our care. I love the fact that we have a church body to lift us up in caring for these precious creations we've been gifted!

"There is something infinitely precious about having a daughter. Mine, from the moment she was born, drew from me reserves of tenderness, protectiveness and fight I never new I possessed. I wanted to change the world overnight, to make it a safer, easier, better place for this miniature woman, this receptacle of all my dreams and aspirations, this extension of myself." Michele Guiness

I say that Eden is my "sweet joy" and Ezri is my "ray of sunshine." I love to celebrate them because they not only bring a preciousness to they way we live life, but have caused me to draw closer to my Maker because He has shown me a new level of love and trust!

fishing fun

On Saturday, we took my parents boat out for the first time to Lake Cle Elum. We had high hopes of water skiing and soaking up sun, but because the weather was so cold we opted for fishing.

It was Ezri's first time, Eden's too of course, and it had been a few years since the rest of us dusted off our poles. Our adventure began with a hunt for calm water, which we found across the lake. I'm not sure if calm is the word of choice, but it was as still as we could find considering the wind. Ezri manned the fish finder and we decided to put in anchor, which was entertaining in and of itself as Dad and Levi struggled to find a good hold. Once anchored we got our poles in, baited with power bait and worms. Levi caught a few tree stumps and old logs, while Dad wrestled with a new reel that wasn't cooperating. Ezri sat with her pole in the water for a while, but was more excited about eating licorice and watching the fish finder. I think Eden would have jumped in if we didn't have such a tight hold on her. Mom was cracking us up as she texted a friend hiding under a blanket, and Levi's Mom helped juggle lunches and babies.

We weren't having much success, but definitely lots of laughs. Levi and Dad decided we should rig our one working pole differently and troll. Dad spent a good half an hour getting it all ready and off we went, as Levi let out line. Just as Dad said "I'm not sure how much line is on that reel, make sure not to let too much out" Levi looked down in time to watch the last of the line escape into the lake along with the flashy business Dad had worked on, thus ending our fishing for the day. We had no fish to show from our adventure, but our hearts were full from the time we had together!

P-F Olympics...what a blast!

As a little girl, we would spend many a holiday and special occasion with my great-grandparents, Grandma and Grandad Prichard (my Grandma Christie's parents). They had this beautiful house that over looked Rocky Bay, in Puget Sound. Grandma and Grandad were full of a fun spirit that was celebrated in all the fantastic and usually silly times we've shared at their home with our huge family. One of the silly things we'd do was a family Olympics; we called the Prichard Olympics, full of Olympic events with a goofy twist.

Grandma and Grandad are now celebrating in heaven...but Mom thought this summer would be a great time to resurrect the Olympics. So this Saturday, the whole family met at Mom and Dad's for two days of great fun. It was a blast to remember old traditions, as well as start new ones all the while thinking of Grandma and Grandad!

Because there are so many Fevergeon's now, we renamed our event the P-F Olympics (Prichard-Fevergeon). Everyone arrived at 10am on Saturday, coming from all directions- California, Oregon, and all across Washington. After hugs and a quick catching up, we got down to business. We divided up into three teams, created team flags, team cheers, and we even had a synchronized swimming performance for our opening ceremonies. Team captains carrying their team flags followed Mom in a lap around the yard as she ran in the Olympic flame. Once our flame had been lit, we sang the national anthem to a chorus of kazoo's. Our synchronized swimmers performed to the beat of "Everybody Dance Now", all wearing goggles, swim caps, and water wings...we even had a special solo from Uncle Denny!

Let the games begin...we had 9 events consisting of ping-pong, discus, basketball, volleyball, diving, relay, broad jump, tennis, and sumo wrestling. All the events had a silly spin. We all ended up soaking wet by the time the day came to a close. The "Bad News Boogers" dominated the games, coming in first. The "Blue Bugachoobas" (Ezri's team of course) took away the silver medal and the "Red Invaders" claimed the bronze. We had so much fun playing as a family and it was special to introduce this childhood tradition to our girls!