Hannah's Cake

Hannah has been diligently working on yet another cake to enter in our local county fair.  The theme of this year's fair is "Fill Up On Fun."  So, she came up with the idea to have a bottle pouring things that you would associate with the fair into a cup, thus "filling up on fun."  A pretty ambitious idea and, as she discovered, difficult to execute when you are an amateur cake decorator.  However, she rose to the task and the end result turned out to be pretty great!

sketch of her idea

the beginning

hard at work

adding some final touches

the final product

proud Hannah

Misfit Dynasty

Earlier this week, Sophie's lamb club, The Misfits, posed for some pictures that will be used during fair week.  This year, they are using a Duck Dynasty theme, dubbing themselves the "Misfit Dynasty."  This group of kids and parents is always great to work with.  It's nice to watch how much the kids grow and learn from year to year.  The pictures turned out pretty great too!

"The Misfits" 4-H Lamb Club

Intermediate Showmen

Sophie and Fergus

Sophie and her friend, Darby.

Fergus the Great

Sophie has been hard at work for months with her 4-H lamb, Fergus.  We are in the "home stretch" now as the fair is next week.  With that will bring the end of our time with Fergus and it will be difficult to part this year.  He has been a great lamb; perhaps the most personable we've ever worked with.  Here are some pictures of this sweet guy.

Baby Fergus

sleeping in my food trough

puppy kisses

great friends

Sophie & Fergus

South Padre

We recently vacationed in South Padre Island, TX and it was GRAND!  We absolutely loved it.  It was a totally cool, laid back, beachy-vibe area.  Our rental was gorgeous, had its own private pool and jacuzzi on the back patio {which the girl's could not get enough of} AND our own private beach access!  Perfect!

While we were there, we didn't do too much, but we visited some memorable places.  Second only to parasailing {which Justin and all 4 kiddos got to do} was visiting a little place called Sea Turtle, Inc.  They rescue and rehabilitate injured sea turtles.  It was extraordinary to get up close and personal with these creatures; to hear of the unfortunate events that brought them to STI and if/when they would be fully rehabilitated and released.  The girls thought this was awesome!

We also did a bird and nature preserve walk.  I've got to admit, when its 92 degrees outside with 85% or more humidity, nobody was thrilled with the idea of walking around outside to see this preserve.  But boy are we glad we did!  We saw tons of awesome birds {up close and personal}, sea turtles, dozens and dozens of fish and even an alligator! Everyone agreed, it was worth the sweat!

On our way to SPI, we stopped by San Antonio and
taught the girls a little Texas history!

The view from our back patio!

Beautiful, beachy Bella.

JTS and the girls gearing up to go parasailing.

Sophie, Hannah & Mia parasailing.

Look closely.  That's JTS and Mia.  You can tell by
the long legs and the shorts legs!

A rare moment of sibling love, unscripted and caught on camera!

Cute Cousins

In June, we got to attend our nephew Teddy's 1st Birthday celebration.  It was a great day in Laramie {albeit a little chilly} and we were able to capture some super cute pictures with all of the Spicer cousins!   What an adorable bunch!

Aubrey{8 yrs}, Tyler {6 yrs}, Sophie {13 yrs}, Hannah {12 yrs},
Teddy {1 yr}, Mia {8yrs} & Bella {10 yrs}

Dance

This year was a GREAT "dance year" for the girls and, although we've already started anew, here are their end of the year pictures!

Life

Haven't posted in a while and, while I do plan on catching up in the blog world, thought I'd start off this post with a great quote from an extraordinary woman:

We all go through trying times in our lives.  One thing for certain, is that during these times,  it's better to forgive others, to give your best at all you strive to accomplish and to do all you can to lead a happy and fulfilled life.

Sometimes this means letting go of painful or unhealthy relationships.  Moving forward in the best version of yourself while you endeavor to strive for the constant betterment of yourself.  A lesson I constantly teach and reiterate to my children is that, you are only responsible for yourself and your actions.  You cannot change other people's reactions or actions.   So, I tell my daughters to keep their heads held high and lead a life that they are proud of; to make choices that they can live with; but, most especially do what makes them happy.

It is all any of us can do.