Our new addition :)

I've fallen behind in my blogging again. Go figure.  So, here I go to attempt to get caught up again!

We've been planning and preparing for a long time to get a new addition to our family--our dream car--a Honda Pilot.  We've been dreaming of one for a long time.  We actually test drove one about 4.5 years ago when I was expecting Aurora, so this addition to our family has been a long time in the making.  We knew we would need to get a second vehicle, eventually, because our little Suzuki Forenza would only hold 2 children, maximum.  So, as part of our preparation to grow our family (no, this is NOT an announcement) because we know we want more than 2 kids, we started saving and preparing to get a second vehicle, our Pilot.

Darwin's parents were really generous in letting us borrow their extra car for the last year+, so we've gotten used to having a second car around, but after almost 10 years of marriage we finally OWN two cars! And we LOVE our new Pilot!

We picked it up from the dealership the last weekend in May, right after school got out for the year for Darwin.  It was a great way for us to kick start our summer.

 We decided that since we plan to have this SUV for a long time and run it into the ground that we'd get top of the line to start with, and we got a killer deal!  We LOVED the dealership we went with and we'd recommend them to anyone!  Darwin is especially happy with our purchase and how everything turned out.

Loving our new car!

The girls love that it has a built-in DVD player, and it has been really nice for our long and long-ish trips so far.  We try not to let them watch it while we're just running around town.

Just about every time we get in the car Savannah says, "Mom, new car FUN!"
We think so too, sweet girl!

We bought it brand-spanking-new, 2015 with only 4 miles on it when we took it from the lot.  We were a little hesitant to buy a brand new vehicle, but we got such a great deal that we couldn't pass up the opportunity, and we're very happy with our decision.  Lucky for us the 2016 Pilot is a new model and dealerships are trying to push out all the 2015s to make room for the new 2016 model.  I personally like the look of the 2015 more than the new 2016, so I'm perfectly satisfied with our 2015.

It's been a long time coming, and we're so glad things worked out the way they did for us.  Here's to many adventures and trips in our new Pilot!

Missionaries

The last couple weeks in May were filled with missionary farewells.  Two of my cousins left on missions one week apart.  They're both such great boys and are greatly missed already!  They're doing wonderful things by choosing to serve the Lord for two years though and we're so proud of them for doing it!  We didn't get any pictures with Matt--I forgot to bring the camera! :( Matt was already in the MTC (missionary training center) when Ben had his farewell.

Darwin and I were able to attend the temple when Ben went through for the first time.  It was such a special experience and we were so happy to be a part of it!
Left to Right:
Darwin, me, Grandpa Randy, Grandma Pam, Ben's friend Zach (home for a short time from his mission due to illness), Ben, Alice, Randy, Martha, Ron, Nanny Sharon (uncle Bob was not able to come because he's been dealing with really awful back pain)

 I love that Aurora wanted another picture with our Ben!

I had to get a picture with "My Ben" too.  Love this kid!  We miss you already, Ben!!!

Outing to the Park

May 25th

We're pretty fortunate to live close to a couple fun playgrounds, a walking trail, and a swimming pool.  One of our favorite things to do in the evening is take the girls to one of the playgrounds, and part of the fun is just getting there!

Aurora's been practicing with her roller skates :)

She would have fallen down at least a dozen times (or more) on the way there and back

Good thing she has such a great Daddy to help her stay balanced while she's still learning!

And Savannah's getting pretty good with the scooter
(when she decides to actually push herself along--most of the time she rides with both feet on while I push her)

We love our evening strolls!

Princess Sleepover!

May 24th
Last year for Aurora's birthday, Aunt Georgiana gave her a super fun princess tent!  She has slept in it many times on her own, but now that she and Savannah share a room and Savy's not in a crib anymore, it was only a matter of time before they started having sleepovers together in the tent.  They thought it was the best thing ever!

Silly faces

Playing with the "creepy" setting on the camera :)



All snug and cozy and ready to go to sleep!

Sleepy girls all snuggled up :)

 

Love these two little munchkins!  Thanks for the fun tent, Auntie Geo!

Tiny Tots

I love that Aurora is old enough now to be participating in fun extracurricular activities.  She did her gymnastics class in the winter and then in the month of May she participated in a Tiny Tots Sports Class through our city recreation.  She loved it!  She learned beginner skills for a bunch of different sports.  Her coaches were really great with the kids, and she made some new friends!
(I didn't take pictures every time we went, or of every sport she was introduced to, but I did take a bunch! The lighting was really bad and our camera isn't that awesome, so sorry about the coloring/lighting of the pictures.)

Every week they started off with stretching and warm ups

Hockey

Hurdles

Bowling

Volleyball

Miniature Golf

Kickball


Not a specific sport, but practicing balance--she needs more practice :)

Savannah was always really patient to sit and watch (next year she'll be old enough to participate)

Look at those cute, natural curls!

But, at the end of each class they all got to help with the parachute.  Savannah always loved being able to help the bigger kids :)


 On the last day of the class they had a little ceremony to recognize each kid and give them a metal.  Aurora thought it was AWESOME to get a gold metal like Wreck-It Ralph :)

Happy girl!

 Her coaches were impressed with her skills and said she was "a natural" with some of the sports.  It's so fun to watch our kids grow and learn new skills.  We'll be signing her up for soccer in the fall :)

Flying Rori

If you've been to our house you know our girls like to jump off the furniture.

One Sunday before church, Aurora and Daddy had fun documenting some of her jumping.

She got some pretty good air and good form on some of her jumps!
They may look redundant, but they're funny to us so they're going on our blog :)

Getting in a spin on this one!

And have to throw in this one of our sweet Savannah too!

Walk of Remembrance and Running with Angels 2015

Every May we have a couple events we participate in that help us honor and remember our sweet angel baby, Nastassia.

I know Mother's Day can be hard for many women. Trust me. I've been there.

At this point in my life, after going through some pretty hard times, I feel very fortunate to have had positive experiences in the midst of difficult trials and I can honestly say now that I look forward to the month of May every year, especially when Nastassia Day comes in April and it's kind of hard to get through every year.  Sometimes I still have to take a deep breath and wait for the moment of grief to pass.  Sometimes it hits me at random times when I'm least expecting it.  We will always miss our little Nastassia and it makes us sad that we'll never have the chance to raise her here upon the earth.  Someday though, we know we'll have that chance in the eternities. But, it can be hard to keep that eternal perspective and to be patient.

It's healing for me when our family participates in our annual Walk of Remembrance with other families who have lost babies too, and then the next weekend we go run with many of the same families in the Running with Angels 5k.

May 9th - Walk of Remembrance

The Walk of Remembrance is always the Saturday before Mother's Day.  I'm glad they hold it then.  It helps me look forward to Mother's Day with a smile on my face and not so much grief in my heart.  It was a cold, rainy day this year, but we didn't really care.  We were just happy to be together to celebrate Nastassia!

Our family with our traditional yellow balloon to be released in honor of our angel baby.

Releasing the balloon.

I love that they take time to read the names of all the babies of the families in attendance and have a moment of silence.  It's always very touching.

It was raining so hard that the weight of the raindrops made it hard for the balloons to float up.  As we were leaving we noticed several balloons on the ground that hadn't even made it out of the parking lot!  Darwin jumped out of the car and grabbed a couple balloons for the girls to have--especially because Savannah was so sad that we sent her balloon up into the sky.  She was a happy girl again when she got her balloon back :)

May 16th - Running with Angels
The Saturday after Mother's Day is when we join other families for Running with Angels.  This is my most favorite 5k that we do together.  It's amazing to feel the strength and support of so many families who have gone through similar, or harder, experiences of losing a child than we have.  I'm glad the girls are beginning to look forward to this also as they get older and are starting to understand more.  It was a chilly morning the morning of our run also, and we were worried it would rain on us again, but it didn't!  We still bundled the girls up anyway.


My friend, Lonny, volunteers for the run every year.  We always look forward to see her!  Thanks for taking a picture of our family, Lonny!
 
Ready to run!

Just before the run, they do a dove release.  We ended up right next to the families and the doves this year.  It was fun to be so close!


The doves usually fly around the crowd a couple times before taking off, but this year they flew around the crowd for several minutes before flying away.  It was special and neat to watch.


May 10th - Mother's Day
In between the two events was Mother's Day.  Darwin made delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast and gave me a few gifts I've really been wanting. He always treats me too well :)  That's why I keep him around though. Haha! He's amazing and I wouldn't be the mom I am if it weren't for him!

I wanted to get a picture of me and the girls but they were not at all cooperative.  I should have just joined them in making funny faces.  Silly me. Oh, well!

My and my Rori-girl

Me and my Sweet Savannah Belle.  She was still being a stinker in a picture by herself, but it's all good :)

I love these two little ladies who call me "Mommy".  They sure are sweet spirits and I'm so very blessed to have them!!

Happy Mother's Day to all those special women in my life who have set such great examples for me and taught me so much throughout my life.  I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for so many amazing women, most especially my own mom.  I love and appreciate her more and more as I get older and go through the experience of motherhood myself.  Thank you, Mom, for all of your love and sacrifice.  I hope you know how much you mean to me!  I love you!