Lydia is 4!!!

 

Happy birthday to our cute little firecracker!!! How lucky are we to have her as part of our family? She fills us with laughter, teaches us patience, loves Jesus (she ran up to a statue of him in the store the other day and was so excited that she almost knocked it over!) has never-ending energy, loves life and is a precious child of God.  We love you, Lydia!

For her birthday, Lydia wanted to go see Gma & Gpa (if only she could have seen ALL of her Gma’s and Gpa’s---that would have been AWESOME!) and it just so happened to be the same weekend as Yoder Days (how convenient!  Birthday wishes coming true AND Mom’s Amish fix appeased!).  We had a fun Saturday but Lydia took a late nap after being out in the hot sun all day so she couldn’t sleep that night!  This is her on her birthday eve around 11 pm…excited and NOT tired!

This is one of her presents---she’s been wanting a big girl bike forever!  Sadie made a cute scavenger hunt for her to find it, which was really fun.  The skirt she’s wearing is one the Gma Sessions made her….sparkly eyelet!  You’ll have to click on the picture to make it bigger so you can see it…it’s so cute! Lydia was VERY excited to wear it to church today. Thanks Grandma!

The BIG BIRTHDAY GIRL!  (I made these cupcakes & frosting gluten & dairy-free so that Chuck could eat them and no one even noticed! They all wanted 2nds---who knew?!  YAY!)

Is it possible to be an Amish Mormon?

Ahhhh….my obsession with the simple, slow-paced, peaceful life of the Amish has been appeased for the time being. We went to Yoder Days this weekend and I loved every bit of it. I was the crazy one with the camera trying to sneak photos while people weren’t watching.  I didn’t want to offend, because I know they don’t like their photos taken (it promotes vanity, so they don’t do it….smart!) but I am really just enamored with these people who live such a life of conviction.  As a Mormon, I realize that we are different in many ways---we don’t smoke, drink, our intimate relationships are saved for marriage, we go on missions, we attend church for 3 hours on Sunday!, we dress modestly etc...and the list goes on.  But the Amish do all this AND……they don’t use electricity, don’t have cars, grow much of their own food, run farms, don’t wear makeup etc…, etc…, etc…. AND….they are very happy! (and calm---we’re thinking of asking them if they’d do an Amish Calm Children Summer Camp---sign me up for FOUR slots! )  So, my question is….can we start an Amish Mormon town?  I think we could combine the two culture’s very nicely!!!  Learning to sew my families clothes might be tricky and I'm pretty sure they WON’T want me without makeup (scary!), but I just love everything they stand for.  Anyway, my pictures are simply an admiration for living such a life of simplicity in an all too complicated world.  I applaud them for their conviction and for making it work!!!

Gpa Gary, Lydia, Gma Tish, Liam, Sadie, Briggs & Chuck

Briggs on a pony ride---I thought it was funny that for once, when we called, “Brigham!”, it wasn’t a name that was out of place or “old”.  He fit right in!

Lydia and Gpa with cute Amish boy #1---he didn’t know what to do with me taking pictures….he tried to hide in the photo with Briggs, but I got him in this one!

Seriously, have you ever seen anything cuter?

Amish Grandpa, Chuck, Dad & Mom

I think this one might be my favorite….these girls were SO cute!  We were watching the Draft Horse competition and all of us had homemade ice cream---delish!  Mine was accompanied by a positively heavenly rubbarb pie. Wish I’d taken a picture of that!

Amish Auction…this was SO cool!

These quilts went for anywhere from $500-$900 which was really sad!  One of the Amish ladies I talked to said that they typically all go for over $1000 and that the highest she’s seen is $6,000!  That’s not normal though.  I really felt for these Amish women who spent so much time and effort on them though, and the prices were down this year.  But I’m sure the buyers were thrilled---they got a deal!

Amish Teeny-Boppers!

 

Amish Stud!

How cute is she?

This one was just precious….

I got up the guts to ask if I could take their picture because they were so cute…all matchy, matchy. That would be me if I was Amish! (but the dresses would be red!)

Cute little purple, matchy family

Lydia…trying to be Amish! Pretty darn cute!

Ok, I’m done….Just LOVE these people!

Lydia painted her nails!

 

I took a nap today and Lydia came in to wake up and show me her pretty nails….she told me that Daddy painted them for her. I was impressed that he did that for her and commented on it later…he had no idea what I was talking about!  Apparently she did it herself…I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed or mad!  She didn’t make a mess at all---I’m actually a little scared!

One more Seminar photo….

 

Forgot this one….and how could I?  Such a cute one of all of us at the big company awards night.  I got to represent our unit on stage----amazing women!

I love Mary Kay Seminar!!!

Every year Mary Kay does a big awards night, training weekend and just FUN girl time….we just got back and had a BLAST!!!  Where else do you get to dress up like a princess?  (Thanks Carolyn for letting me borrow your gorgeous dresses!) Our MK unit had our best year in over 3 years and it was fun to be be rewarded for all of our efforts.  Here are just a few pictures to share the fun weekend with you….

MK treats us so well!!! Our National Sales Director, Tammy Crayk, gets a limo sent to the hotel to pick her up and she always has those who earned awards ride over with her…FUN!  These amazing women teach me so much about my business and how to be a better woman (everyone except for the Limo driver! )

L to R—April Madsen, Brenda Bennett (my hero—she’s the Mom, Mormon & MK Director extraordinaire!) Carrie Carlile, Jalene Weston, Allison Cheney (my “offspring” directore—LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HER!), Tammy Crayk, Krista Johnson (my other hero!) & Me

 

So they have a Royalty Reception with music and yummy food.  I of course, went straight to the cheese table! This was all we had time for though because we got there late due to the limo overheating---must be due to the CRAZY heat we’ve been having!

Jacqui, Maria, Tammy, Joann & Darcey with our Unit Award—we did the $300,000 Circle of Achievement which means that we sold that much in retail product….that’s a lot of lipstick!

WOW! These are all the prizes I earned…fun!

Me and my sweet Susi…we are kindred spirits!

Susi and Nicole…amazing women!

Carrie, Allison, Maria, Susi & Nicole---these are the fabulous directors in my future national area…WOW!

Me and Allison on the “pink” carpet…she is one amazing woman who never gives up and was the Queen of Sales in our area….what a thrill to see her crowned!  She is a dear, dear friend and an inspiration to all“

Maria and Joann---she used to work at our Dr.’s office and Lydia still calls her “my doctor”!

This is my favorite picture because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these women.  Joann, Jacqui, Maria & Darcey—had a wonderful time with them! I’m so lucky to have them in my life! (We missed those who couldn’t come…it wasn’t the same with out you---you know who you are!)

Maria and Tammy---what a wonderful mentor!  Lucky to be trained by the best!!!