I have been super bad about keeping up on my blog. I am going to try and at least do a post Sunday nights. I love this picture of my girls, almost 12, playing in the creek. Sophie wanted to try to catch tadpoles, they didn't find any. But they did find these huge freshwater clam things. Maybe because the creek runs into Lake Brandt the clams or mussels or whatever are huge? No idea. But it was fun to watch. I know times like this will be farther in between as they grow up more and more. I so want them to keep experiencing the wonder of the world around them.

Our sweet buddy Connor with one of the baby rabbits. He could't get enough of them, and he LOVED the chickens. When I made him come in the house he would just stand at the back door and say chicken, or black chicken over and over! It was sweet and fun for my kids to be around a toddler.

 
Me, Katie Bagley, Marilyn Arny, and Cristy Flores

Happy Birthday to me! My RS presidency had a surprise brunch for my birthday. It was so nice and I was really surprised! Yummy cake and breakfast. Katie was just released as our secretary so I wanted to get a picture of us all. I can't believe it has almost been 2 years. Sometimes it seems like so much longer! My presidency is so wonderful, they work so hard and do so much for me and our ward.

Mom and Dad sent a small foot stool like the one that was at Granny's house as I grew up. Mom needle pointed the cover and dad refinished it. They took off the legs and boxed it up to send me. It was such a surprise, I will treasure it! I had a fun birthday, got a pedicure, went to lunch with friends and out to dinner as a family. All of our kids like Thai food now, yay Hardys! We tried a new place close to us. It was a great day.

My morning walks with Molly are so beautiful, I sometimes forget how blessed I feel to live here. It is like paradise to have our own private woods and I have to remind myself to slow down and pay attention to the beauty. This picture does not capture the early morning light, it is my favorite in the spring when the leaves are new and light green. Everything smells alive and growing. I have been listening to my scriptures as I walk lately, makes me happy and I want to remember this.

Abby, Sophie's hand, and Grace

I took the girls to a school fitness celebration. Sophie was embarrassed to do this, I tried to make her so she just stuck her hand through! There was a 1 mile race that all 3 did. Abby won for the middle school girls! Grace and Sophie only participated because the race was to benefit the Leukemia Association and they wanted to support Johnny Van Kemp. He is such a sweet boy, I have seen him several times at school make a point of saying hi to both Sophie and Grace. He knows they are shy and is just a nice kid. We are praying he can beat cancer again. Sophie dyed her hair orange, several of the kids at school are. Orange is the color for Leukemia awareness. After Graces experience with her blue hair taking months to wash out she did not want to :) Plus she said that she can pray for Johnny and help him without orange hair, which is true.

This is the picture I found on my phone this morning when I got to ward council....took all I could do to not laugh out loud. Why is it so funny? Every time I look at it I still laugh! I guess Sophie does too.

Happy Easter!

Sophie and Jason are on their way home from NYC. Daddy Daughter trip was a great success. With Easter being so early this year our cherry tree is finally in bloom for an Easter picture. We had a great day celebrating the resurrection of our Savior.

 Grace, Nicki Dodson, Sophie

The girls went to their first Young Women event this week. New Beginnings welcomes in all the girls who will become Beehives this year.It is hard for me to believe they are old enough to be in YW. Goodness. I am excited for Grace and Sophie to have all the blessings of the YW program though. There is a youth temple trip already planned for May 7th on their birthday! So exciting. Nicki is a sweetheart and a good friend to both girls.

 
  I happened to mention to Mom that since we moved we couldn't find any of our cookie cutters. So she sent 300+. Awesome! Every shape you can think of! These other pictures are of Grace and Sophie's awards assemblies from school. They both are doing so well in 6th grade, on Honor Roll. Sophie earned a special award for an online math program she spends a lot of time on. Her class was supposed to do 25 lessons by the end of the semester, she did more then 300. Because she likes them. It is fun to her. Grace got an award for her photo and a few other things. I'm so proud of them both.

We had a sports filled weekend. This is Luke and the other All-Stars from his basketball program. 2 kids from each team were invited to participate and he was so excited to be included! His team actually lost the All-Star game. It was so close all game, back and forth, and then the other team went on a run at the end. Still a really great experience. I was so proud of how hard Luke played and his sportsmanship.

 Luke is a hard worker on the court. He scraps for every ball that comes his way. The kid in this picture has got to be 40 pounds bigger then Luke.

 Noah competed in a karate tournament on Saturday. He won first place in his division for grappling (karate type of wrestling) and a second in sword fighting. I was so proud of him! He just works and works and doesn't give up. There were about 16 kids in his division, all about same belts and experience. Mike Carr karate has been such a blessing to Noah. Great experiences. Mike knows his students by name. I'm not sure how he does it but I am grateful for his influence on my son. He is so very kind and supportive while at the same time demanding the best of his students and not putting up with them not giving it. Noah was a little disappointed to get second in sword fighting, the winner got to go to a championship round and he really wanted to. So he did not want any pictures at the end of his trophy and all ribbons together. He did an amazing job!

 

 Luke and Noah's last basketball game. I am happy and sad at the same time. Both boys have had a great experience and learned so much! Plus being in the Rock Gym is fun, it is 100ish years old. I am really glad Summerfield Elementary restored it and incorporated it into their school. But I have to admit that I am always glad when we get a few less commitments as a family.

Before the storm...

 A huge snow and ice storm has been predicted for the whole east coast. On Martin Luther King day we got ready for it by putting icemelt down for an elderly friend and then trying a new cupcake bakery in town. They were not as good as Maxie B's, but still yummy.

 After the storm...

 

 Not as much snow or ice as predicted, which is good. We got about 4 inches with a thick layer of ice on top. Nothing too crazy. If only we had stuck with being pulled behind the tractor...whole family went sledding at park in town and I messed up my back. Icy snow + tube+old mom+ pole ='s lots of pain. After ignoring Jason when he told me it was not safe to sled at this park and crashing into a pole, I followed his advice and got checked out at the ER. Bruised ribs and really sore back. Nothing that won't heal. In the mean time I can only hobble around like an old woman. Learned my lesson!

Grace won 1st Place

Grace's photograph won first place for her school in their Reflections contest! She took it at an aquarium we visited this fall, titled it Dreaming Blue. It was displayed downtown in Greensboro's Cultural Arts Center. It was FREEZING cold the night we went to go see the display, and I took a wrong turn in the parking lot and kids and I ended up at a dead end fence topped with barbed wire. It would have been more funny if it hadn't been so dang cold! So proud of Grace. She has a natural eye for photography. Her school is starting a photography club that I she wants to join. I am glad because I don't know anything to teach her.

December 30, 2015 Happy Birthday Luke & Noah!

Hard to believe these guys are 9! We started the day off with special breakfast, bacon included. I promise Noah was happy. I think he is a little confused about Sophie's bacon 'stach...and Grace did not want her picture taken for some reason?

 Noah requested strawberry pie and Luke pumpkin cheesecake instead of birthday cakes this year.Super yummy, and easier then cakes, but I was still a little sad. It just seems like they grew up so quickly sometimes. We went bowling as a family and then came home to open presents.

NFL blankets from Grandma and Papa Hardy! Boys also got scooters, build yourself Lego type guns, light up hats and gloves from G&G Smith, the girls gave them each a nerf shooter. Because we don't already have enough...

What a blessing these boys are to our family. I can't imagine life with out them!