You are good enough

Saturday was a competition for Karlee. She needed to get a certain score on her passes so when the actual competition season starts that she will be able to advance to the higher level. This process has made me think. Karlee always reverts back to tumbling because it is were she is accepted and loved.  She is great at it, and she has awesome friendships, her coaches love her, and she finds it rewarding. As a parent you want your kids to be involved in exactly these types of activities. A couple of months ago Karlee tried out for Orion Jr. High softball. She hasn't ever played organized sports before, but thought it would be rewarding and fun. She did make the team, but as a redshirt. This means she would basically just go to practice, sort of like a 6 week softball camp. She would not receive a uniform, and she had to go to every practice and every game. At first the overall result made her feel like she wasn't good enough. As a parent this was really hard to watch. Mother bear was not happy that her cub was sad. Troy and I talked through it and decided she would be able to do both tumbling and softball. This would require a lot of rides to and from the school, and lots of time exercising. Life is a series of trials that help you learn how to NOT be a victim and to prove to yourself and others that you can do hard things. We all need to know we can do hard things. I am so proud of Karlee for pushing through and realizing that she is good enough and proving to herself that she indeed can do hard things. The workouts at softball made her stronger physically. I think she will prove that at her competitions. She held her head up at all of the games and was a good sport. She is learning patience and hard work. She is being a great example. When you find yourself feeling lost, or that you aren't good enough, think of Karlee. Watch the videos and you can see how she is improving and that she can do hard things.  I know I can't physically do the tumbling passes that Karlee can, but I do know that I am a Daughter of my Heavenly Father that loves me, and I know I can do hard things. I know I do matter, and you do too! I can make a difference just by being me:)

Hello... and yes Kier I am inspired by your blog. I love reading it and decided to start my own. I do believe it is the small things that make a difference.

 I just went to Cape Cod this weekend. It was really fun to attend a wedding in a different state. The most impressive thing is that people still value marriage. It was fun to listen to everyone talk about how happy they were that Adam and Lindsey were getting married. In the ceremony they talked about how the material on the backdrop was from her grandmother's veils back to the 1800's this amazed me and brought back the renewed faith that people still value marriage.

 Getting clear across the country was interesting. I flew to Detroit and I sat next to a cute couple that was from Michigan. They were about the most normal people that I have ever sat by on a plane. It was nice. When I got to Detroit I was kinda scared that I would miss my connecting flight because I only had a 51 minute layover. Luckily when I got off of the plane, I didn't have to walk anywhere, the gate was right there. I boarded the flight to Boston and I sat by some Asians and they were stinky, but I recorded them and put my blanket over my face, and then after watching them for a while, I loved them. They were cute. . I met Troy in Boston and we went to the rental car area and started our drive to Cape Cod. It was about an hour and a half drive, and it was dark, and different than Utah. There were tunnels, and weird roundabouts. We both had our phones on Google Maps and we arrived with no hassles. What did we do without Google Maps?  We were both starving and so we went to the hotel to eat. The menu had fish.....and pizza. I ordered pizza and Troy ordered fish. The pizza was so nasty. Worse than a frozen pizza. Troy said "when in Rome you eat what the Romans eat" That would be fish but......not a fan.....The waitress was really cute and nice and brought me a salad, with ranch. We went and talked to Adam and Lindsey and then went to bed. We were both tired from traveling. Our room was awesome. It had the greatest view. It had 2 huge windows and overlooked the water.

The day of the wedding we learned about "leafing". Everyone thought it was so colorful. It was just starting, and it doesn't even compare to Utah. I feel so blessed to live in such an amazing place. It is fun to now call looking at leaves.."Leafing". We went to a little village and it was fun to see the harbor and draw bridge. We took some cute pics by a big ship. 

 I did enjoy the 3 trees we saw with color on them. Most of the shops were closed and all of the gas stations were. I wanted a fountain drink so bad, and there was one little store and it had all healthy food. I didn't like that very much, but I survived.

The wedding was amazing and it was really fun to be a part of it. There was a photo booth and I made Troy go in and take pics with me 3 times. I love the candid pictures and I will cherish them forever.

We had to leave to the airport at 5:30. We had to drive back to the airport and get the car turned back in. We arrived at the airport and flew to Detroit together. The whole weekend I kept getting up close to Troy and I would say "I miss yo face". When I left to fly to SLC he called me right before I boarded the plane and said..."I miss yo face" Made me laugh. I loved it. I sat by a sassy grandma and she was fun and really nice. What I laugh at the most is at airports, people do not see short people. They walk right in front of me, and sometimes right into me. Look out for us little people yo!

 I was so tired when I got home, and as per the usual, Bronson missed me, but Karlee didn't. Bronson kept trying to give me a hug, but he was stinky from working outside. He pestered me for hours. Finally he went and got in the shower.  Karlee stayed with Kier and I think she would totally live there if I let her. She had on Kier's pants, hoodie and watch. She would probably wear them everyday if I let her. I love how close they are. I love that Karlee wants to be just like Kier. I can't think of anyone better to have as a role model. Kier is such an awesome sister. I love the dynamics of families. I love that I have a Heavenly Father that surrounds us with those who will help us reach the best of our potential. Families definitely teach us things we couldn't learn without each other. It was a great weekend.