Lilah had her monthly check up with her eye surgeon. 

I get anxious every month before her appointment. 

I worry they will say "no progress this month."  

Those words make my heart sink.

We discovered her lazy eye right after her 2nd birthday, but what we didn't realize was how terrible her vision was. Lilah is legally blind in her right eye. Her doctor explained that if we don't correct her vision by age 7 she will likely be blind in that eye for life. Thus, we're doing all we can to correct it. We patch her strong eye so the weak eye has to work. 

AND

Today we got great news!

Lilah's vision and lazy eye has made continual progress. Today we got the go-ahead for new (WEAKER) lenses in her glasses. We get to patch 8 hours a day vs. 10-12 hours, and we'll see the Dr. every other month vs. every month. 

This news made me smile.

For the second year in a row we ventured down to Ocean Shores.

This year our group grew.

Kids, swam and swam and played and ran and were caked in sand.

Adults, sat and drank and ate and played games and were caked in sand.

I think we all had some good laughs.

Hopefully we'll all do it again next year. 

We headed over the mountains to Eastern WA. We stayed with Grammy in Spokane and took lots of adventures. We created a new family tradition that we plan on doing each summer. We took the kids to Silverwood. For those of you who've never been (like Mike and I) its a theme park/water park in Coeur d'Alene ID. It is fantastic. Even at 2 and 4 the girls loved it! Its extremely family friendly, clean, and appeals to all ages. 

Playing a serious game of croquet

 

 Lazy River floats at Silverwood

 

 Day trip to Pullman

FIRST STOP COUGAR COUNTRY

 We got to watch practice!

 

 Then home to watch the Everett AquaSox baseball game. I had to add this adorable pic of the girls and Allie taking a stroll.

 

 

I am having fleeting thoughts of wanting another baby. Then I think - am I crazy!! I remind myself how amazing it is that the girls are past the baby stage. We have no diapers. We are sleeping through the night. We are able to leave them with baby sitters. We can enjoy a moment to ourselves without bouncy, holding or chasing after a baby.

BUT.....this is also what makes me sad. We don't have cribs, baby snuggles, baby firsts. Its a whole new big girl world. In the midst of chaos, laughter, tears, prideful, screaming, scared, screw up, what the hell am I doing, moments the girls are growing up. Its bitter sweet.

 It may have taken us 30 some years, but the point is we got here!

Love having my sister and happy my girls have each other.

She's a beauty.......

  No seriously

She's probably one of the most beautiful people I know.

Winding down from my birthday weekend. I feel incredibly blessed to have such amazing people in my life. People that go out of their way to let me know they care. I've never had a problem with aging, its more about feeling content with myself. I know my life is far from perfect. I know I've got areas for growth.  But, I know I have so much to be thankful for. So...a great big thank you to everyone who helped me celebrate. I appreciate each of you so much. 

My top 5 moments from this weekend

1. Meeting a fellow WSU AGD - PC 06 at the bar.And feeling incredibly old, but trying to stay cool and not directly ask what the heck she was talking about most of our conversation. 

(FYI - PC 06 is pledge class 2006).

2. Paul calling his parents to "lock in" a babysitter for the kids.. Promptly followed by a reminder email. That trips gonna happen!

3. Opening my fabulous gifts!! I was spoiled.

4. Singing Ting Tings "That's Not My Name" with Lilah. Windows down at the top of our lungs.

5.My mom. She still knows how to make me feel special. Thank you mom.

Its been forever since I've sat down to blog. Time seems to be flying by. Literally. I blink my eyes and a month goes by. I'm not sure what to even write about. Life continues to throw stones every once in awhile, but we just keep moving.One thing I am learning in life is we have little (sometimes no) control over what happens each day. But, we have all the control over how we handle the aftermath and what we learn from each situation.
Here's a bit about what we've been up to:
* Linda, Tynia and I threw a fabulous 60th birthday party for my mom. It was all women. Lots of wine. Tons of laughs.Celebrating a outstanding woman.
* Georgia got baptized. She walked herself up and waved at the congregation. So proud of herself. I say it all the time..... "god knew" I needed that little girl.
* Lilah has a new best friend from school. Her first self chosen friend. She did good. We love Charlie and her parents. Its a bonus when you get to hang out with your kids friends parents.
* I colored my hair. Went darker. Like it.
* I've made it a priority to get out with friends more often. Been doing dinners galore. Meeting up with girlfriends at least once a week. Its nice.
* We hired the neighbor girl to babysit every Monday over the summer. That's a guarantee date night every week. Super happy.
* Lilah's next eye appointment is June 12th. I am praying they see improvement.Last time her vision was the same. It made me sad. She has such a zest for life nothing seems to bother her. She is an amazing child.