Seven.Five Years

 7.5 Years

• We got to go on our family's overnight rafting trip. We did the same stretch as last time. When we shored for the night, you loved climbing all over the rocks, creating homes and playing city with the other girls. 
• We got to go to Bear Lake for a week with the whole Price family. We rented a big house that was in this neighborhood with a pool and roads that were good for riding bikes. We first hiked into this Glacier lake. It was beautiful. The water was freezing. There was a rope swing that all the big kids were going off. You were able to muster some courage and swing out into the freezing water. The next day, we went to the beach and rented a boat. We went first with all the girls. This wasn't your first time tubbing, so you were excited to try again. We had music blasting and snacks getting pasted around. We switched out with the boys. While they were on it, we played at the beach. The water so so shallow, you kids could stand up in most of the lake. We went to Adventureland the next day. The rope course was so much fun. You were able to go on level 1 and level 2. We walked around town later that day and got raspberry milk shakes. The evening were fun with celebrating birthdays, learning family history, eating great food, and even "Santa" came. The older boy cousins had found a Christmas tree in the garage so after we all were asleep, they set it up and placed our random these (like your bike) under it. It was funny. Dusty prepared a white elephant gift exchange for Grandpa's birthday, but everything came from a yard sale and everything the price was negotiated. 
• You got to compete in your first swim meet. Maggie brought her sharpies and you loved getting pictures drawn all over your back and arms. I was really impressed with how much you have improved on this year. 
• We have had Grandma and Papa Matthews come visit. We love it when they come. There were a few "last time" activities that Grandma wanted to do-get sweet potato fries from Jungle Gyms and eat ice cream from the stand. We were happily able to do both! Grandma wanted to be helpful in the packing, which we haven't started, so she got us started. 

Seven.Four Years

 7.4 Years

• Pool season has started. This year, I had you try out for the swim team and you made the team! It is going to be hard to wake you up for practice but this will help you out in your swimming so much. We have already started going a lot more in the afternoons. I love it!
• We headed out to Utah to pick up Sam from his solo trip to Utah and do a girls trip to southern Utah to see Frozen. It was a lot of driving, but you loved the trip. The pool was a lot of fun. It was harder for you because Bonnie is not a great swimmer and sort of does her own thing. The big girls were off doing their thing so you didn't have anyone to play with. That was hard to watch. The play was great. You loved seeing it. It was so hot, we got frozen lemonade to cool us down. 
• We celebrated father's day in Utah and got to be be both dad and Grandpa Matthews. You guys gave dad the ugliest bacon tie.
• This month, you were able to complete in the kids 208 Triathlon. You swam a lap in the pool, rode your bike around the loop twice and ran around the loop. I stayed with you for the bike and run and was so impressed with how determined you were. You never complained and kept pushing even when it was hard. Way to go Girl!
• We had a blast up in Silverwood this month. We went the night before and stayed the night at the Potters. The next morning, we swung by the airport to pick up Elaine! She gets to spend a week with us. The weather was perfect for Silverwood. We were nervous going on a Friday (we normally go on a Monday) but the crowds weren't too bad. You loved going on the scarier kids ride like the frog hopper and butterfly swing. We got early to the magic show and was able to sit in the front row and get pizza. Because we were in the front row, Elaine got picked to the helper for the card show. We stayed until closing. I had booked a hotel for that night because I always feel like we get home too late and it is hard to drive home that late. When we arrived at the hotel, the website that I booked through messed up and instead of 2 queen beds (that we were going to squeeze 7 people in), there was only a king size bed. We ended up driving home that night and getting in at 2am.
• The week with Elaine has been awesome. She loves having all of you guys around. When Maggie is busy or needed alone time, Elaine was so good to play with you little girls. She doesn't have younger sisters so I think she liked playing that big sister role. One of the days, we rode our bikes into town from our house. I was really impressed that you made it all the way on your own. We made it to Creme, where we all got drinks. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip with a Smith girl without a play. We also took Elaine to the pool, the library, the park, and Jungle Gyms.
• Grandma and Papa Price came and joined the party. We have always talked up Fourth of July, so they decided to come out for it before we move. We started the day with homemade crepes with berries. We got out of the house early to catch the egg toss and foot races. You were Grandma's partner in the toss and you made it about four tosses. We came home for lunch where we quickly decorated your bike for the bike parade. We sat with all our friends for the parade and you kiddos made out like bandits with the candy and swag. We had hamburgers, watermelon, salad, and root beer for dinner. We roasted marshmallows and lit our own fireworks. Even though the fireworks weren't that big, I love how you guys gave big reactions. We stayed up late to watch the fireworks. The next day, we were able to have a much needed slow morning. We went back into town for lunch at the food cart. We ended the night at the rodeo. We haven't been to the rodeo in a long time. It was a hot evening, but we were lucky to find seats in the shade. They happened to be right near where they release the riders. It was thrilling to see them all crash into the gate. On Saturday, we took everyone rafting. We brought the little blue kayak and that became a favorite with everyone. Sunday was a good day to rest. We painted rocks, played games, and just hung out. On Monday, our family had to go home. It was so good to have them.

Seven.Three Years

 7.3 Years

• Dance Recital is this month. This year the theme is "Where's Waldo?" Your group got to dance to a toy store song. You got such a cute purple-ish red tutu. I loved seeing all your great facial expressions. Cecily, Megan and a few friends from school are in your class so it has been such a great year in dance. 
• End of the school year is starting to begin. You had your spring concert for music. Ms. Bridgette is your teacher. She is nice but I really wish that you had Ms. Carla. The songs were cute and you loved learning all the hand signs for them. I know you are liking a class when I hear all about it in the car and I definitely heard a few songs in the car all the week leading up to the concert. Also, we finished our last book for book club. You guys read the Magic Tree House book about the volcano in Pompeii. I had each of you write up a book review to share with the class along with making your own volcanoes. We invited your class to come outside, listen to you share your book report and set off your volcano. Timo was really jealous that he dropped out for the last book. 
• Our pond is full! it was been fun to take the kayaks out on the pond and inviting friends over to play. 
• As the weather is finally getting warmer, we were able to sneak off to Tolo Lake while the plants and grass out there are green. You loved kayaking out on the lake. The Browns joined us later on so you had Ellie to kayak and Jessie took a big group of you out in the canoe.
• I got to go on one of your field trips this month. First grade went out to Tolo lake to see the fish get released. The truck was late in getting there so I entertained you and your friends with different songs and hand games to play in line. You have such cute friends. 
• We are starting to pack up our first load to take to Oregon. This had been hard because I am asking you girls to pack up a lot of the your extra stuff like stuff animals and toys you are not going to play with over the summer. It is really hard but one thing that has made it easier for you is knowing that Cecily is going to move also. You guys call each other your moving buddies. No one likes moving, but if you have to, it's more fun when your best friend is moving also. 
• We were able to go drive to Oregon for the Daddy/Daughter camp out. We packed a moving van up with a lot of our stuff to drop off at the new house. There was a strong emotions from some family members, but you are still on the younger side so it seems like an adventure still. You were so excited to see the new house since you hadn't seen it yet. You and JoJo were running all around, happy about your new room and exploring the new backyard. We literally dumped everything in the garage, took a tour of the school, ate the most amazing pizza sticks, and hoped that the house will do well for the next four months without us. The next morning, all the dads and girls headed up the Columbia River area to go back packing. It was suppose to be this long hike. Well, there was too much snow on the road and you guys couldn't get up to the trail head. You bush whacked to an area that the map showed there was suppose to be a lake, but ended up a swamp. It was fun though. We met up with you guys in Hood River to eat burgers and milk shakes and then drove home.
• Last week of school includes field day. You got to do the long jump, the softball throw (almost hit the middle school student helping out), the 100m dash and the 200m dash. You also received the "Busy as a Bee" award for being such a hard worker in class and getting all your assignments completed on time. The last day was really fun with a family BBQ. Dad was even able to join in.
• To celebrate the start of summer and work through our Idaho bucket list, we did a hike in Hells Canyon. It was so beautiful and warm there. You always have such a great attitude when hiking. We cut your bangs the last week of school (you have been begging for bangs all year long) and it was horrible how they stick out crazy after you would rub the sweat off your fore head. 
• We created "I'm Bored" list for the summer. You girls have taken to it so well. I love seeing all your creations and imagination develop. My favorite was a bird house that you made out of paper bowls. We placed them on the ledge of the porch and in the mornings, we could really see bird eating out of them. 
• We signed you up for baseball this year. You are in coach pitch. After the first game, you told me that was every boring. At least the weather is good.

Seven.Two Years

7.2 Years

Here is the list of favorites from Mother's Day 

My favorite food is: mac-n-cheese
My favorite sport is: ballet
The best show on TV is: Babysitting Club
The coolest person in the world is: Annabelle
My best subject in school is: snack time
I’m really awesome at: playing
If I could change my name, it would be: Violet
My favorite color is: teal
When I grow up I want to be: I don't know yet
My parents are too strict about: cleaning
My favorite song is: California Girls
My favorite book is: Heidi Hecklebeck
When we stop for a treat, I get this: Gumball machine 
4 words that describe me are: Kind, mischief, playful, smart
When I was little, I used to: Lie
My favorite scripture story is: Radshack, Meshack, and Abendigo
My favorite primary/church song is: I'm Trying to be like Jesus
My favorite game is: Noah's Ark
My favorite season is: Summer
The best snack ever is: Banana Nutella Roll ups
My favorite superhero is: Super Kitties
The food that makes me want to barf is: mushrooms 
The car I would love to drive when I turn 16 is: a Lamborghini 
My best friends are: Annabelle, Lynee, Ellie, Cecily
The cutest girl/boy I know is: Brian Brown
The most memorable day this year was: my birthday of course
If I had one wish it would be: To live in a candy world
The best thing that has happened to me this year is: Being a first grader for the first time and the last time
One thing I want to learn to do this year is: how to do tumbling
The thing that scares me the most is: poisonous spiders
One thing I need to work on is: Climbing
If I could go anywhere it would be: China
The most important lesson I’ve learned this year is: how to be tough If I could meet one person from history it would be: Jesus

Seven.One Years

 7.1 Years Old

• Hawaii baby!!! Day1:We got to go to Hawaii for an early Spring break. This trip has been waited for a long time. We drove through the night to get to Grandma's house since we were flying out of Portland. I am glad you kids slept in the car because we had to get up early (4:30am early) to catch our flight. The flight went well. It was a direct flight. Each of you had your own TV. You watched the Paw Patrol movie and played some of the games. After landing and getting the rental van, we droved and found some Hawaiian food. We tried a bit of everything-kalua pork, loco moco, teriyaki chicken, and mac salad. You kids likes most of it. I love how adventurous you are with food while on vacation. We headed over to Pearl Harbor. I knew this was going to be a bit much for you, but we had read about your great Henry Chai's story of watching the bombing so it was special for me to be there. We ended the night with a Costco trip and the drive across the island to our house rental. With the time change, you kiddos were pasted out early. Grandma and Papa Matthews made it in. We were ready to play tomorrow.
• Day 2: With the time change, all of you were up by 5am! Each morning, we let you kids watch TV while the adults slept a bit more. It was nice for everyone to have slower mornings. Today, we drove down south a bit for our family surf lessons. The beach was beautiful, a little cove right next to the mountains with palm trees every where. It was perfect and for the most part, we had the place to ourselves. We hired a BYU student. We had five surf boards and took us each out one at a time to learn. You were able to stand up your first time. It was awesome seeing you ride the wave in. The weather was a bit chiller than we were have liked, but we stuck it out and it was nice to start the week with a beach day. On the way home, we stopped by a stand to get fresh coconut (you definitely didn't like it) and a fresh fruit smoothie (you definitely liked that). We ended the night with burgers from Seven Brothers. You loved chasing the chickens and playing corn hole. 
• Day 3: With it being Sunday, we went and walked around the temple and visited the Visitor center. We were able to attend the local ward. The people there were so kind and welcoming. We came home to a get lunch and let the rain pass. We than spent the afternoon at Waimea Falls. We didn't know what to expect, but the place was perfect. The path for paved so Grandpa could walk it. Along the path was a botanical garden and little booths were volunteers would teach the kids the cultural of their people. It ended at a waterfalls that we all jumped in and swam to. You were a bit nervous to go near the waterfall, but ended up liking it. Walking back, you chose to go up ahead with Grandma and have special time with you looking at all the flowers. We ended the night at the beach, but the sand was steep and the waves were bigger. You kids loved it. Grandma hated it. Hahah
• Day 4:This was one of our snorkeling days. We headed over to Sharks cove first thing in the morning. We were able to see large schools of fish which was so fun to swim through. After an hour, other people started showing up so we head over to Turtle Bay. This was a big hit for everyone. The cove blocked the wind, the sand was perfect, the water was calm (you were able to float in the inner tube), and the snorkeling was fun. Sam and Dad saw a turtle. Afterwards, we went to the shopping market where you were excited to buy a a lava skirt. We tried food from the trucks (kalua pork nachos were awesome). We ended the night with dinner at home and watched the movie Soul Surfer wince it was filmed in the area. 
• Day 5: Today was a lot of driving. We drove down one way to the Dole Plantation. It was fun to see the pineapples and Dole Whips were everything that people talked about. We than drove to try to famous Matsomoto Shaved Ice. We got the everything (which included kidney beans?). It wasn't as good. We than drove all the way over to the PCC (got to listen to the Candy Shop Wars). The PCC was amazing. so many fun activities for you kids. We loved how interactive it was. You ended the night with a thousand tattoos on your body. We choose to eat at the food trucks and then go back for the evening show. I loved how easy it was for you kids to follow along the story and see all the different islands. 
• Day 6: We weren't planning on this but we got tickets to Hanauma Bay. I am so glad we did because that place was beautiful. A lot of people, but it worked. We were able to get a nice spot near the water. You tried snorkeling. I was able to take you out for about 15 minutes. You liked seeing the fish but had a hard time keeping the water out of your snorkel so after a while, just stuck on the beach with JoJo. While everyone was playing, right next to Grandma swam a big monk seal. It was so close, that she could have pet him. It took a while for everyone to realize what was going on. Once the life guard saw, he ordered everyone out of the water until the monk swam away. We ended the day with a hike to Moana Falls and dinner at a Ramen house. 
• Day 7: After two big days, it was nice to have a slower morning. Probably not that good though because while you and JoJo were playing chase in the loft, JoJo was trying to get down the ladder fast and fell the nine feet. This was scary. Luckily, she landed on her leg and not her head. Unluckily, she broke her leg. There wasn't much we could do about it in Hawaii, so we tried hard to carry her everywhere. That day, we had a jeep ride through Kalula Ranch (so beautiful). It was the place where they filmed Jurassic Park so you were able to hold one of the dinosaurs named Timothy. We ended the day at Castle Beach and celebrating Sam's birthday. 
• Day 8: We flew home this day. Since JoJo was still limping, we stopped by a Walgrens on the way to the airport to wrap up her leg. At the airport, we found a wheel chair and was able to push her around and get through security easier. You all were a bit jealous that she got to use the chair. 
• After a week of school, we had our real spring break. We tried hard to fill it with fun activities and friends. We rode bikes around Winchester Lake, had a walk around town day, made crafts at home, cleaned out all your closets, and played with lots of friends. One day, we had the Strassers over. You and Laynee were making volcanoes outside. I was excited because the mess would stay outside. Well, you girls got a hold of the green dye and spread it all over your body. You looked like the wicked witch of the west. It was bad. After a lot of scrubbing, it did come off. But I was nervous and maybe secretly hoping that you would be green for church the next day as a natural consequence. 
• We ended Spring break with Easter. We went to the city's Easter Egg hunt, had our own at home, found your baskets (you got the book Heidi Heckelbeck and read it all that day) and ended the night with a bunch of families over for dinner. 

Seven Years Old

 7 Years Old

• You lost another tooth over the weekend so I was able to spend some one-on-one time to sew a tooth pillow with a heart pouch on the front for you to put your tooth in. It was really fun to make it with you.
• Fun moments this month: Maggie Kohrman babysitting you kiddos overnight while Dad and I were on a trip, driving down to Kooskia to visit the cake shop, skiing as a family at Snow Haven, building epic forts with your siblings on Sunday afternoons, playing basketball with dad outside, and celebrating 100 days with your class.
• The real highlight of this month was your birthday!!!! We celebrated with a huge group at the Super 8 hotel. You loved swimming with all your friends and eating brownie sundaes. You have such a great group of friends, both from church and school. Maggie came to your party so it was fun to have the big cool sister to play with you guys. That night, we went to the high school play. It was a full day of fun. 
• For your actually birthday, you requested molted lava cakes with ice cream. Sam gave you an umbrella, Maggie gave you this mermaid sewing kit and JoJo gave you this fairy lantern kit. It was so fun to celebrate you. We love you so much!

Six.Eleven Years

 6.11 Years

*I know that Valentine's Day is not for another week, but I wanted to share your love letter

Dear Millie,

Happy Valentine’s Day! Whenever I tuck you into bed, there is something that I only tell you. Do you remember? I love telling you that I love you more than chocolate. Millie, I really do. You are the light and life that our family needed. I thought I was finished having kids after Sam. We had a girl and a boy so I thought we didn’t need more. I never knew how much I needed you until you came. I am so glad that you came to our family. From day one of bringing you home, you have brought so much joy. I want to share with you a few things that I love about you. I could go on for pages, but for just today, I will stick with three.

First, you have this incredible ability to make everyone feel like they are the most special person in the world. You are so good about including everyone, listening to them, laughing with them, and playing the games that they like to play. You never speak bad about others. You are always quick to help another person in need. Just the other day after Maggie ate lunch with you, she shared how many people came up to her and asked if she was Millie’s big sister. She was amazed at how many kids, even older ones, know you and are friends with you. It is not because you are doing what people want you to do. You are liked because you are a GOOD PERSON. You really are so good down to your bones.

Second, you are such a creative person. I love all the imaginative games that you come up with, the dances you put on in your room for me to watch, and the science experiments that you conduct in the kitchen. You are rarely bored because you have this magical world inside you that comes out in your play. JoJo is so drawn to it and you are so kind to include her most of the times. I hope you always hold onto that magic. You take after Grandma Price in this. She has held onto the magic, even as a grandma, and because of there, it is so fun to be with her. Keep your magic. Let it grow so big that it explodes from your body. The world needs more of it.

Lastly, I love your drive to be better. We haven’t had to sit down with you too much and help you set goals. You will decide that you want to work on something and you have the self drive to finish it without help from an adult. It is really impressive how you will read your scriptures on your own at such a young age. You have been blessed with a great mind and a hard work ethic. Keep those things. But even be embarrassed about getting good grade in school. You will have a lot of success in life with those skills.

I love you so much,

Mom