Imaginary Friends and Lemonade Stands.

Did you have imaginary friends?  I'm not sure that I ever had a legitimate imaginary friend.  At least, I don't remember having any.  However, I had brothers.  And I lived in neighborhoods full of kids to play with.

Ayla is an only child.  Ayla spends most of her time with mom and dad.  She gets to see cousins on the weekends, but during the week she is generally stuck with us.  Well, us and Hildegard and Amber and Kelsi.  And her cats Ginger and Tito.  And her dogs Shasta and Zeek.  All of these imaginary.

This child's brain blows my mind.  She is so intelligent.  She understand so much.  She uses her imagination!  Like crazy!  I am often having to pet a kitty or hold an item that is not there.  I take bites of imaginary cake and I sip on imaginary drinks.  I get text messages from my husband that go like this:

Dang it Hildegard, would you please stop calling?  And these phones conversations?  They are classic, I tell you.  Complete with arguments and big sighs.  There are a lot of "okay, okay, yes.  Mhmm."  Hildegard must have a lot to say.

It really is amusing.  And I kind of love it.  Although it can be frustrating when we are getting out of the car and Ayla is having trouble deciding which friends are going to come in and which will stay behind.  "Tito, you stay here.  I'll be riiiiiight back."  And heaven forbid you close the door before Hildegard gets out of the car.  Holy meltdown, Batman.

If you haven't notice, Hildegard is her favorite and very best imaginary friend.  Here is a photo of my cute Ayla and Hildegard.  She has her arm around her, of course.  {When taking this picture I was a little scared to look at the camera afterwards because I didn't want to see a ghostly little girl with a straight face standing next to my child.  I watch too many paranormal shows.}

Ayla and Hildegard.

Here's a little background on where Ayla came up with the names of her imaginary friends.

Hildegard- She is a princess on the Disney Junior show Sofia the First.

Amber-  Also a princess on the Disney Junior show Sofia the First.

Kelsi-  I'm not sure where that one came from.

Tito {cat}-  The name of aunt and uncle's cat.

Ginger {cat}-  I'm not sure, but Uncle Jerry has a dog named Ginger.

Shasta {dog}-  The name of aunt and uncle's dog.

Zeek {dog}-  The name of a dog that lives up the street.

These are not her only imaginary friends, I have heard a few other names dropped.  And let's not forget about her other mom, Cherry.  Well, that's actually her aunt Charity who Ayla sweetly calls "Cherry".  {You will generally see me refer to her as "Cherry" in all of my posts!}  Ayla talks to Cherry a lot, as well.  She'll say to me, "My mom told me I could!"  And I say, "I am your mom, crazy girl!"  She says, "No, my other mom, Cherry!"

This is such a fun stage.  I love watching my girl and listening to the silly things that she comes up with.  Isn't it amazing watching your baby grow into a child?  Where has time gone?  I can so clearly remember my childhood...

One thing that I remember is lemonade stands.  What kid doesn't want to sell lemonade on the street and earn some extra cash for candy?  Well, I remember doing things like painting rocks and selling them to the sweet older couples on the street.  {Really, they would pay for a painted rock.}

I've seen quite a few lemonade stands recently and every time I see one I smile.  These kids are so dang cute!  Every chance I get you better believe that I pull over and hand over my quarter.  What could brighten up your day quicker than the massive smiles and yells that these kids exchange when they realize that they have a paying customer?

I have the best story about a lemonade stand in my hometown of Stanwood, Washington.  My friend and I were driving along some back roads and there were some kids sitting at a small table with some hand drawn signs advertising lemonade.  Of course I stopped.  The excited kids quickly poured me a cup of lemonade.  It was a red solo cup.  My friend asked for one as well and they filled up a cup for her.  We started to walk back to our car when they said, "Can you finish and give us back the cups?  They are the only ones we have."  We about died laughing.  I mean, I couldn't even breathe.  I gulped down my juice and handed my cup over.  She couldn't even finish hers she was laughing so hard.  These kids looked so confused.  We laughed all the way home wondering how many other people had already sipped from those two cups.

Lemonade stands are getting pretty fancy these days.  {No cup sharing!}  We have one right down the street.  This is a weekly stand where they seem to get great business.  Not only do they sell sparkling grape lemonade {hello, YUM!}, but they also offer freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and bags of popcorn.  Ayla gets to take her dollar down the street and come home with one of each.  I love this.

Check out this insanely fancy stand.  And they have a working cash register!

Summertime is beautiful.  Experiencing summertime through the eyes of a child {and her imaginary friends} all over again is even more beautiful.

Ladies who Lunch, Live Music, and a Really Great Day.

Yesterday was a good day.

Work was good.  Work is always good.  {tangent} I am so incredibly grateful for my job and all of the sh*tty things that happened that led me here.  Sometimes I need to pinch myself so I know that yes, this is real life.  I do work here and they do appreciate me and they give me so much respect and they treat me like I'm awesome and even if I don't always feel awesome I really love that they say that I am.  They spoil me.  They know that I am capable.  They are wonderful.  This whole "we love you and love what you do" thing hasn't happened for me in years of employment.  Thank goodness for this job. {end of tangent.}


Lunch was great.  Carissa and I met at our spot in the park.  The spot below the tree, just south east of the jungle gym.  The spot that is half shaded and half sunlit so that we can adjust our place on the Rapuzel blanket so that we're always comfortable.  The spot in the park that is halfway between her place of work and my place of work.  We bring our own lunch and we chat.  As always, we chat about our loves, our lives, our jobs, and our books.  Yesterday we talked about loss.  We shared tragic stories that didn't involve us directly, but involved those that we know.  We  spoke about the fragility of life and how paralyzing it is to truly think about how temporary our time here on earth really is.  I walked away feeling sad.  I felt sad because of the situations we discussed, but I felt recharged.  That little recharge that I mentioned back here.  The recharge you get from connecting with your best friend.

I didn't have time to pack a real lunch so I improvised.

First things first.  The shoes come off.

I adore this little bird.

When I returned from lunch I had 4 tickets waiting on my desk for me.  These tickets were for the Guster, Ben Folds Five, and Barenaked Ladies show that night!  They were a gift from our marketing company.  A fantastic gift!  I absolutely love Ben Folds Five, and though I rarely listen to Barenaked Ladies, I like them a lot.  I saw them years ago at the White River Amphitheatre in Washington and they put on the best show!  Not only do they have catchy tunes and plenty of talent, they are hilarious.  If you ever get the opportunity to see the Barenaked Ladies perform, whether you are a fan or not, TAKE IT!  You will not regret it.

I decided then and there that even though it was so last minute, I was going!  I decided that I was taking my baby girl with me.  I would have loved to bring Kyle, but you know, game 7 of the NBA series...  I posted the other 2 free tickets that I had on Facebook and didn't get any bites.  On my drive home from work to grab my girl and head north it occured to me that I should call my aunt Marilyn.  She loves the Barenaked Ladies!  She loves to go to concerts!  She lives near by!  As luck would have it, Marilyn was able to join us.  So last minute!  This was very spontaneous and I loved it.

I was so excited to spend some time with Ayla.  Working full-time I feel that I am lacking in the "quality time" department.  I miss my little girl.  One of the things that I miss the most is driving in the car with her.  Just us two.  I know, that seems silly.  Why would I miss a car ride?  Let me tell you.  Ayla is fun in the car.  Ayla loves music.  Ayla loves to sing.  In the car Ayla and I rock out.  We turn the music up loud.  We sing at the top of our lungs.  We dance.  We have a lot of fun.  I popped in the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack and Ayla about had a heart attack.  She screeched, "LILO AND STITCH! MOM, I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER THIS SONG!"  She, of course, did remember the song.  She sang the Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride song over and over.  Then she said, "Can we listen to The King, mom?"  Elvis.  You bet we can listen to Elvis.  That's mah girl!

We stopped at Sonic and to grab some dinner.  Really I just wanted a dirty diet coke and Ayla wanted a watermelon slush.  We decided to grab a dollar item to eat.  Worst decision ever.  Sonic is great for drinks, not so much for food.  Long story short, we waited for 30 minutes while they messed up our order and forgot about us.  I had to march in to the kitchen and ask for my money back.  Whatevs.  We got free food and we took off.  Ayla was asleep 2 minutes after we were on the freeway.

Generally I would be bugged by having to show up late.  I don't like that.  I want to see all of the bands.  I want to experience the entire thing, start to finish.  But last night, meh.  I was happy to show up as Guster was ending their set.  This meant we didn't have to sit as long with a three-year-old.  This was her first experience at a music show and I wasn't sure how she would do.  Turns out that she is her mother's daughter.  She did awesome.  {Once she fully woke up.  All that took was a bag of cotton candy.}

It was fun to catch up a bit with Aunt Marilyn.  Ayla was SO happy that she was there!  Even when Marilyn left us for a while to run to the restroom Ayla said, "Mom, can Aunt Marilyn come back now?"

Ben Folds was amazing.  Just like I expected him to be.  Here's a small clip of the song "Brick".  Plus there's a bonus of Ayla meowing like a kitty at the end.  :)

Once Ben Folds was done we moved in closer.  We got a better view of the stage, which was great!  Unfortunately my phone died and I didn't get any more pictures or videos of the Barenaked Ladies set.  But man, were they good.  They are so talented and their songs are just silly.  You just laugh when you watch them perform.  You laugh and sing and dance.  Is there anything better?

Sometimes I forget what live music does for me and how important it is to me.  I know that music can reach a person like nothing else, but live music?  Oh man.  It doesn't even need to be a song that I know or even a band that I'm familiar with.  Live music is just powerful.  The ear-piercing wail of an electric guitar being strummed for the first time that set, the bass drum that seems to beat through your own chest, the static, the chaos, the purity...  The feeling that I get while watching live music rivals only the feeling that I get from a roller coaster.  You know that feeling when you are strapped in and you are slowly clicking your way up an impossibly high ramp?  You're questioning your sanity {I AM GOING TO DIE} and you are wishing that you never sat in this little rickety car.  Your heart feels like it going to pound it's way straight out of your chest, or maybe out of your stomach - what is that awful feeling in your stomach?  You are terrified.  But oh man, it feels SO GOOD.  I love that feeling.  That's how I feel when I listen to live music.  It's excitement.  And joy.

Cotton candy mouths.

I watched my little girl feel that excitement and joy for the first time.  Oh, she loved it.  She didn't seem to get into Ben Folds Five much, she was still too excited about her cotton candy and her aunt Marilyn, but she sure loved the Barenaked Ladies.  When they sang "Gonna Walk", they included the crowd.  He would sing, "I'm gonna Walk" then we'd repeat.  "I won't quit."  Repeat.  "Until I get!"  Repeat.  {all together!}  "To the bottom of your heart!"  Ayla sang along at the top of her lungs.  After every line she belted out she would laugh.  A hearty, mouth-wide-open, laugh.  She clapped along with the beat.  She swayed.  She screamed after each song.  The first time she cupped her hands around her mouth and let out a "Woooo!" she looked at me hesitantly.  Her expression was cautious as if she wasn't sure she was allowed to yell.  I responded with the loudest "WOOOOO!" I could muster.  She laughed and squealed, "WOOOOO!"  I think that screaming after each song was one of her favorite things.  Also, singing "If I had a million dollars..."  She rocked that song.

And oh, Ayla.  One of her favorite things to say is "Chickety China the Chinese chicken!"  She heard that line of the song "One Week" at some point and has adopted this as a replacement for "I love you".  Really.  We do this thing where we say, "I gotta tell you a secret!"  Then you whisper, "I love you!"  She loves this game.  She plays it all the time.  Out of nowhere she started saying, "I've got a secret!"  Then she whispers, "Chickety China the Chinese chicken!" in your ear.  So you can imagine her joy when they sang that song.  The whole time I was amping her up for it.  I was like, "They're gonna say it, oh my goodness, it's almost your part!"  She was buzzing with excitement.  And finally they said it, "CHICKETY CHINA THE CHINESE CHICKEN!"  And then they said it again.  And again!  They said it three times!  If you know the song you know that they usually only say it once.  But oh boy, I love love love that they said it three times.  I love love love the squeal that escaped from Ayla after each time.  I love the way she laughed and the way that she bounced on my lap and clapped her hands.  I loved everything about this.

This was just another way for me to recharge.  It was quality time with my girl.  It was family time with aunt Marilyn.  It was fabulous music.  It was a great, great night.

The one thing that brought me down on the way out?  Some teenaged kids were making fun of a woman.  They were blatantly mimicking her dancing and her weight.  They were putting her down.  That brought me down.  A music show should be a place to escape real life.  To be free.  To have fun.  To dance!  No matter the dance moves.  No matter the way you look.  It made me sad for these kids to be mocking this woman who surely had the time of her life.  Why were they not discussing the awesome music or laughing about the goofy way that they let loose and danced in the aisles?  Why did they have to be tearing down an innocent, unknowing woman.  It made me wish that I had been next to her and that I had been dancing like an idiot with her.  Someday, perhaps when they've grown up a little, I hope that they can enjoy a show and let go and dance like fools and smile at the fool dancing in front of them and realize that we are in this together.  We're all fools trying to have a good time.

We had a good time.  It was better than good.  I am so glad that I got the chance to go on this spontaneous adventure with my girl.

What a day.  A terrific Thursday.

A letter to Ayla this Father's Day. {The longest post ever.}

{Because we're going to be out of town for Father's Day.}

Dear Ayla,

I have thought a lot about what I would write on this  blog about your daddy.  I had so many great ideas.  I could brag about how handsome he is and how funny he is and how great of a daddy he is to you and how great of a husband he is to me.  But that's not something that I need to tell you.  I know that you can feel it.

You are a very lucky little girl.  You have what a lot of kids don't have and that is a daddy who stays home with you.  You get to wake up and eat cereal with your daddy everyday.  Your daddy watches the Disney channel with you every day.  Your daddy takes the time to put your crazy hair into a pony tail {which you destroy} every day.  Your daddy makes sure that you get snacks and mac-n-cheese or noodles and milk whenever you're hungry.  He plays games with you.  He laughs with you.  He is always there for you.

Do you want to know why you're extra, extra lucky?  You are an extra lucky little girl because your daddy chose to love you.  See, your daddy met mommy when you were just a baby.  You could hardly even talk!  Mommy was worried about introducing the two of you because I wanted to be sure that he was a good one.  I didn't want to introduce you, decide that he wasn't right for our family {or have him decide we weren't right for him!}, and then have him be gone.  It's a tricky situation being a single lady with a baby.  Dating isn't just casual anymore.  Not only did someone that I was going to date need to be good for me, but they needed to be good for you.  I knew from the beginning that he was a good guy, but he turned out to be the best guy.  For me and for you.

Your daddy and I fell in love.  I was head-over-heels.  And Ayla, you were too.  You have loved Kyle from the beginning.  You started calling him Tyle {You couldn't make the K sound} and then Ty-ty, then Ky-ky, then Kylo, and finally you could say Kyle.  He eventually became "Daddy Ky-ky" and after we were married, you called him daddy.  I let you go at your own pace with him.  I didn't force a relationship.  Your daddy Ky-ky just swept in and loved you from the start.  He chose me and he chose you.  Someday when you are grown you will understand how huge that decision was.  You will understand that loving a child that isn't yours is not always easy.  For your daddy, it was easy.  He has never once made me feel bad about having a child or been sorry that we have never had the normal child-less dating or married phase.  You know, doing whatever we want, whenever we want.  He chose you to be his daughter and he has never looked back.  You are such a lucky girl.

Your daddy and I were to be married on September 8th, 2012.  We we going to be sealed for time and all eternity.  I only had one issue.  I couldn't bear the thought of not being sealed to you.  I just couldn't think about that.  With a lot of prayer and fasting on my part and your extended families part, we got the blessing to have you sealed to us.  Your biological daddy wrote a letter giving us his permission.  He loves you very much and he gave you an amazing gift that I will always be grateful for.  Your daddy Joseph gave us his blessing to be sealed as a family.

On September 8th, 2012 you came to the Temple with daddy and I.  We were sealed as a family.  I will never forget your sweet little face, you seemed so nervous about all eyes on you.  And your beautiful white dress.  I will never forget that the first thing you said to us was that you were hungry.  I love that you remember that day too.  You remember almost every detail from the Temple.  I love to ask you about it and have you show me how we had our hands together and hear you say, "We were sealed as a family, mom!"

We are so lucky to be sealed to the best daddy in the world.  He really is the best.  But I don't have to tell you that.  Like I said, I know that you can feel it.  As a mommy, nothing could ever make my heart happier than the love between you and your daddy.  The daddy that chose you.

Love, Your Mommy

**********

Last Sunday Ayla's Sunday school teacher asked Ayla questions about Kyle.  They wrote down her answers.  This is so awesome because these ladies don't even know Kyle.  The answers came straight from Ayla.  She sure knows him well! {Reading this makes me cry.  Her daddy makes her heart feel real happy!}

Pictures say a thousand words right?  Now look at these pictures {SO. MANY. PICTURES.} and tell me that they don't have the sweetest relationship you've ever seen!  These two make my heart feel real happy.

This is Ayla approx. two months before she met Kyle.  She was just a tiny thing.

March 2011

 

06/12/2013

Can't you just feel the love from these pictures?  Best.  Daddy.  Ever.

Happy Father's Day Kyle!

{I can't wait to make more babies with you!}

And as a bonus... He's a video of baby Ayla coming home and asking to see Kyle.  :)  That little voice!  November 2nd, 2011.