Rotary

On Wednesday night Joe was installed as his Rotary Club's (the Rotary Club of Downtown Gainesville) new President. It was a very special evening for our little family. Before the formal "installation" we had dinner with the group and Leslie, the previous President shared her thanks for the board that she had worked with through her presidency and handed out various plaques of recognition for those who served. Then she came to her last item to hand out. The "Rotarian of the Year" award was chosen by nominations by club members. Her words were..."We got many nominations. But there was one name that kept popping up... Joe Lowry Jr." I can't tell you how proud I was of Joe at that moment. I knew how dedicated he was to serving Rotary and to serving the community. But it was very special to see that so many other people not even in our circle of family or close friends saw that, too. It was a special moment and if anyone was looking at me they would have seen me beaming with pride. (Joe's mom was standing right behind me and I'm sure she was beaming just as much!) I am usually very private during moments of crisis or celebration- I know that is weird- but I didn't care if everyone saw how happy I was for my husband and how happy I am that HE is mine. He was so humble and sincere when he accepted the award. He remarked that there were others in the group to whom he would have given the award before giving it to himself.

The evening just got better as he was named the new President. He was asked to give a few remarks, and of course he was prepared. I know that every president or anyone in any kind of leadership has their own gifts to offer those they serve. But I really think that Joe has some gifts that are especially suited for good leadership. He is humble yet extremely confident- he is very well spoken and eloquent on his worst day- and of course he is smart and funny, too! Oh and he is great to look at! Anyway, way to go Joe! You are so amazing- I am so proud of you and I promise to try not to be annoyed when you are gone so much due to Rotary this next year! I love you!

The Mother Land

When I left California for school in Utah and people asked where I was from they often smiled upon hearing my answer and said, "Oh, really ... no one is FROM there." Meaning, they don't usually hear of people growing up there- more likely they fell in love with the place on some fantastic vacation and never went home. For all you skeptics out there (like you Joe) just ask Melisa. She has "many" friends that told her this was how they came to live there. That said, I can't say we would be spending the money on airfare even half as much as we do now if we didn't have such amazing family spread throughout the region. This trip we flew into Palm Springs and out of LAX with visits to my sister's homes and a trip to San Diego to be with my mom sandwiched in between. We couldn't have coaxed more fun out of any second. It was truly great. As always my family was above the mark for fun activity, meaningful conversation and gestures of love and kindness towards our little family and to each other. As a child I felt very proud to be a Frisch, and I still love the name and miss seeing it attached to my first name. Today, I feel it again, very strongly that I am so lucky to be connected to these people.
We started off the festivities with an early Father's Day celebration to celebrate my sweet dad. He is always so much fun to be around and full of hugs and kisses and praises of all kinds. We had a wonderful dinner. Hopefully next time we can see him even more!

Lillie keeps me sane and teaches me so many things just by being that thing. No preaching, just living.

A Really Weird Occurrence and Mima's Birthday!

The strangest thing happened to us this week.  I was playing with the kids in the backyard until about five o'clock.  At that time I brought them in the house to eat.  I put Millie in her high chair, gave her some Cherrios and went to the sink to wash out her sippy cup.  While at the sink I looked out the window and could not believe my eyes: the trampoline had disappeared from it's corner of the yard.  I truly blinked, opened my eyes wider and stretched my neck forward as if that would help me see it.  Nothing.  I scanned the yard- nope- not in the yard at all- and all of our other toys were strewn about in strange places.  Then I noticed the polls from the enclosure sticking up on the other side of the fence.  Somehow a wind lifted the trampoline and flipped it over the fence and out of our yard, without doing any damage to the fence or the tree nearby.  (Unless it was some punk kids which I have never seen in our neighborhood and who would have had to work extremely fast at five o'clock in the afternoon.)  Anyway, very bizarre and sad.  We are not sure the extent of the damage.  At best we just have to buy one poll for the enclosure which we know is badly damaged, at worst we have to buy a whole new trampoline and enclosure which Joe assures me will not be any time soon!  Argh! We loved that thing!

This weekend we also had the pleasure of celebrating Mima's 60th Birthday!  We spent Friday night attending a Rotary Dinner and auction at the Sweetwater Inn and eating delicious cake, and Saturday sharing sandwiches and salads from the Flour Pot.  She is so much fun and does such a good job at keeping her family together.  We love you Mima!

Millie's First Birthday!!!

I went for it and posted a lot of pictures so beware! Really it was so fun, even for the host and hostess. It was such a delight to have great friends and family members here to make this occasion such a special and memorable one and I guess more than anything I have learned two things: First that I wish we had done this for Joseph's first birthday. And second, there is nothing wrong with throwing a party for a baby that wont remember it.  She had a a blast and so did we.  We will remember and show her the pictures! 

When I went to BYU one of my roommates taught me an important lesson. I was bummed out and overwhelmed with LIFE as I knew it (fighting to make the grade and make money etc.)  Debbie chuckled as if to say, Silly Lacy- and then said, "Stress and grades and multiple jobs- that is not your life.  Your LIFE is the relationships that you form while you are here. Those other things just help make it possible to maintain those relationships."  So much wisdom from a then 20 year old girl.  And it is so true. It is so easy to get caught up in those other things but what really matters and what really brings us joy in life are our relationships, and the love we share with others.  As a mom I was so grateful to have such a fun event to share with my kids, friends and family.  Not all of my favorite people could be here but I am so grateful that so many of you could.
The hats were so fun- and we actually wore them! They were a lot of work but well worth it.
The cupcakes were a hit! I doubled the recipe but I should have tripled it! I know I could have eaten more and I am always worrying that my guests don't get enough to eat! Can food be a love language?
I made some flag banners as well, which I loved.  If I make them again I will use more double sided tape to keep them from sliding into each other.
Millie had SO MUCH fun in the water and on the trampoline!
So much that she (and I) did not realize that she was hungry. When I picked her up to bring her inside to get ready for the cupcakes she grabbed my sandwich and began devouring it! Turkey, swiss, lettuce, tomato and mustard. My little one year old eating her first turkey sandwich! 
She ate her whole cupcake! It was so cute!
This is our great friend and "nanny" Chelsea.  Too bad for us she plans to become a surgeon and is off to college this fall. What will we do without you?
Mima modeling the beloved party hats!  I think Joseph is on his second cupcake- he was so good and had so much fun with his cousins and best buds.
Some of the guys- yes that is Joe with the beard and I love it! He keeps saying he's going to shave it though.
Most of the girls/moms.  It would have been fun to get a group shot but with 13 kids running wet and wild that was pretty much impossible! 

Millie loved climbing all over her presents and even opened one all by herself!
Adorable dress times three!  Three different friends thought of Millie when they saw this dress and gave it to us! We just might keep all three!
Millie got to wear a new dress to church today and Joseph is looking as handsome as ever!
My little one year old!  Where did the year go!  I'm happy and sad to see my little girl growing up, and just so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to our family!

Progress- I think.

Okay- one more detail to add ( and a few more hats to make!). Overall, a good experience BUT it is kind of an absurd amount of work for such a fragile little thing. Oh well!

Because it's the journey that counts.. right?

I am planning a fun little party for Millie's big 1st birthday. I was slightly ambitious prior to entering Michael's due to a talk I had with my sister as I sat in my car. She assured me my ideas were good but that if I got the nerve I should do something cute and creative with stripes or polka dots... So here I am.. trying to follow a Martha Stewart: Crafts brochure. Hopefully by Saturday my hats will look more like Martha's. In the meantime I'm sure Joe will continue to urge me to "just go buy some decorations!"

Joseph at 2 Years and 9 months

My little boy is growing up. We have seen this change in him lately and maybe some of you have seen it, too. He has this renewed confidence and assurance in himself that probably has something to do with increasing ability to understand and be understood. He is just as energetic as always but is a little easier to reason with and convince why we can't do/have/eat something right now. Instead of screaming and flipping out when he doesn't get his way, he will sometimes look at me and giggle like he knows he was pushing it. Don't get me wrong he still does some of the flipping out but I can see that he is learning and that is progress. He loves to cuddle and give and receive physical affection and he sings his ABC's everywhere we go as loud as he can (Yeah, he's moved on from "Bah, Bah, Black Sheep" but I believe it is the same notes). We are still working on the volume thing! He has started eating more fruits and veggies again and that is a huge relief. AND he plays very well on his own. He loves to run around the trampoline and pretends to shoot something out of his hands and I hear his pretend scenarios that he sets up with whatever he has in front of him (a wash cloth, for example). He loves cuddling with Millie in our rocker in her room after she gets up in the morning or from a nap. He is such an inspiring little guy and has adjusted brilliantly to having a younger sibling. I love you Joseph!

Pictures