First Horse Show!

Lila was asked to participate in her very first horse show!  To be totally honest, it took me a little by surprise as it wasn't our intention when we started lessons to do a show, but her instructor asked her if she wanted to and Lila said, "yes!"

We only had a few lessons before the show, so Carrie got Lila familiar with a horse named Honey and they spent some time working on what would be expected of them at the show.  In the class that Lila was showing, Carrie would lead the horse, so there wasn't nearly as much pressure on Lila to make sure Honey performed!

We were instructed to show up around 9:00 Saturday morning, so we went back to the stalls where all the horses were and where Hilltop Ranch was staged.  It took me back to the times that I used to go with my best friend Racquel to horse shows growing up!  I can't believe that almost 20 years later I am watching my daughter participate in one!

All ready to go!

Lila is so blessed to have so many people who love and support her!  She had a huge cheering section of people there to watch her.  They even stuck out the l-o-n-g wait that we had until her class. 

Grammy, Terry & the girls!

Meet Honey!

Lila & Honey #228

 

Because we had some time to kill the girls were able to come back to the stalls and take a look around.  It was fun to see all three of them get so excited to be back there and the big girls were so happy to be there sharing in the experience with Lila, which made Lila feel super special!

 



Supportive cousins!

Finally it was time to get Lila saddled up and into the practice ring to run through the motions quick before it was time for her to go out into the big arena!  You should see her live on a horse, she is so confident, it almost makes you forget she is only 4 years old!

Waiting patiently!

It is finally time to go!

 

As they entered the arena I couldn't believe how grown-up she looked.  Sitting up on the back of Honey so tall and proud!  What a big girl!!!  Lila's instructor was under the impression that they would be doing more than what the judge had them actually do, you could tell she was a bit confused, but either way they did what was asked of them and lined up amongst the others.

 



Here they come!

Riding so tall!

Round and round!

The judge stopped and talked to each of the riders, it was really cute!  Finally the moment that all the riders wait for...the placement!  While Lila didn't finish in the top 3, she won us all over with her confidence and poise!  She was amazing and we were SO proud!

The judge spent time talking to each of the riders!

The little kids, no matter what spot they placed in, all got a bag full of goodies and a medal for competing!  If you ask Lila, she doesn't know the difference between first place and dead last, all she knows is that she had a fun day with her instructor Carrie, with Honey, and with all the people that came out to cheer her on!

Showing off her medal!

As I stated above, we didn't get her involved in riding lessons to wind up having her compete in a show, but she did have so much fun!  We see the confidence it has given her in the privacy of Hilltop's arena, but to see how confident she was in the big Kirkwood arena with all the people watching was pretty awesome!  We aren't sure if this will be a hobby that continues on for many years, but for right now we are just enjoying the moment!

The 7 Year Itch?!

Seven years ago today Mike and I became Mr. & Mrs. Eddins!  It was one of the most amazing days of our lives, second only to the birth of Lila!  In total Mike and I have been together for fifteen years and we often talk about the fact that the older we get, the wiser we get, the better our relationship gets!  We aren't perfect, but one thing we definitely are is better when we are together!

So, a little walk down memory lane in honor of fifteen years together and seven years married today!

Youngsters!

Kirsten's Junior Prom

College Years!

Cruisin'!

Ringing in the New Year - 12/31/01

 

 

Italy!

 

Bloomsbury for fall fun!

 

Engagement Picture!

 

Rehearsal Dinner @ Eagle Ridge!

 

 

The day we became husband and wife!  11/03/06

 

Cancun fun!

 

Chichen Itza

 

Celebrating NYE and the love of two friends!

 

Cabo fun!

 

Anniversary celebration - Galena, IL!

 

The day we became a family!  4/18/09

 

Mississippi Moon Bar!

 

Go Hawks!

 

A night out!

 

Destination: somewhere in Italy! 

 

A wedding @ Barbazzano!

 

Summer love!

 

Tailgators!

 

There was no shortage of pictures for me to post as we have shared so many moments together.  I don't know how I got so lucky to marry my best friend, but I did, and I am so grateful!  So, to answer the question about the seven year itch?!  The only thing I am itching to do is to continue on this journey of life with you!  Happy 7th Anniversary, Mike!  I love you!

 

 

Halloween 2013

This year the Halloween festivities were in abundance!  Not only did we have our own family fall traditions that we continued, but it seemed like there were more and more opportunities to celebrate the holiday, which meant more and more reasons for Lila to wear her costume!!!

We let Lila pick what she wanted to be for Halloween this year.  The options ranged from Alice in Wonderland to a Princess to a cute kitty.  The kitty won and I maintain it is because it had the best tulle skirt...she can't help herself, she loves all things tulle!

Getting her whiskers!

Pretty Kitty!

Our first Halloween party was the annual TrueNorth party!  The office puts so much time and thought into creating a fun event for the kids.  It includes Halloween themed snacks, a craft of some sort, and pictures to document all the fun and great costumes!

Lila & Ruby

Smiling with Grandpa!

Darling girls, darling costumes!

Lila's {happy} bat from TrueNorth!

We also made time this year for carving pumpkins!  Lila is enough of a girlie girl that the guts of the pumpkin were definitely not her favorite part, but she was still excited about picking out her personal pumpkin and what the carving should look like!

Diving in!

Spooky Cat!

The Eddins Family pumpkins!

Proud of the pumpkins!

The Sunday before Halloween Lila developed a bad cough.  We loaded her up and took her to the doctor to discover that she had double ear infections.  We were so happy that we took her in so they could get her on medication and hopefully get her better before trick-or-treating on Thursday!

A fun headband/glasses piece that Lila created at school!  BOO!!!

Thankfully by Wednesday Lila was feeling good enough to go back to school, and most importantly, go to dance with Henley!  Dance is always one of her favorite things to do, but it was also the dance class where they could wear their costumes!  For dance Henley also dressed up as a kitty, so they were twins! 

Cute Cats!

Best Buddies!

Finally!  It was Halloween and time to go trick-or-treating!  The Pfeiler's invited us to come down to their house for soup and trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Lila could hardly contain her excitement to trick-or-treat with Sloan.  We spent Halloween with her last year and she loved showing Sloan the ropes!

All ready to go door to door!

The kiddos in their costumes!

A cat and her mouse!  They absolutely love one another!

Here we go!  How many pieces of candy can we get?!

The kids had quite the entourage!

The buckets are starting to fill up!

This year the weather had been rainy all day, but we were fortunate that it stopped by the time we headed out for trick-or-treating.  However, it was pretty breezy outside, so the kids decided that they would hit a few houses, but that it was just as fun to go back to the house and play and hand out candy to the other kids!

Lila & Mommy!

A successful Halloween night!

The thing I love the most about holidays are the traditions that we continue and the new ones that we create!  We have so many great memories with our family and friends and this year was no exception!