Kindness and the Cookie Project

I absolutely love opportunities to show our kids the value of being kind, and expecting nothing in return.

A few weeks ago, I heard of a local Christian family with six children, and the mother had some kind of medical emergency and was in the hospital.  Sadly, a short time later, the mother passed away. 

We live in such a small community, and it was inevitable I would know somebody connected to this family. My friend Sarah reached out to me to let me know she is friends with this family and wanted to invite her the woman's children over to decorate Christmas cookies as a way to provide them with some joy at this sad time.

Sarah offered to pay me, but I told her that it was my pleasure to help out by providing cookies and all of the icing at no cost.

I had always considered my cookie decorating business to be my "quiet little ministry."  I love blessing people with cookies for whatever reason may be. I've done cookies for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, get well cookies, condolence cookies, etc. 

I explained to Scarlett the reason for these particular cookies, and asked her if she wanted to help cut them out and bake them ... And join us in decorating them on Friday.  She eagerly agreed, and then asked me how much I was charging Sarah.

I loved telling Scarlett that I wasn't charging Sarah anything because I just wanted to bless this family who lost their mama. 

❤️ Kindness matters. 

Scarlett's Hair Transformation

Scarlett has been asking for months to cut her hair short - her hair is wavy and super thick, and tangles easily. I can understand why she was growing weary of it.

I suggested she keep her hair long for cheer season, because ponytails were required.  She agreed, but said she wanted to cut it short as soon as possible afterwards, and get blue highlights.

In 2020, when she wasn't in school in person, she purple highlights that were super cute, so I was all for this blue idea!  It's semi-permanent, and eventually fades away leaving behind blonde highlights. 

Together with my hair stylist, they came up with a cool teal blue color. The highlights are heavy around her face, but then placed throughout the rest of her hair so that it's a combination of natural color and fun color.  So her entire hair isn't blue, as it may appear in the after picture.

Scarlett loves it ... I love it ... And Jonathan loves it!  It's a win-win-win! 🤩

Scarlett's Girl Scout Troop Tourns KSBY

Scarlett gets so many cool opportunities with her Girl Scout troop!  Today we got to tour our one-and-only local TV station, KSBY.  As an adult, I loved the tour, too and learned a lot! 

The green screen was especially fun because the girls who wore the green "Junior" vest partially disappeared on the TV screen and got lots of giggles. :)

Cheer ... and Disappointment

This weekend was "Exhibition" where youth cheerleaders from the Central Coast come together to perform fun routines.  Scarlett was in two routines:  with her own squad of ages 10 and under and then the big girls from her squad, ages 11 and up.

It was an "Out of This World" theme and Scarlett's squad was dressed as Martians and the older girls were dressed as astronauts.

Scarlett was excited - and nervous - and ready to go!  Her's a pic of her all dressed up ... followed by their performance video ... followed by "the rest of the story."

Here is the link to their cute performance.  Scarlett is over on the left side of the screen and is a "base" on the left of the formation later in the song:  Scarlett's Cheer Performance

The rest of the story:  These leotards zip up in the back, and snap at the crotch.  The moment I saw this combination I knew it was going to be an issue for many of these girls when it came time to use the bathroom.  

And it was.

At the end of the day, Scarlett's full squad had a big routine to perform.  There was a 15 minute break first, and then Scarlett's was scheduled third on the list to perform.  So Jonathan and I headed out to get Scarlett a snack and Scarlett went outside with her squad to practice.

Unbeknownst to us:

1.  The food truck would take forever

2.  Scarlett needed to use the bathroom (long line)

3.  The squad got unexpectedly moved to perform first, rather than third

So when her squad went on the floor, we were gone ... and Scarlett was in the bathroom struggling with the leotard snaps and MISSED THE PERFORMANCE ... and so did we. 

When we got back to the gym, she was with her squad and just so sad. Took me a few minutes to realize her squad had already performed and I was not happy. 

After it was all over, they called all the girls out to have fun on the floor and dance to fun music and celebrate the day.   Scarlett waked around with the saddest look on her face that said, "I just want to leave."  So that's what this picture is about.  Oh, our poor girl. 😒

 

Scarlett's 5th Grade Portrait - The Two Versions

 

Ah, Scarlett ... 

She has a particular smile she likes to do for photos, but it's just not an authentic smile.  So when we got the first photo below, we decided a retake was best.  We love the top picture, because THAT is a genuine smile.

Side note:  Scarlett is NOT a smiley person. She says she doesn't like to smile. If she is engaging with somebody she doesn't know, she does not typically smile.  She's a tough nut to crack sometimes.

Future Braces for Scarlett

Our orthodontist checks Scarlett every six months to see if her teeth are ready for braces.  Scarlett was particularly nervous for this appointment because she was positive the braces were going on right then and there (despite my assurances that it was just a "take a look" exam).  

She was thrilled when the doctor said all is well for now, and to come back in 6 months for another look.

I love these two pics: 

1st pic:  Scared of what's coming

2nd pic:  Relieved that today wasn't the day. 😊

Cheer Season 2022

The official cheer season has come to an end with the last football game.  It has been so fun to watch Scarlett trying something new and completely different!  Cheer is a lot of work and these girls are definitely athletes!.

It was challenging for Scarlett because she doesn't do well in hot temps and many times practices and games were super hot.  But aside from weather (that we obviously cannot control) I think she really enjoyed it.  She's actually really good at it and has been great with knowing the various routines.

 This weekend, her squad is going to "Expedition" which is where 600 cheerleaders from across the region come together to do all new routines specifically for this event.  We're going ahead of time to stay at a hotel, eat dinner and go swimming with the squad, etc.  I'm excited for her to see the camaraderie side of cheer in full effect.

It is my hope that after a few months off, she decides to sign up for next season!  I keep telling her that if she develops an interest in cheer - or any number of activities - she could make it a goal to get a scholarship to Cal Poly! 

 

The Last Day of Pod School

After four months of having a really cool "learning pod" experience, today was the final day.  The girls' teacher, Miss Alia, decided to take a job in Santa Barbara as a special ed teacher (her previous profession).

 

We started off with a group of five kids and very quickly whittled down to three kids - the two girls and a boy named Ben.  Unfortunately, Ben has behavioral issues and an over-reactive mama bear as a mom.  After a series of "second chances," he needed to move on ... which just left Scarlett and Sage.

 

Happily, after Ben's departure from our pod school became the most AMAZING situation and everyone was so happy!  The girls thrived academically and have become such good friends!

It's too bad it must all come to an end, but Scarlett will now start going with Christian to his learning pod on Tuesdays and Thursdays for three hours.  The kids are older than Scarlett - 4th and 6th graders.  But she's sharp and will learn a lot!

 

 

Horse Riding Lesson #3

Scarlett continues to enjoy herself with lessons (she doesn't even mind digging the poop out of the horse's hooves) and next week, will learn how to trot!! :)

 

 

Scarlett's Second Riding Lesson

Lesson #2 is in the books, and Scarlett LOVES riding horses!  It's pretty amazing to see our petite girl on a 1,300+ pound horse!  I must admit, my mind starts fast forwarding to the future and the "what ifs" regarding horse riding (although, I fantasize cautiously ... I thought she was headed onto big things with gymnastics and then one day, she decided she was done).