There Goes Another One

 This handsome boy just completed his first day of Kindergarten:

He was SO excited.  He got up at 6 and was ready (with teeth brushed and everything!) by about 6:30.  When it was (finally!) time to drop him off, he wanted me out of there!  He was ready, and although I thought about it, I didn't shed a tear.  Our principal was cute, though.  She was handing out tissues and kisses (the chocolate kind) to parents as they dropped off their babies.  He had a great time and is looking forward to tomorrow.

And you know that kid who is sitting in the office waiting for mom because she's late?  Yep, that was MY kid today!  On his first ever real day of school!  Talk about a serious mommy fail.  I felt so bad (like, terribly bad) when I realized that I thought I was leaving in plenty of time, but in actuality, I was 15 minutes late.  Thankfully, kids are forgiving, and he doesn't seem to have any permanent scars.  A lunch trip to McDonalds solidified my apologies.  Seriously.  Where is my brain?

School

Yesterday was the first day of school around these parts.  My girlies, ready for a new school year:

Maren, 2nd Grade.  Ellie, 4th Grade.

They came home all excited, having had a fun day with old friends and new teachers.

I hate sending kids back to school.  I really do.  I know the routine is nice and all, but I love having my crazy kids at home.  Even if it makes more work for mom.  I also know that they are where they belong.  Dang it.  I just can't believe how grown up my kids are getting.  I was thinking last night about when I was a teacher 10 years ago, before kids and all.  My students are all now graduated from high school and out in the real world.  Holy Macaroni.  That will be MY kids in a short 10 years.  Slow down, please, please SLOW DOWN!!!  Ok.  Deep breath.  

I need to go snuggle my baby.

Summer goes out with a ROAR!

 Whatever sound you can attribute to a Monster Truck, that's how our summer went out.  Last Friday, we headed to the fairgrounds to see the Monster Truck show.  I had never been before, and I was especially excited to take Everett.  It was a great time!

 Everett looked about like that throughout the entire show.  I had hoped to see his excitement, but he was expressionless.  His eyes never left the arena, though, and now he talks about it all the time.  I'm pretty sure he loved it.

 Most of us loved it, actually.  Lu was indifferent.

Daisy HATED it.  The really loud noises scared her, and she spent the evening like this:

 My hand looks kind of disembodied there.  Freaky.  Anyway, I'm pretty sure Daisy was thinking, "this isn't really happening if I can't see it."  Poor babe.  There is even a tear in her eyelashes.

It was a fun night, and I'll take any excuse for a tight snuggle.

Our weekend was filled with family.  First, my neice went through the temple for the first time in preparation for serving a mission in a couple months.  I was asked to take some photos.  This one is my favorite:

 What a beautiful way to spend a Saturday morning.

Sunday was also a special day as we went to my nephew's mission farewell.  He gave such a soul-touching talk.  I am so proud of these kids (adults?)!  They are making good choices that will bless their lives for good, forever.  It has been such a privilege to watch these kids grow.  Being an aunt is a pretty cool gig.

I took this beautiful girl's seven year old photos:

That one big tooth makes for some goofy smiles, but I sure love it!

Happy Back to School this week!  Usually I'm feeling mostly sad about the loss of my non-schedule of summer filled with constant fun, but this morning, as the kids run around the house destroying everything in their wake, screaming and smacking each other with rolled up Friend magazines (all in the name of "sword fighting"), I'm thinking School will be a really good thing.  :)

The Party

 This photo was not taken at Maren's party, but she sure makes that corn on the cob look delicious!  (And, it was, homegrown corn tastes at least 5x better than the stands)

For Maren's birthday request she wanted the family to go to the castle park.  Check.

And then to Chuck A Rama.  Check.

This plate may look healthy, but don't let it fool you.  She helped herself to about three bowls of ice cream, cookies, slush, etc. etc.  That place is stressful to me, as I sit and watch my kids consume so much sugar, until they feel sick.

On her actual birthday, Maren woke up to a delicious #7:

And then, we partied the day away.  Birthdays are fun and all, but sheesh, a lot of pressure on Mom!  I kind of felt like she was holding it over our heads all day long, and if we made a wrong move, it was the "worst birthday ever!"  Ok, so maybe that is just our little drama queen.  She went to bed happy, anyway, which made me happy.

The girls really did an awesome job decorating with streamers and balloons.  Too bad they got pulled down in one horrendous fit of rage.  I won't tell you who, it could actually be a number of people in this house depending on the situation.  That person was fed and then they were much easier to live with.  That shouldn't narrow it down any.  Golly we have problems.  :)  Just keeping it real.

Jack-o-lantern face (just much cuter):

We were surprised with a visit from G&G!  The birthday song, round I:

And then again later that evening with Nick's clan:

Maren is fun to watch open presents.

Happy Birthday, girl!  I'm so glad you had a fun day.

Carson City

 We went on a spontaneous trip to Carson City last week.  But, before I get into that, here are some exceedingly cute photos of our babe:

 Golly, I love her.

Ok.  So, last week, we found ourselves with Nick out of school, work stuff he could miss, and a somewhat empty calendar for a week, and school starting soon.  What were we to do but head on out of town?  We crashed with family and enjoyed a week in the beautiful areas surrounding Carson City.

We spent quite a bit of time playing in the water and sand of Lake Tahoe:

We went to the Nevada State Fair.  It was small, the smallest fair I've ever been to, but the bonus side was that the kids actually got to participate in things, unlike here in Utah where there are a bazillion kids everywhere you go.  A balloon twisted into a "kitty" made this girl the happiest:

The kids participated in the cookie stacking contest:

 That kid got second place, but I'd like to see how he'd do if he didn't run out of cookies.

I'm older now:

 I requested German chocolate cake and Nick's butter pecan ice cream.  He made them, froze them, and brought them with us.  What a man.

We went to church at Nick's ward he grew up in.  That was special.  Nick loved seeing people, and I just kept thinking how it really does take a village to raise a child, and how grateful I was to those people who served well, set a good example, and encouraged my man to grow up to be the amazing covenant-keeping father and husband he is.

After church, we visited some people we love and look forward to meeting someday:

And we visited a horse (and the people she belongs to, which happen to also belong to us):

 Everett and Maren were apprehensive, but Ellie LOVED it and didn't want to get off.

We went to Virginia City, where we rode the steam engine train:

 That was fun for all.  

An adorable shot of my babies:

We hiked the kids across town (I mean hike too, how in the world did they build that city on that steep hill?) to the school museum:

Great fun at Uncle's house:

And then, back to the Lake:

 My "princesses".  In fact, in that photo, Daisy is saying, "I'm a princess."  I think she's about on the "s" sound.

Everett was mostly a wimp and wouldn't get in the water, but we forced him on the paddleboard and took a quick photo (he actually even enjoyed it for about 30 seconds).  The big girls and Nick and I spent a good half the day in the water.  We had a blast.

So much fun wears a girl out:

We drove up to Emerald Bay, but it seriously freaked us out on those roads with drop offs (at one point, on both sides!).  Our old age has turned us into scaredy cats.  We did make it to this lookout area, and took a few photos before we took a deep breath and headed back down.  Oh, and we saw (or perhaps I should say almost hit) two bears!  That was exciting for us, from the safety of our car.

What a wonderful week.  It's a good thing it's a LONG boring drive, or I'd want to turn right back and do it again.

Missy turns Seven

Missy Maren,

Just look at that happy, smiley baby!

Happy Birthday!  You have been so excited for this day, counting down for months now.  Boy, I sure hope it lives up to all of your expectations!  You bring a lot of happiness to our home, and we are so thankful for you!  You are our comedian, knowing how to make us all laugh.  You can be such a pleasant little helper, when your mind is made up to be that way.  You love to be in the kitchen with mom or dad.  You love to dance and sing, and be the Diva.  You are a spitfire, my dear, and we are sure that you will keep us on our toes in the years to come!  :)

We love, love, love you, my dear.

Love,
Mom