Pig Hat

Luke has been loving Kindergarten.  He comes home with stories and songs and all sorts of fun things they have been doing.  

Each week they read several versions of a story and then act it ut on Friday.  Last week was the 3 little pigs and he got to be one of the pigs in the brick house.  This was the hat he made to go with it.  He wore it all day long and I thought it was so cute!

Kathryn's Soccer

This year we had 3 playing soccer.  We are almost done--hallelujah!!  It's gets a little long after sitting for 3 hours.  This year Sam coached Kathryn's team and has done a great job.  Most of the girls are very timid and shy so the games are always very interesting.  But they have improved a lot and Kathryn absolutely loves it.

 She actually gets in and fights for the ball--which is a big improvement from last year so we are way excited about that.

 (she's arm checking that girl :)

 And then sometimes she plays goalie.  It's not her favorite thing but she is learning to like it.

 She has a great throw in though!

First Day of School

I can't believe it's already here and I have a few hours in the morning all to myself.  Crazy!

 We had our traditional back-to-school breakfast.  Crepes, with cream cheese filling, blackberries, and topped with whipped cream.  So healthy!

 And then it was off to get ready.  Hair done, dressed in uniforms, lunches packed, and out the door.  I even made it to the shower so I didn't embarrass them as I walked them to their classrooms.

 Those cute kids.  Sarah and Kathryn are the same height now (Sarah just has heels on now) and most people think she is younger than Kathryn.  A couple weeks ago someone thought she was 6--she was quite mortified especially since she will be 10 in a couple weeks.

 Seth got to start 7th grade and was very excited to move around to his classes.  He has really enjoyed them (especially intro to technology, art, and p.e.) and according to an email that we got from his art teacher (3 days into school), his "gift for communication" needs to be directed in the right way.  That was a very nice way to put it!  Needless to say we had a talk at home that night.

 This cutie got to start Kindergarten and was so, so, so excited.  His teacher is Mrs. D (short for Ditlefson) and he comes home everyday saying how nice she is, singing the songs he has learned (like Yankee Noodle Handee--so funny cause he really meant to say Yankee Doodle Dandee), and telling me how much he likes to color and play with his friend Chase.

 This girl got to start 3rd grade with Mrs. Bizik.  She is in heaven because all of her friends, but one, have the same teacher and she gets to sit by them (we will see how long that lasts :).  She is loving reading even more and is always so excited to go to school in the morning (and would be even more if she could she wear her open-toed high heel sunday shoes to school--she loves those things and puts them on as soon as she comes in the door from school).

 This girl started 4th grade with Mrs. Barrutia and is loving it.  Her teacher has a pet snake (eewww!) and her best buddy is also in her class.  She has been voraciously reading and we cannot keep her in a book.  We are constantly at the library finding something new and "appropriate", but hard enough for her.  But she is loving going to school and getting to wear a few new colors in her uniform wardrobe.

End of Summer Vacation--Part 3

Sunday we joined the locals in a little branch, where we doubled the Primary and tripled the Relief Society.  I think it's a lot of fun to attend branches.  They are so small and they always loved to have visitors. 

 Afterwards we decided to go on a walk with the Brownlees.  We walked along an old logging road around the mountain and it was absolutely beautiful.

 Luke loved to hang out with Cierra and could be found at the end of the line always finding something to look at or touch instead of walking.  He especially loved the sticks.

 Sam--because he cute :)

 All of us enjoying the scenery, except Luke who found a stick--again!

 Taking a break.

 Sam hanging out with Luke in the back--who again is looking at sticks.

 All the kids taking a break on a log.  It was amazing to just enjoy nature and just relax in the mountains.

 That night we had a s'mores contest between all the families and kids.  Kathryn and her friends (Afton and Ashley) made a "Big Mac".

 Sarah and her friends (Halle, Tessa, and Andi) made a mint s'more which they were all trying to eat at once.

Sam was the judge and ended up trying at least 15 different kinds of s'mores.  The winner ended up being a wheat thin with a piece of chocolate, a piece of banana, and a roasted marshmallow.  But boy was he sick of s'mores after that, but he was sure a good sport.

That night we took off to my parents where we got to take a real shower, sleep in a real bed, and enjoy a couple hours with my family the next morning before we picked up my canning peaches and took off for home.

End of Summer--Part 2

Some of these friends we went with have rafts and IKs (inflatable kayaks, if you were wondering) so we loaded up the next morning and headed down to the river to spend an entire day having an absolute blast.

 There was a wonderful "beach" down the river a little bit.  It had the most perfect sand and it kept the kids entertained the entire day.  The water was clear and a tad bit chilly, but absolutely beautiful.

 All three of them were brave and dived in (not this girl though),

 and it looks like Sarah takes after me too.  She was trying to get brave and slowly go all the way in the water.

 Friends are amazing!!

 Everybody was getting ready to take the first trip down the river.  Late in the year it's at a perfect level for the kids to enjoy.  Not too many rapids but enough that they get wet and enjoy the thrill.

 And of course you have to build a sand castle.  

Sam and Seth tried out the IK's and loved it.  I wasn't quite that brave but they said it was a blast.

We ended the day by frying burgers and sitting around the campfire.  It was such a perfect day and so much fun to spend a day doing absolutely nothin' but fun :)!!

End of Summer--Part 1

We have some good friends that go camping every Labor Day weekend.  In past years we have said "no thank you" (because Sam really doesn't want to go and it's a lot of work) but this year we decided it was time to go and let the kids get super dirty and enjoy a great weekend and lots of memories.

Sam took Friday off so we got everything loaded up early and headed out to the fair.  The kids have been so excited all summer for this event.  We spent several hours that morning just wandering around and enjoying a beautiful day.

 One of our favorite things to do is watch the kids show their animals.  This particular one was steers and it's always so interesting to try to figure out why that animal wins.  Okay maybe it's just a farm, ffa thing...

 And we always have to hit all the animal barns.  The girls are teasing an emu here and hoping it doesn't peck them.

 And of course the mandatory random pictures (and no we are not U of I fans but that's all they had).

 The fair always has an exhibit on old machinery and that is one of the boys favorite things to look at.  They could spend hours looking around.

 Acting like chickens.

And we checked out the model train exhibit just for Luke.  He was in heaven.

Afterwards we headed to Arctic Circle for some lunch and a special treat and then took off for the mountains.  And all I have to say is thank heavens for good friends.  We loaded most of our stuff in our friends camping trailer since our van's storage space is so small, which we also shared meals with them too so it made it so much easier (especially because we used their camping stove to cook--thanks guys!!).

 Immediately after arriving it was a mad dash to meet friends (including out good buddy dirt).  These two were covered within minutes of arriving.

 Luke was busy setting up a store that everything in it cost $100 (good thing you could just use fake money) and he is trying to convince Jake to buy a certain item.

 And of course the other popular item was the fire.  Here the kids are pulling off pine needles to "help" the fire burn.  The boys were constantly running back and forth getting more wood to add to the fire.  If you ever needed to know where one of the boys were--check the fire.

Then we ended the night by listening to the BSU game on the radio and visiting with friends.  So fun!