School Days Begin

Tori was very excited to start Pre-school in the "big" class. They actually get to learn things instead of just play. She wants to have homework & books & learn to read & all of that. Although they still do alot of playing at Pre-school, she enjoys the fact that she "goes to school." She had to wait for an extra two weeks after Brynn started & when the day finally arrived, that first day of school excitement was back in the air that morning. I love how her smile shows that!

Brynn started Kindergarten. I'm not sure who had the least amount of sleep the night before the first day of school, Brynn or me. I was so excited for her. When I did fall asleep I kept dreaming that I would forget that she has school each day & I would wake up in a panic. She looked so cute. I volunteer in her classroom for an hour each Monday & it is so much fun to see her in that setting. I love that she loves to learn. She has a wonderful teacher. I am amazed to watch & listen to her. She is very soft spoken & very positive. The children respond well to that environment. There is such a good feeling there. I am grateful to teachers like that.

A very excited girl!

" It was great, I think I'll go back tomorrow. "

Jadie got ready for school that day too. She went & got ready with her backpack & a hat. Then came around to tell all of us, "Bye guys, goin' a school..." hugs & kisses just like we did to Brynn & Tori when they left. She REALLY wants to ride the bus. For the first few weeks of school she would cry every morning when Brynn left because she wanted to go too. Her favorite thing in the morning is to watch out the front window for the bus. She is our bus watcher!

Mountains....our favorite place to be

We have had a blast camping this summer. These are some pictures of our Sermon family reunion. The wild flowers were beautiful & the girls picked bouquet after bouquets. As soon as we got there all the little ones went on a flower hunt. The littlest camper.

Campfires are my kids' favorite: #1: They love roasting smores. #2: They get to stay up until it's dark & see the beautiful stars. #3: They are the entertainment most of the time. They were playing Simon Says & cracking us all up by trying to trick the uncles.

Can't you just see how much these kids love the mountains. I love that they love it.

Awe, Jadie loves Daddy. Justin was gone for a week prior & she followed him around & wanted to ride with him every time we went for 4 wheeler rides.

The family rides are so fun. We had over 30 people on the ride. The kids will ride for hours & then after being back a half hour they say they are ready to go on another family ride.

The scenery was breath taking. Ahhh, the mountains are so refreshing & truely feeds my soul.

We always have to save time for froggin'. They were hard to catch.

Jadie's favorite game was Red Rover. She would get soooo excited when you called her name. She ran so fast! Here she comes.

Red rover, red rover, send Uncle Roy right over!

Brynn would giggle the entire time she ran! It was hilarious. She would back up & get all fired up like she was going to run with such power & by the time she got to you she was laughing so hard that she barely could make it. That's Brynn!

The Mountain golf tournament is a tradition. Of course, Justin is the course designer. Wow, he made it hard this year....but I got a hole in one! That saved my team & we won with that. :)

These are truely the best family memories one can have. Such togetherness comes from camping & being away from the business of life & life's comforts that we take for granted. I love the quiet mountains where all you may hear is a creek, squirells, birds, & conversations with lots of laughing. Everyone shares what they have. We all came back tired but filled. The very next day the kids were asking if we were going camping again "tomorrow."

Funnies

Happy Birthday Tori!




Blow hard!

"Mom, you don't know who we are -K-, you don't see our brown hair."

KID HUMOR

Brynn & Tori coming in from outside... "Mom, we are trying our best to catch a bug for Dad but it's just not working out. We sneak up on it with our tippy toes & then it just fly's away as soon as we get close to it. Why can they see us coming?"

Brynn & Tori like to ask a lot of questions these days, like "why do the clouds move?" Sometimes when the answers are obvious we say, "what do you think?" So we are driving in the car & question after question. Jadie then says "WHY, Mom?" Tori: "Jadie, what do you think?" Jadie: "Ummmm..." (I would give anything to have understood the rest. It was adorable.)

We have been planting flowers & plants lately & the girls have been a great help. They really enjoy it. One night during scripture time Justin was explaining how to feed our faith. Justin: "What does a plant need in order to grow?" Brynn: "Water & peat moss."

At night as I am tucking the kids into bed we like to "talk". Sometimes we like to say things that we KNOW. Like, "I KNOWthat Heavenly Father & Jesus loves everyone. Even people we don't know." (Tori) The other night I was telling Tori one thing that I KNOW. She lovingly looked at me as I was telling her, listening very intently. When I finished I was a little teary-eyed & she jumped up & wrapped her little arms around me & said, "Oh, Mommy I love you."

Brynn: making cheese crisps, "Dad, can I try scratching the cheese?"

When we ask the kids to do something or tell them they can't do something & the response is whining & pouting we say, "K, let's try that again." & then restate what we just said...for a better response. This works pretty well. One day, Tori asked: "Mom, can I have a cookie?" Mom: "After lunch & a nap, then you can have a cookie." Tori: "No, Mom, K... let's try that again. Mom, can I have a cookie please?" Mom: trying hard not to laugh..."after your nap you can." Tori: "Mom, you're supposed to try that again & say yes, remember?"

Popcorn's a poppin'

Puttin' the FUN in SUMMER

What a blast water is. It doesn't matter if it's playing in a puddle, the hose or sprinkler, or a big waterslide. It's all FUN.

Cantelope & cold grapes are a yummy snack.

Jadie saw a worm so she quickly grabbed the shovel. She turned around & it was gone. Here she said, "Hmmm, were da go?" She searched & searched & did find it. She kept saying, "oh dear, oh dear."

There's nothing like a popsicle on a hot summer day.

We heard Jadie rattling around in the garage & then she came out with this get up.

Hard working...money earned! These girls worked hard for these pretty little baskets for their bikes. They helped in the yard for 5 hours straight. They pulled every dandelion they saw, they planted flowers & dug up weeds. They worked their little tails off! When they got to pay their money in exchange for the baskets, they beamed! They carry around treasures they find on all their many bike rides. Bunnies & kitties get to ride in them. Dolly's go on trips. There is something about little girls & baskets on bikes.

Jadie filling up her "boat" (is what she called it)

Anyone thirsty besides me?

Yeah for SUMMER!

Splash!

And this is just one of the many things I love about summer. I love being in my yard, whether it is planting, pulling weeds, digging in the dirt, or simply playing. A friend shared this quote from Brigham Young. (thanks Paula!)

"Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ."

No wonder I love it so much!

Disneyland

MOVE YOUR MOUSE OVER EACH PICTURE TO READ CAPTION.

Dreams Come True

For a year now the girls have dreamed of going to Disneyland. They got the idea from watching TV or movies of course. The castle is shown at the beginning of every Walt Disney movie. One day they asked me if that was Cinderella’s castle & then asked me where it was, because they were going to go visit her! I told them she lived at Disneyland. That is where the dream started. They have been saving hard earned money to go someday. They have mastered their chores over this past year. A few months ago I went downstairs to see what they were up to & they had all their clothes categorized & laid out perfectly for “someday” when they get to go to Disneyland. We surprised them April 1st with a Disney countdown calendar. They were ecstatic! We let them pick out their own new suitcases for our trip. The moment we got them, they had them packed. I think I had more anxiety than they did! We could hardly wait. Every day they were on the internet watching Disneyland trailers. They knew what to expect & they expected everything they saw in those videos.
We flew from SLC. This was their first flying experience. Once we were in the air, Brynn looked out the window & said, “We are on the EARTH!” As she saw all the squares & circles & the Great Salt Lake. Tori said, “Dad look at all of those tiny little cars….are there tiny little people in those cars?” We arrived to sunny HOT California. 101 degrees. We were glad to get to the hotel & jump in the pool. The next day we entered into the world of magic. The kids just looked around & said, “Wow”, especially when they saw the castle. Their favorite rides were Peter Pan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World (who doesn’t love it?), the Matter horn, Alice in Wonderland, Space Mountain, & Soaring over California. They loved Mickey & Minnie’s houses. They kept saying how cute Minnie’s house was & they wished they could have a little house like that someday! (Mostly because it was all polka dots & pink) It was adorable I have to admit. Every little girls dream. They also loved seeing Tinkerbell & her fairy friends at Pixie Hollow. At the end of the first day, some little fairy left a surprise in our room. They left a beautiful Cinderella dress for Brynn & a stunning Belle gown for Tori. There we found an invitation from Ariel to a princess breakfast the next morning held at her under the sea palace. The girls could hardly sleep! The next morning the “princesses” were dressed & ready for breakfast. Everyone commented on these beautiful princesses & their faces absolutley beamed. They really felt like princesses! They told everyone all about how they got the dresses & that they were eating breakfast with Ariel & the others. We got to the breakfast early so we were able to be seated at the very front where all the princesses would come out. Oh, it was worth every moment. It was the most magical event ever! First the Grand Duke announced Snow White. That was exciting! Then it was Sleeping Beauty & that was even more exciting! They came around to each table & we got their autographs in our special picture & autograph book. Then Cinderella was announced & the little girls gasped & cheered. She was beautiful! All the little girls in that room were in awe. Brynn’s eyes were a little teary eyed. She came over to us & Brynn hugged her & said, “Cinderella, you’re my favorite!” I just about cried because it was so adorable! Next came the gorgeous princess Belle, who is Tori’s favorite. She said, “I knew it! I knew it would be you next!” As she hugged her & told her how much she loved her. As they went to take their pictures, Belle kneeled down & her gown poofed way out. The girls kneeled down just like she did in a very princess kind of way & they made sure their dresses were all poofed out too. Then they posed for a picture. At that moment I said to myself, “THIS was worth every penny.” Just to see Brynn & Tori in such amazement & like their dreams truly came true. Later that night was the Street Party Parade. Again, we were in the perfect spot. We were right where they stopped & did their performances. Some of the dancers came over & got Brynn & Tori & had them go out & dance with them. WOW! That is all they could say was “WOW, Mom!” This was the funnest street party ever! When they saw Mary Poppins Brynn said, “Look Mom, she really is real!” They love Mary Poppins. They were in total amazement. The happiest place on earth is Disneyland!