First Day of School Pics

Brevin, the BIG 4th grader. Brevin is in a combination class. So he has the same teacher he had last year, Mrs. Gardner. Hooray! He has made new friends and has already invited them over to play at our house. LEGO's are still fun for 4th graders.

Lindie, the 2nd grader! I am having a hard time believing that Lindie is the same age Brevin was when we moved here a few years ago. She seems so wise. In November, it will be her turn to be baptized! She is posing here with one of her best buddies from last year. They both enjoy horse riding lessons together. This best buddy is now in Brevin's class and shares the same table group as he does. Lindie is thrilled. Brevin is disgusted. Girls.

Here they all are. Michaela starts preschool after Labor Day--when all schools should start! August 12th is just too soon. Spencer is in my arms.

This is a co-op K-6 school. Soon I will be volunteering 10 hours a month, and I love it! The whole family knows this is the school for us at this time. We love ACE!

Summer

I cannot believe the 4th of July is this Sunday! And what have we done so far this summer? We've spent leisurely mornings in our PJ's, fabulous trips to our local library, many dips in the pool swimming at "our" co-op pool, and played at Six Flags. We've also enjoyed our cherries and apricots and are anxiously awaiting our peaches and nectarines. Yum! We are also looking forward to having Grammie and Papa come and visit now that they are home from their missions. We look forward to cousin time, trips to the beach, camping, and more time swimming and reading and making smoothies!! Yea summer! Please never end....

Cherries

The kids and I went out and picked cherries on one of our 3 trees for about an hour tonight. At first I was feeling a little uptight. I was nursing Spencer and putting him down for the night while all three kids were asking me to get the ladder out so we could use it. Once that fire was squelched, Brevin helped me carry out the ladder. We set it up in one spot and took turns climbing the ladder and picking the cherries. I taught the kids how to pick--with the stem--and also taught them not to just leave the cherries on the grass to get stepped on, etc. After those guidelines were set, we just had fun with each other! We were laughing, giggling, singing. I am so thankful for these fruit trees! On Monday we have invited friends from the ward and school and neighborhood to help pick cherries. I called it a Cherry Jubilee. Brevin reminded me Jubilee means 50 year celebration and we haven't even been in our house for one year yet. Thanks. I said I chose Jubilee because it sounded FUN and we're going to have FUN. Tomorrow I make homemade cherry icecream. Anyone want to join me?

These are the days to remember...

On most days, while the BIG KIDS are at school, I have Big Sister and Little Brother with me. We enjoy doing many things together--just the three of us. We love going to the park, where Big Sister will always give me a show (I get a show everyday in fact!), climb the dragon with a "peace out" sign, swing, or just be cute. We also enjoy building tents in our front room and play queen, princess and prince together. One of our favorite places is the library where we get to listen to "Dan the Library Man" and check out all of the Beverly Cleary books on CD to listen to at night. Life is good.

Post Swimming Lesson Cuddle

We have heated swimming lessons through the city from February-June. The kids took the February two week session. Michaela's lessons were pretty much useless, and yet she enjoyed them immensely. Lindie's teacher had the best temperment for her. He was very encouraging. An awesome teacher coupled with a very enthusiastic swim lesson buddy who had no fear at all, helped Lindie a lot. She improved from not wanting to jump into the pool at all at 4ft., to starting to feel comfortable treading water in the deep end. Brevin can swim, but needed some fine tuning with his strokes. He had some personality differences with his teacher and wanted to quit after the second day. We talked about Michael Phelps and how he probably doesn't agree with his swim coach all the time, but he still listens to him. A terrific attitude adjustment helped Brevin. He not only listened, but volunteered to go first on treading water, free style, back stroke, etc. I was proud of each of my kids and their improvement. I think we'll be ready for our neighborhood pool in May. Nothing like a warm cuddle with a little brother after lessons to make everything ok again.

What do you do for fun on Sunday's?

We make people sandwiches! Spencer is three months old in this picture. I think his look is saying, "Mom, help me! You want me to be the cherry on top?"


"Ok, I'll be the cherry on top...but that doesn't mean I have to smile about it!"

I love Randy's picture on this sandwich. I think it is a chocolate (Randy), pesto (Brevin), corn (Lindie), blueberry (Michaela) sandwich. Yum!

So what do YOU do for Sunday fun?

Free+Fun+Friends=Ice Skating!

We had just finished celebrating the two week Winter Olympics at Brevin and Lindie's school--the same two weeks the Olympics were up and running. Our local ice skating rink offered FREE hockey and ice skating lessons on the weekends of the Olympics. Coincidence? I think not! An opportunity to creat a mass playdate with friends from our new ward, old ward, and old school and new school? YES!


And yet...nothing could beat the Zamboni!! It was like Caillou come to life!

Lindie and Michaela getting ready to transform themselves into princesses on the ice. Lindie stayed out on the ice until she was the last one standing...pricariously...along the wall. She has persistence! Michaela stayed on the ice for 2 minutes. She fell down, and that was it. Spencer and I enjoyed handing out doughnuts and drinking hot chocolate and watching it all. Thank you friend and Vacaville Ice!