Fall Break in St. George

Toward the end of October Emma had 2 days off of school so I decided to head to St. George Wednesday after school with just me and the kids. This was the first time I had made the drive all by myself. I don't know how Carly does it all the time. The kids were really good but I wasn't able to hand them anything or change the CD whenever they wanted or put in a movie for them at the drop of a hat. The road was also very busy with everyone else making the trip down too so traffic was slow! The worst was stopping at the Burger King in Fillmore. Never again will I stop there. There was nothing fast about this fast food restaurant. The place was busy but we waited over 30 minutes for our food! It was awful. The kids were cranky (me too) and wild and Mia refused to sit still and the high chair I managed to snag didn't have a working buckle. So I ended up holding her very heavy body while she tried to get out of my arms for those 30 minutes too. I couldn't let her walk around because it was too busy and didn't want to loose the table we had snagged as well. I did have to ask the nice lady next to us to watch Emma and James and our table while I went to the bathroom to change Mia. Worst meal ever!

Okay rant done - the rest of our trip was pretty good. We had a great time at the park, visiting Staheli Farm, at the children's museum and playing in the water. The weather was great. Carly and I stayed up way too late talking. And snuggling a very cute baby was heaven!

The kids did fight and get on each others nerves and mine but we were off schedule, all in one room and not getting enough sleep. So overall a great time but we were ready to be back in our own beds and have Quinn back. I'm sure Carly enjoyed the peace and quiet once we were gone. Thanks for letting us come Carly and for the very fun weekend!

The drive home was great, made it in only one stop (not Fillmore) and thanks to having enough snacks didn't have to stop for dinner.

At the park.

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Staheli Farm was so much fun with it's petting zoo, hay ride, pumpkin patch, maze, rides, slides, swings and so much more.

Wicka Dee was so fun and cute. She made a witches brew that everyone got to taste.

We love the children's museum, the post office and grocery store are the kids favorites.

Out to lunch - cute cousins.

It would have been too cold for me in the water but the kids loved it!

Such a cute boy!

Miss you all!

James' room and house improvements

We finally got the last thing put up on James' wall to finish off his room. It only took me a year, but it turned out great!

I have been wanted to paint our front door for a very long time and so we finally did it. It looks amazing and I'm wondering why I waited so long to do it. I love it! Everyone in the neighborhood is teasing Quinn for his BYU door but that didn't even cross my mind when I picked out the color. Blue is my favorite color and this was the one I liked. I have the best husband. We also painted the mailbox post the same color.

Before

and

After

Cousins!

In September our Cousins came to play. We had so much fun with these kids. Love them all!

Cousin Lyla gave Mia some of her out grown clothes. Mia loved this outfit, especially the shoes!

Thanks Lyla!

Labor Day Weekend

With school started and it being quite an adjustment we decided to forgo going to Bear Lake for Labor Day weekend and stay home and do some fun new things. On Friday we went to the State Capitol for an outdoor showing of the movie Frozen. It was fun except that we were a bit too high on the hill and kept sliding down a bit during the movie. Next time I think we will pick a better spot. The kids did pretty well and it was a prefect night for it.

Then on Monday we spent several hours exploring Liberty Park in Salt Lake City, which we hadn't been to in a while. It was another great day. We played on the playgrounds and had a picnic. Emma conquered all the monkey bars and went home happy but will blisters.

Swimming Lessons and First Day of School

The last two weeks of Summer vacation was filled with swimming lessons for James and Emma. Emma moved up the the older kid lessons which takes place in the deep end. This was just the push she need to really prove to herself that she can swim on her own. She did great. James also improved by actually walking up and getting in by himself. Every time we sign him up he forgets how fun it is and refuses to go so the first day is spent bribing and begging him to get in the pool. Finally the instructor just grabbed him and took him in on his own and walked around with him until he stopped screaming. Towards the end of the lesson you could see that he really wanted to get in and do what she was asking the class to do but he is so stubborn we would not let himself have fun. The next day at lessons though he walked in himself and did really well and had a blast. I guess it was partly my fault because I made him wear a new Mickey Mouse swim suit and didn't let him wear his old worn out still dirty from Bear Lake Cars swim suit. The next day he had on the right suit.

Emma swimming all on her own in the deep end!

So proud of my swimmers.

Emma was very excited to start school and to get to have three recesses and eat lunch with her friends. She didn't quite comprehend that that meant staying at school all day long. It was a hart adjustment for her. School was very long at first and homework and reading was hard but we are getting into the swing of things now. Homework is still a challenge for her but we are finding the balance. She likes school and her teacher but she hates not having hardly anytime to play with friends during the week.

James is doing something new this year. It is an online preschool called Up Start. It is a free state program. He is required to do it 5 days a week for at least 15 minutes. It is great! It focuses on reading first and then switches to math and science. James is enjoying it for the most part and is doing so well that he can already start to sound out simple three letter words which is amazing. It goes all the way to a second grade level so we are having Emma do the program as well to help get her caught up in her reading. She has made huge leaps in reading since school started as well since she refused to do it all last year and all summer. 

First Day of School!

Emma's classroom is outside in one of the portables. When she walked up the first day she was very glad to see some of her friends from her Kindergarten class. Friends make everything so much better.