Back to School 2011

The excitement began in anticipation of going back to school. I wonder how many years we will have both of them so excited to start up another year? Hayden got to make the big move to 1st grade, have lunch at school and stay all day. He loves his teacher, recesses, P.E., and lunch. He said I forgot to tell him the first day how long he would have to stay after lunch. He thought it was a little long and he didn't have as much time as he would have liked after school to play with friends, but he is adjusting with each day. He also had one mishap. His water spilled out of his lunch so he decided he would borrow one of the chocolate milks the school had. I had to explain we needed to pay for those and sent money with him the next day. It was all innocent in his eyes. He did get the big math paper yesterday because he was the quietest kid in class so hopefully we are off to a good start. His teacher is going to have a baby any day so things could change a little with a long term sub for awhile. He doesn't have that many kids in his class that he knows so it will be a good opportunity to make new friends.

Hannah loves school, loves her teacher, and has a classroom full of friends. Life couldn't be better for this second grader. She is having a great time and loves to have the routine of school. Life goes better for her when she can keep her brain moving. She also started piano this week and absolutely loved it and loves to practice any chance she gets - hopefully that will continue.
Nice to have a buddy to go out the door with.

Getting on the bus. I love how many kids are in our neighborhood. It makes everything funner. Chloe and I are adjusting to hanging out by ourselves. It is a little quiet but I do love quiet. She is really enjoying the one on one time - the trick will be not to let her get too spoiled.

Happy School year 2011.

Weekend Fun

We went to Utah this weekend for my nephew's wedding reception. They were married in the Sacramento temple the week before. It was a beautiful outdoor reception at my brother's house in Provo. It was so fun to see them so happy. Congratulations Sean and Kristin! My kids love my brother's fountain he has in his front yard. It is one of those splash kind that go with the music. Whenever we go there in the summer, they end up in it. Love that it is a nice reception and my children are running through a sprinkler. They had a great time!

Chloe had her first pickup at the reception. This little boy couldn't get enough of her. She wasn't sure what to think about it.

We spent the rest of the weekend with the Huls family. It is always fun to stay there. My kids love it. We went for a nature walk in the morning and found a horny toad. I had never seen one before so it was cool to see. Hayden even dared hold it. He wanted to take it home but I didn't think our family needed this kind of a pet. Later we drove to Strawberry Lake up Provo Canyon and went cray fishing. It was so much fun!. They were all over and so easy to catch. We would just hang the poles in the water and they would grab the meat, catch them in the net and put them in the cooler. It was a lot of action for younger children. They loved it and didn't want to leave until we got rained on. It made for a great dinner that night.
Now we are back to school today! We will see how the day turns out. For me it has been a little more relaxing and a very productive day. I will be excited to get the kids home though.

We have a one year old!

One year old birthdays are great! They are excited about every little thing you do and they are easy to keep a little more low key. Chloe had a great day. The last year has gone by so quickly. She is such a busy, happy, excited, strong willed one year old. We are lucky to have her in our family.
She loved opening gifts.

She really didn't want much to do with her cake. I don't think she put one bite in her mouth. She stuck her hands in and then tried to feed it to Hannah and Hayden and then she wanted her hands cleaned. Nothing like my first two who stuck their whole face in they were so excited.

Thanks to all the family who came by to help us celebrate.

Here's to another fun year with this sweet little one.

July

It seems I am down to blogging once a month. I just can't seem to fit more in. Here is a recap of July- mainly for journaling purposes. It has been full of BBQ's, fireworks, parades, camping, swimming and fun. It seems we have hardly stopped for a minute. I love it but am always happy when we get back to a routine too. It is always hard to send Heath back to work. We love having him around more.
This is from the Thornton reunion at Granite Hot Springs. We had a great time seeing family and it was really nice to be up there and not be pregnant; however, we traded that for a crawling/walking baby which might be just as hard. Hayden was so happy to have his Colorado cousins there so that he wasn't so outnumbered by girls.
Granite Falls
Hayden having fun do ing backflips in the pool.

Catching snail shells down by the creek.

Trip to the zoo.
Our cul-de-sac firework BBQ. We look forward to this fun every year. Mark was having as much fun as the kids!
Fun at the parade. We had a crowd of cousins this year.
This is how we spent most of our day on the 4th of July - minus the kids. I actually enjoyed riding around on this Harley. It was pretty fun. Heath would buy one in a second but he knows his wife will not go for it. It was fun to have it for a day.

I broke my camara so that was all the pictures we had. We also did some four-wheeling trips, water parks, swimming lessons, and park days. Summer is great!

June

Easiest way to describe what we have been up to in June: pictures.

Hannah got her hot pink cast off and was downgraded to a splint. We were so glad because it made showering and a few other summer activities much easier. We are now almost done with the splint. Yippee!

We love T-ball games.

Hannah has loved doing my hair. I have got to sport these great hairdo's to a few family events. Got to love it.

First sleepout on the tramp. Hannah made it until 11:30 and the boys until 5. They had a great time just got a little cold. While the kids were outside with Chloe for a few minutes, Chloe made and ate herself a mud pie. Note to self- 6 and 7 year olds get a little distracted when watching their sister outside (even if it is only for a few minutes).I always get reminded when we go to the river that I love it there. We had a great time walking, feeding the ducks, and looking at the scenery. I could go there once a week. It is beautiful and we are lucky to have it in our town. I was happy with how far my kids can walk now. I think sometime this summer we will make it all the way around.

We love park day!

Chloe is learning to stand up on her own. No major steps yet but she loves to stand up. Now that we are outside all the time we are ready for her to walk.

We made a quick trip this week with my parents to Mesa Falls, Island Park and a quick drive around Yellowstone park. We had a great time. We saw a lot of animals. The highlight was seeing a mother black bear with two baby cubs right off the side of the road.

Now off to Girls Camp to finish up the month!