First Day of School

Today was two of the three kids first day of school. Abbie was up and eager to start Kindergarten this morning. Kyle, per usual, had to be pulled out of bed just to eat some donuts. He wasn't interested in being in a solo photo or even one with the group but finally agreed and Daisy kindly offered to hold his sign.

Abbie is attending Selma Bartlett Elementary School in the a.m. Kindergarten class. She has two teachers, Ms. Leverence and Mr. Rosensteel (you might remember him as Kyle's fourth grade teacher). She has several friends in her class including her BFF Ruby. Abbie is thrilled to see Rubes every single day now. The girls even chose the same backpacks (just different colors).

A few things about Kindergarten Abbie:

*She LOVES American Girl Dolls. We even started reading the books, which has been a lot of fun for us. She just can't decide which one to ask Santa for at Christmas time....Rebecca, Molly, a voucher for the new 2012 Girl of the Year, Kit (my vote).

*She actually loves anything you can dress up...Build-A-Bear, Snoopy, Barbies. Dressing up is big for her. So not only does she want to get more of those she also wants more and more clothes...our house is only so big!

*She is continuing with piano and dance this year. Dance starts again today and piano tomorrow.

*She has developed a love of singing...didn't get that from me.

*She is picky about what she wears and how she looks...ugh.

*Her heart is still made of marshmallow fluff.

Kyle is going to attend the Horizon Academy in St. George this year+. He really didn't want to go back to Greenspun and after a lot of thought and prayer at our house and his mom's, Tripp and I did a ton of research into alternative schools for him and finally found what we hope to be a perfect match. He will be living there for at least a year, probably longer. It is a strong academically based program that also is grounded in teaching kids about expectations and managing behavior. Many of you know that Kyle has ADHD/ODD and struggles, constantly, with his family and his school, so we are hoping this will be a great fit for him. He has accepted trying something new and is very glad to avoid Greenspun for 8th grade. We just really had a tough time saying "Goodbye" to him today. He seemed happy to go.

A few things about 8th Grade Kyle:

*He likes the funniest things. Right now, he is watching episode after episode of Monk, trying to get them all in.

*He still is an amazing reader and can finish a book within a day or two at most. He and his friend Alora are constantly talking books.

*He loves soccer....it is really his thing.

*Turning 14 last week gave him the opportunity to advance in the Priesthood and he was ordained to the office of a Teacher on Sunday. He also finished all of the requirements for the Deacon portion of Duty to God.

*He LOVES the game The Great Dalmudi. Is insanely addicted. We play it at the cabin sometimes and played it with him on NYE then he asked someone to bring it to the beach and that was it. He ended up teaching Tripp's parents last week and is just seriously in love with it.

*He is just such a funny, quirky, amazing kid. It is breaking our heart to have him gone this next year.

14 Going On.....

Kyle officially turned 14 today but I think he turned 14 (or possibly older) in his mind long, long ago. Nevertheless, we got the official birthday balloons. No princesses for him but he says that would have been fine so I will certainly remember that next year.

Kyle wanted Cafe Rio for his birthday lunch/party. He is chatting up his Grandmas (both always eager listeners) while everyone else was ordering. Papa, Grandma, MamaThom, PapaThom, Lindsay and her kids all came to celebrate. Both Wes & Sam were stuck at work.
After lunch we went next door for celebratory custard and presents.

Kyle spent the second half of the day celebrating with his mom and her family...lots of fun we are sure. We can't believe Kyle is already 14. It seems like yesterday that he received the Priesthood and now on Sunday he will be sustained to the office of a Teacher. Yikes, does time fly.

Beach Bums

We spent last week in San Clemente, thanks to Grandma & Grandpa Marz, with the Marz Family. It's been a few years since we've been to the beach together and we had a heck of a time. It's apparent that all the kids from the Marz line (grandkids included) could easily become beach kids.

Between Lindsay's camera and our camera, we had a ton of photos. Choosing what to post was too hard so I just blindly uploaded photos. You'll just have to visit both my blog and Lindsay's to see a full spectrum. Her's is generally more professional.

We tried to take some super casual family type photos on the beach. Some worked, some didn't. I am putting a few of them here first. I absolutely love the one of Abbie and Aunt Sam. Lindsay did a little work to it (I believe) and they look so great. I think Abbie looks a lot like her aunt and she really wants to be like her so that is a special one for me.



Donuts. Man did we consume some donuts. Sam knows of a really yummy donut shop that we had several days running (thanks to Sam, Wes, Lindsay, Papa). Daisy liked to enjoy her round, chocolatey sprinkle bliss outside with the ocean breeze.
We had a nice backyard but there was a huge drop at the very edge, that ended on train tracks (that a train regularly ran by) so we spent some time out there but we had to be careful with little ones. Lindsay brought some really great bubbles and Daisy had a fantastic time popping them.
Our daily traffic signal on the beach. We sat all over but avoided the surfing area of the water in an effort to not get angry surfers after us.
We took lots of walks. Tripp was great with all kids on the adventures. Grandma & Grandpa took a lot of time walking baby Ryan around.
Kyle loves the water. He got so red with board burn but wouldn't wear a rash guard (thinks it for weenies - the Oscar Meyer variety) so would come in complaining, rest then go back out. He even got rescued once by a lifeguard at Laguna Beach when he took on waves a little too large...boys.
Abbie and I managed to get knocked over every time we got in. We had fun and she laughed her heard off but we stunk at staying up. I couldn't keep the two of us steady in those waves.

We played a lot in the sand. The sand was our best friend and our worst enemy (getting it out of cracks and crevices is a beast).






Tripp tried to teach Abbie to stand up to the waves early on. Didn't work for her but she still had fun. I just love this photo.
These two were definitely water buddies. Kyle loved going out in the ocean with Wes. I appreciated that Wes would go with him while Daisy was soaking up all her Daddy time. She was especially attached to Daddy this trip and although he spent time in the water Kyle, Wes was really his surf pal. A good seed that Uncle Wes.
Good, good times. Everyone went to an Angels/Rangers game (I wasn't feeling well so I stayed home with the kiddos) one night and had a great time...so I hear. Sam had a huge, fluffy cotton candy and they all came home with weird bobble head gnomes so something must have went well.

I love my family, small and big, and am so very grateful that we got this week together. I hope our Forever Family ends up with huts on the beach on the other side.

My Girls?

Abbie has been wanting to cut her hair like Kit, the American Girl doll. This morning, I showed her what we would have to do for her hair to look like Kit's (a short, a-line bob), with a round brush and a flat iron. She is going to keep her long hair (she didn't like the hot dryer). But then Daisy decided she wanted straight hair too so I just flat ironed hers from curly...not too hard when their hair is long.

We made a deal, if they keep it longer, I will promise to make it straight every once in awhile it they want to (without the round brush and blowdryer) but we would leave it curly and maintenance free most of the time. They say they want to be like Aunt Sam...not a bad option. She is a stunner....

Lisa's Birthday

I took the kids on a day trip to Kingman a week ago to celebrate Lisa's birthday. We've been wanting to visit her new house all summer and when earlier plans fell through, we figured a birthday was the perfect time to make the trip. The kids spent the day jumping, playing Smurfs, building Legos, bugging Jacob and generally hanging out with their best friends. Dr. Dave was nice enough to watch them and let me treat Lisa to "The Help" which we had to drive to Laughlin for (we pinky promised we would see it together).

We all pitched in and made Lisa's favorite (tacos) for dinner and the kids did a marvelous job decorating her birthday cake. Jake did the honors and cut the cake...a little preparation for the Thanksgiving duties. The girls and I gave her our present then it was time to hit the road for home. Luckily it is an easy-peasy drive so we can visit often. We sure do miss those Fairbanks'.

Reno

We spent the last week in Reno with Grandma Sandy. We always enjoy the cooler weather up North and the company. Grandma is the best at playing board games, hitting tennis balls, setting up tennis lessons for Abbie, inviting us swimming at Lakeridge, cooking dinner for us, helping take care of Kramer, playing in the sandbox, taking us to crazy dead animal and snuff box museums, suffering through dumb movies (Smurfs) and just generally hanging out.

This year, she dug out some old puzzles and we worked on a couple of them in the backyard. In the frontyard, we used her chalk to draw a town down her entire driveway.
Grandma played lots of ball games with the girls. I took Kramer on a lot of cool (weather reference) walks. It's so nice to go out with him in cooler weather.
We spent lots of time with Aunt Susie as well. As usual, she brought over dress-ups, a craft and this time even let the girls come over to her house and play with her pets. Abbie loved doing tricks with Buster the Wiener dog and Daisy waited patiently for her cat Betty to come out and get a lot of Ali & Daisy loves. We also got to visit the duck pond by her house and feed the ducks. There was a small yellow duckling that Abbie and I both were ready to adopt.

Luckily, Katie worked out of an office near our houses Thursday & Friday so we lunched with her both days. Tuesday we went up to Lake Tahoe with Katie and the kids (an annual trip now). Caedon is just about the coolest kid I know. He gets along marvelously with Abbie....every time we see them. The kids had a great time. They were kind enough to invite us to their house for more play and pizza that night. Martin also helped me strap on my bike rack and one bike...he's a good seed.


The trip this year flew by. Hopefully we can make it longer next year. Now that the girls are older we can explore a lot more in Reno and spend a good majority of the time outside. Yay

Gone Daddy, Gone....

Abbie lost her first tooth today. It has been loose for about 10 days now but it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon so besides her telling everyone we came in contact with, I didn't give it much thought.

Today it got knocked by a Wii remote and that must have done the trick because it turned from a little loose to really loose. Once it was really loose, Abbie wasn't liking it anymore. I think she called her Daddy 5 times today sometimes in tears, sometimes with joy about this tooth. The latter part of the day was mostly tears...she wanted this thing out of her mouth. None of that "let it hang on by a thread for weeks" for my girl. It hurt and she hated it. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite loose enough to give it a good yank. I tried to get in touch with our dentist but he was out and about today (according to his wife). Tripp eventually made my dad drop by and I think he felt the same way, it would take a lot of good tugging or twisting still to get it out and although she desperately wanted it gone, we didn't think she was up for that.

She must have played with it during and after dinner because after her bath I took another look and the tooth was ready. She let me get a grip and after two good tugs, it popped right out. She didn't cry or whine about it coming out (or while I was pulling) for a second. She was so relieved to have that tooth out. Once we got the blood to stop she immediately tried to call her Daddy again and when he didn't answer it sent her into another wave of hysterical crying but I was just glad that thing was gone. Now I just have to get used to my little girl and her new big girl smile....

10 Days of Fun....

We had a whirlwind 10 days of fun a couple of weeks ago that was so much fun, it took me awhile to slow down and get the pictures all loaded and ready to blog.

Gormus Family Visits

Tripp's sister Elizabeth and her family came to visit. We spent three fun days with them bowling, swimming, playing games, visiting the Bellagio art gallery, go cart racing, coloring, seeing the Lion King and watching the final Harry Potter. We were having so much fun that I forgot to take photos.

Salt Lake City

On Saturday morning, Elizabeth and her family left with MamaThom & PapaThom for California and we headed out to Utah for the Marz Family BBQ. My Aunt Leslie was kind enough to allow us to have it in her backyard (which is absolutely lovely by the way). We had a ton of fun with lots of aunts and uncles and cousins coming for the afternoon and evening. Next stop, Moab 2012.

Our family stayed on the next week at Leslie's house (she is so gracious) where the girls enjoyed her beautiful garden, her darling daughter (Ashlie is so much fun) and her super fun grandkids. We got to attend church with her, go to a Nolan/Alicia/Leslie birthday bash (thanks again for inviting us...what a treat), nosh on the Red Iguana with Ashlie, Leslie & Will, and so much more. What a great week with her family.
Monday Tripp dropped Kyle off at BYU for soccer camp then we headed to Kayesville to play with my cousin Jen & her family. Tina, a gaggle of her other grandkids and Lindsay & the boys were there too. A great bunch. The highlight for my girls was playing American Girl dolls with Avery.
Tuesday we visited Grandma Florence for lunch. The girls colored her a million pictures and we stayed and had some lunch with her. She is the picture of grace, even in her 90s. I can only hope to age so beautifully.

Then it was off to Heritage Village. So much pioneer fun. We definitely need to return. I had to pet the sheep through the fence so Abbie wouldn't have to touch anything but Daisy ran right in and hugged every animal. She will definitely be my helper someday when I get a farm.

That night we had dinner with Aunt Tina, Uncle Gary and my cousin Michael and his family. He has three fun girls (Emma, sadly for us, was away on a houseboat) and Abbie & Daisy always love playing with Alia and Sophia. They played and swam. So fun at Aunt Tina's house.

Wednesday we met our BFFs Lisa, Talmadge & Jonah at Sundance. So much fun packed into one day. So many photos I can't fit into this post. Some are so funny. These four kids together crack me up....

Thursday morning before we hit the road to pick up Kyle, we had the pleasure of going to Gardner Village (I don't know really how that is spelled) with Leslie and Amanda & kids. Cute place. The girls can't wait to go back for more doll clothes. We also had the opportunity of hitting our friend Bella's lemonade and treat stand in Provo. She was having it at her grandparent's restaurant. What fun (and delicious).
We arrived at BYU a little early and what luck. Kyle's team was in the finals for the camp's soccer championship. We couldn't believe it! We got to see the final game!

Kyle usually plays keeper but he played forward in this game. He shoots and just nearly missed the goal. Rats. (I love the look on his face). But they won the game 4 to 0. He was so thrilled and we couldn't have been more excited for him. He had such a great week.
Thompsons Gather at the Cabin

We collected Kyle and headed straight for Duck Creek. The next morning Tripp's family started slowing arriving for a short summer gathering. By Saturday, all of Tripp's siblings were there. What fun!

We sat on the deck...
Held baby Keeton...
Rode 4-wheelers and cabin cars.
Messed around....

Played in the woods...
Played corn hole...
and played cards and ate and generally hung out. We had a wonderful time with the Thompsons and are really grateful to my parents for allowing us to gather at the cabin.

Sunday we met in Enoch for Keeton's blessing and lunch. The Randall house is great and they are such a fun family. It was a wonderful way to end our 10 days of crazy, wonderful fun.