First Day of Kindergarten

Emma has started kindergarten, and she is in heaven. She loves every minute of it. She told me when unpicked her up on her first day that it was better than the best day ever. She is so big and so independent. I really do 't worry too much about her because I know she will have to trouble asking for help if she needs it. 

 
 
 
 

Baby Sophie

I went to visit my dear friend Becca and her new baby Sophie a couple of weeks ago. Sophie is in the NICU right now since she was born about 7 weeks early. She is so tiny and adorable! I loved getting to snuggle her and visiting with Becca. 

 
 
 

Just another Sunday

Tomorrow is Labor Day, so we are taking advantage of the day off and celebrating Brayden's birthday a few days early with grandma and grandpa. I made the cake for the party today. Brayden is currently obsessed with the tv show Paw Patrol, and he really wanted a Paw Patrol cake. I usually do the cake pans for birthdays, but I could 't find a Paw Patrol cake pan, so I made something up. He loves it.

We went on a family walk/bike ride this afternoon to enjoy the cool weather. Brayden got his new bike a little early. He does so great on his balance bikes. It's amazing how fast he has learned balance. He can hold his feet up while going down hills and steer just fine. He probably won't ever need training wheels. The bike is blue, too, because his favorite color is blue. Everything has to be blue. 

 
 

 

First day of 4th grade

Molly started 4th grade today. She has insisted all summer that she did not want to go back to school, but she seemed pretty excited and willing to go this morning, so that is a good sign. We went with both girls to Unpack Your Backpack last night. That seemed to get them excited. Molly found out she is with two good friends, Meg and Reagan. 

 
 
 

Pathway

Last night I completed my last gathering for the pathway program. It was a long year and lots of hard work, but I learned so much and am so excited to have done so well. As long as my last few assignments get good grades, I will have completed with straight A's. I can't think of another time I've done that well.

Here is my Pathway group. I will miss all of them and their insights, but I will not miss the weekly drives to Nauvoo every Thursday. 

 

me and the kiddos

I don't have enough pictures of me with the kids. I seem to always be the one taking the pictures. So I love when I actually get a good one with all 3 of them.

 

Family Museum

Today we met up with my friend Becca and her kids Evan and Alex in Iowa City to play at the children's museum together. All 5 kids had a blast. We love our friends and any excuse to play.

Making pizza.

Emma loves any excuse to pose.

Climbing monkeys. 

Riding the carousel.

Brayden could have watched the train forever.

All 5 kids, happy and exhausted. 

 
 
 

 

 
 

 

science

A conversation I had with Emma today while I pushed her on the swings. 

Emma: "mom, I want to go in the sky and see Mars."

Me: "ok, you have to do well in school and learn about science."

Emma: "what's science?"

Me: "it's learning how the world works."

Emma: "oh, that's ok, I learned that in pre-school!"

Recitals

Emma and Molly each had a big recital today. Emma for dance, and Molly for piano. David and I had to divide and conquer since they were at the same time. We are so proud of our girls and their talents.

Molly and her teacher, Stefani Cragun. 

Emma had two different dances. She loves being put on that stage!

 

 

babysitting

As a way to earn a couple extra dollars, I've been babysitting a couple kids, one of which I've watched 3 times a week for almost a year now. She's about a year younger than Brayden, and my kids absolutely adore her. Last week I was taking a shower, and had put a movie on for the kids. When I came down to check on them, this is how I found them. 

 

Molly is 9!!

On Wednesday Molly turned 9. We can't believe it. We hope she had a great birthday. She wanted to go to Golden Corral for dinner, and then we had cake and ice cream. She got a Lego set, a science book, a charm bracelet making set, a doodle book, and the Fablehaven series. 

I decorated the ceiling in streamers while she was at school. 

On Friday at school, Molly finally lost a tooth that has been hanging on for weeks. We are so glad it is finally out.

 

 
 
 
 
 

 

Molly's early birthday...

We did a little celebrating of Molly's birthday on Saturday. We'll finish up with cake and the rest of her presents on wedensday. Grandma and Grandpa and Krista joined us, we always have fun when they come. They brought Molly a pair of earrings that match a necklace she has, and a charm bracelet. She is one blessed girl.

Molly also got a fish for her birthday. We went with G and G and Kris to the pet store to pick it out. Molly had a blast finding her favorite, then setting up the tank. She has named him Merlin. 

They also took us out to lunch to celebrate David's new job. He has worked hard the last 6 months or so to get a job at John Deere, and after his 3rd interview, he finally got an offer. We are super excited.

After the gang left to go back home, Molly wanted to go climb rocks at a stream nearby. 

 
 
 
 
 

Kite Flying

Tonight we tried a little kite flying in the field behind our house. It wasn't really windy enough, but the girls have been dying to try out their kites. I got a picture of Brayden flying Emma's Barbie kite...he stood there like a statue and didn't move a muscle, but he sure thought he was pretty cool. 

 

 

Emma had her very first dance competition today! She has been nervous all week, but when she put that costume on, she was all business. She did great with her little group. 

 
 

 
 

spring is here!!

We are so happy spring is here! I figured today was Friday so we would play hooky from piano and cello practice and chores and hit the park after school. 

Emma said she needed to ride the pony side saddle because she was a princess.

This picture cracks me up a little. Seeing it makes you think these two are the best of friends. They are, some of the time. For some reason they kept fighting the whole time we were at the park. They both brought me their flowers, so I said "let me get a picture. Pretend you like each other for a minute." At least they can fake it.