Dillon Turns 7!

Last week we celebrated Dillon's 7th birthday.  He was so excited for it to come.  Olivia and I took cookies to school to share with his class.  After school we played in the park while Makenna and Olivia had dance.  Then we went to McDonalds for supper and then off to Maddi's school for her open house.  When we got home we finished opening presents and had cake and ice cream.  Michael was working last week so yesterday we made another cake and celebrated again.  We are so thankful to have Dillon in our family.  He is such a sweet boy.  He is very kind and his calm personality is a huge blessing to me!

Back to School

Well, the time has finally arrived!  School has started again.  We made our traditional school busses out of twinkies (or swiss rolls for those who didn't like twinkies), read our back to school poems at the request of the kids, talked about the changes that were coming, answered any questions, got a visit from the back pack fairy and sent them off to school.

Maddi is in fifth grade this year.  She is going to a different school from all the other kids.  She gets to ride the bus with some of her friends and seems to really enjoy things.  Her school is just fifth and sixth graders.

Makenna is in fourth grade and is the most excited for school I think.  She loves to learn and she loves to socialize.  She seems to like her teacher and she has already made new friends.

Zane is in third grade and is the least excited.  He is already counting down the days until next summer vacation!  He let his teacher know the first day that he doesn't like school.  He has made a new friend though and will get back in the swing of things as time goes on.

Dillon is in second grade.  He's more quiet than the rest but enjoys playing and learning.  He has some friends from last year in his class again and he is meeting some new friends.  He also lost his tooth the second day of school so things are starting out with a bang!

Zeke is our little kindergartener.  He was very excited to start school.  The first day couldn't come fast enough.  He has two kids in his class that he knows from church and is able to name other friends that he has met.  By this morning though he was asking if he could skip school today because he was tired!  The first few weeks are long for these little kids with all day every day kindergarten.

Olivia will do preschool this year.  She starts next week.  The last few days have been long for her.  Even though we have stayed busy, she gets antsy waiting for the older kids to come home.  She is very excited for school too.  We'll see what happens the first day.  She gets kind of shy sometimes :)

Michael is working this week so he has missed all the festivities but he will be off next week and I'm sure everyone will fill him in.  I have not slowed down a bit like I thought I would.  The first few weeks of school bring extra meetings and other things.  I have been getting things ready for Dillon's birthday and making sure that everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there.  Makenna and Olivia start dance this week.  Maddi, Zane and Dillon are doing a punt, pass and kick competition Friday and then we are going to the high school football game that night.  There are already a few sheets of homework trickling in with more to come I'm sure.  We are still working on getting our house bought.  That, too, should be completed in the next week or so.  I have started cleaning again for my parents on Fridays.  So things are still busy even though the house is mostly empty all day.  We are trying to still have a little fun amidst the busy schedules and school work.

Petroglyphs

Yesterday we took the kids out to see the petroglyphs.  They were made anywhere from 200 to 1000 years ago.  Some of the drawings were faded but some were still in very good shape.  It was kind of neat to see.  Along the trail to the petroglyphs there were these benches.

Zeke just knew the Indians had put them there so they could sit and wait for the buffalo to come.  When we got there the kids had a blast exploring the rocks, discovering little passage ways and looking at the petroglyphs.

After we had looked at everything the kids started climbing up the "mountain".  This was a big deal for Zeke.  He had never climbed a mountain before and he had always wanted to.

Once up to the top his excitement grew because there were all sorts of cool colored rocks.  This boy loves rocks and is always bringing them home.

The other kids also made it to the top and loved looking out on everything.  We even saw a little lizard.  It ran across my foot.  I tried to get a picture of it but it was too fast.

Once back down at the bottom we discovered more places to climb and more cool things to look at.  Makenna found these cool hands in the rock.

The kids found this cool crevice in the rocks and climbed up it.

It was a fun afternoon and the kids are already talking about when we can go back.  Next time we go, Zeke is going to wear clothes with bigger pockets so he can take one of those cool rocks home with him!

A Few More Pictures

I finally downloaded more pictures off my camera so I can post more of our summer outings.  Things are beginning to wind down and get ready for school.  I am looking forward to the schedule of the school year.  I will have five in school this year and if we get Olivia into preschool I will have four mornings a week with out any kids!  I love that thought :)  Especially since we are buying a house that will require some work put into it.  A few childless hours will be very beneficial for getting work done.  Anyways, here are the pictures...

The kids did a nature camp this summer through the Teton Science School from Jackson, Wy.  At the end of the week they had a picnic and gave presentations on the things they had learned.  This is Makenna with her group.

This is Maddi's All Star team lined up before one of their games.  She's the one with the pony tail :)

Zeke got a new haircut (yes I gave it to him and yes it's a mohawk).  He loves it and I think it fits him perfectly.  Kindergarten here comes Zeke!

Okie and her baby finally made the trip from South Dakota to Idaho.  We went to see her as soon as Michael had his week off.  The kids loved seeing her baby and riding her again. 

Olivia sitting on the horse trailer, eating a sucker, waiting for her turn to ride Okie.

Dillon being his cute little self!

Michael introduced the kids to swimming in the ditch water.  As you can tell from their quick retreat - the water is cold!  They had fun though and found lots of little snails and cool (not really) rocks.

So there is a little more catch up from our summer.  We have also been swimming with friends at a new pool we discovered, been to the library several times, and even tried a movie in the park.  Unfortunately before the movie started the wind blew the dvd player off the table and broke it so they had to cancel it.  We had fun though picking out treats, playing in the park and being up late.  When we found out it was broken we just went home and watched it.  Not quite as exciting but it was still midnight when we went to bed and the kids thought that was cool!  Now it's on to more school registrations, immunizations, and school supply shopping.

Such a Busy Summer...

I kept thinking that I would have more time this summer to do things like walk and blog and sit and go to the park and sit and read books and nap and sit.  Unfortunately, the summer didn't happen the way I had planned.  The only time I sit is when I am in the car.  I haven't blogged or read a blog in over a month.  I haven't read many books (as in only one).  I tried to take a nap one day but the kids were too noisy.  I have gone on a walk or two but I was hoping for more.  So what have we been doing here?  Well, we did baseball, a trip to Denver, family reunion, trips to Idaho, summer camps, more baseball, dentist appointments, 5ks, yard work (not at our house) and now we are actually doing school shopping.  Crazy huh?!  School starts in 4 weeks.  The kids are excited.  I am excited.  Life is crazy.  I am crazy:)  We've made some trips to the park and stops for ice cream along the way.  We've played with cousins and gone off jumps on our scooters.  We've had play dates with friends and chore days at home.  With the help of Uncle Jon, all six kids are now aspiring drummers!  We have three sets of drum sticks and three practice pads spread through the house with the promise of a drum set in the future if they stick with it.  We have also signed papers on a house here in Green River.  We still have to do the inspection and appraisal but it is in the works.  We'll wait and see what happens.  So, as summer winds to a close, my plans for a slow relaxing summer are pushed to another year.  Maybe things will slow down once school starts, or not!

Makenna (5th palce) at the State Hershey Track meet.  She did awesome!

Crazy socks in Denver :)

Crazy kids in Denver :)  We had such a fun time with the Olsens.  They are dear friends who will never be replaced.  We were so glad we could meet up and spend a few days together.  I am hoping it will become a yearly tradition!

4th of July family reunion.  Sparklers with all the cousins before the real fireworks started.  It was a fun weekend with family.  We had 21 kids running around the place.  Maddi was the oldest at 10 years of age.

Warming up after playing in the splash park.  We have been able to spend several afternoons playing in the water.

Update, Pictures to Follow

It has been a while since I last posted.  That last week of school and first week of summer were crazy.  We finished ball games, said the pledge of allegiance at the city council meeting (on local TV) tried out for All Stars (and made it) had the flu, ran another 5k, went on lots walks, played at parks and lots of other fun things.  I have lots of pictures but none are downloaded.  I will do that when we get back into town.  The big news of the house right now is Maddi making it onto the All Star Team for the 9 and 10 year olds.  She is the only girl (and the first girl) on the team.  She is very excited.  Practices start next week.  She'll have a small best out of three tournament the beginning of July, districts the middle of July and then if they make it, State the last week of July.  Our other big news is Makenna going to the State Hershey Track Meet.  It is tomorrow.  We are headed out today.  We're going to make some side trips on our way there, swim at the hotel and then watch her run in the morning.  She is very excited and we are very proud.  My parents will also be coming in the morning.  We will, of course, stop in Farson on the way home for ice cream :)  As I said, I have pictures to download later of the last day of school, new summer pajamas, play time with cousins and whatever else I decide!

My Good Eye

On our way to Idaho this weekend, the kids started getting more and more excited the closer we got to Munu's and papa's. We were still several miles away when Olivia started shouting that she could see the house. Michael told her that she couldn't be ause we were still too far away. Her reply was, "Yes I can! I can see it with my good eye!"

Princess Olivia Turns 4!

So it's a week or two late, but better late than never I guess!  After months and months of waiting, Olivia finally got to celebrate her birthday.  She was so excited for it to come this year!  She opened presents before church Sunday morning and wore one of her new dresses to church.  After church we very impatiently waited for Daddy and Uncle Spencer to get here so her could have a fine dinner of chicken nuggets and french fries followed by the pinkest princess cake we could find and ice cream!  It was so fun to watch her be so excited for everything.   She is such a special part of our family.  She is a princess to the fullest and never lets us forget it!  We are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Makenna's Ribbons

Here is a picture of Makenna with her ribbons from the Hershey Track meet.