Bittersweet

The final days of school came and with them the bittersweet feeling of another year ending. I had been so excited for summer this year. We had been really scheduled with me teaching preschool two mornings a week, Kelsie gone to school all day for the first year, and trying to fit in time to be helpful in her class. I could hardly wait for the long summer days with nothing planned. I really thought that for the first time in my life I would not be nostalgic at all, but, as always, when the final days come there was a bittersweet feeling. The excitement for the fun of summer tinged with tears for the end of another year and another chapter in our life. At our preschool program Emily said good-bye to her preschool friends. Emily really didn't understand that they wouldn't all be coming back again. She was really sad...I guess in her little 4 year old mind it seemed reasonable that they would all come to preschool in our basement forever. Luckily, she still gets to play with some of her dearest friends.
I will miss these little guys. It was a fun year for me... finally being able to teach again and do something I've dreamed about since the day I walked out of my 1st grade classroom. But, I also found it was harder than I thought to balance my family and preschool during this first year. Through it all I grew to love these little guys. I will always remember the first time they wrote their name alone or sounded out a word in a book. I love to see their pride in their accomplishments and I will miss those eager smiles.

On Kelsie's last day of school Emily was so excited. I told her Kelsie would be home by lunch time and would be home every day for the rest of the summer. Emily's shocked and happy smile said it all. She has missed Kelsie so much this year and would start asking at 10:00 am, "How much longer until Kelsie gets home?" Those were some long days.

Kelsie leaving her first grade classroom. She had a great teacher, Mrs. Richins, made great friends, and loves reading and spelling. Her teacher taught them to work together and help each other to learn. She was so excited for summer and has been counting down the days so I was surprised at how sad she was that evening. She was sad that she couldn't go back in the morning to her teacher and her class.

It was a bittersweet day, but now we are thrilled to have our Kelsie home with us all day. We love the freedom and calm of summer.

More Birthday...

Kelsie had in her mind exactlly what she wanted her cake to look like. She had planned it all out and was excited to see it all come together. It's a High School Musical Cake with "EHS" for East High School. :) It made her so happy to have it be her own creation!

She's seven.

Happy Birthday Kelsie

Kelsie turned seven on Thursday. She celebrated with 15 of her "nearest and dearest" friends. It was the biggest party she had ever had and it was a little crazy, but she had a ton of fun. She wanted a High School Musical Party theme. I had a really hard time getting excited about that theme but we tried our best. We danced to the soundtrack, played "Freeze Dance", did a flip flop cake walk to win flip flops, decorated the flip flops, had pizza and cupcakes for dinner, and ended with a "Go Wildcats" pinata and lots of flying candy. Kelsie loved every minute of the craziness. My favorite was watching her at dinner. The kids were spread out in the back yard in a few groups. After Kelsie got done eating, she went around to each group and sat and chatted with those friends for a little while and then went to the next group. It was so cute to watch her "mingle" and it made me realize just how grown up she is getting. She is growing up right before my eyes and has gained so much confidence this year. We are so proud of the beautiful girl she is becoming. We love you Kelsie!

Flip Flop Frenzy

I was planning to buy cheap flip flops to decorate for Kelsie's birthday party. Then, I heard that Old Navy was having a $1 flip flop sale and I was super excited to be able to get nicer flip flops for cheap. I really love a good deal! I headed to Old Navy on Saturday morning and it was pure craziness. The line was wrapped all the way around the entire store...and everyone was buying flip flops! I ended up standing in line for an hour to buy my 15 pairs of flip flops, but it seemed worth it when I walked out with all those fun colored flip flops. The girls at the party loved them. We decorated them with rhinestones and beads and I think they turned out so cute. Every one is so unique and fun.

Imagination

In search of treasure

The map

There are two things this little four year is not lacking: Energy and Imagination. Emily seems to have boundless energy and she always has. She is happiest when she has a wide, open space to jump and romp around in and is in the middle of acting out some imaginary game she's dreamed up. If you catch her in the middle of play, she is in some other world...a very happy world! She's being trapped by witches, or traveling in search of treasure...or...well you get the idea. The possibilities are endless when you have an imagination as big as this kid. On this particular day she had created a map and was out trying to find where the buried treasure was hidden. Her trusty friend, Ashley the dog, was by her side through all of her adventures.

Note: She also insists on dressing herself and only wearing skirts. She comes up with some really winning combinations and there is always LOTS of color. Sometimes I feel like I have my own little Punky Brewster living with me.

Women's Conference

I had the chance to go to BYU Women's Conference this year with my mom and two of my sisters. John stayed home with our kids so I could go. We went to some great classes and learned a lot. It was so fun to spend the day chatting and hanging out with my sisters and mom--without kids. No offence to any of our cute kids. I always love walking around BYU campus and remembering the college days. I loved seeing my mom's first encounter with the dreaded RB steps! I came home totally exhausted from what I thought would be my relaxing "girl" day, but it was totally worth it!

Little Librarian

We have church at 1:00 in the afternoon this year and I have to admit that I totally love it. I love having the whole morning with nothing to do but hang out together and relax. It is the most family time we get all week. My girls a love the lazy morning and are really content to play together and make up new games. Kelsie's latest was to set up a library. She organized the books and invited us all to come and check out books. She made signs to let us know when the library was open. Eventually, she added a reading corner and story time to her library. It was so fun to see her so engaged. She kept the library running for several days and we all had a good time with it. I loved watching her. It was like having flashbacks of my favorite memories from my own childhood--playing school, setting up restaurants and offices, building hideaways, etc...