Off to Preschool

Here is Emily on her first day of preschool at Ms. Stacie's. I was really worried about how this first day would go since she doesn't like to go anywhere without me. In fact, I put her in another preschool just so she could adjust to being away from me and home before she heads off to kindergarten. Well, she mastered my whole goal for the year on day one. She skipped right into preschool and is loving every minute of it. She loves her teacher and the slide in the classroom. :)She is a busy girl now with preschool every day of the week. She asks me every morning, "Is today a Ms. Stacie day or your school day?" It is so cute and she is loving her new independence. Yeah for preschool!

Little Ballerina

Here's my mini photo shoot of Emily getting ready for her first ballet/tap class. She was so excited and was dressed and ready to go for hours before it was time to finally go. She loved every second of it. The first thing she asks when she wakes up in the morning is "Do I go to my ballet class today?" She might need to go twice a week! She sure loves it and I love watching her dance around the house.

Fish

Our Story of Fish

When John and I met he was living next door to me in a house they called the "Pescado House" because of a particularly gorgeous fish painting above the couch that said Pescado on it. John and a couple of his roommates got fish to place on the mantle to complete the place. So they became lovingly known as the "Pescado Boys" by everyone in our ward. During that year at BYU there were songs written about Pescado boys, many jokes, and while I student taught kindergarten with my friend Charity, she helped me make all kinds of creative fish art projects that I could give to John at the end of the day. That might just be the reason we are married today. :) When we got married we inherited his fish, a hearty beta fish, in a tank with a sign that said, "FISH NEED LOVE TOO." We kept that little bugger alive quite awhile, but when he passed on we decided we really didn't need a pet to complete our family.

Fast forward 8 years...We went to a family party and our niece Kaitlyn offered my girls a couple of fish she had won at a carnival that she needed to find a home for. (I kind of wonder why they pass out helpless little goldfish to kids at carnivals anyway...) The girls were so excited and John and I couldn't say no to the fish. It was a part of our history and we'd had a fish before. We could handle that.

So the girls named their new fish "Goldy" and "Pinkie Pie". They couldn't have been more thrilled to buy a tank and make a home for their new pets. Kelsie told me "I've always needed something to take care of." (Oh, me too!) Emily must have picked up on my pessimistic talk on the life span of a fish because for the first 2 weeks every time she walked by them she'd say, "Huh, they're still alive" with surprise. It cracked me up.

All in all we've enjoyed our pet fish. But the constant bowl changes and finding pet sitters so we can go on vacation reminded me why didn't want a pet. Even two silly little gold fish are one extra thing to worry about and take care of. Three kids are quite enough for us, we just don't need the extra work of a couple of fish. I'm glad we learned this lesson on fish instead of a cat or a dog. I just don't think we're pet people, at least not yet.

But, the pictures of them adoring their new pets sure are cute.

First Day of School

Here is Kelsie all ready for her first day of second grade! I can't believe she's that big already. She was so excited she couldn't sleep and woke me up saying, "how can you sleep on a day like this?" She is getting so grown up. I've been worried about her new school, new teacher, and lots of new kids. But, she was excited to get back to school and friends and learning (and to use her new lunchbox and backpack)! She had a great first day and I hope 2nd grade is a great year for her!

Island Park Vacation

Drew and Julie (John's brother and his wife) manage the Mack's Inn Playhouse during the summer months. We headed there for dinner and the melodrama. The play was great and we felt like celebrities ourselves getting front row seats and special recognitions from being related to these famous people. The kids loved the play and even Carter sat through the whole thing without being taken out, which made it really enjoyable for all of us! It was especially fun to know half the cast. They do a great job there so stop by if your in the Yellowstone area.outside the playhouse with Drew, Julie, and Ellianna

The next day we went to the Peterson Family Reunion at a cabin on the lake. I had a great time seeing cousins that I hadn't seen in years and seeing my grandparent, aunts, and uncles. The girls enjoyed swimming, boating, and jumping on the water trampoline. Carter found a little friend that was a perfect match for him. They yelled "no" and pushed each other until they both got it out of their system and then they were great little pals the rest of the day... throwing rocks, splashing, and chucking dirt at each other. They had a great time. John went tubing and is still sore from it. :) I didn't get pictures because I didn't dare let go of Carter for fear that he would jump right off the boat after his dad.

A couple of random pics from the carousel in Rexburg on our way to Island Park...

The 24th of July

We had a great 24th holiday weekend thanks to L.D., Marlene, and Cameron being in town from Canada. They helped throw a great party at John's parents house with yummy food, water fun, lots of basketball and HORSE tournaments, and a great fireworks show to end the night. The kids loved having them in town and getting to show off their gymnastics, hula hooping, and bike riding skills to people who really seemed interested. A special thanks to Marlene for that! It was so fun to visit and catch up.

Update

Here is an update of some of our July happenings. Summer is ending way too fast and I wish we could have a couple more months of fun, summer days. We have loved having Kelsie home all day. She does a marvelous job of keeping Emily entertained and we really enjoy our lazy mornings lounging around the house and having time for craft projects and outings.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum's birthday party with two of my sisters. It was lots of fun and lots of craziness with 9.5 kids between the three of us. The kids loved playing in the sand pit and water/sand area and there were dinosaur games, crafts, and face painting.

Kelsie has been taking gymnastics and enjoys it. She like the vault and tumbling, but hates the bars. It's been fun to watch her and there has been a lot of gymnastic class role play going on around here lately! Carter even gets in on the action when Kelsie and Emily start practicing cartwheels. Totally cracks me up. He puts his arms up and starts doing his fancy moves. He mastered his forward roll today. It's pretty cute coming from a one year old.

The girls started their first swim lessons ever and they absolutely loved it. Swimming has been the highlight of their whole summer. They are like little fish and love every minute of it. We're doing a second session this week. Hopefully Carter will survive another five hours of staring at "wa wa" without being allowed to dive on in. He also LOVES water and has no fear!

We went with our friends the Blomquists to the BYU Bean Museum. I had never been and it was SO cool and the kids liked it as much as the zoo and its FREE. I love free! I don't know how I never managed to go there in my four years at BYU, but I'm pretty sure it's because I was too busy studying and stressing out.
The kids were a tad rambunctious but had a great time together. The older kids were crawling around the upstairs after Carter and Emi B. The babies were thrilled with the attention but I'm pretty sure the museum personnel breathed a sigh of relief when they saw my wild boy Carter head out the door. We also hit the BYU Creamery for ice cream and then headed home to have a pizza picnic and games in our backyard. Kelsie was particularly thrilled to get to spend time with Aubrey, who she looks up to so much. The impromptu picnic is the part my girls are still talking about. It made me realize that I must not be spontaneous very often. I might try to work on it. We sure are glad to have these guys for neighbors!